Downloads

A download is a request to package one or more visible files, optionally converted, into a single object in the assets bucket. Small requests are built during the request; larger ones are built by the worker and announced by email. Every link expires after 7 days.

The download record

downloads stores who asked, which collection_files ids, the chosen options and the lifecycle:

Field	Values
`status`	`preparing`, `ready`, `expired`
`type`	`direct`, `email`
`image_format`	`original`, `png`, `jpg`, `webp`
`image_resolution`	`high`, `medium`, `low`
`video_format`	`original`, `mp4`, `webm`
`video_resolution`	`high`, `medium`, `low`
`expires_at`	Creation time plus 7 days

The object is stored under downloads/{id} in the assets bucket (see Object storage).

Create a download

download.create (approved users) first re-reads the requested collection_files through the visibility query, so files the user cannot see are silently dropped. If the total size of the remaining files is 10 GB or more, it fails with You cannot download more than 10GB. It then saves the record with status preparing and:

for direct, builds the archive inside the request and returns the record as ready;
for email, pushes download/create-archive; that job builds the archive, then pushes mailer/download-ready, which emails a presigned link to the object.

The client applies stricter defaults before the server limit:

For a single file, collection.getFiles returns allowDirectDownload only when the selection is at most 2 GB; otherwise the Direct download option is disabled and only Create a link remains.
For several files, CollectionModalDownloadMulti.vue disables direct download above 5 GB or above 300 images, and disables PNG, JPG and WebP conversion above 300 images. The email option is described as A zip is saved for 7 days in My Downloads. You will receive an email with the link when ready.

License acceptance shown in these dialogs is covered in Licenses.

What the archive contains

createDownloadArchive in server/src/services/download.ts:

With one file, uploads the (possibly converted) file directly with a Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="..." header.
With several files, streams a zip with compression level 0 (store only) and places each file at export/<collection path>/<file name>, where the path is the chain of collection names from the root. Up to 25 files are fetched and converted in parallel.

Conversions run only on files whose MIME type starts with image/ or video/ and only when the format is not original; other files are copied as is. The output extension replaces the original one.

Option	Implementation
Image `high` / `medium` / `low`	`sharp` quality 100 / 70 / 40 for `jpg`, `webp` and `png`
Video `mp4`	ffmpeg with `libx264`
Video `webm`	ffmpeg with `libvpx`
Video `high` / `medium` / `low`	Scaled to a width of 7680 / 1920 / 720 pixels, height kept proportional

Temporary files are written under the system temp directory and removed when the job ends. ffmpeg must be installed on the host; the server/Dockerfile provides it.

Links expire after 7 days

The download/process-expired job runs every minute (* * * * *). It selects downloads whose expires_at is in the past and whose status is not expired, deletes the object downloads/{id} from the bucket, and sets the status to expired. Deleting a user removes their downloads and objects immediately.

download.list returns the caller’s ready and preparing downloads, plus expired ones updated within the last month, so expired entries remain visible for about 30 days.

The public download URL

A ready download exposes url as API_URL/v1/downloads/{id}. The route in server/src/server.ts:

Loads the download; if it does not exist or expires_at has passed, redirects to APP_URL/link-expired.
Otherwise generates a presigned GET URL for downloads/{id} and redirects to it.

The route carries no authentication, which is what makes the Copy URL action shareable. Anyone holding the link can fetch the object until expiry.

The member dialog

DialogMemberDownloads.vue lists the downloads with Creation date, Expiration date, Status and Number of files, with Download and Copy URL buttons enabled only when a URL exists. A green New badge marks email downloads that became ready since the dialog was last seen.

client/src/stores/downloadStore.ts polls download.list every 500 ms while an email download is preparing and stops when none is left, which is how the badge appears without a reload. Queue names and schedules are listed in Background jobs.