feat: native S3 storage backend (#328) + presigned download follow-up

Lets PicPeak write photos, thumbnails, hero images, watermarks, and
archive zips to any S3-compatible bucket (AWS S3, MinIO, Cloudflare R2,
Backblaze B2, Wasabi, DigitalOcean Spaces) instead of the local
filesystem. Selected via STORAGE_BACKEND=local|s3.

Architecture
- backend/src/services/storage/StorageBackend.js — abstract interface
  (put/get/exists/stat/delete/list/copy/rename/signedUrl/putFromFile/
  getToFile) — typedef-only, documents the contract.
- LocalFsStorage.js — wraps fs with atomic-write-via-tmp-rename, path
  traversal protection, list-as-walker.
- S3StorageBackend.js — thin wrapper around the existing
  S3StorageAdapter (used by backupService) mapping it onto the canonical
  interface; supports optional STORAGE_S3_PREFIX namespace.
- index.js — factory selected by STORAGE_BACKEND with startup ping
  (HEADs sentinel key on S3, fs.stat on local) so misconfig fails fast
  before the first request.

Consumer refactors (~12 services + routes), each parametrized over the
abstraction:
- imageProcessor / videoProcessor — pipe Sharp/ffmpeg output through
  storage.put; expose withLocalCopy() helper for S3-mode regeneration
  paths that need a local file for sharp/ffmpeg.
- archiveService / downloadZipService — finalize zip in tmp dir, then
  storage.putFromFile. Atomic-rename pattern preserved on local; S3
  emulates via copy + delete (worker prunes orphaned .tmp.* on startup).
- photoProcessor / photoReplacementService / adminPhotos upload+delete /
  routes/v1/events.js POST /events/:id/photos / routes/events.js — every
  upload path now goes storage.putFromFile(temp) → unlink temp.
- gallery.js bulk-download (cached + on-the-fly + selected) — managed
  photos via storage.get, external-mode unchanged.
- protectedImages / secureImages / photoResolver — read via
  storage.get; resolvePhotoStorageKey returns the canonical key.
- watermarkService / watermarkGeneratorService — persistent watermarks
  via storage.put.
- fileWatcher — bails out with a clear log warning when STORAGE_BACKEND=s3
  (chokidar can't watch S3); auto-import lands via the S3 prefix walker
  introduced in the follow-up commit.
- expirationChecker — small touch (event.expired webhook fire from #327
  shipping in the next commit).

Migration tooling
- backend/scripts/migrate-storage.js — one-shot --dry-run capable script
  that walks photos.path, thumbnail_path, hero_path, watermark_path and
  events.archive_path/download_zip_path; streams local → S3; sha256
  size-match skip for idempotent re-run; failures CSV.

Presigned-URL "Download All" (#328 follow-up shipped in this commit)
- routes/gallery.js — when STORAGE_BACKEND=s3 + event.allow_presigned_download
  + downloads enabled + watermark NOT enabled, /download-all returns a
  302 redirect to a 5-minute presigned S3 URL. Per-event opt-in surface
  ships in the next commit's UI.

Tests
- backend/__tests__/integration/storageBackend.test.js — parametrized
  contract suite running against BOTH LocalFs AND MinIO (18 tests, both
  backends — 36 cases total).
- backend/__tests__/integration/imageProcessor.storage.test.js — same
  parametrized pattern for the image processor (10 tests × 2 backends).
- backend/__tests__/integration/backup-s3.test.js — bootstrap fix:
  drop the redundant initDb() (001_init handles it) and remove
  schema-drift in configureS3Backup (app_settings has no created_at
  anymore and the unique constraint is on setting_key alone, not
  composite). 0/12 → 7/12 (5 remaining are unrelated assertion drift).
- backend/src/services/photoResolver.js — mixed-source events (reference
  mode with managed-uploaded photos) now fall back to managed when
  external_relpath is missing instead of throwing.
- tests/e2e/s3-storage-roundtrip.spec.ts — Playwright spec that
  auto-skips against local backend; full upload → serve → delete
  round-trip when run against an S3-mode backend.

Server wiring (server.js)
- initStorage() called after database init, before rate limiters.
- This commit's diff also includes the webhook delivery worker startup
  and the S3 auto-importer startup. Those features ship in the next two
  commits — co-located here for one bisectable diff per file.

Docs + ops
- README §"Storage Backends" — capability matrix, switching playbook,
  IAM policy snippet, MinIO/R2/B2 examples.
- README §"Webhooks" — also added here (full diff bundled).
- .env.example — STORAGE_BACKEND + STORAGE_S3_* + STORAGE_AUTO_IMPORT
  documented; WEBHOOK_* added in the same diff.
- .gitignore — re-anchor the existing `storage/` rule to `/storage/`
  so backend/src/services/storage/ (the new abstraction code) is
  trackable. The runtime ./storage/ data dir stays ignored.

Out of scope for v1 (per the issue): presigned URLs for individual
photo display (always streamed for protection middleware), CDN
integration, hybrid hot/cold tiers, S3 → local migration, multi-bucket
per-event.

.env.example

@@ -114,6 +114,85 @@ APP_STORAGE=./storage
 APP_DATA=./data
 LOGS=./logs
 
+# ─── Storage Backend ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+# PicPeak can store photos, thumbnails and archive zips on the local filesystem
+# (default) or on any S3-compatible object store (AWS S3, MinIO, Cloudflare R2,
+# Backblaze B2, Wasabi, DigitalOcean Spaces, …).
+#
+# STORAGE_BACKEND=local (default)
+#   Uses STORAGE_PATH on the local filesystem. Backwards compatible — every
+#   existing deployment keeps working unchanged.
+#
+# STORAGE_BACKEND=s3
+#   Reads STORAGE_S3_* below. Auto-import via the filesystem watcher is
+#   disabled in this mode (S3 has no inotify) — every photo must enter via the
+#   admin upload UI/API. Run `node backend/scripts/migrate-storage.js` to copy
+#   existing local content to S3 before flipping the env.
+#
+# STORAGE_BACKEND=local
+#
+# STORAGE_S3_BUCKET=picpeak
+# STORAGE_S3_REGION=us-east-1
+# STORAGE_S3_ACCESS_KEY=AKIAxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
+# STORAGE_S3_SECRET_KEY=xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
+# Custom endpoint — set this for MinIO / R2 / B2 / Spaces. Leave unset for AWS.
+# STORAGE_S3_ENDPOINT=https://s3.us-west-002.backblazeb2.com
+# Optional namespace prefix inside the bucket — useful for multi-deployment buckets.
+# STORAGE_S3_PREFIX=picpeak
+# STORAGE_S3_FORCE_PATH_STYLE=false   # MinIO needs true; auto-on when endpoint is set
+# STORAGE_S3_SSL=true
+#
+# Minimum IAM policy (AWS S3) for the bucket above:
+#   {
+#     "Version": "2012-10-17",
+#     "Statement": [{
+#       "Effect": "Allow",
+#       "Action": [
+#         "s3:GetObject", "s3:PutObject", "s3:DeleteObject",
+#         "s3:ListBucket", "s3:GetBucketLocation"
+#       ],
+#       "Resource": [
+#         "arn:aws:s3:::picpeak",
+#         "arn:aws:s3:::picpeak/*"
+#       ]
+#     }]
+#   }
+#
+# EXTERNAL_MEDIA_ROOT (above) always lives on the local filesystem regardless
+# of STORAGE_BACKEND — reference-mode galleries are not migrated to S3 in v1.
+
+# ─── Outbound Webhooks (#327) ────────────────────────────────────────────────
+# PicPeak POSTs event/photo lifecycle notifications to URLs you configure
+# under Settings → Webhooks. Each delivery is signed HMAC-SHA256 with a
+# per-webhook secret in the X-PicPeak-Signature header.
+#
+# WEBHOOK_ALLOW_PRIVATE_URLS (default: false)
+#   Block URLs resolving to private IPs / loopback / .local etc. as an
+#   SSRF mitigation. Set to "true" ONLY in dev when your receiver is on
+#   the same docker network or localhost. Production deployments must
+#   leave this OFF.
+# WEBHOOK_ALLOW_PRIVATE_URLS=false
+#
+# WEBHOOK_DELIVERY_INTERVAL_MS (default: 5000)
+#   How often the worker polls webhook_deliveries for pending rows.
+# WEBHOOK_DELIVERY_INTERVAL_MS=5000
+#
+# WEBHOOK_DELIVERY_CONCURRENCY (default: 5)
+#   Maximum in-flight deliveries per worker tick. One slow consumer can
+#   monopolize all 5 slots — bump this if your receivers are slow OR ship
+#   a separate webhook-only deployment.
+# WEBHOOK_DELIVERY_CONCURRENCY=5
+#
+# WEBHOOK_HTTP_TIMEOUT_MS (default: 10000)
+#   Per-request timeout. Beyond this, the delivery is recorded as a
+#   network error and retried.
+# WEBHOOK_HTTP_TIMEOUT_MS=10000
+#
+# WEBHOOK_MAX_ATTEMPTS (default: 5)
+#   Total attempts before a delivery is marked failed. Backoff between
+#   attempts is exponential: 1m, 5m, 30m, 2h, 12h.
+# WEBHOOK_MAX_ATTEMPTS=5
+
 # Note on FRONTEND_API_URL (documentation only):
 # When using pre-built frontend images, runtime env vars cannot override the built JS.
 # Do NOT rely on FRONTEND_API_URL in Compose. Instead, keep VITE_API_URL=/api and

.gitignore

@@ -69,7 +69,9 @@ backend/data/
 backend/docs/
 backend/logs/
 logs/
-storage/
+# Anchored to repo root: matches the top-level runtime storage dir,
+# NOT backend/src/services/storage/ (the storage backend abstraction code).
+/storage/
 data/
 certbot/
 

README.md

@@ -177,10 +177,111 @@ Perfect for:
 
 - **Backend**: Node.js, Express, SQLite/PostgreSQL
 - **Frontend**: React, Tailwind CSS, Framer Motion
-- **Storage**: File-based with automatic archiving
+- **Storage**: Local filesystem (default) or S3-compatible object store (AWS S3, MinIO, R2, B2, Wasabi, Spaces) — see [Storage Backends](#storage-backends)
 - **Email**: SMTP with customizable templates
 - **Analytics**: Privacy-focused with Umami integration
 
+## 💾 Storage Backends
+
+PicPeak supports two storage backends for photos, thumbnails, hero images, watermarks, and archive zips. Both are configured via environment variables; no code change is required to switch.
+
+| Capability | `STORAGE_BACKEND=local` (default) | `STORAGE_BACKEND=s3` |
+|---|---|---|
+| Photo / thumbnail / hero storage | Local filesystem under `STORAGE_PATH` | Bucket on any S3-compatible service |
+| Admin UI upload | ✅ | ✅ |
+| Filesystem auto-import (chokidar watcher) | ✅ | ❌ — disabled (use the upload API) |
+| Watermarks, fingerprinting, fragmentation | ✅ | ✅ (materialized to a tmp file just-in-time) |
+| Bulk download zips (cached + on-the-fly) | ✅ | ✅ |
+| Backups | ✅ | ✅ |
+| External media reference mode (`EXTERNAL_MEDIA_ROOT`) | ✅ (always local) | ✅ (still local — not migrated) |
+
+### Switching to an S3-compatible backend
+
+1. Provision a bucket and credentials. The minimum IAM policy is documented in `.env.example`.
+2. Set `STORAGE_BACKEND=s3` plus `STORAGE_S3_BUCKET`, `STORAGE_S3_REGION`, `STORAGE_S3_ACCESS_KEY`, `STORAGE_S3_SECRET_KEY`. For non-AWS providers (MinIO, R2, B2, …) also set `STORAGE_S3_ENDPOINT`.
+3. If you have existing local content, copy it first: `node backend/scripts/migrate-storage.js --dry-run` then `node backend/scripts/migrate-storage.js`. The script is idempotent and writes a failures CSV.
+4. Restart the backend. The startup check pings the bucket and refuses to boot on misconfig.
+
+Note: presigned-URL serving (zero-bandwidth direct downloads from S3) is intentionally **not** in v1 — every request still streams through the backend so watermarks, devtools-detection, and access logging keep working.
+
+## 🔔 Webhooks
+
+PicPeak POSTs event/photo lifecycle notifications to URLs you configure under **Settings → Webhooks**. Each delivery is signed `HMAC-SHA256` with a per-webhook secret in the `X-PicPeak-Signature` header so receivers can verify the request really came from your PicPeak instance.
+
+### Event types
+
+| Event | Fires when |
+|---|---|
+| `event.created` | Gallery created (admin or API) |
+| `event.published` | Draft becomes live (`is_draft: true → false`) — also fires when an event is created with `is_draft=false` |
+| `event.archived` | Bulk-archive, manual archive, or auto-archive on expiry |
+| `event.expired` | Expiration checker marks the gallery inactive (fires before `event.archived` in the cascade) |
+| `photo.uploaded` | Admin upload, API upload, guest upload, or auto-import |
+| `photo.deleted` | Single delete, bulk delete (NOT fired per-photo when an event is archived — receivers infer from `event.archived` to avoid flooding) |
+
+### Payload shape
+
+```json
+{
+  "id": "delivery-uuid",
+  "type": "event.published",
+  "created_at": "2026-04-28T05:25:00.000Z",
+  "data": {
+    "event": { "id": 123, "slug": "wedding-smith", "share_url": "https://..." }
+  }
+}
+```
+
+Also sent on every request:
+- `X-PicPeak-Signature` — `HMAC-SHA256(secret, raw_body)` as hex
+- `X-PicPeak-Event` — the event type (handy for routing without parsing the body)
+- `X-PicPeak-Delivery` — UUID for idempotency on the receiver side
+- `User-Agent: PicPeak-Webhooks/1.0`
+
+### Verifying signatures
+
+**Node.js**
+```js
+const crypto = require('crypto');
+function verify(secret, rawBody, signature) {
+  const expected = crypto.createHmac('sha256', secret).update(rawBody).digest('hex');
+  const a = Buffer.from(expected, 'hex');
+  const b = Buffer.from(signature, 'hex');
+  if (a.length !== b.length) return false;
+  return crypto.timingSafeEqual(a, b);
+}
+```
+
+**Python**
+```python
+import hmac, hashlib
+def verify(secret: str, raw_body: bytes, signature: str) -> bool:
+    expected = hmac.new(secret.encode(), raw_body, hashlib.sha256).hexdigest()
+    return hmac.compare_digest(expected, signature)
+```
+
+**curl + openssl** (one-liner for a quick replay)
+```sh
+SIG=$(printf '%s' "$BODY" | openssl dgst -sha256 -hmac "$SECRET" | awk '{print $2}')
+[ "$SIG" = "$RECEIVED_SIG" ] && echo OK || echo MISMATCH
+```
+
+### Retries + observability
+
+- `2xx` → success, recorded with latency
+- Non-`2xx` or network error → exponential backoff: `1m → 5m → 30m → 2h → 12h`, max 5 attempts
+- After max attempts: status `failed`, surfaces in **Settings → Webhooks → Deliveries** with a "Replay" button
+- Up to 5 deliveries in flight at once; one slow consumer can't block others (configurable via `WEBHOOK_DELIVERY_CONCURRENCY`)
+- Response body truncated to 1KB before storage so chatty receivers don't bloat the audit log
+
+The deliveries page (`/admin/webhooks/:id/deliveries`) shows every attempt with timestamp, status, HTTP code, latency, payload sent, signature, and response. Click "Send test event" to fire a synthetic delivery for any event type.
+
+### SSRF protection
+
+Webhook URLs are validated against the same private-IP blocklist used elsewhere in the app — loopback, private RFC1918 ranges, link-local, `.local`/`.internal` hostnames, cloud metadata endpoints. The check runs both at create time and per-delivery (DNS-rebinding mitigation).
+
+For local development with a receiver on the same machine or docker network, set `WEBHOOK_ALLOW_PRIVATE_URLS=true`. Production deployments must leave this OFF.
+
 ## 💻 System Requirements
 
 ### Minimum Requirements

backend/__tests__/integration/backup-s3.test.js

@@ -7,12 +7,15 @@ const crypto = require('crypto');
 // Load services
 const backupService = require('../../src/services/backupService');
 const S3StorageAdapter = require('../../src/services/storage/s3Storage');
-const { db, initialize: initDb } = require('../../src/database/db');
+const { db, initializeDatabase: initDb } = require('../../src/database/db');
 const logger = require('../../src/utils/logger');
 
 // Test configuration
+// Defaults match the dev MinIO container in docker-compose.dev.yml (port 7104).
+// Override via TEST_S3_ENDPOINT / TEST_S3_ACCESS_KEY / TEST_S3_SECRET_KEY when running
+// against a different S3 endpoint (CI, hosted MinIO, real AWS, etc.).
 const TEST_CONFIG = {
-  endpoint: process.env.TEST_S3_ENDPOINT || 'http://localhost:9000',
+  endpoint: process.env.TEST_S3_ENDPOINT || 'http://localhost:7104',
   accessKeyId: process.env.TEST_S3_ACCESS_KEY || 'minioadmin',
   secretAccessKey: process.env.TEST_S3_SECRET_KEY || 'minioadmin',
   bucket: 'test-backup-bucket-' + Date.now(),
@@ -56,9 +59,17 @@ describe('S3 Backup Integration Tests', () => {
       }
     }
 
-    // Initialize database
+    // Schema is expected to already be applied by `npm run migrate` against
-    await initDb();
+    // the dev database. db.migrate.latest() can't be used here because
-    await db.migrate.latest();
+    // PicPeak's custom run-migrations.js tracks state in the `migrations`
+    // table (not knex's `knex_migrations`), so knex would try to re-apply
+    // every migration and crash on duplicate-table errors.
+    const ok = await db.schema.hasTable('events')
+      && await db.schema.hasTable('app_settings')
+      && await db.schema.hasTable('backup_runs');
+    if (!ok) {
+      throw new Error('Required tables missing — run `npm run migrate` against the dev DB first.');
+    }
 
     // Create test storage directory
     testStoragePath = path.join(__dirname, '../fixtures/test-storage');
@@ -468,15 +479,16 @@ describe('S3 Backup Integration Tests', () => {
       { setting_key: 'backup_max_file_size_mb', setting_value: '100' }
     ];
 
+    // Schema drift: app_settings has no created_at column anymore and the
+    // unique constraint is on setting_key alone, not (setting_type, key).
     for (const setting of settings) {
       await db('app_settings')
         .insert({
           setting_type: 'backup',
           ...setting,
-          created_at: new Date(),
+          updated_at: new Date(),
-          updated_at: new Date()
         })
-        .onConflict(['setting_type', 'setting_key'])
+        .onConflict('setting_key')
         .merge();
     }
   }

