feat(generator): add -default-view to choose timeline or grid as site root

The chosen view is published at /, the other under /timeline/ or
/grid/. Page paths, pager links and the cross-links between the views
are derived from the setting. The directory named after the default
view is removed on build, since it can only be a leftover from before
a switch.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5.1 <noreply@anthropic.com>

CLAUDE.md

@@ -55,9 +55,10 @@ Missing sidecar → filename as caption, today as date. Photos sort newest first
 - Crimson Pro (serif) for headings and captions — configurable via `-serif-family` / `-fonts-url`
 - Manjari for Malayalam text (bio line), via `-ml-family`
 - Two views of the same photos, both 3-column square grid → 2-column on mobile, both with infinite-scroll load-more. Page size is configurable via `-page-size` (default 60; NixOS `services.photogallery.pageSize`):
-  - **Timeline is the site root** (`/`, `/page/2/`, …). Photos grouped by calendar day: one ISO date heading (`2026-06-14`) + count per day, then the square grid. `groupByDay` collapses the newest-first list into consecutive same-day runs; `chunkDayGroups` packs whole days into pages targeting `pageSize`, never splitting a day across a page boundary (so appended pages never duplicate a heading — the load-more JS relies on this).
+  - **Timeline is the site root by default** (`/`, `/page/2/`, …). Photos grouped by calendar day: one ISO date heading (`2026-06-14`) + count per day, then the square grid. `groupByDay` collapses the newest-first list into consecutive same-day runs; `chunkDayGroups` packs whole days into pages targeting `pageSize`, never splitting a day across a page boundary (so appended pages never duplicate a heading — the load-more JS relies on this).
   - **Grid** (`/grid/`, `/grid/page/2/`, …) is the flat square grid, linked from the profile header.
   - Each timeline date heading links to a **single-day page** (`/day/<YYYY-MM-DD>/`) holding just that day's photos. `renderDayPages` writes one per `groupByDay` run; the ISO label doubles as the URL slug.
+- Which view owns the site root is set by `-default-view timeline|grid` (NixOS `services.photogallery.defaultView`). The other view moves under `/<name>/`: with `-default-view grid` the grid is `/` and the timeline is `/timeline/`. `viewBase` and `pageURL` in `generator.go` derive every page path and pager link from that, and the templates take the cross-links as `GridURL` / `TimelineURL` — never hardcode `/grid/` or `/`. On each build the directory named after the default view is removed, since it can only be a leftover from before a switch. Root-level `/page/N/` beyond the new page count is *not* pruned.
 - Single photo page with sidebar and newer/older navigation
 
 ### Link previews

README.md

@@ -101,6 +101,8 @@ nix-shell -p apacheHttpd --run \
 | `fontsURL`                  | Crimson Pro + Manjari              | Stylesheet URL loading both web fonts |
 | `serifFamily`               | `Crimson Pro`                      | CSS font-family for the primary serif |
 | `mlFamily`                  | `Manjari`                          | CSS font-family for the alt-script bio |
+| `pageSize`                  | `60`                               | Photos per page on the timeline and grid views |
+| `defaultView`               | `timeline`                         | View at the site root, `timeline` or `grid`; the other is served under `/timeline/` or `/grid/` |
 | `nginx.enable`              | `false`                            | Configure an nginx vhost             |
 | `nginx.domain`              | —                                  | Domain for the vhost                 |
 | `nginx.htpasswdFile`        | —                                  | htpasswd file for `/upload` and `/manage` |

generator.go

@@ -27,6 +27,11 @@ const (
 	mediumMaxSize   = 1600
 	defaultPageSize = 60
 
+	// The two paginated views. The one chosen as -default-view is published
+	// at the site root, the other under /<name>/.
+	viewTimeline = "timeline"
+	viewGrid     = "grid"
+
 	// Open Graph preview image, shared to WhatsApp/Telegram/etc. Kept to a
 	// 1200px longest side and squeezed under ogTargetBytes: WhatsApp is widely
 	// reported to drop the preview entirely once the image passes ~300 KB, so
@@ -78,15 +83,19 @@ type Generator struct {
 	serifFamily string
 	mlFamily    string
 	pageSize    int
+	defaultView string
 	mu          sync.Mutex
 	tmpl        *template.Template
 }
 
