diff --git a/framework/engine/ssr.ts b/framework/engine/ssr.ts
index d417e92..4cb43c7 100644
--- a/framework/engine/ssr.ts
+++ b/framework/engine/ssr.ts
@@ -8,20 +8,13 @@
 // to track needed client scripts without introducing patches to the engine.
 export type Addons = Record<string | symbol, unknown>;
 
-export function ssrSync(node: Node): Result;
-export function ssrSync<A extends Addons>(node: Node, addon: A): Result<A>;
-export function ssrSync(node: Node, addon: Addons = {}) {
+export function ssrSync<A extends Addons>(node: Node, addon: A = {} as A) {
   const r = initRender(false, addon);
   const resolved = resolveNode(r, node);
   return { text: renderNode(resolved), addon };
 }
 
-export function ssrAsync(node: Node): Promise<Result>;
-export function ssrAsync<A extends Addons>(
-  node: Node,
-  addon: A,
-): Promise<Result<A>>;
-export function ssrAsync(node: Node, addon: Addons = {}) {
+export function ssrAsync<A extends Addons>(node: Node, addon: A = {} as A) {
   const r = initRender(true, addon);
   const resolved = resolveNode(r, node);
   if (r.async === 0) {
@@ -142,13 +135,13 @@ export function resolveNode(r: Render, node: unknown): ResolvedNode {
         return resolveNode(r, tag(props));
       } catch (e) {
         const { 4: src } = node;
-        if (e && typeof e === "object") {
-        }
+        if (e && typeof e === "object") (e as { src?: string }).src = src;
+        throw e;
       } finally {
         currentRender = null;
       }
     }
-    if (typeof tag !== "string") throw new Error("Unexpected " + typeof type);
+    if (typeof tag !== "string") throw new Error("Unexpected " + inspect(type));
     const children = props?.children;
     if (children) return [kElement, tag, props, resolveNode(r, children)];
     return node;
diff --git a/framework/lib/sitegen.ts b/framework/lib/sitegen.ts
index 6bfaa59..bc7b3ab 100644
--- a/framework/lib/sitegen.ts
+++ b/framework/lib/sitegen.ts
@@ -28,6 +28,10 @@ export function getRender() {
   });
 }
 
+export function inRender() {
+  return "sitegen" in ssr.getCurrentRender();
+}
+
 /** Add a client-side script to the page. */
 export function addScript(id: ScriptId | { value: ScriptId }) {
   getRender().scripts.add(typeof id === "string" ? id : id.value);
diff --git a/run.js b/run.js
index 1b509c4..a8e6b1e 100644
--- a/run.js
+++ b/run.js
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 // all available plugins. Usage: "node run <script>"
 import * as util from "node:util";
 import * as zlib from "node:zlib";
+import * as url from "node:url";
 import process from "node:process";
 
 if (!zlib.zstdCompress) {
@@ -62,7 +63,22 @@ if (process.argv[1].startsWith(import.meta.filename.slice(0, -".js".length))) {
   }
   process.argv = [process.argv[0], ...process.argv.slice(2)];
   try {
-    await hot.load(found).main?.();
+    const mod = await hot.load(found);
+    if (mod.main) mod.main();
+    else if (mod.default?.fetch) {
+      const protocol = "http";
+      const { serve } = hot.load("@hono/node-server");
+      serve({
+        fetch: mod.default.fetch,
+      }, ({ address, port }) => {
+        if (address === "::") address = "::1";
+        console.info(url.format({
+          protocol,
+          hostname: address,
+          port,
+        }));
+      });
+    }
   } catch (e) {
     console.error(util.inspect(e));
   }
diff --git a/src/backend.ts b/src/backend.ts
index 474ea73..f267733 100644
--- a/src/backend.ts
+++ b/src/backend.ts
@@ -17,16 +17,6 @@ app.use(assets.middleware);
 
 // Handlers
 app.notFound(assets.notFound);
-if (process.argv.includes("--development")) {
-  app.onError((err, c) => {
-    if (err instanceof HTTPException) {
-      // Get the custom response
-      return err.getResponse();
-    }
-
-    return c.text(util.inspect(err), 500);
-  });
-}
 
 export default app;
 
diff --git a/src/file-viewer/backend.tsx b/src/file-viewer/backend.tsx
index 7cc5176..9878945 100644
--- a/src/file-viewer/backend.tsx
+++ b/src/file-viewer/backend.tsx
@@ -43,13 +43,12 @@ app.post("/file/cotyledon", async (c) => {
 
 app.get("/file/*", async (c, next) => {
   const ua = c.req.header("User-Agent")?.toLowerCase() ?? "";
-  const lofi = ua.includes("msie") || ua.includes("rv:") || false;
+  const lofi = ua.includes("msie") || false;
 
   // Discord ignores 'robots.txt' which violates the license agreement.
   if (ua.includes("discordbot")) {
     return next();
   }
-  console.log(ua, lofi);
 
   let rawFilePath = c.req.path.slice(5) || "/";
   if (rawFilePath.endsWith("$partial")) {
diff --git a/src/file-viewer/bin/list.ts b/src/file-viewer/bin/list.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index bfef934..0000000
--- a/src/file-viewer/bin/list.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,8 +0,0 @@
-export function main() {
-  const meows = MediaFile.db.prepare(`
-    select * from media_files;
-  `).as(MediaFile).array();
-  console.log(meows);
-}
-
-import { MediaFile } from "@/file-viewer/models/MediaFile.ts";
diff --git a/src/file-viewer/bin/scan.ts b/src/file-viewer/bin/scan.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 1e19e74..0000000
--- a/src/file-viewer/bin/scan.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,1015 +0,0 @@
-// This file was started by AI and maintained by hand since.