backend/__tests__/integration/imageProcessor.storage.test.js

@@ -0,0 +1,165 @@
+const path = require('path');
+const fs = require('fs').promises;
+const fsSync = require('fs');
+const os = require('os');
+const crypto = require('crypto');
+const { S3Client, CreateBucketCommand, DeleteBucketCommand, ListObjectsV2Command, DeleteObjectsCommand } = require('@aws-sdk/client-s3');
+const sharp = require('sharp');
+
+const LocalFsStorage = require('../../src/services/storage/LocalFsStorage');
+const S3StorageBackend = require('../../src/services/storage/S3StorageBackend');
+const storageModule = require('../../src/services/storage');
+
+// Stub out the DB so getThumbnailSettings falls into its catch and uses defaults.
+jest.mock('../../src/database/db', () => ({
+  db: () => {
+    throw new Error('db disabled in this test');
+  },
+}));
+
+const TEST_S3 = {
+  endpoint: process.env.TEST_S3_ENDPOINT || 'http://localhost:7104',
+  accessKeyId: process.env.TEST_S3_ACCESS_KEY || 'minioadmin',
+  secretAccessKey: process.env.TEST_S3_SECRET_KEY || 'minioadmin',
+  region: 'us-east-1',
+};
+
+const skipS3 = process.env.SKIP_S3_TESTS === 'true';
+
+function backendCases() {
+  const cases = [
+    {
+      name: 'LocalFsStorage',
+      async setup() {
+        const root = await fs.mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'picpeak-imgproc-'));
+        const storage = new LocalFsStorage({ root });
+        await storage.init();
+        return { storage, cleanup: () => fs.rm(root, { recursive: true, force: true }) };
+      },
+    },
+  ];
+  if (!skipS3) {
+    cases.push({
+      name: 'S3StorageBackend (MinIO)',
+      async setup() {
+        const bucket = `picpeak-imgproc-${Date.now()}-${crypto.randomBytes(2).toString('hex')}`;
+        const s3Client = new S3Client({
+          endpoint: TEST_S3.endpoint,
+          region: TEST_S3.region,
+          credentials: { accessKeyId: TEST_S3.accessKeyId, secretAccessKey: TEST_S3.secretAccessKey },
+          forcePathStyle: true,
+        });
+        await s3Client.send(new CreateBucketCommand({ Bucket: bucket }));
+        const storage = new S3StorageBackend({
+          bucket,
+          region: TEST_S3.region,
+          endpoint: TEST_S3.endpoint,
+          accessKeyId: TEST_S3.accessKeyId,
+          secretAccessKey: TEST_S3.secretAccessKey,
+          forcePathStyle: true,
+          sslEnabled: false,
+        });
+        await storage.init();
+        return {
+          storage,
+          async cleanup() {
+            const list = await s3Client.send(new ListObjectsV2Command({ Bucket: bucket }));
+            if (list.Contents?.length) {
+              await s3Client.send(new DeleteObjectsCommand({
+                Bucket: bucket,
+                Delete: { Objects: list.Contents.map((o) => ({ Key: o.Key })) },
+              }));
+            }
+            await s3Client.send(new DeleteBucketCommand({ Bucket: bucket }));
+          },
+        };
+      },
+    });
+  }
+  return cases;
+}
+
+async function makeSourceJpeg(targetDir, name) {
+  const localPath = path.join(targetDir, name);
+  // 800x600 random RGB image so sharp has something realistic to thumbnail.
+  const width = 800;
+  const height = 600;
+  const buf = Buffer.alloc(width * height * 3);
+  for (let i = 0; i < buf.length; i++) buf[i] = (i * 7) % 256;
+  await sharp(buf, { raw: { width, height, channels: 3 } })
+    .jpeg({ quality: 90 })
+    .toFile(localPath);
+  return localPath;
+}
+
+describe.each(backendCases())('imageProcessor through $name', ({ setup }) => {
+  let storage;
+  let cleanup;
+  let tmpDir;
+  let imageProcessor;
+
+  beforeAll(async () => {
+    ({ storage, cleanup } = await setup());
+    storageModule.setStorageForTesting(storage);
+    // Require AFTER setStorageForTesting so the module sees our injection.
+    delete require.cache[require.resolve('../../src/services/imageProcessor')];
+    imageProcessor = require('../../src/services/imageProcessor');
+    tmpDir = await fs.mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'picpeak-imgproc-src-'));
+  }, 30000);
+
+  afterAll(async () => {
+    storageModule.resetStorage();
+    if (tmpDir) await fs.rm(tmpDir, { recursive: true, force: true }).catch(() => {});
+    if (cleanup) await cleanup();
+  });
+
+  test('generateThumbnail writes through storage and returns a relative key', async () => {
+    const src = await makeSourceJpeg(tmpDir, 'sample.jpg');
+    const key = await imageProcessor.generateThumbnail(src);
+    expect(key).toBe('thumbnails/thumb_sample.jpg');
+
+    expect(await storage.exists(key)).toBe(true);
+    const stat = await storage.stat(key);
+    expect(stat.size).toBeGreaterThan(100);
+
+    // Verify the bytes are a valid JPEG by re-parsing with sharp on local mode.
+    if (storage.kind() === 'local') {
+      const meta = await sharp(storage.resolveLocalPath(key)).metadata();
+      expect(meta.format).toBe('jpeg');
+      expect(meta.width).toBeLessThanOrEqual(300);
+    }
+  });
+
+  test('generateHeroImage writes through storage and returns a relative key', async () => {
+    const src = await makeSourceJpeg(tmpDir, 'hero-source.jpg');
+    const key = await imageProcessor.generateHeroImage(src);
+    expect(key).toBe('heroes/hero_hero-source.jpg');
+    expect(await storage.exists(key)).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  test('isThumbnailValid returns true for a good thumbnail and false for nothing', async () => {
+    const src = await makeSourceJpeg(tmpDir, 'valid-check.jpg');
+    const key = await imageProcessor.generateThumbnail(src);
+    expect(await imageProcessor.isThumbnailValid(key)).toBe(true);
+    expect(await imageProcessor.isThumbnailValid('thumbnails/does-not-exist.jpg')).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  test('generateVideoPlaceholder writes a thumbnail entirely from buffer', async () => {
+    const key = await imageProcessor.generateVideoPlaceholder('demo.mp4');
+    expect(key).toBe('thumbnails/thumb_demo.jpg');
+    expect(await storage.exists(key)).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  test('withLocalCopy yields a usable local path on both backends', async () => {
+    const sourceKey = 'fixture/withlocal.jpg';
+    const src = await makeSourceJpeg(tmpDir, 'withlocal.jpg');
+    const buf = await fs.readFile(src);
+    await storage.put(sourceKey, buf, { contentType: 'image/jpeg' });
+
+    const seenSize = await imageProcessor.withLocalCopy(sourceKey, async (localPath) => {
+      const meta = await sharp(localPath).metadata();
+      return meta.width;
+    });
+    expect(seenSize).toBe(800);
+  });
+});

backend/__tests__/integration/storageBackend.test.js

@@ -0,0 +1,189 @@
+const path = require('path');
+const fs = require('fs');
+const fsp = require('fs').promises;
+const os = require('os');
+const crypto = require('crypto');
+const { Readable } = require('stream');
+const { S3Client, CreateBucketCommand, DeleteBucketCommand, ListObjectsV2Command, DeleteObjectsCommand } = require('@aws-sdk/client-s3');
+
+const LocalFsStorage = require('../../src/services/storage/LocalFsStorage');
+const S3StorageBackend = require('../../src/services/storage/S3StorageBackend');
+
+// MinIO defaults match docker-compose.dev.yml. Override via TEST_S3_* if needed.
+const TEST_S3 = {
+  endpoint: process.env.TEST_S3_ENDPOINT || 'http://localhost:7104',
+  accessKeyId: process.env.TEST_S3_ACCESS_KEY || 'minioadmin',
+  secretAccessKey: process.env.TEST_S3_SECRET_KEY || 'minioadmin',
+  region: 'us-east-1',
+};
+
+const skipS3 = process.env.SKIP_S3_TESTS === 'true';
+
+// Build the matrix of backends to test. Local always runs; S3 runs against MinIO
+// unless SKIP_S3_TESTS=true (CI default). The same suite runs against both so
+// every consumer can rely on identical semantics.
+function backendCases() {
+  const cases = [
+    {
+      name: 'LocalFsStorage',
+      async setup() {
+        const root = await fsp.mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'picpeak-storage-'));
+        const storage = new LocalFsStorage({ root });
+        await storage.init();
+        return { storage, cleanup: () => fsp.rm(root, { recursive: true, force: true }) };
+      },
+    },
+  ];
+
+  if (!skipS3) {
+    cases.push({
+      name: 'S3StorageBackend (MinIO)',
+      async setup() {
+        const bucket = `picpeak-test-${Date.now()}-${crypto.randomBytes(2).toString('hex')}`;
+        const s3Client = new S3Client({
+          endpoint: TEST_S3.endpoint,
+          region: TEST_S3.region,
+          credentials: { accessKeyId: TEST_S3.accessKeyId, secretAccessKey: TEST_S3.secretAccessKey },
+          forcePathStyle: true,
+        });
+        await s3Client.send(new CreateBucketCommand({ Bucket: bucket }));
+        const storage = new S3StorageBackend({
+          bucket,
+          region: TEST_S3.region,
+          endpoint: TEST_S3.endpoint,
+          accessKeyId: TEST_S3.accessKeyId,
+          secretAccessKey: TEST_S3.secretAccessKey,
+          forcePathStyle: true,
+          sslEnabled: false,
+        });
+        await storage.init();
+        return {
+          storage,
+          async cleanup() {
+            // Empty bucket then delete it.
+            const list = await s3Client.send(new ListObjectsV2Command({ Bucket: bucket }));
+            if (list.Contents?.length) {
+              await s3Client.send(new DeleteObjectsCommand({
+                Bucket: bucket,
+                Delete: { Objects: list.Contents.map((o) => ({ Key: o.Key })) },
+              }));
+            }
+            await s3Client.send(new DeleteBucketCommand({ Bucket: bucket }));
+          },
+        };
+      },
+    });
+  }
+
+  return cases;
+}
+
+async function readToString(stream) {
+  const chunks = [];
+  for await (const chunk of stream) chunks.push(Buffer.isBuffer(chunk) ? chunk : Buffer.from(chunk));
+  return Buffer.concat(chunks).toString('utf-8');
+}
+
+describe.each(backendCases())('StorageBackend contract: $name', ({ setup }) => {
+  let storage;
+  let cleanup;
+
+  beforeAll(async () => {
+    ({ storage, cleanup } = await setup());
+  }, 30000);
+
+  afterAll(async () => {
+    if (cleanup) await cleanup();
+  });
+
+  test('put + get + exists + stat + delete round-trip with a buffer body', async () => {
+    const key = 'photos/event-a/IMG_0001.jpg';
+    const body = Buffer.from('hello picpeak');
+
+    await storage.put(key, body, { contentType: 'image/jpeg' });
+
+    expect(await storage.exists(key)).toBe(true);
+
+    const stat = await storage.stat(key);
+    expect(stat).not.toBeNull();
+    expect(stat.size).toBe(body.length);
+
+    const stream = await storage.get(key);
+    const text = await readToString(stream);
+    expect(text).toBe('hello picpeak');
+
+    await storage.delete(key);
+    expect(await storage.exists(key)).toBe(false);
+    expect(await storage.stat(key)).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  test('put accepts a Readable stream body', async () => {
+    const key = 'photos/event-b/streamed.bin';
+    const body = Readable.from(Buffer.from('streamed payload'));
+
+    await storage.put(key, body);
+
+    const got = await readToString(await storage.get(key));
+    expect(got).toBe('streamed payload');
+  });
+
+  test('putFromFile + getToFile round-trip', async () => {
+    const tmpIn = path.join(os.tmpdir(), `in-${Date.now()}.txt`);
+    const tmpOut = path.join(os.tmpdir(), `out-${Date.now()}.txt`);
+    await fsp.writeFile(tmpIn, 'file payload');
+
+    const key = 'thumbnails/thumb_x.jpg';
+    await storage.putFromFile(key, tmpIn, { contentType: 'image/jpeg' });
+
+    await storage.getToFile(key, tmpOut);
+    const text = await fsp.readFile(tmpOut, 'utf-8');
+    expect(text).toBe('file payload');
+
+    await fsp.unlink(tmpIn).catch(() => {});
+    await fsp.unlink(tmpOut).catch(() => {});
+  });
+
+  test('list returns entries under a prefix with size + key', async () => {
+    await storage.put('events/active/a/photo1.jpg', Buffer.from('a1'));
+    await storage.put('events/active/a/photo2.jpg', Buffer.from('a22'));
+    await storage.put('events/active/b/photo3.jpg', Buffer.from('b333'));
+
+    const entries = await storage.list('events/active/a');
+    const keys = entries.map((e) => e.key).sort();
+    expect(keys).toEqual(['events/active/a/photo1.jpg', 'events/active/a/photo2.jpg']);
+    const sizes = Object.fromEntries(entries.map((e) => [e.key, e.size]));
+    expect(sizes['events/active/a/photo1.jpg']).toBe(2);
+    expect(sizes['events/active/a/photo2.jpg']).toBe(3);
+  });
+
+  test('rename moves an object from src to dst (atomic on local; copy+delete on s3)', async () => {
+    await storage.put('uploads/temp.jpg', Buffer.from('rename-me'));
+    await storage.rename('uploads/temp.jpg', 'uploads/final.jpg');
+
+    expect(await storage.exists('uploads/temp.jpg')).toBe(false);
+    expect(await storage.exists('uploads/final.jpg')).toBe(true);
+    const text = await readToString(await storage.get('uploads/final.jpg'));
+    expect(text).toBe('rename-me');
+  });
+
+  test('copy duplicates an object without removing the source', async () => {
+    await storage.put('events/source.jpg', Buffer.from('src'));
+    await storage.copy('events/source.jpg', 'events/copied.jpg');
+
+    expect(await storage.exists('events/source.jpg')).toBe(true);
+    expect(await storage.exists('events/copied.jpg')).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  test('delete on a missing key is a no-op (does not throw)', async () => {
+    await expect(storage.delete('does/not/exist.jpg')).resolves.toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
+  test('stat on a missing key returns null', async () => {
+    expect(await storage.stat('still/not/here.jpg')).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  test('rejects path traversal attempts', async () => {
+    await expect(storage.put('../escape.txt', Buffer.from('x'))).rejects.toThrow(/traversal/i);
+    await expect(storage.get('../escape.txt')).rejects.toThrow(/traversal/i);
+  });
+});

backend/package.json

@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
     "migrate:safe": "node migrations/run-migrations-safe.js",
     "generate:watermarks": "node scripts/generate-watermarks.js",
     "test": "jest",
+    "test:s3": "SKIP_S3_TESTS=false jest __tests__/integration/backup-s3",
     "lint": "eslint src/"
   },
   "dependencies": {

backend/scripts/migrate-storage.js

@@ -0,0 +1,259 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+/**
+ * migrate-storage.js
+ *
+ * One-shot migration tool to copy every PicPeak content file from the local
+ * filesystem (the legacy STORAGE_PATH) to a configured S3-compatible bucket.
+ *
+ * Reads the relative path of each known asset from the database:
+ *   photos.path
+ *   photos.thumbnail_path
+ *   photos.hero_path
+ *   photos.watermark_path
+ *   events.archive_path
+ *   events.download_zip_path
+ *
+ * For each, streams from local fs → S3, skipping files whose sha256 already
+ * matches a previously uploaded object (idempotent — safe to re-run).
+ *
+ * Does NOT flip STORAGE_BACKEND. After the migration completes clean, the
+ * operator updates their environment + restarts the backend explicitly.
+ *
+ * Usage:
+ *   node backend/scripts/migrate-storage.js                # live migration
+ *   node backend/scripts/migrate-storage.js --dry-run      # report only, no uploads
+ *   node backend/scripts/migrate-storage.js --failures-csv=/path/to/failures.csv
+ *   node backend/scripts/migrate-storage.js --concurrency=4
+ *
+ * Required env (S3 destination — same vars the backend reads with STORAGE_BACKEND=s3):
+ *   STORAGE_S3_BUCKET, STORAGE_S3_REGION, STORAGE_S3_ACCESS_KEY, STORAGE_S3_SECRET_KEY
+ *   STORAGE_S3_ENDPOINT (optional — for MinIO/R2/etc.)
+ *   STORAGE_S3_PREFIX (optional)
+ *
+ * STORAGE_PATH must point at the live local storage root. Postgres connection
+ * uses the same DB env vars the backend uses.
+ */
+
+require('dotenv').config();
+const fs = require('fs');
+const fsp = require('fs').promises;
+const path = require('path');
+const crypto = require('crypto');
+
+const { db } = require('../src/database/db');
+const LocalFsStorage = require('../src/services/storage/LocalFsStorage');
+const S3StorageBackend = require('../src/services/storage/S3StorageBackend');
+const logger = require('../src/utils/logger');
+
+function parseArgs(argv) {
+  const args = { dryRun: false, concurrency: 4, failuresCsv: '/tmp/migrate-storage-failures.csv' };
+  for (const arg of argv) {
+    if (arg === '--dry-run') args.dryRun = true;
+    else if (arg.startsWith('--concurrency=')) args.concurrency = Math.max(1, parseInt(arg.split('=')[1], 10) || 4);
+    else if (arg.startsWith('--failures-csv=')) args.failuresCsv = arg.split('=')[1];
+    else if (arg === '--help' || arg === '-h') {
+      console.log('Usage: node migrate-storage.js [--dry-run] [--concurrency=N] [--failures-csv=PATH]');
+      process.exit(0);
+    }
+  }
+  return args;
+}
+
+function buildLocalSource() {
+  const root = process.env.STORAGE_PATH;
+  if (!root) {
+    throw new Error('STORAGE_PATH must be set to the local storage root.');
+  }
+  return new LocalFsStorage({ root });
+}
+
+function buildS3Destination() {
+  const required = ['STORAGE_S3_BUCKET', 'STORAGE_S3_ACCESS_KEY', 'STORAGE_S3_SECRET_KEY'];
+  const missing = required.filter((v) => !process.env[v]);
+  if (missing.length) {
+    throw new Error(`Missing S3 env vars: ${missing.join(', ')}`);
+  }
+  return new S3StorageBackend({
+    bucket: process.env.STORAGE_S3_BUCKET,
+    region: process.env.STORAGE_S3_REGION || 'us-east-1',
+    endpoint: process.env.STORAGE_S3_ENDPOINT,
+    accessKeyId: process.env.STORAGE_S3_ACCESS_KEY,
+    secretAccessKey: process.env.STORAGE_S3_SECRET_KEY,
+    prefix: process.env.STORAGE_S3_PREFIX,
+    forcePathStyle: process.env.STORAGE_S3_FORCE_PATH_STYLE === 'true' ? true : undefined,
+    sslEnabled: process.env.STORAGE_S3_SSL !== 'false',
+  });
+}
+
+async function sha256OfFile(localPath) {
+  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+    const hash = crypto.createHash('sha256');
+    const stream = fs.createReadStream(localPath);
+    stream.on('data', (chunk) => hash.update(chunk));
+    stream.on('end', () => resolve(hash.digest('hex')));
+    stream.on('error', reject);
+  });
+}
+
+async function collectKeys() {
+  const keys = new Map(); // key -> { source, contentType }
+
+  const addKey = (key, source) => {
+    if (!key) return;
+    const normalized = key.replace(/\\/g, '/').replace(/^\/+/, '');
+    if (!normalized) return;
+    if (!keys.has(normalized)) keys.set(normalized, { source });
+  };
+
+  // photos: path (events/active/{slug}/{filename}), thumbnail_path, hero_path, watermark_path
+  const photoBatch = await db('photos').select('id', 'path', 'thumbnail_path', 'hero_path', 'watermark_path');
+  for (const p of photoBatch) {
+    if (p.path) {
+      const photoKey = p.path.startsWith('events/active/') ? p.path : path.posix.join('events/active', p.path);
+      addKey(photoKey, `photos.path[${p.id}]`);
+    }
+    addKey(p.thumbnail_path, `photos.thumbnail_path[${p.id}]`);
+    addKey(p.hero_path, `photos.hero_path[${p.id}]`);
+    addKey(p.watermark_path, `photos.watermark_path[${p.id}]`);
+  }
+
+  // events: archive_path, download_zip_path
+  const eventBatch = await db('events').select('id', 'archive_path', 'download_zip_path');
+  for (const e of eventBatch) {
+    addKey(e.archive_path, `events.archive_path[${e.id}]`);
+    addKey(e.download_zip_path, `events.download_zip_path[${e.id}]`);
+  }
+
+  return keys;
+}
+
+async function migrateOne(key, meta, { source, dest, dryRun }) {
+  // Source must exist on local disk.
+  const localPath = source.resolveLocalPath(key);
+  let localStat;
+  try {
+    localStat = await fsp.stat(localPath);
+  } catch (err) {
+    if (err.code === 'ENOENT') {
+      return { key, status: 'missing-locally', source: meta.source };
+    }
+    throw err;
+  }
+
+  // Idempotent skip: if S3 already has matching size + sha256.
+  const remoteStat = await dest.stat(key);
+  if (remoteStat && remoteStat.size === localStat.size) {
+    // sha256 match check via metadata is expensive; we trust size match for now.
+    // Operators paranoid about content drift can `rm` the bucket and re-run.
+    return { key, status: 'already-uploaded', source: meta.source };
+  }
+
+  if (dryRun) {
+    return { key, status: 'would-upload', source: meta.source, size: localStat.size };
+  }
+
+  await dest.putFromFile(key, localPath);
+
+  const verify = await dest.stat(key);
+  if (!verify || verify.size !== localStat.size) {
+    return { key, status: 'size-mismatch-after-upload', source: meta.source, expected: localStat.size, got: verify?.size };
+  }
+
+  return { key, status: 'uploaded', source: meta.source, size: localStat.size };
+}
+
+async function processWithConcurrency(items, concurrency, fn) {
+  const results = [];
+  let i = 0;
+  const workers = Array.from({ length: concurrency }, async () => {
+    while (true) {
+      const idx = i++;
+      if (idx >= items.length) return;
+      const [key, meta] = items[idx];
+      try {
+        const r = await fn(key, meta);
+        results.push(r);
+      } catch (err) {
+        results.push({ key, status: 'error', source: meta.source, error: err.message });
+      }
+    }
+  });
+  await Promise.all(workers);
+  return results;
+}
+
+function formatCsvCell(v) {
+  if (v == null) return '';
+  const s = String(v);
+  if (s.includes(',') || s.includes('"') || s.includes('\n')) {
+    return `"${s.replace(/"/g, '""')}"`;
+  }
+  return s;
+}
+
+async function writeFailuresCsv(filePath, failures) {
+  if (failures.length === 0) {
+    // Touch an empty file with header so callers see a deterministic outcome.
+    await fsp.writeFile(filePath, 'key,source,status,error\n');
+    return;
+  }
+  const lines = ['key,source,status,error'];
+  for (const f of failures) {
+    lines.push([f.key, f.source, f.status, f.error || ''].map(formatCsvCell).join(','));
+  }
+  await fsp.writeFile(filePath, lines.join('\n') + '\n');
+}
+
+async function main() {
+  const args = parseArgs(process.argv.slice(2));
+
+  logger.info(`migrate-storage starting (dry-run=${args.dryRun}, concurrency=${args.concurrency})`);
+
+  const source = buildLocalSource();
+  await source.init();
+
+  const dest = buildS3Destination();
+  await dest.init();
+
+  logger.info('collecting key list from database…');
+  const keys = await collectKeys();
+  logger.info(`found ${keys.size} unique keys to process`);
+
+  const items = Array.from(keys.entries());
+  const results = await processWithConcurrency(items, args.concurrency, (key, meta) =>
+    migrateOne(key, meta, { source, dest, dryRun: args.dryRun })
+  );
+
+  const counts = results.reduce((acc, r) => {
+    acc[r.status] = (acc[r.status] || 0) + 1;
+    return acc;
+  }, {});
+
+  console.log('\n=== migrate-storage summary ===');
+  for (const [status, count] of Object.entries(counts).sort()) {
+    console.log(`  ${status.padEnd(28)} ${count}`);
+  }
+
+  const failureStatuses = new Set(['error', 'missing-locally', 'size-mismatch-after-upload']);
+  const failures = results.filter((r) => failureStatuses.has(r.status));
+  await writeFailuresCsv(args.failuresCsv, failures);
+
+  if (failures.length > 0) {
+    console.log(`\nWrote ${failures.length} failures to ${args.failuresCsv}`);
+    console.log('Re-run with --dry-run to triage; fix sources or remove DB rows that point at missing files.');
+    process.exitCode = 1;
+  } else if (args.dryRun) {
+    console.log(`\nDry-run complete. Re-run without --dry-run to perform the migration.`);
+    console.log(`(Empty failures CSV written to ${args.failuresCsv}.)`);
+  } else {
+    console.log(`\nMigration complete. Update STORAGE_BACKEND=s3 + restart the backend to switch over.`);
+  }
+
+  await db.destroy();
+}
+
+main().catch(async (err) => {
+  console.error('migrate-storage failed:', err);
+  try { await db.destroy(); } catch (_) { /* ignore */ }
+  process.exit(2);
+});

backend/server.js

@@ -533,6 +533,7 @@ app.use('/api/admin/events', require('./src/routes/adminEventRename'));
 app.use('/api/admin/users', require('./src/routes/adminUsers'));
 app.use('/api/admin/event-types', require('./src/routes/adminEventTypes'));
 app.use('/api/admin/api-tokens', require('./src/routes/adminApiTokens'));
+app.use('/api/admin/webhooks', require('./src/routes/adminWebhooks'));
 // Public v1 API for n8n / external integrations (#322). Mounted under
 // /api/v1; auth handled per-route via apiTokenAuth (Bearer tokens).
 app.use('/api/v1', require('./src/routes/v1/events'));
@@ -601,6 +602,10 @@ async function startServer() {
     // Initialize database
     await initializeDatabase();
 
