ephemeral-media-hosting_skill

Overview

This skill provides a lightweight ephemeral media hosting system with automatic deletion, MIME validation, fetch-and-cache patterns, and example nginx and upload handlers. It targets chat-sharing workflows where media should be available briefly (default 7 days) and then removed automatically. The scripts are ready to adapt to small VPS or container deployments.

How this skill works

It organizes media under a predictable directory layout (/var/www/media with temp, uploads, processed, logs, scripts) and enforces retention via a cron-driven cleanup script. Uploads and external fetches run through validation: MIME type checks, extension consistency, size limits, optional ClamAV scanning, and metadata creation. nginx configuration and a simple PHP handler show integration points for serving, rate-limiting, and upload endpoints.

When to use it

• Provide temporary image/video hosting for chat apps or bots with automatic expiry
• Cache and serve remote images safely before posting them into chats
• Offer a short-term media dropbox for user-submitted files with minimal infrastructure
• Protect permanent storage by funneling transient content into an isolated temp area
• Prototype a privacy-friendly share link system that removes content after retention period

Best practices

• Run the cleanup script from cron at off-peak hours (example: daily at 02:00) and monitor its logs
• Validate MIME with file/finfo and enforce extension consistency to avoid content-type spoofing
• Apply nginx rate limits and client_max_body_size to prevent abuse and large uploads
• Keep uploads and temp directories owned by the web server user with restrictive permissions (e.g., 775/755 patterns shown)
• Enable optional malware scanning (ClamAV) and log uploads and deletions for auditability

Example use cases

• Bot fetch-and-cache: fetch external images, validate, create public temp URL for chat bots
• One-off sharing: let users upload images/videos that expire after seven days
• Archive-safe preview: fetch remote media into a temp cache before embedding in long-term archives
• Automated cleanup pipeline: daily cron deletes expired files and rotates logs to control disk usage