-import "@paperclover/console/inject";
-import { Progress } from "@paperclover/console/Progress";
-import { Spinner } from "@paperclover/console/Spinner";
-import assert from "node:assert";
-import { execFile } from "node:child_process";
-import { existsSync, Stats } from "node:fs";
-import * as fsp from "node:fs/promises";
-import * as path from "node:path";
-import { promisify } from "node:util";
-import { BlobAsset, cache, FilePermissions, MediaFile } from "../db.ts";
-import { formatDate, formatSize } from "./share.ts";
-import { highlightCode, type Language } from "./highlight.ts";
-
-const execFileAsync = promisify(execFile);
-
-// Configuration
-const FILE_ROOT = process.env.SCAN_FILE_ROOT;
-if (!FILE_ROOT) {
-  throw new Error(
-    "FILE_ROOT environment variable not set (e.g. '/path/to/files')",
-  );
-}
-const LOCAL_DIR = path.resolve(FILE_ROOT);
-const DRY_RUN = process.argv.includes("--dry-run");
-const SHOULD_COMPRESS = true;
-const VERBOSE = process.argv.includes("--verbose");
-const SHOULD_SCRUB = true;
-const COMPRESS_STORE = process.env.COMPRESS_STORE ||
-  path.join(process.cwd(), ".clover/compressed");
-
-// Helper function for logging that respects verbose flag
-function log(message: string, always = false): void {
-  if (always || VERBOSE) {
-    console.log(message);
-  }
-}
-
-// File extensions that need duration metadata
-const MEDIA_EXTENSIONS = new Set([
-  ".mp4",
-  ".mkv",
-  ".webm",
-  ".avi",
-  ".mov",
-  ".mp3",
-  ".flac",
-  ".wav",
-  ".ogg",
-  ".m4a",
-]);
-
-// File extensions that need dimension metadata
-const IMAGE_EXTENSIONS = new Set([
-  ".jpg",
-  ".jpeg",
-  ".png",
-  ".gif",
-  ".webp",
-  ".avif",
-  ".heic",
-  ".svg",
-]);
-
-const VIDEO_EXTENSIONS = new Set([".mp4", ".mkv", ".webm", ".avi", ".mov"]);
-
-// File extensions that need metadata scrubbing
-const SCRUB_EXTENSIONS = new Set([
-  ".jpg",
-  ".jpeg",
-  ".png",
-  ".mov",
-  ".mp4",
-  ".m4a",
-]);
-
-const CODE_EXTENSIONS: Record<string, Language> = {
-  ".json": "json",
-  ".toml": "toml",
-  ".ts": "ts",
-  ".js": "ts",
-  ".tsx": "tsx",
-  ".jsx": "tsx",
-  ".css": "css",
-  ".py": "python",
-  ".lua": "lua",
-  ".sh": "shell",
-  ".bat": "dosbatch",
-  ".ps1": "powershell",
-  ".cmd": "dosbatch",
-  ".yaml": "yaml",
-  ".yml": "yaml",
-  ".zig": "zig",
-  ".astro": "astro",
-  ".mdx": "mdx",
-  ".xml": "xml",
-  ".jsonc": "json",
-  ".php": "php",
-  ".patch": "diff",
-  ".diff": "diff",
-};
-
-const READ_CONTENTS_EXTENSIONS = new Set([".txt", ".chat"]);
-
-// For files that have changed indexing logic, update the date here rescanning
-// will reconstruct the entire file object. This way you can incrementally
-// update new file types without having to reindex everything.
