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Editing

Gallery supports non-destructive editing of photos and videos. Edits never modify the original file — a new version is created with the edits applied, and you can always revert back to the original.

Photo Editing​

Gallery supports the following photo edits:

  • Cropping
  • Rotation
  • Mirroring

Video Trimming​

Gallery supports non-destructive trimming of video assets. When you open the editor on a video, a trim-specific interface replaces the standard photo editor:

  • Timeline scrubber — a horizontal bar below the video with draggable in and out handles to select the portion of the video to keep
  • Sidebar controls — displays the trimmed duration, in/out time inputs, and set in/out buttons
  • Keyboard shortcuts — press I to set the in point and O to set the out point at the current playback position. Space toggles play/pause within the trimmed region.

How It Works​

Trimming uses FFmpeg stream copy (-c copy), which means:

  • Near-instant — no re-encoding, so trimming completes in seconds regardless of video length
  • Lossless — video and audio quality are identical to the original
  • Keyframe-aligned — cut points land on the nearest keyframe, so the actual start/end may differ by a few frames from the exact position you selected

After saving, the video player serves the trimmed version. The thumbnail and displayed duration update automatically.

Re-trimming​

You can re-open the editor on a previously trimmed video and adjust the trim range. The timeline shows the full original duration, so you can widen the trim back toward the original length — you're never locked into a shorter version.

Limitations​

  • Local storage only — trimming is not available for videos stored on S3/cloud storage
  • Stream copy only — no frame-accurate cuts (depends on keyframe spacing)
  • No spatial edits on video — crop, rotate, and mirror are image-only

Quick Rotate​

You can quickly rotate images without opening the full editor. Quick-rotate is available in two places:

Asset Viewer​

When viewing a single image, a Rotate Right button appears in the toolbar. Additional rotation options (Rotate Left and Rotate 180°) are available in the More menu (three dots).

The rotation is applied immediately and both the viewer and timeline thumbnail refresh in place.

Rotations are cumulative — rotating right twice results in a 180° rotation. If the total rotation reaches a full 360°, the edit is automatically removed and the asset reverts to its original orientation.

Multi-Select (Batch Rotate)​

When selecting multiple assets in the timeline, you can rotate them all at once:

  1. Select the images you want to rotate
  2. Open the context menu (three dots)
  3. Choose Rotate Right, Rotate Left, or Rotate 180°

Only image assets are rotated — videos are automatically skipped. Timeline thumbnails update automatically once the server finishes processing each asset.

Download​

When you download an edited asset, Gallery provides the edited version of the asset by default. However, you can choose to download the original version if needed.

Reverting Edits​

To revert an edited asset back to its original:

  1. Open the asset in the viewer
  2. Open the editor
  3. Remove all edits and save

The asset will be restored to its original state and the thumbnail will update automatically.

Edited Asset Handling​

Edited assets are fully integrated throughout Gallery:

  • Thumbnails update automatically after edits — no page refresh needed
  • Video playback serves the trimmed version when a trim edit exists
  • Duration display on video thumbnails reflects the trimmed length
  • Album thumbnails use the edited version of an asset when available
  • Person thumbnails correctly display the original (unedited) preview for face recognition accuracy
  • Downloads serve the edited version by default, with an option to download the original