-func NewGenerator(contentDir, outputDir, baseURL, author, handle, bio, bioAlt, fontsURL, serifFamily, mlFamily string, pageSize int) *Generator {
+func NewGenerator(contentDir, outputDir, baseURL, author, handle, bio, bioAlt, fontsURL, serifFamily, mlFamily string, pageSize int, defaultView string) *Generator {
 	tmpl := template.Must(template.ParseFS(assets, "templates/*.html"))
 	if pageSize < 1 {
 		pageSize = defaultPageSize
 	}
+	if defaultView != viewGrid {
+		defaultView = viewTimeline
+	}
 	return &Generator{
 		contentDir:  contentDir,
 		outputDir:   outputDir,
@@ -99,6 +108,7 @@ func NewGenerator(contentDir, outputDir, baseURL, author, handle, bio, bioAlt, f
 		serifFamily: serifFamily,
 		mlFamily:    mlFamily,
 		pageSize:    pageSize,
+		defaultView: defaultView,
 		tmpl:        tmpl,
 	}
 }
@@ -110,6 +120,23 @@ func (g *Generator) initial() string {
 	return ""
 }
 
+// viewBase returns the URL prefix a view is published under: "" for the
+// default view, which owns the site root, and "/<view>" for the other one.
+func (g *Generator) viewBase(view string) string {
+	if view == g.defaultView {
+		return ""
+	}
+	return "/" + view
+}
+
+// pageURL returns the URL of the 1-based page n of a view rooted at base.
+func pageURL(base string, n int) string {
+	if n == 1 {
+		return base + "/"
+	}
+	return base + "/page/" + strconv.Itoa(n) + "/"
+}
+
 // Build performs a full rebuild of the site. It is safe to call concurrently;
 // concurrent calls are serialised by a mutex.
 func (g *Generator) Build() error {
@@ -121,7 +148,7 @@ func (g *Generator) Build() error {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	for _, d := range []string{"images", "thumbs", "medium", "og", "photo", "grid", "day", "static"} {
+	for _, d := range []string{"images", "thumbs", "medium", "og", "photo", "day", "static"} {
 		if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Join(g.outputDir, d), 0755); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
@@ -133,6 +160,13 @@ func (g *Generator) Build() error {
 		}
 	}
 
+	// The default view lives at the site root, so a directory named after it
+	// can only be left over from a run with the other -default-view. Drop it,
+	// or the old pages would stay reachable and go stale.
+	if err := os.RemoveAll(filepath.Join(g.outputDir, g.defaultView)); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
 	if err := g.renderTimelinePages(photos); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -417,7 +451,7 @@ func (g *Generator) renderGridPages(photos []Photo) error {
 	if totalPages == 0 {
 		totalPages = 1
 	}
-	gridDir := filepath.Join(g.outputDir, "grid")
+	base := g.viewBase(viewGrid)
 
 	for i := 0; i < totalPages; i++ {
 		start := i * g.pageSize
@@ -427,31 +461,24 @@ func (g *Generator) renderGridPages(photos []Photo) error {
 		}
 		slice := photos[start:end]
 
-		dst := filepath.Join(gridDir, "index.html")
+		dir := filepath.Join(g.outputDir, filepath.FromSlash(pageURL(base, i+1)))
-		if i > 0 {
+		if err := os.MkdirAll(dir, 0755); err != nil {
-			dir := filepath.Join(gridDir, "page", strconv.Itoa(i+1))
+			return err
-			if err := os.MkdirAll(dir, 0755); err != nil {
-				return err
-			}
-			dst = filepath.Join(dir, "index.html")
 		}
+		dst := filepath.Join(dir, "index.html")
 
 		prev := ""
 		next := ""
-		switch i {
+		if i > 0 {
-		case 0:
+			prev = pageURL(base, i)
-			// no prev
-		case 1:
-			prev = "/grid/"
-		default:
-			prev = "/grid/page/" + strconv.Itoa(i) + "/"
 		}
 		if i+1 < totalPages {
-			next = "/grid/page/" + strconv.Itoa(i+2) + "/"
+			next = pageURL(base, i+2)
 		}
 
 		data := map[string]any{
 			"Photos":      slice,
+			"TimelineURL": pageURL(g.viewBase(viewTimeline), 1),
 			"Total":       total,
 			"Page":        i + 1,
 			"TotalPages":  totalPages,
@@ -551,32 +578,27 @@ func (g *Generator) renderTimelinePages(photos []Photo) error {
 	pages := chunkDayGroups(groupByDay(photos), g.pageSize)
 	totalPages := len(pages)
 