-const lastUpdateTypes: Record<string, Date> = {};
-lastUpdateTypes[".lnk"] = new Date("2025-05-13 13:58:00");
-for (const ext in CODE_EXTENSIONS) {
-  lastUpdateTypes[ext] = new Date("2025-05-13 13:58:00");
-}
-for (const ext of READ_CONTENTS_EXTENSIONS) {
-  lastUpdateTypes[ext] = new Date("2025-05-13 13:58:00");
-}
-lastUpdateTypes[".diff"] = new Date("2025-05-18 13:58:00");
-lastUpdateTypes[".patch"] = new Date("2025-05-18 13:58:00");
-
-// Helper functions for metadata extraction
-async function calculateHash(filePath: string): Promise<string> {
-  try {
-    const hash = await execFileAsync("sha1sum", [filePath]);
-    return hash.stdout.split(" ")[0];
-  } catch (error) {
-    console.error(`Error calculating hash for ${filePath}:`, error);
-    throw error;
-  }
-}
-
-async function calculateDuration(filePath: string): Promise<number> {
-  try {
-    const ext = path.extname(filePath).toLowerCase();
-    if (!MEDIA_EXTENSIONS.has(ext)) return 0;
-
-    const { stdout } = await execFileAsync("ffprobe", [
-      "-v",
-      "error",
-      "-show_entries",
-      "format=duration",
-      "-of",
-      "default=noprint_wrappers=1:nokey=1",
-      filePath,
-    ]);
-    return Math.ceil(parseFloat(stdout.trim()));
-  } catch (error) {
-    console.error(`Error calculating duration for ${filePath}:`, error);
-    return 0; // Return 0 for duration on error
-  }
-}
-
-async function calculateDimensions(filePath: string): Promise<string> {
-  const ext = path.extname(filePath).toLowerCase();
-  if (!IMAGE_EXTENSIONS.has(ext) && !VIDEO_EXTENSIONS.has(ext)) return "";
-
-  try {
-    if (ext === ".svg") {
-      // For SVG files, parse the file and extract width/height
-      const content = await fsp.readFile(filePath, "utf8");
-      const widthMatch = content.match(/width="(\d+)"/);
-      const heightMatch = content.match(/height="(\d+)"/);
-
-      if (widthMatch && heightMatch) {
-        return `${widthMatch[1]}x${heightMatch[1]}`;
-      }
-    } else if (IMAGE_EXTENSIONS.has(ext) || VIDEO_EXTENSIONS.has(ext)) {
-      // Use ffprobe for images and videos
-      const { stdout } = await execFileAsync("ffprobe", [
-        "-v",
-        "error",
-        "-select_streams",
-        "v:0",
-        "-show_entries",
-        "stream=width,height",
-        "-of",
-        "csv=s=x:p=0",
-        filePath,
-      ]);
-      return stdout.trim();
-    }
-  } catch (error) {
-    console.error(`Error calculating dimensions for ${filePath}:`, error);
-  }
-
-  return "";
-}
-
-// Helper function to check and remove location metadata
-async function scrubLocationMetadata(
-  filePath: string,
-  stats: Stats,
-): Promise<boolean> {
-  try {
-    const ext = path.extname(filePath).toLowerCase();
-    if (!SCRUB_EXTENSIONS.has(ext)) return false;
-
-    let hasLocation = false;
-    let args: string[] = [];
-
-    // Check for location metadata based on file type
-    const tempOutput = path.join(
-      path.dirname(filePath),
-      `.tmp.${path.basename(filePath)}`,
-    );
-    switch (ext) {
-      case ".jpg":
-      case ".jpeg":
-      case ".png":
-        // Check for GPS tags in EXIF
-        const { stdout: gpsCheck } = await execFileAsync("exiftool", [
-          "-gps:all",
-          filePath,
-        ]);
-        hasLocation = gpsCheck.trim().length > 0;
-        args = ["-gps:all=", filePath, "-o", tempOutput];
-        break;
-      case ".mov":
-      case ".mp4":
-        // Check for GPS metadata in video files
-        const { stdout: videoCheck } = await execFileAsync("exiftool", [
-          "-ee",
-          "-G3",
-          "-s",
-          filePath,
-        ]);
-        hasLocation = videoCheck.includes("GPS") ||
-          videoCheck.includes("Location");
-        args = ["-gps:all=", "-xmp:all=", filePath, "-o", tempOutput];
-        break;
-      case ".m4a":
-        // Check for location and other metadata in m4a files
-        const { stdout: m4aCheck } = await execFileAsync("exiftool", [
-          "-ee",
-          "-G3",
-          "-s",
-          filePath,
-        ]);
-        hasLocation = m4aCheck.includes("GPS") ||
-          m4aCheck.includes("Location") ||
-          m4aCheck.includes("Filename") ||
-          m4aCheck.includes("Title");
-
-        if (hasLocation) {
-          args = [
-            "-gps:all=",
-            "-location:all=",
-            "-filename:all=",
-            "-title=",
-            "-m4a:all=",
-            filePath,
-            "-o",
-            tempOutput,
-          ];
-        }
-        break;
-    }
-
-    const accessTime = stats.atime;
-    const modTime = stats.mtime;
-
-    let backup: string | null = null;
-    try {
-      if (hasLocation) {
-        if (DRY_RUN) return true;
-
-        // Prepare a backup
-        const tmp = path.join(
-          path.dirname(filePath),
-          `.tmp.backup.${path.basename(filePath)}`,
-        );
-        await fsp.copyFile(filePath, tmp);
-        await fsp.utimes(tmp, accessTime, modTime);
-        backup = tmp;
-
-        // Remove metadata
-        await execFileAsync("exiftool", args);
-        if (!existsSync(tempOutput)) {
-          throw new Error(`Failed to create output file: ${tempOutput}`);
-        }
-
-        // Restore original timestamps
-        await fsp.rename(tempOutput, filePath);
-        await fsp.utimes(filePath, accessTime, modTime);
-
-        // Backup is no longer needed
-        await fsp.unlink(backup);
-
-        log(
-          `Scrubbed location metadata in ${path.relative(LOCAL_DIR, filePath)}`,
-          true,
-        );
-        return true;
-      }
-    } catch (error) {