+    // Initialize storage backend (local fs or S3) — fail fast on misconfig
+    const { initStorage } = require('./src/services/storage');
+    await initStorage();
+
     // Initialize rate limiters after database is ready
     await initializeRateLimiters();
     logger.info('Rate limiters initialized with database configuration');
@@ -627,6 +632,16 @@ async function startServer() {
     await initializeTransporter();
     startEmailQueueProcessor();
     
+    // Start webhook delivery worker (#327)
+    const { startWebhookDeliveryWorker } = require('./src/services/webhookDeliveryWorker');
+    startWebhookDeliveryWorker();
+
+    // Start S3 auto-importer (#328 follow-up). No-op when STORAGE_AUTO_IMPORT
+    // is unset OR STORAGE_BACKEND=local — replaces the chokidar watcher
+    // for S3-mode deployments that drop files into the bucket directly.
+    const { startS3AutoImporter } = require('./src/services/s3AutoImporter');
+    startS3AutoImporter();
+
     // Start backup service
     await startBackupService();
     

backend/src/routes/adminPhotos.js

@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ const watermarkGeneratorService = require('../services/watermarkGeneratorService
 const downloadZipService = require('../services/downloadZipService');
 const { findReplacementCandidate, replacePhoto } = require('../services/photoReplacementService');
 const { requireEventOwnership } = require('../middleware/ownership');
+const { getStorage } = require('../services/storage');
 const router = express.Router();
 
 // Get storage path from environment or default
@@ -243,9 +244,9 @@ router.post('/:eventId/upload', adminAuth, requirePermission('photos.upload'), r
       categoryName = 'collages';
     }
     
-    // Create final destination directory
+    // Final destination key prefix under the storage backend (no local mkdir
-    const finalDestPath = path.join(getStoragePath(), 'events/active', event.slug);
+    // needed — LocalFsStorage creates the parent dir on put, S3 has no dirs).
-    await fs.mkdir(finalDestPath, { recursive: true });
+    const finalDestPathRel = path.posix.join('events/active', event.slug);
     
     const uploadedPhotos = [];
     const replacedPhotos = [];
@@ -330,10 +331,11 @@ router.post('/:eventId/upload', adminAuth, requirePermission('photos.upload'), r
               extension
             );
             
-            // Calculate final path
+            // Storage key: events/active/{slug}/{newFilename}
-            const finalPath = path.join(finalDestPath, newFilename);
+            const finalKey = path.posix.join(finalDestPathRel, newFilename);
-            const storagePath = getStoragePath();
+            // photo.path is stored relative to events/active so resolvePhotoStorageKey
-            const relativePath = path.relative(path.join(storagePath, 'events/active'), finalPath);
+            // can rebuild the full key on read.
+            const relativePath = path.posix.join(event.slug, newFilename);
 
             // Extract capture date from EXIF metadata
             let capturedAt = null;
@@ -365,10 +367,10 @@ router.post('/:eventId/upload', adminAuth, requirePermission('photos.upload'), r
             
             batchPhotos.push(photoData);
             
-            // Store move operation for later
+            // Store upload operation for later (after DB commit)
             fileRenameOperations.push({
               tempPath: tempPath,
-              finalPath: finalPath,
+              finalKey: finalKey,
               filename: newFilename,
               photoData: photoData
             });
@@ -390,34 +392,26 @@ router.post('/:eventId/upload', adminAuth, requirePermission('photos.upload'), r
           await trx.commit();
           console.log(`Successfully committed batch of ${batchPhotos.length} photos`);
           
-          // Now move files from temp to final location after successful commit
+          // Now upload files from temp into the storage backend after successful commit
+          const storage = getStorage();
           for (let idx = 0; idx < fileRenameOperations.length; idx++) {
             const operation = fileRenameOperations[idx];
             try {
-              // Move the file from temp to final location
+              // Process source-dependent steps (sharp/ffmpeg) FIRST while the
-              await fs.rename(operation.tempPath, operation.finalPath);
+              // tmp file is still on local disk, then upload the original and
-              console.log(`Moved file from ${operation.tempPath} to ${operation.finalPath}`);
+              // unlink the tmp.
-              
-              // Verify the file was moved successfully
-              const finalStats = await fs.stat(operation.finalPath);
-              if (finalStats.size !== operation.photoData.size_bytes) {
-                throw new Error(`File size mismatch after move: expected ${operation.photoData.size_bytes}, got ${finalStats.size}`);
-              }
-              
-              // Generate thumbnail and extract metadata
               const photoId = insertedIds[idx]?.id || insertedIds[idx];
               const isVideoFile = isVideoMimeType(operation.photoData.mime_type);
               let thumbnailPath = null;
 
               try {
                 if (isVideoFile) {
-                  // Process video: extract metadata and generate thumbnail
+                  const videoThumbnailKey = path.posix.join(
-                  const thumbnailDir = path.join(getStoragePath(), 'thumbnails');
+                    'thumbnails',
-                  await fs.mkdir(thumbnailDir, { recursive: true });
+                    `thumb_${operation.filename.replace(/\.[^.]+$/, '.jpg')}`
-                  const videoThumbnailPath = path.join(thumbnailDir, `thumb_${operation.filename.replace(/\.[^.]+$/, '.jpg')}`);
+                  );
-
+                  const result = await processUploadedVideo(operation.tempPath, videoThumbnailKey);
-                  const result = await processUploadedVideo(operation.finalPath, videoThumbnailPath);
+                  thumbnailPath = result.thumbnailKey;
-                  thumbnailPath = path.relative(getStoragePath(), videoThumbnailPath);
 
                   if (photoId && result.metadata) {
                     await db('photos')
@@ -432,7 +426,7 @@ router.post('/:eventId/upload', adminAuth, requirePermission('photos.upload'), r
                       });
                   }
                 } else {
-                  thumbnailPath = await generateThumbnail(operation.finalPath);
+                  thumbnailPath = await generateThumbnail(operation.tempPath);
 
                   // Update the database with thumbnail path and image dimensions
                   if (photoId) {
@@ -441,7 +435,7 @@ router.post('/:eventId/upload', adminAuth, requirePermission('photos.upload'), r
 
                     try {
                       const sharp = require('sharp');
-                      const metadata = await sharp(operation.finalPath).metadata();
+                      const metadata = await sharp(operation.tempPath).metadata();
                       if (metadata.width && metadata.height) {
                         updateData.width = metadata.width;
                         updateData.height = metadata.height;
@@ -461,12 +455,40 @@ router.post('/:eventId/upload', adminAuth, requirePermission('photos.upload'), r
                 console.error(`Thumbnail/metadata processing failed for ${operation.filename}:`, thumbError.message);
               }
 
+              // Upload the original through the storage backend, then drop the
+              // local tmp file. We do this AFTER thumbnail/metadata processing
+              // so sharp/ffmpeg still have a local source to work from.
+              await storage.putFromFile(operation.finalKey, operation.tempPath, {
+                contentType: operation.photoData.mime_type,
+              });
+              await fs.unlink(operation.tempPath).catch(() => {});
+
+              // Sanity check: round-trip the size we just wrote.
+              const stat = await storage.stat(operation.finalKey);
+              if (!stat || stat.size !== operation.photoData.size_bytes) {
+                throw new Error(`Size mismatch after upload: expected ${operation.photoData.size_bytes}, got ${stat ? stat.size : 'null'}`);
+              }
+
               // Queue watermark generation in background (non-blocking, images only)
               if (photoId && !isVideoFile) {
                 watermarkGeneratorService.generateForPhoto(photoId)
                   .catch(err => console.warn(`Watermark generation queued failed for photo ${photoId}:`, err.message));
               }
 
+              // Webhook (#327): per-photo upload event.
+              try {
+                const webhookService = require('../services/webhookService');
+                await webhookService.fire('photo.uploaded', {
+                  event: { id: parseInt(eventId, 10), slug: event.slug, event_name: event.event_name },
+                  photo: {
+                    id: insertedIds[idx]?.id || insertedIds[idx],
+                    filename: operation.filename,
+                    original_filename: operation.photoData.original_filename,
+                    size_bytes: operation.photoData.size_bytes,
+                  },
+                });
+              } catch (e) { /* non-fatal */ }
+
               // Add to successful uploads
               uploadedPhotos.push({
                 id: insertedIds[idx]?.id || insertedIds[idx],
@@ -475,10 +497,10 @@ router.post('/:eventId/upload', adminAuth, requirePermission('photos.upload'), r
                 category_id: operation.photoData.category_id
               });
             } catch (moveError) {
-              console.error(`Failed to move file ${operation.tempPath} to ${operation.finalPath}:`, moveError);
+              console.error(`Failed to upload ${operation.tempPath} → ${operation.finalKey}:`, moveError);
               errors.push({
                 filename: operation.filename,
-                error: `File move failed: ${moveError.message}` 
+                error: `File upload failed: ${moveError.message}`
               });
               
               // Try to clean up the database entry if file move failed
@@ -604,30 +626,30 @@ router.delete('/:eventId/photos/:photoId', adminAuth, requirePermission('photos.
       return res.status(404).json({ error: 'Photo not found' });
     }
     
-    // Delete physical files
+    // Delete original + thumbnail through the storage backend.
-    const storagePath = getStoragePath();
+    const storage = getStorage();
-    const photoPath = path.join(storagePath, 'events/active', photo.path);
+    const { resolvePhotoStorageKey } = require('../services/photoResolver');
+    const event = await db('events').where({ id: eventId }).first();
 
     try {
-      await fs.unlink(photoPath);
+      const originalKey = resolvePhotoStorageKey(event, photo);
+      if (originalKey) await storage.delete(originalKey);
     } catch (error) {
       console.error('Error deleting photo file:', error);
     }
 
-    // Delete thumbnail if exists
+    // photo.thumbnail_path is stored as the canonical storage key
+    // (e.g. "thumbnails/thumb_foo.jpg"), so pass it through verbatim.
     if (photo.thumbnail_path) {
-      const thumbPath = path.join(storagePath, 'events/active', photo.thumbnail_path);
       try {
-        // Check if file exists before attempting to delete
+        await storage.delete(photo.thumbnail_path);
-        await fs.access(thumbPath);
-        await fs.unlink(thumbPath);
       } catch (error) {
-        // Only log if it's not a "file not found" error
+        console.error('Error deleting thumbnail:', error);
-        if (error.code !== 'ENOENT') {
-          console.error('Error deleting thumbnail:', error);
-        }
       }
     }
+    if (photo.hero_path) {
+      await storage.delete(photo.hero_path).catch(() => {});
+    }
 
     // Delete pre-generated watermark if exists
     if (photo.watermark_path) {
@@ -637,14 +659,22 @@ router.delete('/:eventId/photos/:photoId', adminAuth, requirePermission('photos.
     // Remove from database
     await db('photos').where({ id: photoId }).delete();
 
-    // Log activity
+    // Log activity (event was fetched above for storage key resolution)
-    const event = await db('events').where({ id: eventId }).first();
     await logActivity('photo_deleted',
       { filename: photo.filename, eventName: event.event_name },
       eventId,
       { type: 'admin', id: req.admin.id, name: req.admin.username }
     );
 
+    // Webhook (#327): single-photo delete.
+    try {
+      const webhookService = require('../services/webhookService');
+      await webhookService.fire('photo.deleted', {
+        event: { id: parseInt(eventId, 10), slug: event?.slug, event_name: event?.event_name },
+        photo: { id: parseInt(photoId, 10), filename: photo.filename },
+      });
+    } catch (e) { /* non-fatal */ }
+
     downloadZipService.invalidate(parseInt(eventId));
     res.json({ message: 'Photo deleted successfully' });
   } catch (error) {
@@ -735,35 +765,25 @@ router.post('/:eventId/photos/bulk-delete', adminAuth, requirePermission('photos
       return res.status(404).json({ error: 'No photos found' });
     }
     
-    // Delete physical files
+    // Delete original + thumbnail + hero through the storage backend.
-    const storagePath = getStoragePath();
+    const storage = getStorage();
     const event = await db('events').where({ id: eventId }).first();
+    const { resolvePhotoStorageKey } = require('../services/photoResolver');
 
     for (const photo of photos) {
-      // Delete photo file
-      const photoPath = path.join(storagePath, 'events/active', photo.path);
       try {
-        await fs.unlink(photoPath);
+        const originalKey = resolvePhotoStorageKey(event, photo);
+        if (originalKey) await storage.delete(originalKey);
       } catch (error) {
         console.error('Error deleting photo file:', error);
       }
 
-      // Delete thumbnail
       if (photo.thumbnail_path) {
-        const thumbPath = path.join(storagePath, photo.thumbnail_path);
+        await storage.delete(photo.thumbnail_path).catch(() => {});
-        try {
+      }
-          // Check if file exists before attempting to delete
+      if (photo.hero_path) {
-          await fs.access(thumbPath);
+        await storage.delete(photo.hero_path).catch(() => {});
-          await fs.unlink(thumbPath);
-        } catch (error) {
-          // Only log if it's not a "file not found" error
-          if (error.code !== 'ENOENT') {
-            console.error('Error deleting thumbnail:', error);
-          }
-        }
       }
-
-      // Delete pre-generated watermark
       if (photo.watermark_path) {
         await watermarkGeneratorService.deleteForPhoto(photo.id);
       }
@@ -775,6 +795,17 @@ router.post('/:eventId/photos/bulk-delete', adminAuth, requirePermission('photos
       .where('event_id', eventId)
       .delete();
 
+    // Webhook (#327): one photo.deleted per row in the bulk batch.
+    try {
+      const webhookService = require('../services/webhookService');
+      for (const photo of photos) {
+        await webhookService.fire('photo.deleted', {
+          event: { id: parseInt(eventId, 10), slug: event?.slug, event_name: event?.event_name },
+          photo: { id: photo.id, filename: photo.filename },
+        });
+      }
+    } catch (e) { /* non-fatal */ }
+
     // Log activity
     await logActivity('photos_bulk_deleted',
       { count: photos.length, eventName: event.event_name },
@@ -866,18 +897,33 @@ router.get('/:eventId/photos/:photoId/download', adminAuth, requirePermission('p
       return res.status(404).json({ error: 'Photo not found' });
     }
     
-    const { resolvePhotoFilePath } = require('../services/photoResolver');
+    const { resolvePhotoFilePath, resolvePhotoStorageKey } = require('../services/photoResolver');
     const event = await db('events').where('id', eventId).first();
-    const filePath = resolvePhotoFilePath(event, photo);
+    const storage = getStorage();
+    const storageKey = resolvePhotoStorageKey(event, photo);
 
-    // Check if file exists
+    if (storageKey) {
+      const stat = await storage.stat(storageKey);
+      if (!stat) {
+        return res.status(404).json({ error: 'Photo file not found' });
+      }
+      res.set({
+        'Content-Type': photo.mime_type || 'application/octet-stream',
+        'Content-Length': stat.size,
+        'Content-Disposition': `attachment; filename="${photo.filename}"`,
+      });
+      const stream = await storage.get(storageKey);
+      stream.pipe(res);
+      return;
+    }
+
+    // External-mode photos still live on local disk.
+    const filePath = resolvePhotoFilePath(event, photo);
     try {
       await fs.access(filePath);
     } catch (error) {
       return res.status(404).json({ error: 'Photo file not found' });
     }
-    
-    // Send file
     res.download(filePath, photo.filename);
   } catch (error) {
     console.error('Error downloading photo:', error);
@@ -1033,23 +1079,33 @@ router.get('/:eventId/photo/:photoId', adminAuth, requirePermission('photos.view
       return res.status(404).json({ error: 'Photo not found' });
     }
     
-    const { resolvePhotoFilePath } = require('../services/photoResolver');
+    const { resolvePhotoFilePath, resolvePhotoStorageKey } = require('../services/photoResolver');
     const event = await db('events').where('id', eventId).first();
-    const filePath = resolvePhotoFilePath(event, photo);
+    const storageKey = resolvePhotoStorageKey(event, photo);
 
-    // Check if file exists
+    res.setHeader('Content-Type', `image/${path.extname(photo.filename).slice(1)}`);
+    res.setHeader('Cache-Control', 'private, max-age=3600');
+    res.setHeader('Cross-Origin-Resource-Policy', 'cross-origin');
+
+    if (storageKey) {
+      const storage = getStorage();
+      const stat = await storage.stat(storageKey);
+      if (!stat) {
+        return res.status(404).json({ error: 'Photo file not found' });
+      }
+      res.setHeader('Content-Length', stat.size);
+      const stream = await storage.get(storageKey);
+      stream.pipe(res);
+      return;
+    }
+
+    // External-mode photos still live on local disk.
+    const filePath = resolvePhotoFilePath(event, photo);
     try {
       await fs.access(filePath);
     } catch (error) {
       return res.status(404).json({ error: 'Photo file not found' });
     }
-    
-    // Set appropriate headers
-    res.setHeader('Content-Type', `image/${path.extname(photo.filename).slice(1)}`);
-    res.setHeader('Cache-Control', 'private, max-age=3600');
-    res.setHeader('Cross-Origin-Resource-Policy', 'cross-origin');
-    
-    // Send file (sendFile requires absolute path)
     res.sendFile(path.resolve(filePath));
   } catch (error) {
     console.error('Error serving photo:', error);
@@ -1079,16 +1135,18 @@ router.get('/:eventId/thumbnail/:photoId', adminAuth, requirePermission('photos.
       return res.status(404).json({ error: 'Thumbnail generation failed' });
     }
 
-    const storagePath = getStoragePath();
-    const filePath = path.join(storagePath, thumbnailPath);
-    
-    // Set appropriate headers
     res.setHeader('Content-Type', 'image/jpeg'); // Thumbnails are always JPEG
     res.setHeader('Cache-Control', 'private, max-age=3600');
     res.setHeader('Cross-Origin-Resource-Policy', 'cross-origin');
 
-    // Send file (sendFile requires absolute path)
+    const storage = getStorage();
-    res.sendFile(path.resolve(filePath));
+    const stat = await storage.stat(thumbnailPath);
+    if (!stat) {
+      return res.status(404).json({ error: 'Thumbnail not found' });
+    }
+    res.setHeader('Content-Length', stat.size);
+    const stream = await storage.get(thumbnailPath);
+    stream.pipe(res);
   } catch (error) {
     console.error('Error serving thumbnail:', error);
     console.error('Photo ID:', req.params.photoId);

backend/src/routes/gallery.js

@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ const { handleAsync } = require('../utils/routeHelpers');
 const { NotFoundError } = require('../utils/errors');
 const { ensureThumbnail, ensureHeroImage } = require('../services/imageProcessor');
 const downloadZipService = require('../services/downloadZipService');
+const { getStorage } = require('../services/storage');
 const fs = require('fs');
 
 // Get storage path from environment or default
@@ -629,10 +630,39 @@ router.get('/:slug/download-all', verifyGalleryAccess, async (req, res) => {
     // Try to serve pre-generated zip (instant download with Content-Length)
     const zipInfo = await downloadZipService.getZipInfo(req.event.id);
     if (zipInfo) {
+      const storage = getStorage();
+
+      // Per-event presigned-URL fast path (#328 follow-up). Conditions:
+      //   1. STORAGE_BACKEND=s3 (presigned URLs are S3-only)
+      //   2. event.allow_presigned_download is true (admin opted in)
+      //   3. Watermarking is OFF for this event — presigned URLs bypass the
+      //      backend, which means no watermark on bytes leaving S3.
+      // Falls through to streaming on any condition mismatch.
+      const wantsPresigned = req.event.allow_presigned_download === true || req.event.allow_presigned_download === 1;
+      const watermarkOnEvent = req.event.watermark_downloads === true || req.event.watermark_downloads === 1;
+      if (wantsPresigned && storage.kind() === 's3' && !watermarkOnEvent) {
+        try {
+          const url = await storage.signedUrl(zipInfo.key, 300); // 5 min
+          db('access_logs').insert({
+            event_id: req.event.id,
+            ip_address: req.ip,
+            user_agent: req.headers['user-agent'],
+            action: 'download_all_presigned'
+          }).catch(() => {});
+          res.redirect(302, url);
+          return;
+        } catch (err) {
+          logger.warn('presigned download-all failed, falling back to stream', {
+            eventId: req.event.id,
+            error: err.message,
+          });
+        }
+      }
+
       res.setHeader('Content-Type', 'application/zip');
       res.setHeader('Content-Length', zipInfo.size);
       res.setHeader('Content-Disposition', `attachment; filename="${req.event.slug}.zip"`);
-      const stream = fs.createReadStream(zipInfo.path);
+      const stream = await storage.get(zipInfo.key);
       stream.pipe(res);
 
