From 2f3b0d7790dbaf265d4af0073eeccc832b824eea Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Skyler Lehmkuhl <skycooler@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:44:04 -0400
Subject: [PATCH] Phase 3.5b: persist image assets in the .beam container
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Image asset bytes are now stored as MediaKind::ImageAsset rows in the SQLite
container (chunked, kept-in-place on re-save) instead of base64-embedded in the
project JSON — the pageable storage Phase 4 needs.

- ImageAsset.data is `#[serde(default, skip_serializing)]`: never written to JSON,
  but still deserialized for old projects (base64) which then migrate to the
  container on the next save.
- save_beam writes each asset's bytes (keyed by asset id; ext from the source path),
  keeping an existing row when bytes aren't resident; live_media covers them so orphan
  cleanup doesn't drop them.
- load_beam_sqlite eager-reads the bytes back into `data` (Phase 4 makes this lazy +
  LRU). Old base64 projects keep their JSON-deserialized data (no container row).
---
 .../lightningbeam-core/src/clip.rs            |  8 ++--
 .../lightningbeam-core/src/file_io.rs         | 39 +++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 44 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/lightningbeam-ui/lightningbeam-core/src/clip.rs b/lightningbeam-ui/lightningbeam-core/src/clip.rs
index 6367c9b..01e24dc 100644
--- a/lightningbeam-ui/lightningbeam-core/src/clip.rs
+++ b/lightningbeam-ui/lightningbeam-core/src/clip.rs
@@ -263,9 +263,11 @@ pub struct ImageAsset {
     /// Image height in pixels
     pub height: u32,
 
-    /// Embedded image data (for project portability)
-    /// If None, the image will be loaded from path when needed
-    #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
+    /// Raw image file bytes. NOT serialized to project JSON — persisted as a
+    /// `MediaKind::ImageAsset` row in the `.beam` container (chunked, pageable) and
+    /// read back on load. `default` so new projects (bytes in the container, not JSON)
+    /// deserialize; old projects with base64-embedded `data` still load via deserialize.
+    #[serde(default, skip_serializing)]
     pub data: Option<Vec<u8>>,
 
     /// Folder this asset belongs to (None = root of category)
diff --git a/lightningbeam-ui/lightningbeam-core/src/file_io.rs b/lightningbeam-ui/lightningbeam-core/src/file_io.rs
index b27eec9..41b7fff 100644
--- a/lightningbeam-ui/lightningbeam-core/src/file_io.rs
+++ b/lightningbeam-ui/lightningbeam-core/src/file_io.rs
@@ -462,6 +462,32 @@ pub fn save_beam(
         }
     }
 
+    // --- image assets -> media rows (original file bytes), keyed by asset id ---
+    let mut image_count = 0usize;
+    for (id, asset) in &document.image_assets {
+        if let Some(ref data) = asset.data {
+            let ext = asset
+                .path
+                .extension()
+                .and_then(|e| e.to_str())
+                .unwrap_or("img")
+                .to_lowercase();
+            txn.put_media_packed(
+                *id,
+                MediaKind::ImageAsset,
+                &ext,
+                data,
+                MediaMeta { width: Some(asset.width), height: Some(asset.height), ..Default::default() },
+            )?;
+            live_media.insert(*id);
+            image_count += 1;
+        } else if txn.media_exists(*id)? {
+            // Bytes not resident (paged out) but already stored — keep the row.
+            live_media.insert(*id);
+        }
+    }
+    let _ = image_count;
+
     // --- orphan cleanup: drop media for removed clips/keyframes ---
     let removed = txn.retain_media(&live_media)?;
 
@@ -625,6 +651,19 @@ fn load_beam_sqlite(path: &Path) -> Result<LoadedProject, String> {
     }
     let _ = proxy_load_count;
 
+    // Eager-read image-asset bytes from the container into `data` (Phase 4 will make
+    // this lazy + LRU). Old projects keep their base64-deserialized `data` and have no
+    // container row — those are skipped (`data` already Some).
+    for (id, asset) in document.image_assets.iter_mut() {
+        if asset.data.is_none() {
+            if let Ok(Some(_)) = archive.media_info(*id) {
+                if let Ok(bytes) = archive.read_media_full(*id) {
+                    asset.data = Some(bytes);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
     // Missing external files (referenced entries whose file no longer exists).
     let project_dir = path.parent().unwrap_or_else(|| Path::new("."));
     let missing_files: Vec<MissingFileInfo> = restored_entries