# iPhone → blog, with GitHub Actions

Photos → Share → **Publish to blog** → optional caption and highlight name → upload.

The authenticated upload service converts photos to progressive JPEG (maximum 1600 px and 300 KiB), applies
orientation, converts embedded color profiles to sRGB, and strips public metadata.
Originals stay in a private volume. A worker commits optimized images and an `_art`
entry to **github.com/mdibaiee/mahdi.blog**, on `master`.

Every push to `master` triggers `.github/workflows/publish.yml`. GitHub Actions builds
Jekyll and uploads the static output over SSH. nginx switches to the new release
only after the transfer completes. Other blog edits use the same workflow.
No Jekyll build runs on the server, and Nextcloud is not involved.

## GitHub repository configuration

Actions is already enabled; there were no publishing workflows or deployment secrets
when inspected. Add these at Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions:

| Repository secret | Value |
| --- | --- |
| `DEPLOY_SSH_KEY` | Private SSH key whose public key is authorized for deployment on theread.me |
| `DEPLOY_KNOWN_HOSTS` | Verified SSH known_hosts entry for theread.me (include `[host]:port` if nonstandard) |

The workflow has these defaults; override with repository **variables** if needed:

| Variable | Default |
| --- | --- |
| `DEPLOY_HOST` | `theread.me` |
| `DEPLOY_USER` | `mahdi` |
| `DEPLOY_PORT` | `22` |
| `DEPLOY_PATH` | `/home/mahdi/blog-published` |

The server login needs write access to `DEPLOY_PATH`, plus `bash`, `rsync`, and
`flock`. Install its public key in that account's `~/.ssh/authorized_keys`; use a
separate key for this workflow. Verify the SSH host fingerprint independently,
not by blindly trusting an unauthenticated scan. The server must accept SSH from
GitHub-hosted runners. Deployment itself needs no sudo or nginx reload.

Separately, add the photo publisher's public SSH key at Settings → Deploy keys,
with **Allow write access** enabled for this repository. This key stays on your
server and allows photo pushes to trigger Actions; it is not a workflow secret or
`GITHUB_TOKEN`. GitHub is the publishing source of truth. Push ordinary edits to
the `github` remote too; pushing only to git.theread.me does not trigger this workflow.

The workflow uses read-only repository permissions and pinned action commits. It
runs only for `master`, and serialized deployments plus a server-side run-number
check prevent an older workflow from replacing a newer deployment. Ruby matches
this blog's existing 3.1.2 requirement. The lockfile removes the obsolete
jekyll-latex dependency that was already absent from Gemfile, allowing frozen CI
installs. Runtime upgrades are separate from this change.

## Server setup

The server is Ubuntu 24.04. Before this setup, nginx served
`/home/mahdi/theread.me/_site`. `/home/mahdi/update-server/update-server.js` existed,
was not running, and used a different port from nginx's old `/_update` route.
The new workflow replaces that rebuild hook.

1. Install Podman and a Compose provider (`sudo apt-get install podman podman-compose`).
2. Keep this service in its own checkout, e.g. `/home/mahdi/blog-photo-service`.
3. Prepare private credentials and the public output directory:

```sh
install -d -m 700 "$HOME/.config/blog-photos"
install -d -m 755 /home/mahdi/blog-published
umask 077
openssl rand -hex 32 > "$HOME/.config/blog-photos/token"
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -N '' -f "$HOME/.config/blog-photos/git_key" -C blog-photo-publisher
```

Register `git_key.pub` as the repository's write-enabled deploy key. Put GitHub's
verified SSH host key in `~/.config/blog-photos/known_hosts`. Keep the private key
readable only by its owner. This key is separate from Actions' server-login key.

```sh
cd /home/mahdi/blog-photo-service/photo-upload
cp .env.example .env
# Adjust absolute paths if needed.
podman compose config
systemctl --user enable --now podman.socket
podman compose up -d --build
podman compose logs -f publisher
```

On SELinux hosts add shared `:z` labels to bind mounts as appropriate.