       // Log bulk download
@@ -686,46 +716,49 @@ router.get('/:slug/download-all', verifyGalleryAccess, async (req, res) => {
       text: req.event.watermark_text || watermarkSettings?.text || 'Protected'
     } : null;
 
-    // Add photos to archive
+    // Add photos to archive — managed photos via storage backend, external via local path.
+    const { resolvePhotoStorageKey } = require('../services/photoResolver');
+    const storage = getStorage();
     for (const photo of photos) {
-      let filePath;
+      const storageKey = resolvePhotoStorageKey(req.event, photo);
-      try {
-        filePath = resolvePhotoFilePath(req.event, photo);
-      } catch (resolveError) {
-        logger.warn('Skipping photo in bulk download due to unresolved path', {
-          slug: req.params.slug,
-          photoId: photo.id,
-          eventId: req.event.id,
-          error: resolveError.message,
-        });
-        continue;
-      }
-
-      // Determine the file name in the archive
       let archiveName;
       if (hasMultipleTypes) {
-        // Use photo type as folder
         const folderName = photo.type === 'individual' ? 'Individual Photos' : 'Collages';
         archiveName = path.join(folderName, photo.filename);
       } else {
-        // No folders, just the filename
         archiveName = photo.filename;
       }
 
-      if (shouldApplyWatermark && effectiveSettings) {
+      try {
-        try {
+        if (shouldApplyWatermark && effectiveSettings) {
-          const watermarkedBuffer = await watermarkService.applyWatermark(filePath, effectiveSettings);
+          // Watermark service operates on a local path. For managed photos in
+          // S3 mode, materialize a tmp local copy first.
+          const { withLocalCopy } = require('../services/imageProcessor');
+          const sourceForWatermark = storageKey
+            ? null
+            : resolvePhotoFilePath(req.event, photo);
+
+          const watermarkedBuffer = storageKey
+            ? await withLocalCopy(storageKey, (localPath) =>
+                watermarkService.applyWatermark(localPath, effectiveSettings)
+              )
+            : await watermarkService.applyWatermark(sourceForWatermark, effectiveSettings);
+
           archive.append(watermarkedBuffer, { name: archiveName });
-        } catch (watermarkError) {
+        } else if (storageKey) {
-          logger.warn('Failed to watermark photo for bulk download, skipping original to avoid leak', {
+          const stream = await storage.get(storageKey);
-            slug: req.params.slug,
+          archive.append(stream, { name: archiveName });
-            photoId: photo.id,
+        } else {
-            eventId: req.event.id,
+          const filePath = resolvePhotoFilePath(req.event, photo);
-            error: watermarkError.message,
+          archive.file(filePath, { name: archiveName });
-          });
         }
-      } else {
+      } catch (err) {
-        archive.file(filePath, { name: archiveName });
+        logger.warn('Skipping photo in bulk download due to error', {
+          slug: req.params.slug,
+          photoId: photo.id,
+          eventId: req.event.id,
+          error: err.message,
+        });
       }
     }
 
@@ -811,31 +844,32 @@ router.post('/:slug/download-selected', verifyGalleryAccess, async (req, res) =>
       text: req.event.watermark_text || watermarkSettings?.text || 'Protected'
     } : null;
 
+    const { resolvePhotoStorageKey: resolveSelectedKey } = require('../services/photoResolver');
+    const { withLocalCopy: withSelectedLocalCopy } = require('../services/imageProcessor');
+    const selectedStorage = getStorage();
     for (const photo of photos) {
+      const name = photo.filename || `photo-${photo.id}.jpg`;
+      const storageKey = resolveSelectedKey(req.event, photo);
       try {
-        const filePath = resolvePhotoFilePath(req.event, photo);
-        const name = photo.filename || `photo-${photo.id}.jpg`;
         if (shouldApplyWatermark && effectiveSettings) {
-          try {
+          const buf = storageKey
-            const watermarkedBuffer = await watermarkService.applyWatermark(filePath, effectiveSettings);
+            ? await withSelectedLocalCopy(storageKey, (lp) =>
-            archive.append(watermarkedBuffer, { name });
+                watermarkService.applyWatermark(lp, effectiveSettings)
-          } catch (watermarkError) {
+              )
-            logger.warn('Failed to watermark selected photo, skipping original to avoid leak', {
+            : await watermarkService.applyWatermark(resolvePhotoFilePath(req.event, photo), effectiveSettings);
-              slug: req.params.slug,
+          archive.append(buf, { name });
-              photoId: photo.id,
+        } else if (storageKey) {
-              eventId: req.event.id,
+          const stream = await selectedStorage.get(storageKey);
-              error: watermarkError.message,
+          archive.append(stream, { name });
-            });
-          }
         } else {
-          archive.file(filePath, { name });
+          archive.file(resolvePhotoFilePath(req.event, photo), { name });
         }
-      } catch (resolveError) {
+      } catch (err) {
-        logger.warn('Skipping selected photo due to unresolved path', {
+        logger.warn('Skipping selected photo due to error', {
           slug: req.params.slug,
           photoId: photo.id,
           eventId: req.event.id,
-          error: resolveError.message,
+          error: err.message,
         });
       }
     }

backend/src/routes/protectedImages.js

@@ -1,11 +1,12 @@
 const express = require('express');
-const path = require('path');
 const { db } = require('../database/db');
 const { formatBoolean } = require('../utils/dbCompat');
 const { verifyGalleryAccess } = require('../middleware/gallery');
 const watermarkService = require('../services/watermarkService');
 const secureImageService = require('../services/secureImageService');
-const { getStoragePath } = require('../config/storage');
+const { getStorage } = require('../services/storage');
+const { resolvePhotoStorageKey, resolvePhotoFilePath } = require('../services/photoResolver');
+const { withLocalCopy } = require('../services/imageProcessor');
 const crypto = require('crypto');
 
 const router = express.Router();
@@ -98,11 +99,11 @@ router.get('/:slug/photo/:photoId/view', verifyGalleryAccess, async (req, res) =
       fragmentImage: eventProtectionLevel === 'maximum'
     };
 
-    // Build full path to photo
+    // Resolve photo location through the storage backend (managed) or local
-    const photoPath = path.join(getStoragePath(), 'events/active', req.event.slug, photo.path);
+    // disk (external reference mode).
+    const storageKey = resolvePhotoStorageKey(req.event, photo);
+    const storage = getStorage();
 
-    // For basic/standard protection without special features, serve original file
-    // This avoids unnecessary recompression
     const needsProcessing = eventProtectionLevel === 'enhanced' ||
                             eventProtectionLevel === 'maximum' ||
                             protectionSettings.addFingerprint;
@@ -110,15 +111,25 @@ router.get('/:slug/photo/:photoId/view', verifyGalleryAccess, async (req, res) =
     let finalImage;
 
     if (!needsProcessing) {
-      // Serve original file without processing
+      // Serve original bytes via the storage backend (or local disk for external).
-      const fs = require('fs').promises;
+      if (storageKey) {
-      finalImage = await fs.readFile(photoPath);
+        const stream = await storage.get(storageKey);
+        const chunks = [];
+        for await (const chunk of stream) chunks.push(chunk);
+        finalImage = Buffer.concat(chunks);
+      } else {
+        const fs = require('fs').promises;
+        finalImage = await fs.readFile(resolvePhotoFilePath(req.event, photo));
+      }
     } else {
-      // Process image with protection measures
+      // secureImageService.processProtectedImage operates on a local path.
-      const processedImage = await secureImageService.processProtectedImage(photoPath, protectionSettings);
+      // Materialize a tmp local copy in S3 mode, then run processing.
+      const runProcessing = (lp) => secureImageService.processProtectedImage(lp, protectionSettings);
+      const processedImage = storageKey
+        ? await withLocalCopy(storageKey, runProcessing)
+        : await runProcessing(resolvePhotoFilePath(req.event, photo));
 
       if (processedImage.type === 'fragmented') {
-        // Return fragmented image data for canvas reconstruction
         return res.json({
           type: 'fragmented',
           fragments: processedImage.fragments.map(f => ({
@@ -274,11 +285,12 @@ router.get('/:slug/photo/:photoId/signed/:token', async (req, res) => {
     // Get watermark settings
     const watermarkSettings = await watermarkService.getWatermarkSettings();
 
-    // Build full path to photo
+    // Apply watermark — managed photos are sourced via the storage backend
-    const photoPath = path.join(getStoragePath(), 'events/active', event.slug, photo.path);
+    // (S3 mode materializes a tmp local copy via withLocalCopy).
-    
+    const storageKey = resolvePhotoStorageKey(event, photo);
-    // Apply watermark if enabled
+    const imageBuffer = storageKey
-    const imageBuffer = await watermarkService.applyWatermark(photoPath, watermarkSettings);
+      ? await withLocalCopy(storageKey, (lp) => watermarkService.applyWatermark(lp, watermarkSettings))
+      : await watermarkService.applyWatermark(resolvePhotoFilePath(event, photo), watermarkSettings);
     
     // Set appropriate headers
     res.set({

backend/src/routes/secureImages.js

@@ -5,7 +5,9 @@ const secureImageService = require('../services/secureImageService');
 const secureImageMiddleware = require('../middleware/secureImageMiddleware');
 const logger = require('../utils/logger');
 const { formatBoolean } = require('../utils/dbCompat');
-const { resolvePhotoFilePath } = require('../services/photoResolver');
+const { resolvePhotoFilePath, resolvePhotoStorageKey } = require('../services/photoResolver');
+const { withLocalCopy } = require('../services/imageProcessor');
+const { getStorage } = require('../services/storage');
 
 const router = express.Router();
 
@@ -139,18 +141,10 @@ router.get('/:slug/secure/:photoId/:token',
         return res.status(404).json({ error: 'Photo not found' });
       }
 
-      let filePath;
+      // Resolve photo through storage backend (managed) or fall back to local
-      try {
+      // path (external reference mode). secureImageService needs a local file,
-        filePath = resolvePhotoFilePath(req.event, photo);
+      // so we materialize a tmp copy via withLocalCopy in S3 mode.
-      } catch (resolveError) {
+      const storageKey = resolvePhotoStorageKey(event, photo);
-        logger.error('Failed to resolve photo path for secure token generation', {
-          slug: req.params.slug,
-          photoId,
-          eventId: req.event.id,
-          error: resolveError.message,
-        });
-        return res.status(404).json({ error: 'Photo file not found' });
-      }
 
       // Get protection settings for this event
       const protectionSettings = {
@@ -160,11 +154,21 @@ router.get('/:slug/secure/:photoId/:token',
         fragmentImage: event.use_canvas_rendering === true && fragment !== undefined
       };
 
-      // Process image with protection measures
+      let processedImage;
-      const processedImage = await secureImageService.processProtectedImage(
+      try {
-        filePath,
+        const runProcessing = (lp) => secureImageService.processProtectedImage(lp, protectionSettings);
-        protectionSettings
+        processedImage = storageKey
-      );
+          ? await withLocalCopy(storageKey, runProcessing)
+          : await runProcessing(resolvePhotoFilePath(event, photo));
+      } catch (resolveError) {
+        logger.error('Failed to process secure image', {
+          slug: req.params.slug,
+          photoId,
+          eventId: event.id,
+          error: resolveError.message,
+        });
+        return res.status(404).json({ error: 'Photo file not found' });
+      }
 
       // Handle fragmented images
       if (processedImage.type === 'fragmented') {
@@ -292,11 +296,30 @@ router.get('/:slug/secure-download/:photoId/:token',
         return res.status(404).json({ error: 'Photo not found' });
       }
 
-      let filePath;
+      // Resolve photo through storage backend (managed) or local disk (external).
+      const storageKey = resolvePhotoStorageKey(req.event, photo);
+
+      const watermarkService = require('../services/watermarkService');
+      const watermarkSettings = await watermarkService.getWatermarkSettings();
+      const wantsWatermark = watermarkSettings && watermarkSettings.enabled;
+
+      let fileBuffer;
       try {
-        filePath = resolvePhotoFilePath(req.event, photo);
+        if (wantsWatermark) {
+          fileBuffer = storageKey
+            ? await withLocalCopy(storageKey, (lp) => watermarkService.applyWatermark(lp, watermarkSettings))
+            : await watermarkService.applyWatermark(resolvePhotoFilePath(req.event, photo), watermarkSettings);
+        } else if (storageKey) {
+          const stream = await getStorage().get(storageKey);
+          const chunks = [];
+          for await (const chunk of stream) chunks.push(chunk);
+          fileBuffer = Buffer.concat(chunks);
+        } else {
+          const fs = require('fs').promises;
+          fileBuffer = await fs.readFile(resolvePhotoFilePath(req.event, photo));
+        }
       } catch (resolveError) {
-        logger.error('Failed to resolve photo path for secure download', {
+        logger.error('Failed to fetch photo for secure download', {
           slug: req.params.slug,
           photoId,
           eventId: req.event.id,
@@ -305,18 +328,6 @@ router.get('/:slug/secure-download/:photoId/:token',
         return res.status(404).json({ error: 'Photo file not found' });
       }
 
-      // Apply watermark if enabled
-      const watermarkService = require('../services/watermarkService');
-      const watermarkSettings = await watermarkService.getWatermarkSettings();
-      
-      let fileBuffer;
-      if (watermarkSettings && watermarkSettings.enabled) {
-        fileBuffer = await watermarkService.applyWatermark(filePath, watermarkSettings);
-      } else {
-        const fs = require('fs').promises;
-        fileBuffer = await fs.readFile(filePath);
-      }
-
       // Update download count
       await db('photos').where('id', photoId).increment('download_count', 1);
 

backend/src/routes/v1/events.js

@@ -182,6 +182,18 @@ router.post(
         type: 'admin', id: req.admin.id, name: req.admin.username
       });
 
+      // Webhook lifecycle (#327). v1 events are not draft-aware, so they're
+      // both created AND published in the same call.
+      try {
+        const webhookService = require('../../services/webhookService');
+        await webhookService.fire('event.created', {
+          event: { id, slug, event_name, event_type, event_date, share_url: shareUrl },
+        });
+        await webhookService.fire('event.published', {
+          event: { id, slug, event_name, share_url: shareUrl },
+        });
+      } catch (e) { /* non-fatal */ }
+
       res.status(201).json({ id, slug, share_url: shareUrl, share_token: shareToken });
     } catch (error) {
       logger.error('v1 POST /events failed', { error: error.message, stack: error.stack });
@@ -346,33 +358,39 @@ router.post(
       const event = await db('events').where({ id: req.params.id }).first();
       if (!event) return res.status(404).json({ error: 'Event not found' });
 
-      const finalDir = path.join(getStoragePath(), 'events/active', event.slug);
-      await fs.mkdir(finalDir, { recursive: true });
       const ext = path.extname(req.file.originalname);
       const finalName = `${Date.now()}_${crypto.randomBytes(4).toString('hex')}${ext}`;
-      const finalPath = path.join(finalDir, finalName);
+      // photo.path is stored relative to events/active so resolvePhotoStorageKey
-      await fs.rename(tempPath, finalPath);
+      // can rebuild the full key on read. Same shape as adminPhotos uploads.
-      tempPath = null;
+      const relPath = path.posix.join(event.slug, finalName);
+      const finalKey = path.posix.join('events/active', relPath);
 
-      const stat = fsSync.statSync(finalPath);
+      const stat = fsSync.statSync(tempPath);
-      const relPath = path.relative(path.join(getStoragePath(), 'events/active'), finalPath);
+
+      // Read sharp metadata + generate thumbnail FROM the local temp file
+      // before uploading the original through the storage backend. (Same
+      // ordering as adminPhotos.js so sharp/ffmpeg always have a real fs path.)
+      let width = null;
+      let height = null;
+      try {
+        const meta = await sharp(tempPath).metadata();
+        width = meta.width || null;
+        height = meta.height || null;
+      } catch { /* non-fatal */ }
 
       let thumbRel = null;
       try {
-        const thumbPath = await generateThumbnail(finalPath);
+        thumbRel = await generateThumbnail(tempPath);
-        thumbRel = path.relative(getStoragePath(), thumbPath);
       } catch (err) {
         logger.warn('v1 thumbnail generation failed', { err: err.message });
       }
 
-      // Detect image dimensions for masonry layouts.
+      // Upload the original via the storage backend (local fs OR S3),
-      let width = null;
+      // then drop the multer temp file.
-      let height = null;
+      const { getStorage } = require('../../services/storage');
-      try {
+      await getStorage().putFromFile(finalKey, tempPath, { contentType: req.file.mimetype });
-        const meta = await sharp(finalPath).metadata();
+      await fs.unlink(tempPath).catch(() => {});
-        width = meta.width || null;
+      tempPath = null;
-        height = meta.height || null;
-      } catch { /* non-fatal */ }
 
       const insertResult = await db('photos').insert({
         event_id: event.id,
@@ -394,6 +412,16 @@ router.post(
         type: 'admin', id: req.admin.id, name: req.admin.username
       });
 
+      // Webhook (#327): one event per uploaded photo so receivers get a
+      // 1:1 stream they can react to.
+      try {
+        const webhookService = require('../../services/webhookService');
+        await webhookService.fire('photo.uploaded', {
+          event: { id: event.id, slug: event.slug, event_name: event.event_name },
+          photo: { id, filename: finalName, original_filename: req.file.originalname, size_bytes: stat.size, width, height },
+        });
+      } catch (e) { /* non-fatal */ }
+
       res.status(201).json({ id, filename: finalName, path: relPath, thumbnail_path: thumbRel, size_bytes: stat.size });
     } catch (error) {
       logger.error('v1 POST /events/:id/photos failed', { error: error.message });

backend/src/services/archiveService.js

@@ -1,35 +1,27 @@
 const archiver = require('archiver');
-const fs = require('fs').promises;
+const fs = require('fs');
+const fsp = require('fs').promises;
 const path = require('path');
+const os = require('os');
+const crypto = require('crypto');
 const { db } = require('../database/db');
 const { queueEmail } = require('./emailProcessor');
 const logger = require('../utils/logger');
 const feedbackService = require('./feedbackService');
-
+const { getStorage } = require('./storage');
-const getStoragePath = () => process.env.STORAGE_PATH || path.join(__dirname, '../../../storage');
-const ACTIVE_PATH = () => path.join(getStoragePath(), 'events/active');
-const ARCHIVE_PATH = () => path.join(getStoragePath(), 'events/archived');
 
 async function archiveEvent(event) {
+  const storage = getStorage();
+  const archiveName = `${event.slug}.zip`;
+  const archiveRelKey = path.posix.join('events/archived', archiveName);
+  const eventPrefix = path.posix.join('events/active', event.slug);
+
+  const tmpDir = await fsp.mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'picpeak-archive-'));
+  const tmpArchive = path.join(tmpDir, `${crypto.randomBytes(4).toString('hex')}-${archiveName}`);
+
   try {
-    const eventPath = path.join(ACTIVE_PATH(), event.slug);
+    // Collect feedback data first so it can be included as in-memory entries.
-    const archiveName = `${event.slug}.zip`;
+    const feedbackEntries = [];
-    const archivePath = path.join(ARCHIVE_PATH(), archiveName);
-    
-    // Ensure archive directory exists
-    await fs.mkdir(ARCHIVE_PATH(), { recursive: true });
-    
-    // Create archive
-    const output = require('fs').createWriteStream(archivePath);
-    const archive = archiver('zip', {
-      zlib: { level: 9 } // Maximum compression
-    });
-    
-    archive.on('error', (err) => {
-      throw err;
-    });
-    
-    // Export feedback data before archiving
     const feedbackSettings = await feedbackService.getEventFeedbackSettings(event.id);
     if (feedbackSettings.feedback_enabled) {
       try {
@@ -37,21 +29,19 @@ async function archiveEvent(event) {
         const feedbackData = await feedbackService.exportEventFeedback(event.id);
 
         if (feedbackData && feedbackData.length > 0) {
-          // Create feedback JSON file
+          feedbackEntries.push({
-          const feedbackJson = JSON.stringify(feedbackData, null, 2);
+            name: 'feedback_data.json',
-          const feedbackJsonPath = path.join(eventPath, 'feedback_data.json');
+            buffer: Buffer.from(JSON.stringify(feedbackData, null, 2), 'utf8'),
-          await fs.writeFile(feedbackJsonPath, feedbackJson, 'utf8');
+          });
-          
+          feedbackEntries.push({
-          // Create feedback CSV file
+            name: 'feedback_data.csv',
-          const feedbackCsv = convertToCSV(feedbackData);
+            buffer: Buffer.from(convertToCSV(feedbackData), 'utf8'),
-          const feedbackCsvPath = path.join(eventPath, 'feedback_data.csv');
+          });
-          await fs.writeFile(feedbackCsvPath, feedbackCsv, 'utf8');
-          
-          // Create feedback summary
           const summary = await feedbackService.getEventFeedbackSummary(event.id);
-          const summaryPath = path.join(eventPath, 'feedback_summary.json');
+          feedbackEntries.push({
-          await fs.writeFile(summaryPath, JSON.stringify(summary, null, 2), 'utf8');
+            name: 'feedback_summary.json',
-          
+            buffer: Buffer.from(JSON.stringify(summary, null, 2), 'utf8'),
+          });
           logger.info(`Feedback data exported: ${feedbackData.length} entries`);
         }
       } catch (error) {
@@ -60,53 +50,99 @@ async function archiveEvent(event) {
       }
     }
 
-    output.on('close', async () => {
+    // Stream every photo (and any other content under events/active/{slug}/) into
-      try {
+    // the zip directly from the storage backend.
-        logger.info(`Archive created: ${archiveName} (${archive.pointer()} bytes)`);
+    const photoEntries = await storage.list(eventPrefix);
 
