https://youtube.com/watch?v=Z1MV0WbrNwY [Embed]
Windows release got a hotfix! If you got 505a right after the release was posted and everything is a bad darkmode, get the new one!
windows
zip: https://github.com/hydrusnetwork/hydrus/releases/download/v505b/Hydrus.Network.505b.-.Windows.-.Extract.only.zip
exe: https://github.com/hydrusnetwork/hydrus/releases/download/v505b/Hydrus.Network.505b.-.Windows.-.Installer.exe
macOS
app: https://github.com/hydrusnetwork/hydrus/releases/download/v505a/Hydrus.Network.505a.-.macOS.-.App.dmg
linux
tar.gz: https://github.com/hydrusnetwork/hydrus/releases/download/v505a/Hydrus.Network.505a.-.Linux.-.Executable.tar.gz

I had a great couple of weeks fixing bugs, exposing EXIF and other embedded metadata better, and making it easier for anyone to run the client from source.

Full changelog (big one this week): https://hydrusnetwork.github.io/hydrus/changelog.html

EXIF

I added tentative EXIF support a little while ago. It wasn't very good--it never knew if a file had EXIF before you checked, so it was inconvenient, and non searchable--but the basic framework was there. This week I make that prototype more useful.

First off, the client doesn't just look at EXIF. It also scans images and animations for miscellaneous 'human-readable embedded metadata'. This is often some technical timing or DPI data, or information about the program that created the file, but, most neatly, for the new AI/ML-drawn images everyone has been playing with, many of the generation engines embed the creation prompt in the header of the output png, and this is now viewable in the client!

Secondly, the client now knows ahead of time which files have this data to show. A new file maintenance job will be scheduled on update for all your existing images and animations to retroactively check for this, and they will fill in in the background over the next few weeks. You can now search for which files have known EXIF or other embedded metadata under a new combined 'system:embedded metadata' predicate, which works like 'system:dimensions' and also bundles the old 'system:has icc profile' predicates.

Also, the 'cog' button in the media viewer's top hover window where you would check for EXIF is replaced by a 'text on window' icon that is only in view if the file has something to show.

Have a play with this and let me know how it goes. The next step here will be to store the actual keys and values of EXIF and other metadata in the database so you can search them specifically. It should be possible to allow some form of 'system:EXIF ISO level>400' or 'system:has "parameters" embedded text value'.

running from source

I have written Linux (.sh) and macOS (.command) versions of the 'running from source' easy-setup scripts. The help is updated too, here:

https://hydrusnetwork.github.io/hydrus/running_from_source.html

I've also updated the setup script and process to be simpler and give you guidance on every decision. If you have had trouble getting the builds to work on your OS, please try running from source from now on. Running from source is the best way to relieve compatibility problems.

I've been working with some users to get the Linux build, as linked above, to have better mpv support. We figured out a solution (basically rolling back some libraries to improve compatibility), so more users should get good mpv off the bat from the build, but the duct tape is really straining here. if you have any trouble with it, or if you are running Ubuntu 22.04 equivalent, I strongly recommend you just move to running from source.