commit 309a6723d7fc8dfa16f23002b8f8ed519a7b629d
Author: nmemmert <67961292+nmemmert@users.noreply.github.com>
Date:   Mon Aug 17 11:01:47 2026 -0400

    Add architecture TODO and gitignore
    
    Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
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+node_modules/
+dist/
+.env
+*.db
+*.db-shm
+*.db-wal
+thumbnails/
diff --git a/TODO.md b/TODO.md
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+# Self-Hosted Photo Manager — TODO
+
+## Architecture
+
+A self-built alternative to Immich: React/Vite frontend + Express/SQLite backend,
+files stay on disk, DB indexes them, thumbnails are the only derived asset.
+
+```
+┌───────────────────┐        watches         ┌──────────────────────┐
+│  Photo folder(s)   │ ─────────────────────▶ │  Ingestion Worker      │
+│  (disk / NAS)      │                        │  (chokidar file watch) │
+└───────────────────┘                        └───────────┬────────────┘
+                                                          │ extract EXIF,
+                                                          │ generate thumbnail,
+                                                          │ compute pHash
+                                                          ▼
+                                              ┌──────────────────────┐
+                                              │   SQLite metadata DB  │
+                                              │  (photos, tags,       │
+                                              │   albums, hashes)     │
+                                              └───────────┬────────────┘
+                                                          │
+                                                          ▼
+                                              ┌──────────────────────┐
+                                              │  Express API server   │
+                                              └───────────┬────────────┘
+                                                          │ REST
+                                                          ▼
+                                              ┌──────────────────────┐
+                                              │  React/Vite frontend  │
+                                              │  (timeline, albums,   │
+                                              │   search, map)        │
+                                              └──────────────────────┘
+```
+
+## Build Order
+
+- [ ] **1. Ingestion worker + SQLite schema** — watch folder, extract EXIF, generate thumbnails, populate DB
+- [ ] **2. Basic API + timeline UI** — paginated grid, chronological browsing (usable on its own)
+- [ ] **3. Detail view + manual tagging/albums**
+- [ ] **4. Dedupe detection + review UI** — pHash comparison, side-by-side review, keep/delete
+- [ ] **5. Search + filters** — date range, camera model, tag
+- [ ] **6. Map view** — Leaflet/MapLibre pins from GPS EXIF
+- [ ] **7. Face grouping** — only if wanted after v1–v5 (biggest scope jump, treat as v2+)
+
+## Stack
+
+| Layer | Tech |
+|---|---|
+| File watching | `chokidar` (persistent) or cron scan |
+| EXIF extraction | `exifr` or `exiftool` wrapper |
+| Thumbnails | `sharp` (1–2 sizes: grid thumb + preview) |
+| Dedupe hashing | pHash via `sharp` + hashing lib, or `blockhash-core` |
+| Database | SQLite via `better-sqlite3` |
+| API | Express |
+| Frontend | React + Vite |
+| Map | Leaflet or MapLibre |
+| Deployment | Docker container, Nginx Proxy Manager, behind Authelia |
+
+## Database Schema
+
+```sql
+photos (
+  id, filepath, thumbnail_path, date_taken, date_imported,
+  camera_model, gps_lat, gps_lon, phash, width, height, filesize
+)
+albums (id, name, created_at)
+photo_albums (photo_id, album_id)
+tags (id, name)
+photo_tags (photo_id, tag_id)
+```
+
+## API Endpoints (planned)
+
+```
+GET  /photos                 paginated timeline (filter by date, tag, album)
+GET  /photos/:id             full detail + EXIF
+GET  /photos/duplicates      grouped by pHash similarity
+GET  /photos/map             GPS-tagged photos for map view
+POST /albums                 create album
+POST /photos/:id/tags        tag a photo
+```
+
+## Deployment Notes
+
+- Mount photo folder(s) **read-only** (worker doesn't need write access to originals)
+- Writable volume for thumbnails + DB
+- Route: `photos.necloud.us` via Nginx Proxy Manager
+- Same homelab pattern as other services