-      if (backup) {
-        await fsp.rename(backup, filePath);
-      }
-      if (existsSync(tempOutput)) {
-        await fsp.unlink(tempOutput);
-      }
-      throw error;
-    }
-  } catch (error) {
-    console.error(`Error scrubbing metadata for ${filePath}:`, error);
-  }
-
-  return false;
-}
-
-// Queue implementation for parallel processing
-type AsyncQueueProcessor<T> = (s: Spinner, item: T) => Promise<void>;
-class AsyncQueue<T> {
-  private queue: T[] = [];
-  private running = 0;
-  private maxConcurrent: number;
-  private processed = 0;
-  private progress?: Progress<{ active: Spinner[] }>;
-  private name: string;
-  private estimate?: number;
-
-  constructor(name: string, maxConcurrent: number) {
-    this.maxConcurrent = maxConcurrent;
-    this.name = name;
-  }
-
-  setEstimate(estimate: number) {
-    this.estimate = estimate;
-    if (this.progress) {
-      this.progress.total = Math.max(
-        this.processed + this.queue.length,
-        estimate,
-      );
-    }
-  }
-
-  getProgress() {
-    if (!this.progress) {
-      this.progress = new Progress({
-        spinner: null,
-        text: ({ active }) => {
-          const now = performance.now();
-          let text = `[${this.processed}/${
-            this.processed + this.queue.length
-          }] ${this.name}`;
-          let n = 0;
-          for (const item of active) {
-            let itemText = "- " + item.format(now);
-            text += `\n` +
-              itemText.slice(0, Math.max(0, process.stdout.columns - 1));
-            if (n > 10) {
-              text += `\n  ... + ${active.length - n} more`;
-              break;
-            }
-            n++;
-          }
-          return text;
-        },
-        props: {
-          active: [] as Spinner[],
-        },
-      });
-      this.progress.total = this.estimate ?? 0;
-      this.progress.value = 0;
-      this.progress.fps = 30;
-    }
-    return this.progress;
-  }
-
-  async add(item: T, processor: AsyncQueueProcessor<T>): Promise<void> {
-    this.queue.push(item);
-    this.getProgress().total = Math.max(
-      this.processed + this.queue.length,
-      this.estimate ?? 0,
-    );
-    return this.processNext(processor);
-  }
-
-  async addBatch(items: T[], processor: AsyncQueueProcessor<T>): Promise<void> {
-    this.queue.push(...items);
-    this.getProgress().total = Math.max(
-      this.processed + this.queue.length,
-      this.estimate ?? 0,
-    );
-    return this.processNext(processor);
-  }
-
-  private async processNext(processor: AsyncQueueProcessor<T>): Promise<void> {
-    if (this.running >= this.maxConcurrent || this.queue.length === 0) {
-      return;
-    }
-
-    const item = this.queue.shift();
-    if (!item) return;
-
-    this.running++;
-
-    try {
-      const progress = this.getProgress();
-
-      let itemText = "";
-      if (typeof item === "string") {
-        itemText = item;
-      } else if (typeof item === "object" && item !== null && "path" in item) {
-        itemText = "" + item.path;
-      } else {
-        itemText = JSON.stringify(item);
-      }
-      if (itemText.startsWith(LOCAL_DIR)) {
-        itemText = path.relative(LOCAL_DIR, itemText);
-      }
-
-      const spinner = new Spinner(itemText);
-      spinner.stop();
-      progress.props.active.unshift(spinner);
-      await processor(spinner, item);
-      progress.props = {
-        active: progress.props.active.filter((s) => s !== spinner),
-      };
-      this.processed++;
-      progress.value = this.processed;
-    } catch (error) {
-      console.error(`Error processing ${this.name} queue item:`, error);
-      this.processed++;
-      this.getProgress().value = this.processed;
-    } finally {
-      this.running--;
-      await this.processNext(processor);
-    }
-  }
-
-  async waitForCompletion(): Promise<void> {
-    if (this.queue.length === 0 && this.running === 0) {
-      if (this.processed > 0) {
-        this.#success();
-      }
-      return;
-    }
-
-    return new Promise((resolve) => {
-      const checkInterval = setInterval(() => {
-        if (this.queue.length === 0 && this.running === 0) {
-          clearInterval(checkInterval);
-          this.#success();
-          resolve();
-        }
-      }, 100);
-    });
-  }
-
-  #success() {
-    this.getProgress().success(`${this.processed} ${this.name}`);
-  }
-}
-
-function skipBasename(basename: string): boolean {
-  // dot files must be incrementally tracked
-  if (basename === ".dirsort") return true;
-  if (basename === ".friends") return true;
-
-  return (
-    basename.startsWith(".") ||
-    basename.startsWith("._") ||
-    basename.startsWith(".tmp") ||
-    basename === ".DS_Store" ||
-    basename.toLowerCase() === "thumbs.db" ||
-    basename.toLowerCase() === "desktop.ini"
-  );
-}
-
-// File system scanner
-class FileSystemScanner {
-  private visitedPaths = new Set<string>();
-  private previousPaths = new Set<string>();
-  private dirQueue = new AsyncQueue<string>("Scan Directories", 10);
-  private fileQueue = new AsyncQueue<{ path: string; stat: any }>(
-    "File metadata",
-    20,
-  );
-  private compressQueue: AsyncQueue<{ file: MediaFile; path: string }> | null =
-    SHOULD_COMPRESS ? new AsyncQueue("Compress Assets", 10) : null;
-
-  private getDbPath(localPath: string): string {
-    // Convert local file system path to database path
-    const relativePath = path.relative(LOCAL_DIR, localPath);
-    return "/" + relativePath.split(path.sep).join(path.posix.sep);
-  }
-
-  private getLocalPath(dbPath: string): string {
-    // Convert database path to local file system path
