WINDER

The library format

Winder stores your photos the way Obsidian stores notes: as plain files in a folder you own. No database, no proprietary bundle, no export button — because nothing is ever locked in.

The layout

Winder Library/
  library.json              ← format marker
  Rome, May '26/            ← an album (folder name = album name)
    album.json              ← album info: id, created date, cover
    WDR-260504-0001-A.jpg   ← left half of scan 0001
    WDR-260504-0001-A.json  ← that frame's sidecar
    WDR-260504-0001-B.jpg   ← right half
    WDR-260504-0001-B.json
  .trash/                   ← everything you delete lands here

Sidecars

Scanned film has no EXIF worth keeping, so Winder writes what matters to a small JSON file next to each photo:

{
  "version": 1,
  "id": "5f1c…",
  "capturedAt": "2026-05-04T00:00:00.000",
  "favorite": true,
  "camera": "Pentax 17",
  "lens": "HD Pentax 25mm f/3.5",
  "film": "Kodak Gold 200",
  "location": { "lat": 41.9028, "lng": 12.4964, "name": "Rome" },
  "source": {
    "originalName": "scan_0047.jpg",
    "half": "left",
    "splitAt": 1565,
    "rotation": 0
  }
}

Human-readable, diff-able, greppable. A missing or broken sidecar never hides the photo — Winder just falls back to file dates.

Syncing across devices

Point the library at any folder that syncs and every device sees the same photos:

  • iCloud Drive — on iOS the Winder library is visible in the Files app; on macOS choose a folder inside iCloud Drive in Settings → Library → Change folder.
  • Dropbox / Syncthing / WebDAV mounts — anything that syncs plain files syncs a Winder library.

Winder re-reads the folder tree every time the app resumes, so edits made on another device (or in a file manager) show up on their own.

Two details make syncing safe:

  • Write-then-rename: sidecars are written to a temp file and renamed into place, so a sync client never uploads half a file.
  • .trash, not deletion: deleting an album or frame moves it into .trash inside the library. Emptying it is your call, from any file manager.

Editing outside the app

Totally fine — it's your folder:

  • Rename an album folder in Finder → the album is renamed.
  • Move a photo and its sidecar between album folders → it moves albums.
  • Drop in loose JPEGs → they appear in that album (with default metadata).