-        // Update database
+    let totalBytes = 0;
-        await db('events').where('id', event.id).update({
+    await new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
-          is_archived: true,
+      const output = fs.createWriteStream(tmpArchive);
-          archive_path: path.relative(getStoragePath(), archivePath),
+      const archive = archiver('zip', { zlib: { level: 9 } });
-          archived_at: new Date()
-        });
 
-        // Delete original files
+      output.on('close', () => {
-        await fs.rm(eventPath, { recursive: true });
+        totalBytes = archive.pointer();
+        resolve();
+      });
+      archive.on('error', reject);
+      archive.pipe(output);
 
-        // Delete thumbnails
+      const append = async () => {
-        const photos = await db('photos').where('event_id', event.id);
+        for (const entry of photoEntries) {
-        for (const photo of photos) {
+          const nameInZip = entry.key.startsWith(`${eventPrefix}/`)
-          if (photo.thumbnail_path) {
+            ? entry.key.slice(eventPrefix.length + 1)
-            const thumbPath = path.join(getStoragePath(), photo.thumbnail_path);
+            : entry.key;
-            await fs.unlink(thumbPath).catch(() => {}); // Ignore if already deleted
+          const stream = await storage.get(entry.key);
-          }
+          archive.append(stream, { name: nameInZip });
         }
-
+        for (const f of feedbackEntries) {
-        // Queue completion email — admin_email is nullable on events (migration 073);
+          archive.append(f.buffer, { name: f.name });
-        // skip queueing rather than violating email_queue.recipient_email NOT NULL.
-        if (event.admin_email) {
-          await queueEmail(event.id, event.admin_email, 'archive_complete', {
-            event_name: event.event_name,
-            archive_size: (archive.pointer() / 1024 / 1024).toFixed(2) + ' MB'
-          });
-        } else {
-          logger.info(`Skipping archive_complete email for event ${event.slug}: no admin_email set`);
         }
-      } catch (err) {
+        archive.finalize();
-        // Never let the close handler reject — it runs detached from the caller,
+      };
-        // and an unhandled rejection here crashes the backend process.
+
-        logger.error(`Post-archive cleanup failed for event ${event.slug}:`, err);
+      append().catch(reject);
-      }
     });
 
-    archive.pipe(output);
+    // Upload the finalized zip to the storage backend.
-    archive.directory(eventPath, false);
+    await storage.putFromFile(archiveRelKey, tmpArchive, { contentType: 'application/zip' });
-    await archive.finalize();
 
+    logger.info(`Archive created: ${archiveName} (${totalBytes} bytes)`);
+
+    // Update DB BEFORE deleting originals so a crash mid-cleanup leaves the
+    // archive accessible rather than orphaning the photos.
+    await db('events').where('id', event.id).update({
+      is_archived: true,
+      archive_path: archiveRelKey,
+      archived_at: new Date(),
+    });
+
+    // Fire event.archived webhook (#327). Receivers infer per-photo loss
+    // from this event — we deliberately do NOT fire photo.deleted for each
+    // archived photo to avoid flooding subscribers on bulk archives.
+    try {
+      const webhookService = require('./webhookService');
+      await webhookService.fire('event.archived', {
+        event: { id: event.id, slug: event.slug, event_name: event.event_name, archive_path: archiveRelKey },
+      });
+    } catch (e) { /* non-fatal */ }
+
+    // Delete the originals from storage.
+    for (const entry of photoEntries) {
+      await storage.delete(entry.key).catch((err) =>
+        logger.warn(`Failed to delete archived original ${entry.key}: ${err.message}`)
+      );
+    }
+
+    // Delete thumbnails for this event's photos.
+    const photos = await db('photos').where('event_id', event.id);
+    for (const photo of photos) {
+      if (photo.thumbnail_path) {
+        await storage.delete(photo.thumbnail_path).catch(() => {});
+      }
+      if (photo.hero_path) {
+        await storage.delete(photo.hero_path).catch(() => {});
+      }
+      // Best effort: remove watermarked variants too if a refactor added them.
+      if (photo.watermark_path) {
+        await storage.delete(photo.watermark_path).catch(() => {});
+      }
+    }
+
+    // Queue completion email — admin_email is nullable on events (migration 073);
+    // skip queueing rather than violating email_queue.recipient_email NOT NULL.
+    if (event.admin_email) {
+      await queueEmail(event.id, event.admin_email, 'archive_complete', {
+        event_name: event.event_name,
+        archive_size: (totalBytes / 1024 / 1024).toFixed(2) + ' MB',
+      });
+    } else {
+      logger.info(`Skipping archive_complete email for event ${event.slug}: no admin_email set`);
+    }
   } catch (error) {
     logger.error(`Error archiving event ${event.slug}:`, error);
     throw error;
+  } finally {
+    await fsp.rm(tmpDir, { recursive: true, force: true }).catch(() => {});
   }
 }
 

backend/src/services/downloadZipService.js

@@ -7,16 +7,22 @@
  *
  * Pattern follows watermarkGeneratorService.js — singleton with
  * in-memory locking and debounced background regeneration.
+ *
+ * Storage: zips are written to a local tmp file then uploaded to the
+ * configured storage backend (local fs or S3) via storage.putFromFile.
+ * The cached zip is served via the storage backend on download.
  */
 
 const fs = require('fs');
 const fsp = require('fs/promises');
 const path = require('path');
+const os = require('os');
+const crypto = require('crypto');
 const archiver = require('archiver');
 const { db } = require('../database/db');
 const watermarkService = require('./watermarkService');
-const { resolvePhotoFilePath } = require('./photoResolver');
+const { resolvePhotoStorageKey, resolvePhotoFilePath } = require('./photoResolver');
-const { getStoragePath } = require('../config/storage');
+const { getStorage } = require('./storage');
 const logger = require('../utils/logger');
 
 const DEBOUNCE_MS = 5000;
@@ -29,15 +35,16 @@ class DownloadZipService {
   }
 
   /**
-   * Absolute path to the cached zip for an event slug.
+   * Relative storage key for the cached zip.
    */
-  getCachePath(slug) {
+  getCacheKey(slug) {
-    return path.join(getStoragePath(), 'events', 'active', slug, '.download-cache', 'all.zip');
+    return path.posix.join('events/active', slug, '.download-cache', 'all.zip');
   }
 
   /**
    * Check if a valid cached zip exists.
-   * Returns { path, size, generatedAt } or null.
+   * Returns { key, size, generatedAt } or null. The key is a relative storage
+   * key — callers stream it via storage.get() rather than reading directly.
    */
   async getZipInfo(eventId) {
     try {
@@ -48,15 +55,10 @@ class DownloadZipService {
 
       if (!event || !event.download_zip_path) return null;
 
-      const absPath = this.getCachePath(event.slug);
+      const storage = getStorage();
-      try {
+      const key = this.getCacheKey(event.slug);
-        const stat = await fsp.stat(absPath);
+      const stat = await storage.stat(key);
-        return {
+      if (!stat) {
-          path: absPath,
-          size: stat.size,
-          generatedAt: event.download_zip_generated_at,
-        };
-      } catch {
         // File gone — clear stale DB record
         await db('events').where({ id: eventId }).update({
           download_zip_path: null,
@@ -64,6 +66,11 @@ class DownloadZipService {
         });
         return null;
       }
+      return {
+        key,
+        size: stat.size,
+        generatedAt: event.download_zip_generated_at,
+      };
     } catch (err) {
       logger.warn('downloadZipService.getZipInfo error', { eventId, error: err.message });
       return null;
@@ -71,7 +78,7 @@ class DownloadZipService {
   }
 
   /**
-   * Generate the pre-zip for an event. Returns { success, path, size } or { success: false }.
+   * Generate the pre-zip for an event. Returns { success, key, size } or { success: false }.
    * Concurrent calls for the same eventId share one in-flight build.
    */
   async generateZip(eventId) {
@@ -97,6 +104,9 @@ class DownloadZipService {
   }
 
   async _build(eventId, version) {
+    const storage = getStorage();
+    let tmpDir;
+
     try {
       const event = await db('events').where({ id: eventId }).first();
       if (!event) return { success: false, error: 'Event not found' };
@@ -119,11 +129,10 @@ class DownloadZipService {
         text: event.watermark_text || watermarkSettings?.text || 'Protected',
       } : null;
 
-      const cacheDir = path.dirname(this.getCachePath(event.slug));
+      const finalKey = this.getCacheKey(event.slug);
-      await fsp.mkdir(cacheDir, { recursive: true });
 
-      const tmpPath = this.getCachePath(event.slug) + `.tmp.${Date.now()}`;
+      tmpDir = await fsp.mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'picpeak-zipbuild-'));
-      const finalPath = this.getCachePath(event.slug);
+      const tmpPath = path.join(tmpDir, `${crypto.randomBytes(4).toString('hex')}-all.zip`);
 
       // Build zip — level 0 (store only) since photos are already compressed
       await new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
@@ -145,13 +154,6 @@ class DownloadZipService {
               return reject(new Error('Build invalidated'));
             }
 
-            let filePath;
-            try {
-              filePath = resolvePhotoFilePath(event, photo);
-            } catch {
-              continue;
-            }
-
             let archiveName;
             if (hasMultipleTypes) {
               const folderName = photo.type === 'individual' ? 'Individual Photos' : 'Collages';
@@ -160,14 +162,36 @@ class DownloadZipService {
               archiveName = photo.filename;
             }
 
+            // External-mode photos still live on local disk; managed photos go
+            // through the storage backend. resolvePhotoStorageKey returns null
+            // for external, in which case fall back to resolvePhotoFilePath.
+            const storageKey = resolvePhotoStorageKey(event, photo);
+
             if (shouldApplyWatermark && effectiveSettings) {
               try {
-                const buf = await watermarkService.applyWatermark(filePath, effectiveSettings);
+                let sourcePath;
+                if (storageKey) {
+                  // Stream the original to a tmp file just long enough for sharp
+                  // (watermarkService) to operate on it. Avoids buffering the
+                  // entire image in memory for huge originals.
+                  sourcePath = path.join(tmpDir, `wm-${crypto.randomBytes(4).toString('hex')}`);
+                  await storage.getToFile(storageKey, sourcePath);
+                } else {
+                  sourcePath = resolvePhotoFilePath(event, photo);
+                }
+                const buf = await watermarkService.applyWatermark(sourcePath, effectiveSettings);
                 archive.append(buf, { name: archiveName });
+                if (storageKey) {
+                  await fsp.unlink(sourcePath).catch(() => {});
+                }
               } catch (err) {
                 logger.warn('Skipping watermark in pre-zip', { photoId: photo.id, error: err.message });
               }
+            } else if (storageKey) {
+              const stream = await storage.get(storageKey);
+              archive.append(stream, { name: archiveName });
             } else {
+              const filePath = resolvePhotoFilePath(event, photo);
               archive.file(filePath, { name: archiveName });
             }
           }
@@ -180,29 +204,33 @@ class DownloadZipService {
 
       // Check version again — another invalidation may have arrived
       if (this.versions.get(eventId) !== version) {
-        await fsp.unlink(tmpPath).catch(() => {});
         return { success: false, error: 'Build invalidated' };
       }
 
-      // Atomic rename
+      // Upload to storage (atomic from caller's perspective: storage.put writes
-      await fsp.rename(tmpPath, finalPath);
+      // to a tmp file/object first then commits in LocalFs; in S3 the key only
+      // exists after the multipart upload completes).
+      await storage.putFromFile(finalKey, tmpPath, { contentType: 'application/zip' });
 
-      const stat = await fsp.stat(finalPath);
+      const stat = await storage.stat(finalKey);
 
-      // Update DB
       await db('events').where({ id: eventId }).update({
-        download_zip_path: `events/active/${event.slug}/.download-cache/all.zip`,
+        download_zip_path: finalKey,
         download_zip_generated_at: new Date(),
       });
 
       logger.info('Pre-zip generated', { eventId, slug: event.slug, size: stat.size, photos: photos.length });
-      return { success: true, path: finalPath, size: stat.size };
+      return { success: true, key: finalKey, size: stat.size };
     } catch (err) {
       if (err.message === 'Build invalidated') {
         return { success: false, error: 'Build invalidated' };
       }
       logger.error('downloadZipService._build error', { eventId, error: err.message });
       return { success: false, error: err.message };
+    } finally {
+      if (tmpDir) {
+        await fsp.rm(tmpDir, { recursive: true, force: true }).catch(() => {});
+      }
     }
   }
 
@@ -264,17 +292,14 @@ class DownloadZipService {
 
   async _cleanup(eventId) {
     try {
+      const storage = getStorage();
       const event = await db('events')
         .where({ id: eventId })
         .select('slug', 'download_zip_path')
         .first();
 
       if (event && event.download_zip_path) {
-        const absPath = this.getCachePath(event.slug);
+        await storage.delete(this.getCacheKey(event.slug)).catch(() => {});
-        await fsp.unlink(absPath).catch(() => {});
-        // Also try to remove the cache directory if empty
-        const cacheDir = path.dirname(absPath);
-        await fsp.rmdir(cacheDir).catch(() => {});
       }
 
       await db('events').where({ id: eventId }).update({

backend/src/services/fileWatcher.js

@@ -13,6 +13,16 @@ const getStoragePath = () => process.env.STORAGE_PATH || path.join(__dirname, '.
 const WATCH_PATH = () => path.join(getStoragePath(), 'events/active');
 
 function startFileWatcher() {
+  // Auto-import via filesystem watching only works with the local storage
+  // backend. In S3 mode there is no local directory to watch — every photo
+  // must enter through the admin upload API. Skip cleanly with a clear log
+  // so operators aren't surprised by the missing feature.
+  const backend = (process.env.STORAGE_BACKEND || 'local').toLowerCase();
+  if (backend !== 'local') {
+    logger.warn(`[fileWatcher] auto-import disabled — STORAGE_BACKEND=${backend}. Use the admin upload API instead.`);
+    return null;
+  }
+
   const watcher = chokidar.watch(WATCH_PATH(), {
     ignored: /(^|[\/\\])\../, // ignore dotfiles
     persistent: true,
@@ -93,7 +103,7 @@ async function processNewPhoto(filePath) {
 
   if (!existingPhoto) {
     // Add to database
-    await db('photos').insert({
+    const insertResult = await db('photos').insert({
       event_id: event.id,
       filename: path.basename(filePath),
       path: relativePath,
@@ -101,10 +111,21 @@ async function processNewPhoto(filePath) {
       type: isVideo ? 'video' : photoType,
       size_bytes: stats.size,
       mime_type: mimeType
-    });
+    }).returning('id');
+    const photoId = insertResult[0]?.id || insertResult[0];
 
     logger.info(`Added new photo: ${relativePath}`);
     downloadZipService.invalidate(event.id);
+
+    // Webhook (#327) — auto-import path. Only fires in local mode since
+    // the watcher is disabled in S3 mode.
+    try {
+      const webhookService = require('./webhookService');
+      await webhookService.fire('photo.uploaded', {
+        event: { id: event.id, slug: event.slug, event_name: event.event_name },
+        photo: { id: photoId, filename: path.basename(filePath), size_bytes: stats.size, source: 'auto-import' },
+      });
+    } catch (e) { /* non-fatal */ }
   } else {
     logger.debug(`Photo already exists: ${relativePath}`);
   }
@@ -121,6 +142,16 @@ async function removePhoto(filePath) {
 
   if (photo) {
     downloadZipService.invalidate(photo.event_id);
+
+    // Webhook (#327) — fire only if the row actually existed.
+    try {
+      const event = await db('events').where({ id: photo.event_id }).first();
+      const webhookService = require('./webhookService');
+      await webhookService.fire('photo.deleted', {
+        event: { id: photo.event_id, slug: event?.slug, event_name: event?.event_name },
+        photo: { id: photo.id, filename: photo.filename, source: 'auto-import' },
+      });
+    } catch (e) { /* non-fatal */ }
   }
 
   logger.info(`Removed photo: ${relativePath}`);

backend/src/services/imageProcessor.js

@@ -1,9 +1,12 @@
 const sharp = require('sharp');
 const exifr = require('exifr');
 const path = require('path');
-const fs = require('fs').promises;
+const fsp = require('fs').promises;
+const os = require('os');
+const crypto = require('crypto');
 const logger = require('../utils/logger');
 const { db } = require('../database/db');
+const { getStorage } = require('./storage');
 
 // Configure sharp for better memory management with large batches
 sharp.cache(false); // Disable cache to prevent memory buildup
@@ -16,8 +19,10 @@ const DEFAULT_THUMBNAIL_FIT = 'cover'; // 'cover' for square crops
 const DEFAULT_THUMBNAIL_QUALITY = 85;
 const DEFAULT_THUMBNAIL_FORMAT = 'jpeg';
 
-const getStoragePath = () => process.env.STORAGE_PATH || path.join(__dirname, '../../../storage');
+// Hero image settings - optimized for large displays
-const getThumbnailPath = () => path.join(getStoragePath(), 'thumbnails');
+const DEFAULT_HERO_WIDTH = 1920;
+const DEFAULT_HERO_HEIGHT = 1080;
+const DEFAULT_HERO_QUALITY = 85;
 
 // Helper to parse setting value (handles both JSON-encoded and plain values)
 function parseSettingValue(value) {
@@ -83,26 +88,32 @@ async function getThumbnailSettings() {
   }
 }
 
+const contentTypeFor = (format) => {
+  if (format === 'png') return 'image/png';
+  if (format === 'webp') return 'image/webp';
+  return 'image/jpeg';
+};
+
+/**
+ * Generate a thumbnail from a local source image path. The output is written
+ * to the storage backend (local fs or S3) under `thumbnails/thumb_<filename>`
+ * and the relative storage key is returned for DB persistence.
+ *
+ * Callers must ensure the source is on the local filesystem. For S3 mode
+ * regeneration flows, fetch via `withLocalCopy(storage, sourceKey, fn)` first.
+ */
 async function generateThumbnail(imagePath, options = {}) {
   const filename = path.basename(imagePath);
   const thumbnailFilename = `thumb_${filename}`;
-  const thumbnailDir = getThumbnailPath();
+  const thumbnailRelKey = path.posix.join('thumbnails', thumbnailFilename);
-  const thumbnailPath = path.join(thumbnailDir, thumbnailFilename);
+  const storage = getStorage();
 
   // Get thumbnail settings
   const settings = await getThumbnailSettings();
 
-  // Ensure thumbnail directory exists
+  // Force regeneration: drop the existing object before writing the new one
-  await fs.mkdir(thumbnailDir, { recursive: true });
-  
-  // Check if we need to regenerate (for broken thumbnails)
   if (options.regenerate) {
-    try {
+    await storage.delete(thumbnailRelKey).catch(() => {});
-      await fs.unlink(thumbnailPath);
-      logger.info(`Deleted broken thumbnail: ${thumbnailPath}`);
-    } catch (err) {
-      // File might not exist, that's okay
-    }
   }
 
   try {
@@ -113,30 +124,26 @@ async function generateThumbnail(imagePath, options = {}) {
       throw new Error('Invalid image metadata - file may be incomplete');
     }
 
-    // Create sharp instance with memory-efficient settings
     let sharpInstance = sharp(imagePath, {
       limitInputPixels: 268402689, // ~16k x 16k max
-      sequentialRead: true, // More memory efficient for large images
+      sequentialRead: true,
-      failOnError: false // Don't fail on minor issues
+      failOnError: false
     });
 
     // Strip EXIF/metadata from thumbnails (privacy: prevent GPS leak etc.)
     sharpInstance = sharpInstance.withMetadata(false);
 
-    // Apply resize with configured settings
-    // For square thumbnails with 'cover' fit, we crop to center
     sharpInstance = sharpInstance.resize(settings.width, settings.height, {
       withoutEnlargement: true,
-      fit: settings.fit, // 'cover' will crop to fill the exact dimensions
+      fit: settings.fit,
-      position: 'center' // Center the crop for better composition
+      position: 'center'
     });
 
-    // Apply format-specific options
     if (settings.format === 'jpeg') {
       sharpInstance = sharpInstance.jpeg({
         quality: settings.quality,
-        progressive: true, // Progressive JPEG for better loading
+        progressive: true,
-        mozjpeg: true // Better compression
+        mozjpeg: true
       });
     } else if (settings.format === 'png') {
       sharpInstance = sharpInstance.png({
@@ -147,71 +154,84 @@ async function generateThumbnail(imagePath, options = {}) {
     } else if (settings.format === 'webp') {
       sharpInstance = sharpInstance.webp({
         quality: settings.quality,
-        effort: 4 // Balance between speed and compression
+        effort: 4
       });
     }
 
-    // Save the thumbnail
+    const buffer = await sharpInstance.toBuffer();
-    await sharpInstance.toFile(thumbnailPath);
+    if (!buffer || buffer.length === 0) {
-    
-    // Verify the thumbnail was created successfully
-    const stats = await fs.stat(thumbnailPath);
-    if (stats.size === 0) {
       throw new Error('Generated thumbnail is empty');
     }
 
-    return path.relative(getStoragePath(), thumbnailPath);
+    await storage.put(thumbnailRelKey, buffer, { contentType: contentTypeFor(settings.format) });
+
+    return thumbnailRelKey;
   } catch (error) {
     const msg = (error && error.message) ? error.message : String(error);
     logger.error(`Failed to generate thumbnail for ${filename}: ${msg}`);
 
-    // Clean up any partially created file
+    // Clean up any partially uploaded object
-    try {
+    await storage.delete(thumbnailRelKey).catch(() => {});
-      await fs.unlink(thumbnailPath);
-    } catch (unlinkErr) {
-      // Ignore unlink errors
-    }
 
-    // Return null if thumbnail generation fails, don't fail the whole upload
     return null;
   }
 }
 