-    return path.join(LOCAL_DIR, dbPath.slice(1));
-  }
-
-  async scanFile(s: Spinner, filePath: string, stat: any): Promise<void> {
-    const dbPath = this.getDbPath(filePath);
-
-    // Skip hidden files
-    const basename = path.basename(filePath);
-    if (skipBasename(basename)) {
-      return;
-    }
-
-    this.visitedPaths.add(dbPath);
-
-    // Get existing file info from db
-    const existingFile = MediaFile.getByPath(dbPath);
-
-    // Determine which date to use (for date protection)
-    let dateToUse = stat.mtime;
-    const year2025Start = new Date("2025-01-01T00:00:00Z");
-
-    if (
-      existingFile &&
-      existingFile.date < year2025Start &&
-      stat.mtime >= year2025Start
-    ) {
-      console.error(
-        `Error: ${dbPath} is ${
-          formatDate(
-            existingFile.date,
-          )
-        }, got modified to ${formatDate(stat.mtime)}`,
-      );
-      dateToUse = existingFile.date;
-    }
-
-    // Check if we need to reprocess the file
-    if (existingFile && existingFile.size === stat.size && existingFile.hash) {
-      maybe_skip: {
-        const lastUpdateDate = lastUpdateTypes[path.extname(filePath)];
-        if (lastUpdateDate && existingFile.lastUpdateDate < lastUpdateDate) {
-          console.log(
-            `Reprocessing ${dbPath} because indexing logic changed after ${
-              formatDate(
-                lastUpdateDate,
-              )
-            }`,
-          );
-          break maybe_skip;
-        }
-
-        if (SHOULD_COMPRESS && existingFile.processed !== 2) {
-          this.compressQueue!.add(
-            { file: existingFile, path: dbPath },
-            this.compressFile.bind(this),
-          );
-        }
-
-        // File hasn't changed, no need to reprocess
-        MediaFile.createFile({
-          path: dbPath,
-          date: dateToUse,
-          hash: existingFile.hash,
-          size: stat.size,
-          duration: existingFile.duration,
-          dimensions: existingFile.dimensions,
-          content: existingFile.contents,
-        });
-        return;
-      }
-    }
-
-    // Process the file
-    log(`Processing file: ${dbPath}`);
-
-    // Scrub location metadata if needed
-    if (SHOULD_SCRUB) {
-      if (await scrubLocationMetadata(filePath, stat)) {
-        // Re-stat the file in case it was modified
-        const newStat = await fsp.stat(filePath);
-        stat.size = newStat.size;
-      }
-    }
-
-    // Extract content
-    const hash = await calculateHash(filePath);
-    let content = "";
-    if (filePath.endsWith(".lnk")) {
-      content = (await fsp.readFile(filePath, "utf8")).trim();
-    }
-    const language = CODE_EXTENSIONS[path.extname(filePath)];
-    if (language) {
-      read_code: {
-        // An issue is that .ts is an overloaded extension, shared between
-        // 'transport stream' and 'typescript'.
-        //
-        // Filter used here is:
-        // - more than 1mb
-        // - invalid UTF-8
-        if (stat.size > 1_000_000) break read_code;
-        let code;
-        const buf = await fsp.readFile(filePath);
-        try {
-          code = new TextDecoder("utf-8", { fatal: true }).decode(buf);
-        } catch (error) {
-          break read_code;
-        }
-        content = await highlightCode(code, language);
-      }
-    }
-    if (!content && READ_CONTENTS_EXTENSIONS.has(path.extname(filePath))) {
-      content = await fsp.readFile(filePath, "utf8");
-    }
-    // End extract content
-
-    if (hash === existingFile?.hash) {
-      MediaFile.createFile({
-        path: dbPath,
-        date: dateToUse,
-        hash,
-        size: stat.size,
-        duration: existingFile.duration,
-        dimensions: existingFile.dimensions,
-        content,
-      });
-      return;
-    } else if (existingFile) {
-      if (existingFile.processed === 2) {
-        if (BlobAsset.decrementOrDelete(existingFile.hash)) {
-          log(
-            `Deleted compressed asset ${existingFile.hash}.{gzip, zstd}`,
-            true,
-          );
-          await fsp.unlink(
-            path.join(
-              COMPRESS_STORE,
-              existingFile.hash.substring(0, 2),
-              existingFile.hash + ".gz",
-            ),
-          );
-          await fsp.unlink(
-            path.join(
-              COMPRESS_STORE,
-              existingFile.hash.substring(0, 2),
-              existingFile.hash + ".zstd",
-            ),
-          );
-        }
-      }
-    }
-    const [duration, dimensions] = await Promise.all([
-      calculateDuration(filePath),
-      calculateDimensions(filePath),
-    ]);
-
-    // Update database with all metadata
-    MediaFile.createFile({
-      path: dbPath,
-      date: dateToUse,
-      hash,
-      size: stat.size,
-      duration,
-      dimensions,
-      content,
-    });
-
-    if (SHOULD_COMPRESS) {
-      this.compressQueue!.add(
-        {
-          file: MediaFile.getByPath(dbPath)!,
-          path: dbPath,
-        },
-        this.compressFile.bind(this),
-      );
-    }
-  }
-
-  async compressFile(s: Spinner, { file }: { file: MediaFile }): Promise<void> {
-    log(`Compressing file: ${file.path}`);
-    if (DRY_RUN) return;
-
-    const filePath = path.join(FILE_ROOT!, file.path);
-
-    const hash = file.hash;
-    const firstTwoChars = hash.substring(0, 2);
-    const compressDir = `${COMPRESS_STORE}/${firstTwoChars}`;
-    const compressPath = `${compressDir}/${hash}`;
-
-    // Create directory structure if it doesn't exist
-    await fsp.mkdir(compressDir, { recursive: true });
-
-    // Compress the file with gzip