Commit and push this change to GitHub, and wait for the first Actions deployment.
Then back up nginx's site config and use `host-nginx.conf.example`: change the
HTTPS server's root to `/home/mahdi/blog-published/current` and add `/api/photos`.
Preserve the existing `/`, `/raw/`, TLS, `/_xpanel`, and unrelated routes. Ensure
nginx can traverse parent directories and read the output.

```sh
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx
```

The API listens on loopback port 8088; HTTPS remains on the existing nginx.
Rollback by restoring the original nginx root and reloading. The old checkout and
site are untouched. Once verified, retire the old rebuild route.

For reboot persistence, create `~/.config/systemd/user/blog-photos.service`:

```ini
[Unit]
Description=Blog photo uploads
After=network-online.target podman.socket
Wants=network-online.target
Requires=podman.socket

[Service]
Type=oneshot
RemainAfterExit=yes
WorkingDirectory=/home/mahdi/blog-photo-service/photo-upload
ExecStart=/usr/bin/podman compose up -d
ExecStop=/usr/bin/podman compose stop
TimeoutStartSec=180

[Install]
WantedBy=default.target
```

Then run `systemctl --user daemon-reload`, `systemctl --user enable --now blog-photos.service`,
and `sudo loginctl enable-linger mahdi`.

## iPhone shortcut

Create **Publish to blog**:

1. Enable **Show in Share Sheet**, accepting **Images**.
2. **Ask for Input** (Text): “Caption (optional)”.
3. Add another **Ask for Input** (Text): “Highlight name (optional)”.
4. **Repeat with Each** item in **Shortcut Input**. Inside the repeat, use
   **Get Details of Images** to get **Date Taken**, then **Format Date** using
   **ISO 8601**. After **End Repeat**, **Combine Text** from **Repeat Results**
   with **New Lines** and save it as **Photo Dates**. This preserves capture
   dates even when Shortcuts strips them from the exported JPEG data.
5. Add **Ask for Input**, type **Text**, with the prompt **Date Taken (optional;
   YYYY, YYYY-MM-DD, or ISO timestamp)**. Save its response as **Date Taken**.
   This is useful for analog scans; leave it blank for digital photos.
6. **Make Archive** from **Shortcut Input**, format **ZIP**. Keep this output in
   a variable named **Photo Archive**. This packages every selected image into
   one upload; using an image list directly in a File form field can send only
   the first image on some Shortcuts versions.
7. **Get Contents of URL**: `https://theread.me/api/photos`.
   - Method: **POST**.
   - Header: `Authorization` = `Bearer YOUR_TOKEN`.
   - Request Body: **Form**.
   - `archive`: type **File**, value **Photo Archive**. Remove the old `photos` field.
   - `caption`: type **Text**, value the caption response.
   - `highlight`: type **Text**, value the highlight-name response. Select each
     prompt's specific output variable so the caption and highlight stay separate.
   - `photo_dates`: type **Text**, value **Photo Dates**.
   - `date_taken`: type **Text**, value **Date Taken**.
   - Do not set Content-Type; Shortcuts supplies the multipart boundary.
8. Show the actual response and check its `count` against the number of selected
   images. Only show “Uploaded; publishing” when there is no `error`. Optionally poll the returned `status_url`
   with the same header. `pushed` means “GitHub Actions is building/deploying”;
   only `published` means the deployed site's receipt contains this album.

The ZIP route accepts 1–20 images in archive-entry order and keeps them as one
upload job. Each photo is stored as its own `_art` document and renders as its
own gallery `<li>`. The shared caption is repeated on each photo and an optional
highlight begins on the first photo. Photos remain contiguous in the selection order.
Older batch documents are still split at render time for backward compatibility.
Metadata sidecars under `__MACOSX/` and `.DS_Store` are ignored. Ordinary API
clients can also send repeated `photos` parts; send either `archive` or `photos`,
never both.
Select still photos; videos/Live Photo video components aren't supported. The
service reads EXIF `DateTimeOriginal` automatically when it is present. Because
iOS Shortcuts can blank that EXIF field while creating the ZIP, `photo_dates`
supplies the same Photos-library metadata explicitly, one ISO 8601 value per
image in archive order. `date_taken` overrides both sources for the whole batch;
it accepts a year, calendar date, or ISO timestamp and is intended for analog
photos. An upload without any date source is rejected instead of
being placed under the upload year. Re-sharing the same images, caption, and
highlight with dates replaces the earlier undated upload. Captions are plain
text and optional.
An optional highlight name (up to 200 characters) adds one link to **Highlights**,
pointing to the first photo in the batch. Leave it blank for an ordinary upload.