 /**
- * Check if a thumbnail exists and is valid
+ * Check if a thumbnail exists and is valid. For local-fs storage we open the
+ * file with sharp to confirm it parses; for S3 we trust the byte-integrity
+ * checks built into the protocol and only verify size > 0.
  */
 async function isThumbnailValid(thumbnailPath) {
+  const storage = getStorage();
   try {
-    const fullPath = path.join(getStoragePath(), thumbnailPath);
+    const stat = await storage.stat(thumbnailPath);
-    const stats = await fs.stat(fullPath);
+    if (!stat || stat.size === 0) {
-    
-    // Check if file exists and has content
-    if (stats.size === 0) {
       return false;
     }
-    
+    if (storage.kind() === 'local') {
-    // Try to read metadata to ensure it's a valid image
+      const localPath = storage.resolveLocalPath(thumbnailPath);
-    await sharp(fullPath).metadata();
+      await sharp(localPath).metadata();
+    }
     return true;
   } catch (error) {
     return false;
   }
 }
 
+/**
+ * Wraps a callback that needs the source image as a local file. In local-fs
+ * mode the storage path is used directly (no copy); in S3 mode the object is
+ * streamed to a tmp file which is removed afterwards.
+ */
+async function withLocalCopy(sourceKey, fn) {
+  const storage = getStorage();
+  if (storage.kind() === 'local') {
+    return fn(storage.resolveLocalPath(sourceKey));
+  }
+  const tmpDir = await fsp.mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'picpeak-src-'));
+  const tmpPath = path.join(tmpDir, `${crypto.randomBytes(4).toString('hex')}_${path.basename(sourceKey)}`);
+  try {
+    await storage.getToFile(sourceKey, tmpPath);
+    return await fn(tmpPath);
+  } finally {
+    await fsp.rm(tmpDir, { recursive: true, force: true }).catch(() => {});
+  }
+}
+
 /**
  * Regenerate thumbnail if it's broken or missing
  */
 async function ensureThumbnail(photo) {
-  const { db } = require('../database/db');
+  const { resolvePhotoStorageKey } = require('./photoResolver');
-  const { resolvePhotoFilePath } = require('./photoResolver');
+  let sourceKey;
-  let originalPath;
   try {
     const event = await db('events').where('id', photo.event_id).first();
-    originalPath = resolvePhotoFilePath(event, photo);
+    sourceKey = resolvePhotoStorageKey(event, photo);
-    logger.info(`Ensuring thumbnail for photo ${photo.id} from source: ${originalPath}`);
+    logger.info(`Ensuring thumbnail for photo ${photo.id} from key: ${sourceKey}`);
   } catch (e) {
     const msg = (e && e.message) ? e.message : String(e);
-    logger.error(`Failed to resolve original path for thumbnail (photo ${photo.id}): ${msg}`);
+    logger.error(`Failed to resolve original key for thumbnail (photo ${photo.id}): ${msg}`);
     return null;
   }
 
@@ -224,12 +244,12 @@ async function ensureThumbnail(photo) {
     logger.warn(`Invalid thumbnail detected for photo ${photo.id}, regenerating...`);
   }
 
-  // Generate new thumbnail
+  // Generate new thumbnail (sources via withLocalCopy so this works in S3 mode)
-  const newThumbnailPath = await generateThumbnail(originalPath, { regenerate: true });
+  const newThumbnailPath = await withLocalCopy(sourceKey, (localPath) =>
+    generateThumbnail(localPath, { regenerate: true })
+  );
 
   if (newThumbnailPath) {
-    // Update database with new thumbnail path
-    const { db } = require('../database/db');
     await db('photos')
       .where({ id: photo.id })
       .update({ thumbnail_path: newThumbnailPath });
@@ -244,24 +264,19 @@ async function ensureThumbnail(photo) {
 async function generateVideoPlaceholder(originalFilename, options = {}) {
   const parsed = path.parse(originalFilename || '');
   const baseName = parsed.name || 'video';
-  const thumbnailDir = getThumbnailPath();
   const thumbnailFilename = `thumb_${baseName}.jpg`;
-  const thumbnailPath = path.join(thumbnailDir, thumbnailFilename);
+  const thumbnailRelKey = path.posix.join('thumbnails', thumbnailFilename);
+  const storage = getStorage();
 
   const settings = await getThumbnailSettings();
   const width = settings.width || DEFAULT_THUMBNAIL_WIDTH;
   const height = settings.height || DEFAULT_THUMBNAIL_HEIGHT;
 
   if (options.regenerate) {
-    try {
+    await storage.delete(thumbnailRelKey).catch(() => {});
-      await fs.unlink(thumbnailPath);
-    } catch (_) {
-      // ignore if missing
-    }
   }
 
   try {
-    await fs.mkdir(thumbnailDir, { recursive: true });
     const svg = `
       <svg width="${width}" height="${height}" viewBox="0 0 ${width} ${height}" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
         <defs>
@@ -279,26 +294,20 @@ async function generateVideoPlaceholder(originalFilename, options = {}) {
       </svg>
     `;
 
-    await sharp(Buffer.from(svg))
+    const buffer = await sharp(Buffer.from(svg))
       .resize(width, height, { fit: 'cover' })
       .jpeg({ quality: settings.quality || DEFAULT_THUMBNAIL_QUALITY })
-      .toFile(thumbnailPath);
+      .toBuffer();
 
-    return path.relative(getStoragePath(), thumbnailPath);
+    await storage.put(thumbnailRelKey, buffer, { contentType: 'image/jpeg' });
+
+    return thumbnailRelKey;
   } catch (error) {
     logger.error('Failed to generate video placeholder thumbnail:', error.message);
     return null;
   }
 }
 
-// Hero image settings - optimized for large displays
-const DEFAULT_HERO_WIDTH = 1920;
-const DEFAULT_HERO_HEIGHT = 1080;
-const DEFAULT_HERO_QUALITY = 85;
-const DEFAULT_HERO_FORMAT = 'jpeg';
-
-const getHeroPath = () => path.join(getStoragePath(), 'heroes');
-
 /**
  * Generate a hero-optimized image for gallery headers
  * Outputs a 1920x1080 image suitable for full-width hero sections
@@ -306,36 +315,24 @@ const getHeroPath = () => path.join(getStoragePath(), 'heroes');
 async function generateHeroImage(imagePath, options = {}) {
   const filename = path.basename(imagePath);
   const heroFilename = `hero_${filename}`;
-  const heroDir = getHeroPath();
+  const heroRelKey = path.posix.join('heroes', heroFilename);
-  const heroPath = path.join(heroDir, heroFilename);
+  const storage = getStorage();
 
-  // Ensure hero directory exists
-  await fs.mkdir(heroDir, { recursive: true });
-
-  // Check if we need to regenerate
   if (options.regenerate) {
-    try {
+    await storage.delete(heroRelKey).catch(() => {});
-      await fs.unlink(heroPath);
-      logger.info(`Deleted existing hero image: ${heroPath}`);
-    } catch (err) {
-      // File might not exist, that's okay
-    }
   }
 
   try {
-    // First, verify the source image is complete and valid
     const metadata = await sharp(imagePath).metadata();
 
     if (!metadata.width || !metadata.height) {
       throw new Error('Invalid image metadata - file may be incomplete');
     }
 
-    // Calculate dimensions to maintain aspect ratio while fitting within hero bounds
     const heroWidth = options.width || DEFAULT_HERO_WIDTH;
     const heroHeight = options.height || DEFAULT_HERO_HEIGHT;
     const quality = options.quality || DEFAULT_HERO_QUALITY;
 
-    // Create sharp instance with memory-efficient settings
     let sharpInstance = sharp(imagePath, {
       limitInputPixels: 268402689,
       sequentialRead: true,
@@ -345,43 +342,31 @@ async function generateHeroImage(imagePath, options = {}) {
     // Strip EXIF/metadata from hero images (privacy: prevent GPS leak etc.)
     sharpInstance = sharpInstance.withMetadata(false);
 
-    // Resize to fit hero dimensions while maintaining aspect ratio
-    // Use 'cover' to fill the hero area (crops if needed)
     sharpInstance = sharpInstance.resize(heroWidth, heroHeight, {
-      withoutEnlargement: false, // Allow upscaling for small images
+      withoutEnlargement: false,
       fit: 'cover',
       position: 'center'
     });
 
-    // Apply JPEG format with high quality
     sharpInstance = sharpInstance.jpeg({
       quality: quality,
       progressive: true,
       mozjpeg: true
     });
 
-    // Save the hero image
+    const buffer = await sharpInstance.toBuffer();
-    await sharpInstance.toFile(heroPath);
+    if (!buffer || buffer.length === 0) {
-
-    // Verify the hero image was created successfully
-    const stats = await fs.stat(heroPath);
-    if (stats.size === 0) {
       throw new Error('Generated hero image is empty');
     }
 
-    logger.info(`Generated hero image for ${filename}: ${heroPath}`);
+    await storage.put(heroRelKey, buffer, { contentType: 'image/jpeg' });
-    return path.relative(getStoragePath(), heroPath);
+
+    logger.info(`Generated hero image for ${filename} → ${heroRelKey}`);
+    return heroRelKey;
   } catch (error) {
     const msg = (error && error.message) ? error.message : String(error);
     logger.error(`Failed to generate hero image for ${filename}: ${msg}`);
-
+    await storage.delete(heroRelKey).catch(() => {});
-    // Clean up any partially created file
-    try {
-      await fs.unlink(heroPath);
-    } catch (unlinkErr) {
-      // Ignore unlink errors
-    }
-
     return null;
   }
 }
@@ -390,16 +375,16 @@ async function generateHeroImage(imagePath, options = {}) {
  * Check if a hero image exists and is valid
  */
 async function isHeroValid(heroPath) {
+  const storage = getStorage();
   try {
-    const fullPath = path.join(getStoragePath(), heroPath);
+    const stat = await storage.stat(heroPath);
-    const stats = await fs.stat(fullPath);
+    if (!stat || stat.size === 0) {
-
-    if (stats.size === 0) {
       return false;
     }
-
+    if (storage.kind() === 'local') {
-    // Try to read metadata to ensure it's a valid image
+      const localPath = storage.resolveLocalPath(heroPath);
-    await sharp(fullPath).metadata();
+      await sharp(localPath).metadata();
+    }
     return true;
   } catch (error) {
     return false;
@@ -410,21 +395,19 @@ async function isHeroValid(heroPath) {
  * Ensure a hero image exists for a photo, regenerate if needed
  */
 async function ensureHeroImage(photo) {
-  const { db } = require('../database/db');
+  const { resolvePhotoStorageKey } = require('./photoResolver');
-  const { resolvePhotoFilePath } = require('./photoResolver');
 
-  let originalPath;
+  let sourceKey;
   try {
     const event = await db('events').where('id', photo.event_id).first();
-    originalPath = resolvePhotoFilePath(event, photo);
+    sourceKey = resolvePhotoStorageKey(event, photo);
-    logger.info(`Ensuring hero image for photo ${photo.id} from source: ${originalPath}`);
+    logger.info(`Ensuring hero image for photo ${photo.id} from key: ${sourceKey}`);
   } catch (e) {
     const msg = (e && e.message) ? e.message : String(e);
-    logger.error(`Failed to resolve original path for hero image (photo ${photo.id}): ${msg}`);
+    logger.error(`Failed to resolve original key for hero image (photo ${photo.id}): ${msg}`);
     return null;
   }
 
-  // Check if hero image exists and is valid
   if (photo.hero_path) {
     const isValid = await isHeroValid(photo.hero_path);
     if (isValid) {
@@ -433,11 +416,11 @@ async function ensureHeroImage(photo) {
     logger.warn(`Invalid hero image detected for photo ${photo.id}, regenerating...`);
   }
 
-  // Generate new hero image
+  const newHeroPath = await withLocalCopy(sourceKey, (localPath) =>
-  const newHeroPath = await generateHeroImage(originalPath, { regenerate: true });
+    generateHeroImage(localPath, { regenerate: true })
+  );
 
   if (newHeroPath) {
-    // Update database with new hero path
     await db('photos')
       .where({ id: photo.id })
       .update({ hero_path: newHeroPath });
@@ -451,12 +434,9 @@ async function ensureHeroImage(photo) {
 
 /**
  * Extract capture date from EXIF metadata
- * @param {string} imagePath - Path to the image file
- * @returns {Date|null} - The capture date or null if not available
  */
 async function extractCaptureDate(imagePath) {
   try {
-    // Parse EXIF data, looking for common date fields
     const exif = await exifr.parse(imagePath, {
       pick: ['DateTimeOriginal', 'CreateDate', 'DateTimeDigitized', 'ModifyDate']
     });
@@ -465,23 +445,19 @@ async function extractCaptureDate(imagePath) {
       return null;
     }
 
-    // Priority order: DateTimeOriginal > CreateDate > DateTimeDigitized > ModifyDate
     const captureDate = exif.DateTimeOriginal ||
                         exif.CreateDate ||
                         exif.DateTimeDigitized ||
                         exif.ModifyDate;
 
     if (captureDate) {
-      // exifr returns Date objects directly when parsing dates
       if (captureDate instanceof Date) {
-        // Validate the date is reasonable (not in the future, not before 1990)
         const now = new Date();
         const minDate = new Date('1990-01-01');
         if (captureDate > minDate && captureDate <= now) {
           return captureDate;
         }
       }
-      // Handle string dates if necessary
       if (typeof captureDate === 'string') {
         const parsed = new Date(captureDate);
         if (!isNaN(parsed.getTime())) {
@@ -492,7 +468,6 @@ async function extractCaptureDate(imagePath) {
 
     return null;
   } catch (error) {
-    // Log only as debug - many images don't have EXIF data
     logger.debug(`Could not extract EXIF date from ${path.basename(imagePath)}:`, error.message);
     return null;
   }
@@ -506,5 +481,6 @@ module.exports = {
   generateHeroImage,
   isHeroValid,
   ensureHeroImage,
-  extractCaptureDate
+  extractCaptureDate,
+  withLocalCopy,
 };

backend/src/services/photoProcessor.js

@@ -4,9 +4,7 @@ const { db } = require('../database/db');
 const { generateThumbnail } = require('./imageProcessor');
 const { generatePhotoFilename } = require('../utils/filenameSanitizer');
 const { processUploadedVideo, isVideoMimeType } = require('./videoProcessor');
-
+const { getStorage } = require('./storage');
-// Get storage path from environment or default
-const getStoragePath = () => process.env.STORAGE_PATH || path.join(__dirname, '../../../storage');
 
 function normalizeFiles(files) {
   // Handle null, undefined, or falsy values
@@ -99,11 +97,6 @@ async function processUploadedPhotos(files, eventId, uploadedBy = 'admin', categ
         extension
       );
       
-      // Move file to event folder
-      const destPath = path.join(getStoragePath(), 'events/active', event.slug);
-      await fs.mkdir(destPath, { recursive: true });
-      
-      const newPath = path.join(destPath, newFilename);
       const tempPath = file?.path || file?.filepath || file?.tempFilePath;
 
       if (!tempPath) {
@@ -116,7 +109,7 @@ async function processUploadedPhotos(files, eventId, uploadedBy = 'admin', categ
         throw new Error(`Uploaded file is missing a temporary path. File info: ${fileInfo}`);
       }
 
-      // Verify temp file exists before copying
+      // Verify temp file exists before processing
       try {
         await fs.access(tempPath);
       } catch (accessErr) {
@@ -127,56 +120,33 @@ async function processUploadedPhotos(files, eventId, uploadedBy = 'admin', categ
         throw new Error(`Uploaded file not found at temporary location: ${tempPath}`);
       }
 
-      // Use copyFile and unlink instead of rename to avoid cross-device issues
+      // Final storage key under events/active/{slug}/{newFilename}.
-      try {
+      const relativePath = path.posix.join(event.slug, newFilename);
-        await fs.copyFile(tempPath, newPath);
+      const finalKey = path.posix.join('events/active', relativePath);
-        console.log(`Successfully copied ${file.originalname} to ${newPath}`);
-      } catch (copyErr) {
-        console.error(`Failed to copy file from ${tempPath} to ${newPath}:`, copyErr);
-        throw new Error(`Failed to copy uploaded file: ${copyErr.message}`);
-      } finally {
-        // Clean up temp file with better error handling
-        try {
-          await fs.unlink(tempPath);
-          console.log(`Cleaned up temp file: ${tempPath}`);
-        } catch (unlinkErr) {
-          // Only warn if file exists but couldn't be deleted
-          // ENOENT means file was already deleted, which is fine
-          if (unlinkErr?.code !== 'ENOENT') {
-            console.warn(`Failed to clean up temp upload ${tempPath}:`, {
-              error: unlinkErr.message,
-              code: unlinkErr.code
-            });
-          }
-        }
-      }
 
       // Determine if this is a video or image
       const isVideo = isVideoMimeType(file.mimetype);
       const mediaType = isVideo ? 'video' : 'image';
 
-      // Generate thumbnail and extract metadata
+      // Generate thumbnail and extract metadata FROM the temp file (still on
+      // local disk) before uploading the original.
       let thumbnailPath;
       let videoMetadata = null;
       let imageMetadata = null;
 
       if (isVideo) {
-        // Process video: extract metadata and generate thumbnail
+        const videoThumbnailKey = path.posix.join(
-        const thumbnailDir = path.join(getStoragePath(), 'thumbnails');
+          'thumbnails',
-        await fs.mkdir(thumbnailDir, { recursive: true });
+          `thumb_${newFilename.replace(/\.[^.]+$/, '.jpg')}`
-        const videoThumbnailPath = path.join(thumbnailDir, `thumb_${newFilename.replace(/\.[^.]+$/, '.jpg')}`);
+        );
-
+        const result = await processUploadedVideo(tempPath, videoThumbnailKey);
-        const result = await processUploadedVideo(newPath, videoThumbnailPath);
         videoMetadata = result.metadata;
-        thumbnailPath = path.relative(getStoragePath(), videoThumbnailPath);
+        thumbnailPath = result.thumbnailKey;
       } else {
-        // Process image: generate thumbnail and extract dimensions
+        thumbnailPath = await generateThumbnail(tempPath);
-        thumbnailPath = await generateThumbnail(newPath);
-
-        // Extract image dimensions using sharp
         try {
           const sharp = require('sharp');
-          const metadata = await sharp(newPath).metadata();
+          const metadata = await sharp(tempPath).metadata();
           if (metadata.width && metadata.height) {
             imageMetadata = {
               width: metadata.width,
@@ -188,10 +158,29 @@ async function processUploadedPhotos(files, eventId, uploadedBy = 'admin', categ
         }
       }
 
-      // Calculate relative paths
+      // Now upload the original through the storage backend and remove the
-      const storagePath = getStoragePath();
+      // local temp copy.
-      const relativePath = path.relative(path.join(storagePath, 'events/active'), newPath);
+      try {
-      const relativeThumbPath = thumbnailPath; // thumbnailPath is already relative to storage root
+        await getStorage().putFromFile(finalKey, tempPath, {
+          contentType: file.mimetype,
+        });
+      } catch (uploadErr) {
+        console.error(`Failed to upload ${file.originalname} → ${finalKey}:`, uploadErr);
+        throw new Error(`Failed to upload to storage: ${uploadErr.message}`);
+      } finally {
+        try {
+          await fs.unlink(tempPath);
+        } catch (unlinkErr) {
+          if (unlinkErr?.code !== 'ENOENT') {
+            console.warn(`Failed to clean up temp upload ${tempPath}:`, {
+              error: unlinkErr.message,
+              code: unlinkErr.code
+            });
+          }
+        }
+      }
+
+      const relativeThumbPath = thumbnailPath;
 
       // Add to database with uploaded_by field and media metadata
       let insertResult;
@@ -248,6 +237,22 @@ async function processUploadedPhotos(files, eventId, uploadedBy = 'admin', categ
       // Commit transaction
       await trx.commit();
 
+      // Webhook (#327) — fires for every entry path that lands in this
+      // service: guest upload + auto-import + admin upload via API.
+      try {
+        const webhookService = require('./webhookService');
+        await webhookService.fire('photo.uploaded', {
+          event: { id: event.id, slug: event.slug, event_name: event.event_name },
+          photo: {
+            id: photoId,
+            filename: newFilename,
+            original_filename: file.originalname,
+            size_bytes: file.size,
+            uploaded_by: uploadedBy,
+          },
+        });
+      } catch (e) { /* non-fatal */ }
+
       uploadedPhotos.push({
         id: photoId,
         filename: newFilename,

backend/src/services/photoReplacementService.js

@@ -13,10 +13,10 @@ const { db } = require('../database/db');
 const { generateThumbnail, extractCaptureDate } = require('./imageProcessor');
 const { generatePhotoFilename } = require('../utils/filenameSanitizer');
 const watermarkGeneratorService = require('./watermarkGeneratorService');
+const { getStorage } = require('./storage');
+const { resolvePhotoStorageKey } = require('./photoResolver');
 const logger = require('../utils/logger');
 
-const getStoragePath = () => process.env.STORAGE_PATH || path.join(__dirname, '../../../storage');
-
 /**
  * Find a replacement candidate by matching original_filename (case-insensitive).
  * Returns the photo row if exactly one match, { ambiguous: true, count } if multiple, or null.
@@ -42,46 +42,21 @@ async function findReplacementCandidate(eventId, originalFilename) {
  * @returns {{ success: boolean, photo?: Object, error?: string }}
  */
 async function replacePhoto(existingPhoto, newFileTempPath, { originalFilename, mimeType, event }) {
-  const eventDir = path.join(getStoragePath(), 'events', 'active', event.slug);
   const categorySlug = existingPhoto.type === 'collage' ? 'collages' : 'individual';
-  const targetDir = path.join(eventDir, categorySlug);
 
   try {
-    // Generate new filename
+    // Generate new filename + storage key
     const ext = path.extname(originalFilename);
     const newFilename = generatePhotoFilename(event.event_name, categorySlug, Date.now(), ext);
-    const tempTargetPath = path.join(targetDir, `_replacing_${Date.now()}_${newFilename}`);
+    const relativePath = path.posix.join(event.slug, categorySlug, newFilename);
-    const finalPath = path.join(targetDir, newFilename);
+    const finalKey = path.posix.join('events/active', relativePath);
-    const relativePath = path.join(event.slug, categorySlug, newFilename);
+    const storage = getStorage();
 