-    const blob = BlobAsset.putOrIncrement(hash);
-    if (blob.refs > 1) {
-      log(
-        `Skipping compression of ${filePath} because it already exists in ${compressPath}`,
-      );
-      return;
-    }
-    // Check if already exists
-    if (existsSync(compressPath + ".gz")) {
-      file.setCompressed(true);
-      return;
-    }
-    try {
-      const gzipProcess = Bun.spawn(["gzip", "-c", filePath, "-9"], {
-        stdout: Bun.file(compressPath + ".gz"),
-      });
-      const zstdProcess = Bun.spawn(["zstd", "-c", filePath, "-9"], {
-        stdout: Bun.file(compressPath + ".zstd"),
-      });
-      const [gzipExited, zstdExited] = await Promise.all([
-        gzipProcess.exited,
-        zstdProcess.exited,
-      ]);
-      assert(gzipExited === 0);
-      assert(zstdExited === 0);
-      assert(existsSync(compressPath + ".gz"));
-      assert(existsSync(compressPath + ".zstd"));
-      file.setCompressed(true);
-    } catch (error) {
-      console.error(`Error compressing file ${filePath}:`, error);
-      BlobAsset.decrementOrDelete(hash);
-      file.setCompressed(false);
-    }
-  }
-
-  async scanDirectory(s: Spinner, dirPath: string): Promise<void> {
-    const dbPath = this.getDbPath(dirPath);
-
-    this.visitedPaths.add(dbPath);
-
-    // Create or update directory entry
-    log(`Scanning directory: ${dbPath}`);
-    if (!DRY_RUN) {
-      MediaFile.createOrUpdateDirectory(dbPath);
-    }
-
-    try {
-      const entries = await fsp.readdir(dirPath, { withFileTypes: true });
-
-      // Process files and subdirectories
-      for (const entry of entries) {
-        const entryPath = path.join(dirPath, entry.name);
-
-        // Skip hidden files and system files
-        if (skipBasename(entry.name)) {
-          continue;
-        }
-
-        if (entry.isDirectory()) {
-          // Queue subdirectory for scanning
-          this.dirQueue.add(entryPath, this.scanDirectory.bind(this));
-        } else if (entry.isFile()) {
-          // Queue file for processing
-          const stat = await fsp.stat(entryPath);
-
-          this.fileQueue.add(
-            { path: entryPath, stat },
-            async (s, item) => await this.scanFile(s, item.path, item.stat),
-          );
-        }
-      }
-    } catch (error) {
-      console.error(`Error scanning directory ${dirPath}:`, error);
-    }
-  }
-
-  async processDirectoryMetadata(dirPath: string): Promise<void> {
-    const dbPath = this.getDbPath(dirPath);
-    const dir = MediaFile.getByPath(dbPath);
-
-    if (!dir || dir.kind !== MediaFile.Kind.directory) {
-      return;
-    }
-
-    if (DRY_RUN) return;
-
-    const children = dir.getChildren();
-
-    // Calculate directory metadata
-    let totalSize = 0;
-    let newestDate = new Date(0);
-    let allHashes = "";
-
-    // Check for readme.txt
-    let readmeContent = "";
-
-    try {
-      readmeContent = await fsp.readFile(
-        path.join(dirPath, "readme.txt"),
-        "utf8",
-      );
-    } catch (error: any) {
-      console.info(`no readme ${dirPath}`);
-      if (error.code !== "ENOENT") {
-        console.error(`Error reading readme.txt in ${dirPath}:`, error);
-      }
-    }
-
-    let dirsort: string[] | null = null;
-    try {
-      dirsort = (await fsp.readFile(path.join(dirPath, ".dirsort"), "utf8"))
-        .split("\n")
-        .map((x) => x.trim())
-        .filter(Boolean);
-    } catch (error: any) {
-      if (error.code !== "ENOENT") {
-        console.error(`Error reading .dirsort in ${dirPath}:`, error);
-      }
-    }
-
-    if (await fsp.exists(path.join(dirPath, ".friends"))) {
-      FilePermissions.setPermissions(dbPath, 1);
-    } else {
-      FilePermissions.setPermissions(dbPath, 0);
-    }
-
-    // Process children
-    for (const child of children) {
-      totalSize += child.size;
-      allHashes += child.hash;
-
-      // Update newest date, ignoring readme.txt
-      if (!child.path.endsWith("/readme.txt") && child.date > newestDate) {
-        newestDate = child.date;
-      }
-    }
-
-    // Create a hash for the directory
-    const dirHash = new Bun.CryptoHasher("sha1")
-      .update(dbPath + allHashes)
-      .digest("hex");
-
-    // Update directory metadata
-    MediaFile.markDirectoryProcessed({
-      id: dir.id,
-      timestamp: newestDate,
-      contents: readmeContent,
-      size: totalSize,
-      hash: dirHash,
-      dirsort,
-    });
-  }
-
-  async findDeletedFiles(): Promise<void> {
-    if (DRY_RUN) return;
-
-    // Find all paths that exist in the DB but not in the filesystem
-    const deletedPaths = Array.from(this.previousPaths).filter(
-      (path) => !this.visitedPaths.has(path),
-    );
-
-    for (const dbPath of deletedPaths) {
-      const file = MediaFile.getByPath(dbPath);
-      if (!file) continue;
-
-      log(`Item Deleted: ${dbPath}`, true);
-      if (file.processed === 2) {
-        if (BlobAsset.decrementOrDelete(file.hash)) {
-          log(`Deleted compressed asset ${file.hash}.{gzip, zstd}`, true);
-          await fsp.unlink(
-            path.join(
-              COMPRESS_STORE,
-              file.hash.substring(0, 2),
-              file.hash + ".gz",
-            ),
-          );
-          await fsp.unlink(
-            path.join(
-              COMPRESS_STORE,
-              file.hash.substring(0, 2),
-              file.hash + ".zstd",
-            ),
-          );
-        }
-      }
-      MediaFile.deleteByPath(dbPath);
-    }
-  }
-
-  async loadPreviousPaths(): Promise<void> {
-    // Get all files and directories from the database
-    // This uses a custom query to get all paths at once
-    const getAllPathsQuery = cache
