ergosteurandClaude Opus 5 652747e0f1 feat: schedule the sync with systemd timers, and let the fetch host publish
mattellite's key is now in the NAS's authorized_keys for agentapi, so
gdl-sync.py publishes straight to the archive. That was the last manual step:
the 2026-08-20 run published locally and rsynced by hand with sshpass, which
no scheduled job could do. Verified end to end -- key auth, then a dry-run
rsync from the fetch host into the archive root.

Three timers, installed and enabled: stories daily, full monthly, sweep
quarterly. A templated gdl-sync@.service takes the mode as its instance name.

Settings that are load-bearing rather than decoration:

  RandomizedDelaySec=45m  a job firing at exactly 09:00 daily is obviously a
                          machine; list-timers now shows 09:36, not 09:00
  Persistent=true         catch up a run the host slept through -- cron just
                          skips, and a skipped stories run is content gone
  TimeoutStartSec=infinity  a sweep runs for hours at this pacing; the 90s
                          default would kill it mid-fetch

Two things caught while installing, both documented: month names are invalid
in OnCalendar's date field (Jan,Apr,Jul,Oct-07 is rejected -- use numerics,
and check with systemd-analyze calendar), and `systemctl --user` over
non-interactive ssh needs XDG_RUNTIME_DIR or it cannot find the bus.

Smoke-tested by starting the stories service: it spent zero Instagram requests
because the 20h floor skipped all six sources, which is exactly what a job
firing twice should do.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01UXfdJu7QhSJLr47K7koTDF
2026-08-20 20:03:53 -04:00
2026-08-20 15:36:17 -04:00
2026-08-20 15:36:17 -04:00

InstaArchive Viewer

A high-performance React PWA for browsing archived Instagram data with a native-feeling interface. Supports both official Instagram exports and Instaloader archives.

Features

  • Advanced Carousel: Seamless, zero-latency transitions between slides with intelligent preloading. Navigating between different posts is now near-instant thanks to inter-post background preloading.
  • High-Res Performance: Handles 50MP+ images effortlessly using a background Web Worker and a memory-safe serial processing queue.
  • Persistent Local Caching: Uses IndexedDB to store parsed archives and generated thumbnails. Local folders now load instantly from cache on return visits without needing to re-upload files.
  • Permalinks: State is synchronized with the URL, allowing you to share direct links to archives, tabs, or specific posts. Navigating back to the explorer cleans up URL parameters automatically.
  • Glassy Scanning UI: A refined, translucent white terminal experience with flicker-free, double-buffered dynamic blurred backgrounds.
  • PWA with Auto-Update: Fully offline-capable and installable. Clients automatically receive updates when a new version is deployed to the server.
  • Local Privacy: All processing is done client-side. Even when using the self-hosted version, your media is processed locally in your browser and never uploaded.
  • Smart Fallbacks: Automatically detects usernames from folder names and uses the oldest archive image as a profile picture if one is missing.
  • Customizable Grid: 1:1 or 3:4 aspect ratios with adjustable "bumps" for aesthetic alignment.
  • Story Viewer: Native-like story experience with segmented progress bars, auto-playback, and audio controls.
  • Navigation Protection: Intercepts accidental browser "Back" or "Refresh" actions to protect your current session.

Deployment

The easiest way to run InstaArchive is using Docker.

docker run -d \
  -p 3000:3000 \
  -v /path/to/your/archives:/archives:ro \
  ghcr.io/ergosteur/instaarchive-viewer:latest

Note for Linux/SELinux users: If you see "Permission Denied" in the logs, append ,z to your volume mount: -v /path/to/archives:/archives:ro,z

Docker Compose

Create a compose.yml file:

services:
  instaarchive:
    image: ghcr.io/ergosteur/instaarchive-viewer:latest
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    volumes:
      - ./archives:/archives:ro,z # ,z handles SELinux permissions

Troubleshooting Permissions

If the app shows "No Archives Found" and logs EACCES: permission denied:

  1. Check Directory Permissions: Ensure the archive folder is world-readable:
    chmod -R 755 /path/to/archives
    
  2. SELinux (Fedora/RHEL/CentOS): Use the :z flag in your volume mount as shown above.
  3. User Mapping: The container runs as the non-root node user (UID 1000). If your archives are readable only by another account, run as that user instead — the container needs to list the archive directory, so --x (traverse-only) permissions are not enough:
    docker run --user $(stat -c '%u:%g' /path/to/archives) ...
    
    In Compose:
    services:
      instaarchive:
        user: "1234:1234"   # a UID that can read your archives
    

Archive Index

On first start the server walks the archive root once and caches the result, keyed by directory mtime. This matters on network storage: for a 110k-file archive root, listing went from ~52s per request to ~0.1s. Mount a volume at /cache (or set CACHE_DIR) so the index survives restarts, otherwise it is rebuilt on every start.

Supported Archive Structure

Place your archive folders inside the mounted /archives directory. The directory name will be used as the account username.

Example Structure:

archives/
├── wanderlust_explorer/          # Instaloader format
│   ├── 2024-01-01_12-00-00_UTC.jpg
│   ├── 2024-01-01_12-00-00_UTC.json.xz
│   └── wanderlust_explorer_profile_pic.jpg
└── pixel_architect/             # Instagram Export format
    ├── 2023-12-25_pixel_architect - post_123.jpg
    ├── 2023-12-25_pixel_architect - post_123.json
    └── pixel_architect.jpg

Local Development

Prerequisites: Node.js (LTS recommended)

  1. Install dependencies: npm install
  2. Start dev server: npm run dev (Frontend on port 3000)
  3. Start local backend: npm run server (Optional, serves ./_sample-archives on port 3001)
  4. Build production: npm run build (Generates ./dist for frontend and ./dist-server for the API)
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