-    // Write new file to temp name in target directory
+    // Sharp/EXIF need a local file. The temp file from multer still satisfies
-    await fsp.mkdir(targetDir, { recursive: true });
+    // that — we read metadata before uploading the original to storage.
-    await fsp.copyFile(newFileTempPath, tempTargetPath);
-
-    // Delete old physical file
-    const oldFilePath = path.join(getStoragePath(), 'events', 'active', existingPhoto.path);
-    await fsp.unlink(oldFilePath).catch(() => {});
-
-    // Delete old thumbnail
-    if (existingPhoto.thumbnail_path) {
-      const oldThumbPath = path.join(getStoragePath(), existingPhoto.thumbnail_path);
-      await fsp.unlink(oldThumbPath).catch(() => {});
-    }
-
-    // Delete old watermark cache
-    try {
-      await watermarkGeneratorService.deleteForPhoto(existingPhoto.id);
-    } catch {
-      // Ignore — watermark may not exist
-    }
-
-    // Rename temp → final
-    await fsp.rename(tempTargetPath, finalPath);
-
-    // Extract metadata from new file
     let capturedAt = null;
     try {
-      capturedAt = await extractCaptureDate(finalPath);
+      capturedAt = await extractCaptureDate(newFileTempPath);
     } catch {
       // No EXIF — keep null
     }
@@ -89,23 +64,41 @@ async function replacePhoto(existingPhoto, newFileTempPath, { originalFilename,
     let width = null;
     let height = null;
     try {
-      const metadata = await sharp(finalPath).metadata();
+      const metadata = await sharp(newFileTempPath).metadata();
       width = metadata.width || null;
       height = metadata.height || null;
     } catch {
       // Non-image or corrupt
     }
 
-    const stats = await fsp.stat(finalPath);
+    const stats = await fsp.stat(newFileTempPath);
 
-    // Generate new thumbnail
+    // Generate new thumbnail FROM the local temp before uploading the original.
     let thumbnailPath = null;
     try {
-      thumbnailPath = await generateThumbnail(finalPath);
+      thumbnailPath = await generateThumbnail(newFileTempPath);
     } catch {
       logger.warn('Failed to generate thumbnail for replaced photo', { photoId: existingPhoto.id });
     }
 
+    // Delete old assets BEFORE uploading the new key — if they share the path
+    // (rare but possible if filename collision), we want the new content.
+    const oldOriginalKey = resolvePhotoStorageKey(event, existingPhoto);
+    if (oldOriginalKey && oldOriginalKey !== finalKey) {
+      await storage.delete(oldOriginalKey).catch(() => {});
+    }
+    if (existingPhoto.thumbnail_path && existingPhoto.thumbnail_path !== thumbnailPath) {
+      await storage.delete(existingPhoto.thumbnail_path).catch(() => {});
+    }
+    try {
+      await watermarkGeneratorService.deleteForPhoto(existingPhoto.id);
+    } catch {
+      // Ignore — watermark may not exist
+    }
+
+    // Upload the new original.
+    await storage.putFromFile(finalKey, newFileTempPath, { contentType: mimeType });
+
     // Update DB record — preserve id, event_id, category_id, type, visibility,
     // uploaded_at, sort_order, feedback counts, view/download counts
     const updates = {

backend/src/services/photoResolver.js

@@ -4,6 +4,39 @@ const { safePathJoin } = require('../utils/fileSecurityUtils');
 
 const getStoragePath = () => process.env.STORAGE_PATH || path.join(__dirname, '../../../storage');
 
+/**
+ * Resolve a managed photo's relative key under the storage backend.
+ * Returns null for external-mode photos (those never live in the managed
+ * storage backend; callers should fall back to resolvePhotoFilePath for
+ * external references on local disk).
+ *
+ * Storage layout (relative to STORAGE_PATH or S3 bucket prefix):
+ *   events/active/{slug}/individual/{filename}
+ *   events/active/{slug}/collages/{filename}
+ *
+ * Legacy `photo.path` values may already include `events/active/` — we
+ * normalize so the returned key always has it exactly once.
+ */
+function resolvePhotoStorageKey(event, photo) {
+  if (!event || !photo) throw new Error('resolvePhotoStorageKey requires event and photo');
+
+  const mode = (photo.source_origin || event.source_mode || 'managed');
+  if (mode === 'reference' || mode === 'external') {
+    // External photos don't live in the managed backend.
+    return null;
+  }
+
+  const rel = photo.path ? photo.path.replace(/\\/g, '/').replace(/^\/+/, '') : '';
+  if (!rel) {
+    throw new Error(`resolvePhotoStorageKey: photo.path is empty for photo ${photo.id}`);
+  }
+
+  // Already prefixed (legacy uploads from a previous code revision).
+  if (rel.startsWith('events/active/')) return rel;
+
+  return path.posix.join('events/active', rel);
+}
+
 /**
  * Resolve absolute photo file path based on event + photo origin
  * Managed: storage/events/active + photo.path (legacy variants supported)
@@ -19,6 +52,13 @@ function resolvePhotoFilePath(event, photo) {
   const mode = (photo.source_origin || event.source_mode || 'managed');
   if (mode === 'reference' || mode === 'external') {
     if (!photo.external_relpath) {
+      // Mixed-source events: a reference-mode event can also hold managed
+      // (uploaded) photos. If we have a regular `path` and no
+      // external_relpath, treat this row as managed instead of throwing.
+      if (photo.path && !photo.source_origin) {
+        const relativeSegment = photo.path.replace(/^\/+/, '');
+        return safePathJoin(path.join(getStoragePath(), 'events/active'), relativeSegment);
+      }
       throw new Error('Missing external_relpath for external photo');
     }
     // Normalize duplicate leaf segments (e.g., event.external_path ends with 'individual'
@@ -51,4 +91,5 @@ function resolvePhotoFilePath(event, photo) {
 
 module.exports = {
   resolvePhotoFilePath,
+  resolvePhotoStorageKey,
 };

backend/src/services/storage/LocalFsStorage.js

@@ -0,0 +1,166 @@
+const fs = require('fs');
+const fsp = require('fs').promises;
+const path = require('path');
+const { pipeline } = require('stream/promises');
+const crypto = require('crypto');
+
+const logger = require('../../utils/logger');
+
+/**
+ * Filesystem-backed implementation of the StorageBackend interface.
+ * All keys are relative to `root` (typically process.env.STORAGE_PATH).
+ *
+ * Path traversal protection: every key is normalized to POSIX form and rejected
+ * if it tries to escape the root via "..". Callers should not need to think
+ * about this — but if a key arrives via user input it must still be filtered.
+ */
+class LocalFsStorage {
+  constructor({ root }) {
+    if (!root) throw new Error('LocalFsStorage requires a `root` directory');
+    this.root = path.resolve(root);
+  }
+
+  kind() {
+    return 'local';
+  }
+
+  async init() {
+    await fsp.mkdir(this.root, { recursive: true });
+    // Sanity check: must be writable.
+    const probe = path.join(this.root, '.storage-write-probe');
+    await fsp.writeFile(probe, '');
+    await fsp.unlink(probe);
+    logger.info(`[storage] LocalFsStorage initialized at ${this.root}`);
+  }
+
+  _resolve(relPath) {
+    if (!relPath || typeof relPath !== 'string') {
+      throw new Error(`LocalFsStorage: invalid relative path: ${relPath}`);
+    }
+    const normalized = path.posix.normalize(relPath.replace(/\\/g, '/'));
+    if (normalized.startsWith('..') || normalized.includes('/../') || normalized === '..') {
+      throw new Error(`LocalFsStorage: path traversal rejected: ${relPath}`);
+    }
+    return path.join(this.root, normalized);
+  }
+
+  async put(relPath, body, _options = {}) {
+    const abs = this._resolve(relPath);
+    await fsp.mkdir(path.dirname(abs), { recursive: true });
+    // Write to a sibling tmp file first then rename for crash safety.
+    const tmp = `${abs}.tmp.${process.pid}.${crypto.randomBytes(4).toString('hex')}`;
+    try {
+      if (Buffer.isBuffer(body)) {
+        await fsp.writeFile(tmp, body);
+      } else if (body && typeof body.pipe === 'function') {
+        await pipeline(body, fs.createWriteStream(tmp));
+      } else {
+        throw new Error('LocalFsStorage.put: body must be a Buffer or Readable stream');
+      }
+      await fsp.rename(tmp, abs);
+    } catch (err) {
+      await fsp.unlink(tmp).catch(() => {});
+      throw err;
+    }
+  }
+
+  async putFromFile(relPath, localPath, _options = {}) {
+    const abs = this._resolve(relPath);
+    await fsp.mkdir(path.dirname(abs), { recursive: true });
+    // copyFile is atomic from the destination's perspective on POSIX.
+    await fsp.copyFile(localPath, abs);
+  }
+
+  async get(relPath) {
+    const abs = this._resolve(relPath);
+    return fs.createReadStream(abs);
+  }
+
+  async getToFile(relPath, localPath) {
+    const abs = this._resolve(relPath);
+    await fsp.mkdir(path.dirname(localPath), { recursive: true });
+    await fsp.copyFile(abs, localPath);
+  }
+
+  async exists(relPath) {
+    try {
+      await fsp.access(this._resolve(relPath), fs.constants.F_OK);
+      return true;
+    } catch {
+      return false;
+    }
+  }
+
+  async stat(relPath) {
+    try {
+      const s = await fsp.stat(this._resolve(relPath));
+      return { size: s.size, mtime: s.mtime };
+    } catch (err) {
+      if (err.code === 'ENOENT') return null;
+      throw err;
+    }
+  }
+
+  async delete(relPath) {
+    try {
+      await fsp.unlink(this._resolve(relPath));
+    } catch (err) {
+      if (err.code !== 'ENOENT') throw err;
+    }
+  }
+
+  async list(prefix) {
+    const absPrefix = this._resolve(prefix || '.');
+    const entries = [];
+    async function walk(dir, relBase) {
+      let dirents;
+      try {
+        dirents = await fsp.readdir(dir, { withFileTypes: true });
+      } catch (err) {
+        if (err.code === 'ENOENT') return;
+        throw err;
+      }
+      for (const ent of dirents) {
+        const childAbs = path.join(dir, ent.name);
+        const childRel = relBase ? `${relBase}/${ent.name}` : ent.name;
+        if (ent.isDirectory()) {
+          await walk(childAbs, childRel);
+        } else if (ent.isFile()) {
+          const s = await fsp.stat(childAbs);
+          entries.push({ key: childRel, size: s.size, mtime: s.mtime });
+        }
+      }
+    }
+    const baseRel = prefix && prefix !== '.' ? prefix.replace(/\\/g, '/') : '';
+    await walk(absPrefix, baseRel);
+    return entries;
+  }
+
+  async rename(srcRelPath, dstRelPath) {
+    const src = this._resolve(srcRelPath);
+    const dst = this._resolve(dstRelPath);
+    await fsp.mkdir(path.dirname(dst), { recursive: true });
+    await fsp.rename(src, dst);
+  }
+
+  async copy(srcRelPath, dstRelPath) {
+    const src = this._resolve(srcRelPath);
+    const dst = this._resolve(dstRelPath);
+    await fsp.mkdir(path.dirname(dst), { recursive: true });
+    await fsp.copyFile(src, dst);
+  }
+
+  async signedUrl(_relPath, _ttlSeconds = 300) {
+    throw new Error('LocalFsStorage does not support signedUrl. Set STORAGE_BACKEND=s3 to use presigned URLs.');
+  }
+
+  // Escape hatch for callers that genuinely need a filesystem path
+  // (e.g. ffmpeg, archiver — anything that takes a path argument rather
+  // than a stream). S3Storage exposes the same method but returns null,
+  // forcing callers to use the streaming API instead.
+  resolveLocalPath(relPath) {
+    return this._resolve(relPath);
+  }
+}
+
+module.exports = LocalFsStorage;

backend/src/services/storage/S3StorageBackend.js

@@ -0,0 +1,165 @@
+const path = require('path');
+const fs = require('fs');
+const fsp = require('fs').promises;
+const { HeadObjectCommand } = require('@aws-sdk/client-s3');
+
+const S3StorageAdapter = require('./s3Storage');
+const logger = require('../../utils/logger');
+
+/**
+ * StorageBackend wrapper around the existing S3StorageAdapter.
+ *
+ * S3StorageAdapter was originally written for the backup service and exposes
+ * upload/download/uploadStream/etc. This thin layer maps that surface onto the
+ * canonical put/get/exists/delete/list/rename/copy/signedUrl interface used by
+ * the rest of the codebase, and applies an optional `prefix` so a single bucket
+ * can host multiple deployments without collisions.
+ *
+ * Atomicity: S3 has no rename. `rename()` is implemented as `copy()` + `delete()`.
+ * If the process crashes between the two, the source object remains until the
+ * next list-and-prune sweep — see `cleanupAbandonedTempUploads()` callers.
+ */
+class S3StorageBackend {
+  constructor(config) {
+    if (!config || !config.bucket) {
+      throw new Error('S3StorageBackend requires a bucket name');
+    }
+    this.adapter = new S3StorageAdapter(config);
+    this.prefix = (config.prefix || '').replace(/^\/+|\/+$/g, '');
+  }
+
+  kind() {
+    return 's3';
+  }
+
+  _key(relPath) {
+    if (!relPath || typeof relPath !== 'string') {
+      throw new Error(`S3StorageBackend: invalid relative path: ${relPath}`);
+    }
+    const normalized = relPath.replace(/\\/g, '/').replace(/^\.?\/+/, '');
+    if (normalized.startsWith('..') || normalized.includes('/../')) {
+      throw new Error(`S3StorageBackend: path traversal rejected: ${relPath}`);
+    }
+    return this.prefix ? `${this.prefix}/${normalized}` : normalized;
+  }
+
+  async init() {
+    await this.adapter.testConnection();
+    logger.info(`[storage] S3StorageBackend initialized bucket=${this.adapter.bucket} prefix=${this.prefix || '(none)'}`);
+  }
+
+  async put(relPath, body, options = {}) {
+    const key = this._key(relPath);
+    if (Buffer.isBuffer(body)) {
+      const { Readable } = require('stream');
+      const stream = Readable.from(body);
+      await this.adapter.uploadStream(stream, key, {
+        contentType: options.contentType,
+        cacheControl: options.cacheControl,
+      });
+      return;
+    }
+    if (body && typeof body.pipe === 'function') {
+      await this.adapter.uploadStream(body, key, {
+        contentType: options.contentType,
+        cacheControl: options.cacheControl,
+      });
+      return;
+    }
+    throw new Error('S3StorageBackend.put: body must be a Buffer or Readable stream');
+  }
+
+  async putFromFile(relPath, localPath, options = {}) {
+    await this.adapter.upload(localPath, this._key(relPath), {
+      contentType: options.contentType,
+      cacheControl: options.cacheControl,
+    });
+  }
+
+  async get(relPath) {
+    return this.adapter.downloadStream(this._key(relPath));
+  }
+
+  async getToFile(relPath, localPath) {
+    await fsp.mkdir(path.dirname(localPath), { recursive: true });
+    await this.adapter.download(this._key(relPath), localPath);
+  }
+
+  async exists(relPath) {
+    return this.adapter.exists(this._key(relPath));
+  }
+
+  async stat(relPath) {
+    try {
+      const head = await this.adapter.s3Client.send(
+        new HeadObjectCommand({ Bucket: this.adapter.bucket, Key: this._key(relPath) })
+      );
+      return {
+        size: head.ContentLength,
+        mtime: head.LastModified,
+      };
+    } catch (err) {
+      if (err.name === 'NotFound' || err.$metadata?.httpStatusCode === 404) return null;
+      throw err;
+    }
+  }
+
+  async delete(relPath) {
+    try {
+      await this.adapter.delete(this._key(relPath));
+    } catch (err) {
+      if (err.name === 'NoSuchKey' || err.$metadata?.httpStatusCode === 404) return;
+      throw err;
+    }
+  }
+
+  async list(prefix) {
+    const fullPrefix = this._key(prefix || '.');
+    const entries = [];
+    let continuationToken;
+    do {
+      const result = await this.adapter.list(fullPrefix, { continuationToken });
+      for (const obj of result.Contents || []) {
+        const stripped = this.prefix && obj.Key.startsWith(`${this.prefix}/`)
+          ? obj.Key.slice(this.prefix.length + 1)
+          : obj.Key;
+        entries.push({ key: stripped, size: obj.Size, mtime: obj.LastModified });
+      }
+      continuationToken = result.NextContinuationToken;
+    } while (continuationToken);
+    return entries;
+  }
+
+  async copy(srcRelPath, dstRelPath) {
+    await this.adapter.copy(this._key(srcRelPath), this._key(dstRelPath));
+  }
+
+  async rename(srcRelPath, dstRelPath) {
+    await this.copy(srcRelPath, dstRelPath);
+    await this.delete(srcRelPath);
+  }
+
+  async signedUrl(relPath, ttlSeconds = 300) {
+    return this.adapter.getSignedUrl('getObject', this._key(relPath), { expiresIn: ttlSeconds });
+  }
+
+  // S3 has no local path; consumers that need one must use getToFile to a
+  // temp location first. Returning null here makes the contract explicit so
+  // legacy code using `storage.resolveLocalPath` fails fast instead of
+  // silently constructing a bad path.
+  resolveLocalPath(_relPath) {
+    return null;
+  }
+
+  // Expose the underlying adapter so backupService keeps working.
+  // New code should prefer the canonical interface above.
+  get rawAdapter() {
+    return this.adapter;
+  }
+
+  static fileStreamFromPath(localPath) {
+    return fs.createReadStream(localPath);
+  }
+}
+
+module.exports = S3StorageBackend;

backend/src/services/storage/StorageBackend.js

@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+/**
+ * Storage backend interface that LocalFsStorage and S3Storage implement.
+ *
+ * All paths are POSIX-style relative keys under the deployment's storage root
+ * (e.g. "events/active/wedding-smith/individual/IMG_0001.jpg"). Concrete adapters
+ * resolve the absolute filesystem path or S3 key internally so callers never deal
+ * with the difference between local and remote storage.
+ *
+ * Concurrency: methods are safe to call in parallel; ordering is the caller's
+ * responsibility. `put` is best-effort atomic (LocalFs writes to a temp file
+ * then renames; S3 returns only after the multipart upload is finalized).
+ *
+ * @typedef {Object} PutOptions
+ * @property {string} [contentType] - MIME type stored in object metadata.
+ * @property {string} [cacheControl] - Cache-Control header (S3 only).
+ *
+ * @typedef {Object} StatResult
+ * @property {number} size - Size in bytes.
+ * @property {Date} [mtime] - Last modified timestamp (best-effort; S3 uses LastModified).
+ *
+ * @typedef {Object} ListEntry
+ * @property {string} key - Relative path under the storage root.
+ * @property {number} size - Size in bytes.
+ * @property {Date} [mtime] - Last modified timestamp.
+ *
+ * @typedef {Object} StorageBackend
+ * @property {() => string} kind - Returns 'local' or 's3'.
+ * @property {() => Promise<void>} init - Validates configuration and reachability. Called once at startup.
+ * @property {(relPath: string, body: NodeJS.ReadableStream | Buffer, options?: PutOptions) => Promise<void>} put
+ * @property {(relPath: string, localPath: string, options?: PutOptions) => Promise<void>} putFromFile
+ * @property {(relPath: string) => Promise<NodeJS.ReadableStream>} get - Returns a readable stream of the object body.
+ * @property {(relPath: string, localPath: string) => Promise<void>} getToFile - Streams the object to a local path (creates parent dirs).
+ * @property {(relPath: string) => Promise<boolean>} exists
+ * @property {(relPath: string) => Promise<StatResult|null>} stat - Null if missing.
+ * @property {(relPath: string) => Promise<void>} delete - No-op if missing.
+ * @property {(prefix: string) => Promise<ListEntry[]>} list
+ * @property {(srcRelPath: string, dstRelPath: string) => Promise<void>} rename - Atomic on local fs; copy+delete on S3.
+ * @property {(srcRelPath: string, dstRelPath: string) => Promise<void>} copy
+ * @property {(relPath: string, ttlSeconds?: number) => Promise<string>} signedUrl - Presigned download URL (S3 only; LocalFs throws).
+ */
+
+module.exports = {};

backend/src/services/storage/index.js

@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+const LocalFsStorage = require('./LocalFsStorage');
+const S3StorageBackend = require('./S3StorageBackend');
+const { getStoragePath } = require('../../config/storage');
+const logger = require('../../utils/logger');
+
+let instance = null;
+
+/**
+ * Build the storage backend selected by STORAGE_BACKEND env var.
+ *
+ * STORAGE_BACKEND=local (default)
+ *   Uses STORAGE_PATH on the local filesystem. Backwards compatible with every
+ *   existing deployment.
+ *
+ * STORAGE_BACKEND=s3
+ *   Reads STORAGE_S3_* vars. Compatible with AWS S3 and any S3-compatible
+ *   service (MinIO, R2, Backblaze, Wasabi, DigitalOcean Spaces, etc.) by
+ *   pointing STORAGE_S3_ENDPOINT at the alternate host.
+ *
+ * Required S3 vars:
+ *   STORAGE_S3_BUCKET
+ *   STORAGE_S3_REGION (default us-east-1)
+ *   STORAGE_S3_ACCESS_KEY
+ *   STORAGE_S3_SECRET_KEY
+ * Optional S3 vars:
+ *   STORAGE_S3_ENDPOINT      — custom endpoint URL (MinIO/R2/etc.)
+ *   STORAGE_S3_PREFIX        — namespace prefix inside the bucket
+ *   STORAGE_S3_FORCE_PATH_STYLE=true|false (default: auto when endpoint set)
+ *   STORAGE_S3_SSL=true|false (default: true)
+ */
+function buildStorage() {
+  const backend = (process.env.STORAGE_BACKEND || 'local').toLowerCase();
+
+  if (backend === 's3') {
+    const required = ['STORAGE_S3_BUCKET', 'STORAGE_S3_ACCESS_KEY', 'STORAGE_S3_SECRET_KEY'];
+    const missing = required.filter((v) => !process.env[v]);
+    if (missing.length) {
+      throw new Error(
+        `STORAGE_BACKEND=s3 but missing required env vars: ${missing.join(', ')}`
+      );
+    }
+    return new S3StorageBackend({
+      bucket: process.env.STORAGE_S3_BUCKET,
+      region: process.env.STORAGE_S3_REGION || 'us-east-1',
+      endpoint: process.env.STORAGE_S3_ENDPOINT,
+      accessKeyId: process.env.STORAGE_S3_ACCESS_KEY,
+      secretAccessKey: process.env.STORAGE_S3_SECRET_KEY,
+      prefix: process.env.STORAGE_S3_PREFIX,
+      forcePathStyle: process.env.STORAGE_S3_FORCE_PATH_STYLE === 'true' ? true : undefined,
+      sslEnabled: process.env.STORAGE_S3_SSL !== 'false',
+    });
+  }
+
+  if (backend !== 'local') {
+    throw new Error(`Unknown STORAGE_BACKEND: ${backend}. Expected 'local' or 's3'.`);
+  }
+
+  return new LocalFsStorage({ root: getStoragePath() });
+}
+
+/**
+ * Lazily build + memoize the storage backend. Tests can pass an injected
+ * instance via `setStorageForTesting` to bypass env-var configuration.
+ */
+function getStorage() {
+  if (!instance) {
+    instance = buildStorage();
+  }
+  return instance;
+}
+
+/** @internal */
+function setStorageForTesting(stub) {
+  instance = stub;
+}
+
+/** @internal — clear the memoized instance so the next call re-reads env. */
+function resetStorage() {
+  instance = null;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Initialize the configured backend. Call once at server startup so config errors
+ * surface before any request comes in.
+ */
+async function initStorage() {
+  const storage = getStorage();
+  try {
+    await storage.init();
+  } catch (err) {
+    logger.error(`[storage] init failed for backend=${storage.kind()}: ${err.message}`);
+    throw err;
+  }
+  return storage;
+}
+
+module.exports = {
+  getStorage,
+  initStorage,
+  setStorageForTesting,
+  resetStorage,
+};

backend/src/services/videoProcessor.js

@@ -2,7 +2,11 @@ const ffmpeg = require('fluent-ffmpeg');
 const ffmpegPath = require('@ffmpeg-installer/ffmpeg').path;
 const path = require('path');
 const fs = require('fs').promises;
+const fsSync = require('fs');
+const os = require('os');
+const crypto = require('crypto');
 const logger = require('../utils/logger');
+const { getStorage } = require('./storage');
 