+	base := g.viewBase(viewTimeline)
+
 	for i, groups := range pages {
-		dst := filepath.Join(g.outputDir, "index.html")
+		dir := filepath.Join(g.outputDir, filepath.FromSlash(pageURL(base, i+1)))
-		if i > 0 {
+		if err := os.MkdirAll(dir, 0755); err != nil {
-			dir := filepath.Join(g.outputDir, "page", strconv.Itoa(i+1))
+			return err
-			if err := os.MkdirAll(dir, 0755); err != nil {
-				return err
-			}
-			dst = filepath.Join(dir, "index.html")
 		}
+		dst := filepath.Join(dir, "index.html")
 
 		prev := ""
 		next := ""
-		switch i {
+		if i > 0 {
-		case 0:
+			prev = pageURL(base, i)
-			// no prev
-		case 1:
-			prev = "/"
-		default:
-			prev = "/page/" + strconv.Itoa(i) + "/"
 		}
 		if i+1 < totalPages {
-			next = "/page/" + strconv.Itoa(i+2) + "/"
+			next = pageURL(base, i+2)
 		}
 
 		data := map[string]any{
 			"Groups":      groups,
+			"GridURL":     pageURL(g.viewBase(viewGrid), 1),
 			"Total":       len(photos),
 			"Page":        i + 1,
 			"TotalPages":  totalPages,
@@ -610,6 +632,7 @@ func (g *Generator) renderDayPages(photos []Photo) error {
 		}
 		err := g.render("day.html", filepath.Join(dir, "index.html"), map[string]any{
 			"Date":        grp.Label,
+			"TimelineURL": pageURL(g.viewBase(viewTimeline), 1),
 			"Count":       grp.Count,
 			"Photos":      grp.Photos,
 			"Total":       len(photos),

generator_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,125 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"image"
+	"image/jpeg"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// buildSite builds a site of three photos spread over two days, with a page
+// size of two so both views need a second page, and returns the output dir.
+func buildSite(t *testing.T, output, defaultView string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	content := t.TempDir()
+
+	var img bytes.Buffer
+	if err := jpeg.Encode(&img, image.NewRGBA(image.Rect(0, 0, 8, 8)), nil); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	for slug, date := range map[string]string{
+		"one":   "2026-06-14",
+		"two":   "2026-06-14",
+		"three": "2026-06-10",
+	} {
+		writeFile(t, filepath.Join(content, slug+".jpg"), img.Bytes())
+		writeFile(t, filepath.Join(content, slug+".toml"),
+			[]byte("caption = \""+slug+"\"\ndate = \""+date+"\"\n"))
+	}
+
+	g := NewGenerator(content, output, "https://photos.example.com",
+		"Ada", "", "", "", "", "Crimson Pro", "Manjari", 2, defaultView)
+	if err := g.Build(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+}
+
+func readPage(t *testing.T, output, rel string) string {
+	t.Helper()
+	data, err := os.ReadFile(filepath.Join(output, filepath.FromSlash(rel), "index.html"))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	return string(data)
+}
+
+// Timeline pages carry day sections, grid pages do not.
+func isTimeline(page string) bool {
+	return strings.Contains(page, `class="tl-day"`)
+}
+
+func TestDefaultViewOwnsSiteRoot(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		defaultView string
+		gridAt      string // URL of the grid's first page
+		timelineAt  string // URL of the timeline's first page
+	}{
+		{viewTimeline, "/grid/", "/"},
+		{viewGrid, "/", "/timeline/"},
+		{"nonsense", "/grid/", "/"}, // unknown values fall back to the timeline
+	}
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.defaultView, func(t *testing.T) {
+			output := t.TempDir()
+			buildSite(t, output, tt.defaultView)
+
+			timeline := readPage(t, output, tt.timelineAt)
+			grid := readPage(t, output, tt.gridAt)
+			if !isTimeline(timeline) {
+				t.Errorf("%s is not the timeline", tt.timelineAt)
+			}
+			if isTimeline(grid) {
+				t.Errorf("%s is not the grid", tt.gridAt)
+			}
+
+			// The views link to each other, and to their own second page.
+			for page, want := range map[string]string{
+				timeline: `href="` + tt.gridAt + `" class="rss-a">Grid`,
+				grid:     `href="` + tt.timelineAt + `" class="rss-a">Timeline`,
+			} {
+				if !strings.Contains(page, want) {
+					t.Errorf("missing link %q", want)
+				}
+			}
+			for first, base := range map[string]string{
+				timeline: strings.TrimSuffix(tt.timelineAt, "/"),
+				grid:     strings.TrimSuffix(tt.gridAt, "/"),
+			} {
+				next := base + "/page/2/"
+				if !strings.Contains(first, `href="`+next+`" data-load-more`) {
+					t.Errorf("first page does not link to %s", next)
+				}
+				second := readPage(t, output, next)
+				if !strings.Contains(second, `class="pager-newer" href="`+base+`/"`) {
+					t.Errorf("%s does not link back to %s/", next, base)
+				}
+			}
+
+			// Day pages lead back to the timeline, wherever it lives.
+			day := readPage(t, output, "/day/2026-06-14/")
+			if !strings.Contains(day, `href="`+tt.timelineAt+`" class="rss-a">← Timeline`) {
+				t.Errorf("day page does not link to the timeline at %s", tt.timelineAt)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestSwitchingDefaultViewDropsOldViewDir(t *testing.T) {
+	output := t.TempDir()
+
+	buildSite(t, output, viewTimeline)
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(output, "grid", "index.html")); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("grid view missing before the switch: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	buildSite(t, output, viewGrid)
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(output, "grid")); !os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		t.Errorf("stale /grid/ survived the switch to -default-view grid")
+	}
+	if isTimeline(readPage(t, output, "/")) {
+		t.Errorf("site root is still the timeline")
+	}
+}