-      .prepare(`SELECT path, kind FROM media_files`)
-      .all() as {
-        path: string;
-        kind: MediaFile.Kind;
-      }[];
-
-    let dirs = 0;
-    let files = 0;
-    for (const row of getAllPathsQuery) {
-      this.previousPaths.add(row.path);
-      if (row.kind === MediaFile.Kind.directory) {
-        dirs++;
-      } else {
-        files++;
-      }
-    }
-
-    this.dirQueue.setEstimate(dirs);
-    this.fileQueue.setEstimate(files);
-
-    // log(`Loaded ${this.previousPaths.size} paths from database`, true);
-  }
-
-  async scan(): Promise<void> {
-    log(`Starting file system scan in ${LOCAL_DIR}`, true);
-
-    // Check if the root directory exists and is accessible
-    try {
-      const rootStat = await fsp.stat(LOCAL_DIR);
-      if (!rootStat.isDirectory()) {
-        throw new Error(`${LOCAL_DIR} is not a directory`);
-      }
-    } catch (error) {
-      console.error(`Error: Cannot access root directory ${LOCAL_DIR}`, error);
-      console.error(
-        `Aborting scan to prevent database corruption. Please check if the volume is mounted.`,
-      );
-      process.exit(1);
-    }
-
-    await this.loadPreviousPaths();
-
-    await this.dirQueue.add(LOCAL_DIR, this.scanDirectory.bind(this));
-
-    await this.dirQueue.waitForCompletion();
-    await this.fileQueue.waitForCompletion();
-
-    await this.findDeletedFiles();
-
-    const allDirs = Array.from(this.visitedPaths)
-      .filter((path) => {
-        const file = MediaFile.getByPath(path);
-        return file && file.kind === MediaFile.Kind.directory;
-      })
-      .sort((a, b) => b.length - a.length);
-
-    const dirMetadataQueue = new AsyncQueue<string>("Directory Metadata", 10);
-    for (const dirPath of allDirs) {
-      await this.processDirectoryMetadata(this.getLocalPath(dirPath));
-    }
-
-    await dirMetadataQueue.waitForCompletion();
-
-    if (SHOULD_COMPRESS) {
-      await this.compressQueue!.waitForCompletion();
-    }
-
-    log("Scan completed successfully!", true);
-  }
-}
-
-// Main execution
-function showHelp() {
-  console.log(`
-MediaFile Scanner - Index filesystem content for paperclover.net
-
-Environment variables:
-  FILE_ROOT       Required. Path to the directory to scan
-  COMPRESS_STORE  Optional. Path to store compressed files (default: .clover/compressed)
-
-Options:
-  --help          Show this help message
-  --dry-run       Don't make any changes to the database
-  --verbose       Show detailed output
-
-Usage:
-  bun ./media/scan.ts [options]
-
-`);
-  process.exit(0);
-}
-
-{
-  // Show help if requested
-  if (process.argv.includes("--help")) {
-    showHelp();
-    process.exit(0);
-  }
-
-  // Check if the root directory exists before starting
-  if (!existsSync(LOCAL_DIR)) {
-    console.error(
-      `Error: Root directory ${LOCAL_DIR} does not exist or is not accessible.`,
-    );
-    console.error(`Please check if the volume is mounted correctly.`);
-    process.exit(1);
-  }
-
-  const startTime = Date.now();
-
-  try {
-    const scanner = new FileSystemScanner();
-    await scanner.scan();
-
-    const endTime = Date.now();
-    log(`Scan completed in ${(endTime - startTime) / 1000} seconds`, true);
-
-    const rootDir = MediaFile.getByPath("/")!;
-    const totalEntries = cache
-      .prepare(`SELECT COUNT(*) as count FROM media_files`)
-      .get() as { count: number };
-    const totalDuration = cache
-      .prepare(`SELECT SUM(duration) as duration FROM media_files`)
-      .get() as { duration: number };
-    console.log();
-    console.log("Global Stats");
-    console.log(`  Entry count: ${totalEntries.count}`);
-    console.log(`  Uncompressed size: ${formatSize(rootDir.size)}`);
-    console.log(
-      `  Total audio/video duration: ${
-        (
-          totalDuration.duration /
-          60 /
-          60
-        ).toFixed(1)
-      } hours`,
-    );
-  } catch (error) {
-    console.error("Error during scan:", error);
-    process.exit(1);
-  }
-}
diff --git a/src/file-viewer/views/clofi.tsx b/src/file-viewer/views/clofi.tsx
index 08bb426..fb591e7 100644
--- a/src/file-viewer/views/clofi.tsx
+++ b/src/file-viewer/views/clofi.tsx
@@ -71,6 +71,7 @@ export default function MediaList({
   hasCotyledonCookie: boolean;
 }) {
   addScript("./clofi.client.ts");
+  addScript("@/tags/hls-polyfill.client.ts");
 
   const dirs: MediaFile[] = [];
   let dir: MediaFile | null = file;
@@ -699,7 +700,6 @@ function CodeView({ file }: { file: MediaFile }) {
 }
 
 function VideoView({ file }: { file: MediaFile }) {
-  addScript("@/tags/hls-polyfill.client.ts");
   const dimensions = file.parseDimensions() ?? { width: 1920, height: 1080 };
   return (
     <>
diff --git a/src/site.ts b/src/site.ts
index 9ee3bda..3c47ebc 100644
--- a/src/site.ts
+++ b/src/site.ts
@@ -14,5 +14,10 @@ export const siteSections: Section[] = [
   // { root: join("fiction/"), pageBase: "/fiction" },
 ];
 
+export const backends: string[] = [
+  join("backend.ts"),
+  join("source-of-truth.ts"),
+];
+
 import * as path from "node:path";
 import type { Section } from "#sitegen";
diff --git a/src/source-of-truth.ts b/src/source-of-truth.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8511ec8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/source-of-truth.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,107 @@
+// The "source of truth" server is the canonical storage for
+// paper clover's files. This is technically needed because
+// the VPS she uses can only store about 20gb of content, where
+// the contents of /file is about 48gb as of writing; only a
+// limited amount of data can be cached.