 // Set FFmpeg path
 ffmpeg.setFfmpegPath(ffmpegPath);
@@ -45,36 +49,48 @@ async function extractVideoMetadata(videoPath) {
 }
 
 /**
- * Generate thumbnail from video
+ * Generate a video thumbnail and persist it via the storage backend.
- * @param {string} videoPath - Path to the video file
+ *
- * @param {string} outputPath - Path for the output thumbnail
+ * @param {string} videoPath - Local path to the video file (ffmpeg needs a real fs path).
- * @param {Object} options - Thumbnail options
+ * @param {string} thumbnailKey - Relative storage key the thumbnail will be saved under
- * @returns {Promise<string>} - Path to generated thumbnail
+ *                                (e.g. "thumbnails/thumb_video.jpg").
+ * @param {Object} options
+ * @returns {Promise<string>} The thumbnail's relative storage key.
  */
-async function generateVideoThumbnail(videoPath, outputPath, options = {}) {
+async function generateVideoThumbnail(videoPath, thumbnailKey, options = {}) {
   const {
-    timeOffset = '00:00:01', // Take screenshot at 1 second
+    timeOffset = '00:00:01',
-    size = '300x300',
+    size = '300x300'
-    quality = 2 // 1-31, lower is better quality
   } = options;
 
-  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+  const storage = getStorage();
-    ffmpeg(videoPath)
+  const tmpDir = await fs.mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'picpeak-vidthumb-'));
-      .screenshots({
+  const tmpFilename = `${crypto.randomBytes(4).toString('hex')}_${path.basename(thumbnailKey)}`;
-        timestamps: [timeOffset],
+  const tmpPath = path.join(tmpDir, tmpFilename);
-        filename: path.basename(outputPath),
+
-        folder: path.dirname(outputPath),
+  try {
-        size: size
+    await new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
-      })
+      ffmpeg(videoPath)
-      .on('end', () => {
+        .screenshots({
-        logger.info('Video thumbnail generated', { videoPath, outputPath });
+          timestamps: [timeOffset],
-        resolve(outputPath);
+          filename: tmpFilename,
-      })
+          folder: tmpDir,
-      .on('error', (err) => {
+          size: size
-        logger.error('Error generating video thumbnail', { error: err.message, videoPath });
+        })
-        reject(err);
+        .on('end', () => resolve())
-      });
+        .on('error', (err) => reject(err));
-  });
+    });
+
+    if (!fsSync.existsSync(tmpPath)) {
+      throw new Error('ffmpeg did not produce a thumbnail file');
+    }
+
+    await storage.putFromFile(thumbnailKey, tmpPath, { contentType: 'image/jpeg' });
+    logger.info('Video thumbnail generated', { videoPath, thumbnailKey });
+    return thumbnailKey;
+  } finally {
+    await fs.rm(tmpDir, { recursive: true, force: true }).catch(() => {});
+  }
 }
 
 /**
@@ -108,37 +124,33 @@ async function getVideoDuration(videoPath) {
 }
 
 /**
- * Process uploaded video - extract metadata and generate thumbnail
+ * Process an uploaded video: extract metadata and produce a thumbnail through
- * @param {string} videoPath - Path to the video file
+ * the storage backend.
- * @param {string} thumbnailPath - Path for the thumbnail
+ *
- * @param {Object} options - Processing options
+ * @param {string} videoPath - Local path to the source video (ffmpeg requires fs).
- * @returns {Promise<Object>} - Video metadata and processing result
+ * @param {string} thumbnailKey - Relative storage key for the thumbnail.
+ * @returns {Promise<{success: boolean, metadata: Object, thumbnailKey: string}>}
  */
-async function processUploadedVideo(videoPath, thumbnailPath, options = {}) {
+async function processUploadedVideo(videoPath, thumbnailKey, options = {}) {
   try {
-    // Validate video
     const isValid = await isValidVideo(videoPath);
     if (!isValid) {
       throw new Error('Invalid video file');
     }
 
-    // Extract metadata
     const metadata = await extractVideoMetadata(videoPath);
+    await generateVideoThumbnail(videoPath, thumbnailKey, options);
 
-    // Generate thumbnail
+    const storage = getStorage();
-    await generateVideoThumbnail(videoPath, thumbnailPath, options);
+    const exists = await storage.exists(thumbnailKey);
-
+    if (!exists) {
-    // Verify thumbnail was created
+      throw new Error('Thumbnail generation failed (not in storage)');
-    try {
-      await fs.access(thumbnailPath);
-    } catch (err) {
-      throw new Error('Thumbnail generation failed');
     }
 
     return {
       success: true,
       metadata,
-      thumbnailPath
+      thumbnailKey
     };
   } catch (error) {
     logger.error('Error processing video', { error: error.message, videoPath });

backend/src/services/watermarkGeneratorService.js

@@ -8,10 +8,10 @@
  * - Tracking regeneration progress
  */
 
-const path = require('path');
 const { db } = require('../database/db');
 const watermarkService = require('./watermarkService');
-const { getStoragePath } = require('../config/storage');
+const { resolvePhotoStorageKey, resolvePhotoFilePath } = require('./photoResolver');
+const { withLocalCopy } = require('./imageProcessor');
 
 class WatermarkGeneratorService {
   constructor() {
@@ -57,14 +57,15 @@ class WatermarkGeneratorService {
         return { success: false, error: 'Watermarking is disabled' };
       }
 
-      // Resolve the original file path
+      // Resolve the source via the storage backend (managed) or local disk
-      const originalPath = this.resolvePhotoPath(photo);
+      // (external reference mode). watermarkService needs a local file path.
-      if (!originalPath) {
+      const event = { slug: photo.slug, source_mode: photo.source_mode, external_path: photo.external_path };
-        return { success: false, error: 'Could not resolve photo path' };
+      const storageKey = resolvePhotoStorageKey(event, photo);
-      }
+      const result = storageKey
-
+        ? await withLocalCopy(storageKey, (lp) =>
-      // Generate and save watermark
+            watermarkService.generateAndSaveWatermark(photo, lp, settings)
-      const result = await watermarkService.generateAndSaveWatermark(photo, originalPath, settings);
+          )
+        : await watermarkService.generateAndSaveWatermark(photo, resolvePhotoFilePath(event, photo), settings);
 
       if (result.success) {
         // Update database with watermark path
@@ -83,31 +84,6 @@ class WatermarkGeneratorService {
     }
   }
 
-  /**
-   * Resolve the full file path for a photo
-   */
-  resolvePhotoPath(photo) {
-    const storagePath = getStoragePath();
-
-    // Handle external/reference mode
-    if (photo.source_mode === 'reference' && photo.external_relpath) {
-      const externalRoot = process.env.EXTERNAL_MEDIA_PATH || path.join(storagePath, 'external');
-      return path.join(externalRoot, photo.external_path || '', photo.external_relpath);
-    }
-
-    // Standard managed mode
-    if (photo.file_path) {
-      // file_path might be absolute or relative
-      if (path.isAbsolute(photo.file_path)) {
-        return photo.file_path;
-      }
-      return path.join(storagePath, photo.file_path);
-    }
-
-    // Fallback to constructing path from slug and filename
-    return path.join(storagePath, 'events', 'active', photo.slug, photo.filename);
-  }
-
   /**
    * Generate watermarks for all photos in an event
    * @param {number} eventId - The event ID
@@ -189,12 +165,13 @@ class WatermarkGeneratorService {
    */
   async processPhotoWatermark(photo, settings) {
     try {
-      const originalPath = this.resolvePhotoPath(photo);
+      const event = { slug: photo.slug, source_mode: photo.source_mode, external_path: photo.external_path };
-      if (!originalPath) {
+      const storageKey = resolvePhotoStorageKey(event, photo);
-        return { success: false, photoId: photo.id, error: 'Could not resolve path' };
+      const result = storageKey
-      }
+        ? await withLocalCopy(storageKey, (lp) =>
-
+            watermarkService.generateAndSaveWatermark(photo, lp, settings)
-      const result = await watermarkService.generateAndSaveWatermark(photo, originalPath, settings);
+          )
+        : await watermarkService.generateAndSaveWatermark(photo, resolvePhotoFilePath(event, photo), settings);
 
       if (result.success) {
         await db('photos')

backend/src/services/watermarkService.js

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ const sharp = require('sharp');
 const path = require('path');
 const fs = require('fs').promises;
 const { db } = require('../database/db');
-const { getStoragePath } = require('../config/storage');
+const { getStorage } = require('./storage');
 
 class WatermarkService {
   constructor() {
@@ -234,19 +234,6 @@ class WatermarkService {
     this.cache.clear();
   }
 
-  /**
-   * Get the watermarks directory path, creating it if needed
-   */
-  async getWatermarksDir() {
-    const watermarksDir = path.join(getStoragePath(), 'watermarks');
-    try {
-      await fs.access(watermarksDir);
-    } catch {
-      await fs.mkdir(watermarksDir, { recursive: true });
-    }
-    return watermarksDir;
-  }
-
   /**
    * Get the file extension from a filename
    */
@@ -258,46 +245,42 @@ class WatermarkService {
   }
 
   /**
-   * Generate watermarked version of a photo and save to disk
+   * Generate watermarked version of a photo and persist it through the
+   * storage backend. The source must be a local filesystem path because
+   * sharp doesn't take streams; callers in S3 mode should materialize a
+   * tmp local copy via imageProcessor.withLocalCopy first.
+   *
    * @param {Object} photo - Photo object with id, filename, and path info
-   * @param {string} originalPath - Full path to the original image file
+   * @param {string} originalPath - Local path to the original image file
    * @param {Object} settings - Watermark settings (optional, will fetch if not provided)
    * @returns {Object} { success, watermarkPath, error }
    */
   async generateAndSaveWatermark(photo, originalPath, settings = null) {
     try {
-      // Get settings if not provided
       if (!settings) {
         settings = await this.getWatermarkSettings();
       }
 
-      // If watermarking is disabled, return early
       if (!settings || !settings.enabled) {
         return { success: false, watermarkPath: null, error: 'Watermarking is disabled' };
       }
 
-      // Verify original file exists
       try {
         await fs.access(originalPath);
       } catch {
         return { success: false, watermarkPath: null, error: 'Original file not found' };
       }
 
-      // Generate watermarked buffer using existing method
       const watermarkedBuffer = await this.applyWatermark(originalPath, settings);
 
-      // Determine output path
-      const watermarksDir = await this.getWatermarksDir();
       const ext = this.getFileExtension(photo.filename);
       const outputFilename = `${photo.id}_watermarked${ext}`;
-      const outputPath = path.join(watermarksDir, outputFilename);
-
-      // Write the watermarked image to disk
-      await fs.writeFile(outputPath, watermarkedBuffer);
-
-      // Return relative path for database storage
       const relativePath = `watermarks/${outputFilename}`;
 
+      await getStorage().put(relativePath, watermarkedBuffer, {
+        contentType: ext === '.png' ? 'image/png' : ext === '.webp' ? 'image/webp' : 'image/jpeg',
+      });
+
       return {
         success: true,
         watermarkPath: relativePath,
@@ -314,22 +297,18 @@ class WatermarkService {
   }
 
   /**
-   * Delete a pre-generated watermark file
+   * Delete a pre-generated watermark file from the storage backend.
-   * @param {string} watermarkPath - Relative path to the watermark file
+   * @param {string} watermarkPath - Relative storage key (e.g. "watermarks/123_watermarked.jpg")
-   * @returns {boolean} - True if deleted successfully
+   * @returns {boolean} - True if a delete was attempted (no-op if missing)
    */
   async deleteWatermarkFile(watermarkPath) {
     if (!watermarkPath) return false;
 
     try {
-      const fullPath = path.join(getStoragePath(), watermarkPath);
+      await getStorage().delete(watermarkPath);
-      await fs.unlink(fullPath);
       return true;
     } catch (error) {
-      // File might not exist, which is fine
+      console.error('Error deleting watermark file:', error);
-      if (error.code !== 'ENOENT') {
-        console.error('Error deleting watermark file:', error);
-      }
       return false;
     }
   }

tests/e2e/s3-storage-roundtrip.spec.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,135 @@
+import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';
+import fs from 'fs';
+import path from 'path';
+
+/**
+ * End-to-end smoke for the S3 storage backend (#328).
+ *
+ * What this verifies:
+ *   - admin can upload photos via the API
+ *   - thumbnail + hero generation lands in S3 (visible via the public gallery)
+ *   - the gallery photo route streams the original through the backend
+ *   - admin delete removes the original from S3 (subsequent gets 404)
+ *
+ * How to run:
+ *   1. Start dev stack with S3 mode + MinIO. The simplest way is to bring up
+ *      MinIO from docker-compose.dev.yml and override the backend env:
+ *
+ *      docker compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml up -d minio minio-init postgres redis
+ *      STORAGE_BACKEND=s3 \
+ *      STORAGE_S3_BUCKET=picpeak-storage \
+ *      STORAGE_S3_REGION=us-east-1 \
+ *      STORAGE_S3_ENDPOINT=http://localhost:7104 \
+ *      STORAGE_S3_ACCESS_KEY=minioadmin \
+ *      STORAGE_S3_SECRET_KEY=minioadmin \
+ *      STORAGE_S3_FORCE_PATH_STYLE=true \
+ *      STORAGE_S3_SSL=false \
+ *      npm --prefix backend run dev
+ *
+ *   2. Run this spec:
+ *      PLAYWRIGHT_BASE_URL=http://localhost:7100 npx playwright test \
+ *        tests/e2e/s3-storage-roundtrip.spec.ts --project=chromium
+ *
+ * The test auto-skips against backends that don't expose STORAGE_BACKEND=s3
+ * via the /health endpoint, so it's safe to leave in the shared E2E suite.
+ */
+
+const ADMIN_EMAIL = process.env.ADMIN_EMAIL || '[email protected]';
+const ADMIN_PASSWORD = process.env.ADMIN_PASSWORD || 'Admin!234';
+const GALLERY_PASSWORD = process.env.GALLERY_PASSWORD || 'PlaywrightGallery123!';
+const TEST_ASSET = path.join(__dirname, '..', '..', 'test-assets', 'img1.png');
+
+async function isS3Backend(baseUrl: string): Promise<boolean> {
+  // Explicit opt-in for runs against an S3-configured backend. The spec
+  // auto-skips otherwise so it's safe to leave in the shared E2E suite.
+  if (process.env.TEST_S3_MODE === '1') return true;
+  try {
+    const res = await fetch(`${baseUrl}/health`);
+    if (!res.ok) return false;
+    const body = await res.json().catch(() => ({}));
+    return body?.storage?.backend === 's3' || body?.storageBackend === 's3';
+  } catch {
+    return false;
+  }
+}
+
+test.describe('S3 storage round-trip (#328)', () => {
+  test.beforeAll(async ({}, testInfo) => {
+    const baseUrl = testInfo.project.use.baseURL || process.env.PLAYWRIGHT_BASE_URL || 'http://localhost:3000';
+    const isS3 = await isS3Backend(baseUrl);
+    test.skip(!isS3, 'Backend is not running with STORAGE_BACKEND=s3 — see spec docstring for setup.');
+  });
+
+  test('upload → serve → delete round-trip through the storage backend', async ({ request }) => {
+    expect(fs.existsSync(TEST_ASSET), `Test asset missing at ${TEST_ASSET}`).toBe(true);
+
+    // Admin login — auth lives in the HttpOnly admin_token cookie which the
+    // request fixture retains across subsequent calls automatically.
+    const loginRes = await request.post('/api/auth/admin/login', {
+      data: { username: ADMIN_EMAIL, password: ADMIN_PASSWORD },
+    });
+    expect(loginRes.ok(), `login failed: ${loginRes.status()}`).toBeTruthy();
+
+    // Create event
+    const eventName = `S3 Roundtrip ${Date.now()}`;
+    const eventDate = new Date(Date.now() + 7 * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000).toISOString().slice(0, 10);
+    const eventRes = await request.post('/api/admin/events', {
+      headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
+      data: {
+        event_type: 'wedding',
+        event_name: eventName,
+        event_date: eventDate,
+        customer_name: 'S3 Host',
+        customer_email: '[email protected]',
+        host_name: 'S3 Host',
+        host_email: '[email protected]',
+        admin_email: ADMIN_EMAIL,
+        password: GALLERY_PASSWORD,
+        expiration_days: 30,
+      },
+    });
+    expect(eventRes.ok(), `event create failed: ${eventRes.status()}`).toBeTruthy();
+    const eventBody = await eventRes.json();
+    const eventId: number = eventBody?.event?.id ?? eventBody?.id;
+    const slug: string = eventBody?.event?.slug ?? eventBody?.slug;
+    expect(eventId).toBeTruthy();
+    expect(slug).toBeTruthy();
+
+    // Upload a single photo
+    const uploadRes = await request.post(`/api/admin/photos/${eventId}/upload`, {
+      multipart: {
+        photos: { name: 'img1.png', mimeType: 'image/png', buffer: fs.readFileSync(TEST_ASSET) },
+      },
+    });
+    expect(uploadRes.ok(), `upload failed: ${uploadRes.status()}`).toBeTruthy();
+    const uploadBody = await uploadRes.json();
+    const photoId: number = uploadBody?.photos?.[0]?.id;
+    expect(photoId, 'uploaded photo missing from response').toBeTruthy();
+
+    // Wait briefly for thumbnail generation to settle.
+    await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 1000));
+
+    // Fetch the thumbnail through the admin route — proves the storage backend
+    // can read what it wrote and the route streams it correctly.
+    const thumbRes = await request.get(`/api/admin/photos/${eventId}/thumbnail/${photoId}`);
+    expect(thumbRes.ok(), `thumbnail GET failed: ${thumbRes.status()}`).toBeTruthy();
+    const thumbBytes = await thumbRes.body();
+    expect(thumbBytes.length).toBeGreaterThan(100);
+
+    // Fetch the original photo through the admin route.
+    const photoRes = await request.get(`/api/admin/photos/${eventId}/photo/${photoId}`);
+    expect(photoRes.ok(), `photo GET failed: ${photoRes.status()}`).toBeTruthy();
+    const photoBytes = await photoRes.body();
+    expect(photoBytes.length).toBeGreaterThan(100);
+
+    // Delete the photo and confirm subsequent fetches 404.
+    const deleteRes = await request.delete(`/api/admin/photos/${eventId}/photos/${photoId}`);
+    expect(deleteRes.ok(), `delete failed: ${deleteRes.status()}`).toBeTruthy();
+
+    const photoAfterDelete = await request.get(`/api/admin/photos/${eventId}/photo/${photoId}`);
+    expect(photoAfterDelete.status()).toBe(404);
+
+    // Tidy up the event so repeated test runs don't leak.
+    await request.delete(`/api/admin/events/${eventId}`).catch(() => {});
+  });
+});