fileserver

Fileserver Package

The fileserver package serves binary content (attachments, avatars) over plain HTTP instead of gRPC, so that HTTP range requests work — required for Safari video/audio playback (RFC 9110 §14). Metadata stays on the gRPC API; only bytes are served here.

Endpoints

GET /file/attachments/:uid[/:filename]   # attachment binary
    ?thumbnail=true                      # JPEG thumbnail for supported image types
    ?motion=true                         # embedded motion-photo video clip
    ?share_token={uid}                   # access via a memo share link
GET /file/users/:identifier/avatar       # user avatar (by username)

Authentication

Handled by server/auth (see authenticator.go and token.go for the constants and token formats). Priority: Authorization: Bearer header (access token or personal access token) first, then the refresh token cookie. See getCurrentUser in fileserver.go.

Authorization

Attachment access follows memo visibility, evaluated by core/access.CheckMemoReadContext:

• Public memo: no auth required (when the instance allows anonymous access)
• Protected memo: any authenticated user
• Private memo: creator only
• Valid share_token: grants access to that memo's attachments
• Unlinked attachment (no memo): creator or admin only

Avatars are public on instances that allow anonymous access; private instances require authentication.

Serving behavior

• Video/audio are streamed with range-request support (http.ServeFile / http.ServeContent for local and database storage); S3-backed media is proxied with ranged GetObject requests.
• Thumbnails are generated at max 600px, cached in {data_dir}/.thumbnail_cache/, with a semaphore capping concurrent generation. Images with HDR/wide-gamut metadata are served as originals, since re-encoding would strip it.
• Motion photos have their embedded video extracted and cached in {data_dir}/.motion_cache/.
• XSS prevention: script-capable MIME types are rewritten to application/octet-stream, non-media files get Content-Disposition: attachment, and all responses carry X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff plus a restrictive Content-Security-Policy.
• Caching: public attachments get public, no-cache; private ones private, no-store; avatars and thumbnails public, max-age=3600.

Testing

Unit tests live in fileserver_test.go, covering permission checks, streaming, thumbnails, and metadata detection. Manual checks:

curl "http://localhost:8081/file/attachments/{uid}/file.jpg"
curl -H "Range: bytes=0-999" "http://localhost:8081/file/attachments/{uid}/video.mp4"