+//
+// What's great about this system is it also allows scaling the
+// website up into multiple servers, if that is ever desired.
+// When that happens, mutations to "q+a" will be moved here,
+// and the SQLite synchronization mechanism will apply to both
+// of those databases.
+//
+// An alternative to this would have been to use a SMB client,
+// but I've read that the systems used for caching don't work
+// like the HTTP Cache-Control header, where you can say a file
+// is valid for up to a certain amount of time. If we seriously
+// need cache busts (paper clover does not), the proper way
+// would be to push a message to all VPS nodes instead of
+// checking upstream if a file changed every time.
+const app = new Hono();
+export default app;
+
+const token = "bwaa";
+const nasRoot = "/Volumes/clover";
+
+const rawFileRoot = path.join(nasRoot, "Published");
+const derivedFileRoot = path.join(
+  nasRoot,
+  "Documents/Config/clover_file/derived",
+);
+
+type Awaitable<T> = T | Promise<T>;
+
+// Re-use file descriptors if the same file is being read twice.
+const fds = new Map<string, Awaitable<{ fd: number; refs: number }>>();
+
+app.get("/file/*", async (c) => {
+  const fullQuery = c.req.path.slice("/file".length);
+  const [filePath, derivedAsset, ...invalid] = fullQuery.split("$/");
+  if (invalid.length > 0) return c.notFound();
+  if (filePath.length <= 1) return c.notFound();
+  const permissions = FilePermissions.getByPrefix(filePath);
+  if (permissions !== 0) {
+    if (c.req.header("Authorization") !== token) {
+      return c.json({ error: "invalid authorization header" });
+    }
+  }
+  const file = MediaFile.getByPath(filePath);
+  if (!file || file.kind === MediaFileKind.directory) {
+    return c.notFound();
+  }
+  const fullPath = derivedAsset
+    ? path.join(derivedFileRoot, file.hash, derivedAsset)
+    : path.join(rawFileRoot, file.path);
+  let handle: { fd: number; refs: number } | null = null;
+  console.log("start", fullPath);
+  try {
+    handle = await fds.get(fullPath) ?? null;
+    if (!handle) {
+      const promise = openFile(fullPath, "r")
+        .then((fd) => ({ fd, refs: 0 }))
+        .catch((err) => {
+          fds.delete(fullPath);
+          throw err;
+        });
+      fds.set(file.path, promise);
+      fds.set(file.path, handle = await promise);
+    }
+    handle.refs += 1;
+  } catch (err: any) {
+    if (err.code === "ENOENT") {
+      return c.notFound();
+    }
+    throw err;
+  }
+  const nodeStream = fs.createReadStream(fullPath, {
+    fd: handle.fd,
+    fs: {
+      close: util.callbackify(async () => {
+        ASSERT(handle);
+        if ((handle.refs -= 1) <= 0) {
+          fds.delete(fullPath);
+          await closeFile(handle.fd);
+        }
+        handle = null;
+      }),
+      read: fsCallbacks.read,
+    },
+  });
+  c.header("Content-Type", mime.contentTypeFor(fullPath));
+  if (!derivedAsset)
+    c.header("Content-Length", file.size.toString());
+  return c.body(stream.Readable.toWeb(nodeStream) as ReadableStream);
+});
+
+const openFile = util.promisify(fsCallbacks.open);
+const closeFile = util.promisify(fsCallbacks.close);
+
+import { Hono } from "#hono";
+import { MediaFile, MediaFileKind } from "@/file-viewer/models/MediaFile.ts";
+import { FilePermissions } from "@/file-viewer/models/FilePermissions.ts";
+import * as path from "node:path";
+import * as fs from "#sitegen/fs";
+import * as fsCallbacks from "node:fs";
+import * as util from "node:util";
+import * as stream from "node:stream";
+import * as mime from "#sitegen/mime";