# latent

A phone-photo editor with a "develop it later" option. Upload a photo,
apply film-style effects (grain, light leaks, vignette, halation, color
cast) entirely in the browser, then either download it right away or send
it off to "develop" — the server holds it behind a randomized delay
(hours to days) before the link actually resolves to the image. Getting
your photos back later, on purpose, for no practical reason except that
it's a fun mechanic.

Named after the *latent image*, the photographic term for the picture
that already exists on exposed film but is invisible until developed.

See [PROPOSAL.md](PROPOSAL.md) for the original design writeup.

## Two finishing paths off one editor

1. **Instant** — edit, then download directly, entirely client-side.
   Optionally generate a share link (explicit action, not automatic).
2. **Delayed** — edit, then "send to develop": uploads to server storage,
   assigns a random `develop_at` within a configured range, and gives back
   a link immediately — it just won't resolve to the actual image until
   that time passes.

## Running locally

```
npm install --prefix server
npm start --prefix server
```

Then open http://localhost:3000. `DATA_DIR` defaults to `./data`
(gitignored) for the SQLite db and image blobs.

## Deploying

`docker compose up` using the provided `docker-compose.yml` /
`.env.example` (copy `.env.example` to `.env` and adjust). CI builds and
pushes the image on push to `main` via `.gitea/workflows/docker.yml`.

## Config

All via env vars, see `.env.example`:

- `DEVELOP_MIN_HOURS` / `DEVELOP_MAX_HOURS` — randomized delay range for
  the "send to develop" path (default 2–48h).
- `INSTANT_TTL_HOURS` — retention for share links off the instant path
  (default 24h; deliberately shorter than the delayed path since it's a
  more casual "just give me a link" flow).
- `DELAYED_VIEW_WINDOW_HOURS` — how long a delayed image stays available
  *after* `develop_at` passes, before the TTL sweep deletes it (default
  168h / 7 days).
- `MAX_UPLOAD_BYTES`, `RATE_LIMIT_PER_HOUR` — basic abuse limits; no
  accounts or auth on any endpoint, the link itself is the credential.

## Non-goals

No accounts, no galleries, no e2e encryption (nothing here is sensitive —
the whole point is a link other people can open), no collaborative
editing.