Gallery images are progressive JPEGs with a maximum edge of 1600 pixels and a
300 KiB size limit. The uploader tries moderate JPEG quality levels, then reduces
dimensions further when necessary. Private originals are retained unchanged.

The token is visible in the shortcut editor; remove it before sharing the shortcut.
Rotate it by replacing the token file and recreating the upload container with
`podman compose up -d --force-recreate upload`.

## Snippets shortcut

The same service and token also publish to `https://theread.me/snippets/`.
Text stays literal (including line breaks and Persian text); standalone HTTP/HTTPS
URL lines become clickable links. Images use the same optimization and metadata
removal as photo uploads. Each submission is prepended below the introduction,
with a separator from the previous snippet. Existing snippets are preserved.

Create **Publish snippet**:

1. Enable **Show in Share Sheet**, accepting **Text**, **URLs**, and **Images**.
2. **Repeat with Each** item in **Shortcut Input**. Use **Get Type** on the repeat
   item. If it is **Image**, add the item to a variable called **Snippet Images**.
   Otherwise use **Get Text from Input** on the item and add its result to
   **Snippet Text**. These variables accumulate the shared items during this run.
3. **Combine Text** from **Snippet Text**, separated by **New Lines**. For an
   image-only share, leave the text empty. Don't fetch the contents of shared URLs:
   send the link itself.
4. **Ask for Input** (Text): “Note (optional)”. Keep its output separate from the
   shared text. You can also run the shortcut without shared input and use a text
   prompt as **Snippet Text** to write a new snippet.
5. **Get Contents of URL**: `https://theread.me/api/snippets`, method **POST**,
   request body **Form**:
   - Header `Authorization`: `Bearer YOUR_TOKEN` (same token as photos).
   - `text`: **Text**, the combined shared text.
   - `caption`: **Text**, the optional note.
   - For a single image, `photo`: **File**, the shared image. No archive is needed.
     Use only one of `photo`, `photos`, or `archive` per request.
   - For images, **Make Archive** (ZIP) from **Snippet Images** first, and send its
     output as `archive`, type **File**. For text-only requests, omit this field.
     Use an **If** on whether there are images to choose between the form with
     `archive` and the text-only form.
   - Delete any blank header rows. Do not manually set `Content-Type`.
6. **Show Result** using the actual response. A response with `error` means the
   upload failed; don't show a fixed success message. `queued` means accepted;
   publishing happens afterwards. The returned `status_url` can be polled with the
   same authorization header; `published` confirms deployment.

For the simplest initial shortcut, accept just Text and URLs and omit the image
branch and `archive` field; add the image branch when that works on your phone.

`POST /api/snippets` accepts up to 20,000 characters of `text`, an optional
4,000-character `caption`, and up to 20 images in a ZIP `archive` (or repeated `photos` parts), within
the existing 100 MiB request limit. At least text or an image is required.
The singular `photo` field accepts one image and produces the same submission
as sending that image in `photos`.
It returns `id`, `count` (image count), `url`, `status_url`, and `status`.
`GET /api/snippets/<id>` checks publication, and
`POST /api/snippets/<id>/retry` retries failed Git publication. Identical text,
note, and original images in the same order are deduplicated.

Keep `<!-- uploaded-snippets -->` in `snippets.md`: it marks the insertion point.
The publisher fails safely if that marker is removed. GitHub Actions includes
rendered snippet IDs in `photo-publication.json`, alongside photo IDs.

## Markdown blog-post shortcut

Create **Publish blog post** and enable **Show in Share Sheet**, accepting **Files**.
Share one UTF-8 `.md` or `.markdown` file, up to 1 MiB. In **Get Contents of URL**:

- URL: `https://theread.me/api/posts`; method **POST**; request body **Form**.
- Header: `Authorization` = `Bearer YOUR_TOKEN` (no empty header rows).
- Form field `file`: type **File**, value **Shortcut Input**.
- Let Shortcuts set `Content-Type` automatically.

Show the actual response, and poll `https://theread.me` plus its `status_url`
with the same header. Matching happens in the publisher: `202` only means the
file was accepted, not that a new post or update was published. The status
response supplies the final `url`, `post_id`, and `action` (`created` or `updated`).
`failed` includes an error; `published` confirms the deployed revision. An older
upload can become `superseded` when a newer revision replaces it.

