PixPolorer · 2026
Offline media catalog for Windows
In progress
- Role
- Independent engineer
- Stack
- Qt 6, C++, Rust, SQLite
- Status
- In progress
Problem
Large local media libraries do not belong in a cloud photo product. Upload, an account, and a network as a requirement are the wrong model when the files are already on disk and some of them should stay in a vault.
Constraint
Offline first. Windows native. Encrypted vault. No interface captures on this page until they exist — I will not generate a fake UI.
Architecture
- Local files
- C++ / Qt 6 host
- QML shell
- Rust FFI
- BLAKE3 / vault crypto
- SQLite
Decisions
Qt 6 and a C++ host
The shell is a real desktop application, QML for the interface, not an Electron wrapper around a website.
Rust over a C FFI
Hashing (BLAKE3), catalog operations, and cryptography (Argon2id, XChaCha20-Poly1305) sit in Rust crates. The host does not reimplement them in C++.
SQLite as the catalog
The library is local. Smart albums are queries that update as the catalog changes, not a cloud collection.
Vault as a product surface
Encryption is not a settings checkbox. The vault is a path in the application, with keys derived on the machine.
This is the highest-complexity native work on the site. It is also unfinished. I am not going to dress a laboratory as a shipped product.
If you need a Windows-native catalog, a vault, or a Qt host with Rust in process, this is the case to read — then write with the actual library size and the OS constraint.
Outcome
In progress. The architecture is the current proof. Interface captures will be added when they are available, not before.
What was handed over
- Build instructions for the host and the Rust crates
- Catalog schema and what a smart album actually is
- Vault recovery notes — without this the work is incomplete
- Installer when the application is ready to ship