Ingest is the media offload + verification panel. Its job is to take a source (card/folder or an explicit file list), copy it to a destination (optionally a second backup destination), and prove the copy is correct.

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Core responsibilities

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1) Source acquisition

• Accepts either:

  • a source folder (typical card/drive offload), or

  • a source file list (hand-selected files)

• Resolves paths and builds a deterministic “job plan” (what will be copied, where it will land, and how it will be verified).

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2) Copy execution

• Copies files using a “safe write” strategy (temp output then rename) so you don’t end up with partial files that look complete.

• Supports preserving the source folder structure or flattening into a single-level destination layout (depending on workflow).

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3) Verification
Verification is an explicit job setting. It’s not implied and it’s not silent.

• Default is hash verification (fast, reliable).

• Optional byte-for-byte compare exists (slow, absolute).

• “No verification” is treated as a risk state and requires an explicit user confirmation.

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4) Deduplication

• “Skip duplicates” is implemented via a persistent hash cache so repeat ingests don’t waste time/disk.

• Cache writes are crash-safe (atomic write + recovery behavior).

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Operational modes

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Normal Ingest

For standard offloads.

• Source: folder or file list

• Destination: required

• Backup destination: optional

• Options: flatten/preserve structure, extension filters, verification method, skip duplicates, ignore/cache behavior

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Clone Mode (selective folder cloning)

For “copy parts of this drive/card, not everything.”

• Source: folder only

• Selection: folder tree (choose subfolders)

• Same copy/verify/dedupe pipeline as Normal Ingest, but the job plan is built from the selected tree nodes.

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Watch Mode (continuous ingest)

For “ingest anything new that appears in this folder.”

• Source: watch folder only (not a manual file list)

• Tracks already-processed items internally to prevent reprocessing.

• Preserves relative paths under the watch root so subfolders mirror cleanly.

• Includes guardrails to prevent writing outputs back into the watched tree (classic infinite loop failure).

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Safety and guardrails

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Path sanity

• Validates source/destination early.

• Enforces approved-path rules for filesystem scanning and estimation (prevents unintended traversal).

• Avoids symlink loops and “escape the root” traversal during size/byte estimation.

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Noise control

• Default ignore patterns exclude typical junk/dev/cache directories.

• “Include cache” flips that policy intentionally.

• Always-skipped system junk stays skipped because it adds risk/no value.

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Automation hook (n8n webhook)

• Optional webhook call on ingest events (and optionally include logs/metadata).

• URL validation is strict, with protections against accidentally targeting private/local addresses unless explicitly allowed.

• Bad webhook config blocks queueing so jobs don’t run with broken automation assumptions.

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What the user experiences in practice

• Pick source(s) → pick destination(s) → choose mode/options → queue job.

• Panel shows progress, logs, and final status.

• Verification/QC failures produce actionable “this file failed and why” outcomes instead of silent corruption.

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