No front matter is required. The first `# Heading` becomes the title, or the
filename is used if there is no heading. Optional YAML front matter supports
`title`, `subtitle`, `lang`, `description`, `categories`, `tags`, `toc`, `math`,
`date`, and `permalink` (a path such as `/my-essay/`). Markdown formatting is
preserved; Liquid template evaluation is disabled for imported post bodies.
The original file is retained privately in the service volume.

New posts derive `post_id` from the title: `My New Post!` becomes `my-new-post`.
Spaces, underscores, and punctuation become single dashes; Unicode letters are
preserved. The default URL is `/my-new-post/`. Explicit `post_id` values still
override this default. Updates keep the existing ID and URL even if the title
changes. If unrelated content has the same title-derived ID, publication fails
instead of overwriting it; choose another title or an explicit ID.

### Automatic updates by content

The publisher compares the body against existing Markdown posts, ignoring front
matter and whitespace changes. It updates a unique match with at least 92% word
sequence similarity, at least 200 characters in both texts, and a lead of at
least 8 percentage points over the next plausible match. An exact body match of
at least 40 characters also qualifies. These scores are a conservative heuristic,
not a probability. Renaming the file does not prevent matching; reusing a filename
for unrelated writing does not overwrite its previous post.

If several posts match closely, the upload fails without changing Git. If no
post meets the threshold, it creates a new post. Large rewrites and very short
posts may therefore need an explicit ID. For a known imported post, add the
returned `post_id` to its front matter to target it directly:

```yaml
---
title: My revised essay
post_id: THE_ID_FROM_THE_UPLOAD_STATUS
---
```

For an older Git-authored post, first add a unique `post_id` to that existing
post's front matter and use the same ID in the uploaded file. Updates preserve
the original publication date and public URL, and remain reversible through Git.
Identical file retries are deduplicated and do not roll back a newer revision.

The upload takes the Markdown file only. Relative links to images or attachments
in an export folder will not upload those files; use existing public image URLs.
Export Markdown from the source app before sharing; proprietary note files,
PDFs, ZIP bundles, and rich-text files are not Markdown uploads.

## API, failures, and backups

All API routes require the bearer token:

- `POST /api/photos`: 1–20 multipart `photos`, optional `caption` (4000 characters).
  Optional `highlight` (200 characters) names a Highlights link to the batch's first photo.
  Maximum request 100 MiB; each photo at most 60 megapixels.
- `GET /api/photos/<id>`: `queued`, `publishing`, `pushed`, `published`, or `failed`.
- `POST /api/photos/<id>/retry`: retry a failed Git publication.

Identical original bytes, ordering, caption, and highlight name produce the same ID. Retrying does
not duplicate entries or commits. Re-encoding or changing the caption creates a new
submission; edit an existing entry through Git. Keep the upload response/status URL.

For Git failures, check `podman compose logs publisher`, fix access/conflicts, and
POST to the status URL plus `/retry`. No force push is used. If Actions fails,
status stays `pushed`: inspect and rerun the failed workflow on GitHub, rather than
uploading again. Deployment only switches nginx after a complete transfer; the old
site stays available during builds and failures. The receipt is built from rendered
photo anchors so the service does not mistake a successful push for publication.

Back up the private `photo-data` volume (originals and job state) and GitHub's
repository. `photo-work` is disposable. Never expose private data through nginx or
run `compose down -v`. Originals are retained, so monitor disk usage. After a
successful deployment switches `current`, all older releases are automatically
pruned; newer uploads still in progress are preserved. There are no retained
server-side rollback copies; rebuild an older Git revision if needed.
Interrupted uploads may leave files in `photo-data/temporary`; clean that
folder only while the API is stopped. Public Git images are optimized copies.

## Tests

```sh
python3 -m venv /tmp/blog-photo-tests
/tmp/blog-photo-tests/bin/pip install -r requirements.txt pytest
/tmp/blog-photo-tests/bin/pytest -q tests
```

Tests use a temporary local bare Git repository; no test pushes go to GitHub or the
live server. The iPhone shortcut and production deployment need an end-to-end check
after credentials are configured.