main.go

@@ -20,15 +20,20 @@ func main() {
 	serifFamily := flag.String("serif-family", "Crimson Pro", "CSS font-family for the primary serif text")
 	mlFamily    := flag.String("ml-family", "Manjari", "CSS font-family for the alt-script (Malayalam) bio line")
 	pageSize    := flag.Int("page-size", 60, "photos per page on the timeline and grid views (timeline packs whole days, so pages vary slightly around this)")
+	defaultView := flag.String("default-view", viewTimeline, "view published at the site root: \"timeline\" or \"grid\"; the other one is published under /<name>/")
 	flag.Parse()
 
+	if *defaultView != viewTimeline && *defaultView != viewGrid {
+		log.Fatalf("-default-view must be %q or %q, got %q", viewTimeline, viewGrid, *defaultView)
+	}
+
 	for _, d := range []string{*contentDir, *outputDir} {
 		if err := os.MkdirAll(d, 0755); err != nil {
 			log.Fatalf("mkdir %s: %v", d, err)
 		}
 	}
 
-	g := NewGenerator(*contentDir, *outputDir, *baseURL, *author, *handle, *bio, *bioAlt, *fontsURL, *serifFamily, *mlFamily, *pageSize)
+	g := NewGenerator(*contentDir, *outputDir, *baseURL, *author, *handle, *bio, *bioAlt, *fontsURL, *serifFamily, *mlFamily, *pageSize, *defaultView)
 
 	if err := g.Build(); err != nil {
 		log.Printf("initial build: %v", err)

manage_test.go

@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ func newTestServer(t *testing.T) *Server {
 		[]byte("caption = \"Tempelhof at sunrise\"\ndate = \"2026-06-14\"\n"))
 
 	g := NewGenerator(content, output, "https://photos.example.com",
-		"Ada", "", "", "", "", "Crimson Pro", "Manjari", 60)
+		"Ada", "", "", "", "", "Crimson Pro", "Manjari", 60, viewTimeline)
 	return NewServer("0", content, output, false, g)
 }
 

module.nix

@@ -82,6 +82,12 @@ in {
       description = "Photos per page on the timeline and grid views. The timeline packs whole days, so pages vary slightly around this.";
     };
 
+    defaultView = lib.mkOption {
+      type        = lib.types.enum [ "timeline" "grid" ];
+      default     = "timeline";
+      description = "View published at the site root. The other one is published under /timeline/ or /grid/.";
+    };
+
     nginx = {
       enable = lib.mkEnableOption "nginx virtual host for photogallery";
 
@@ -148,6 +154,7 @@ in {
             "--serif-family"  cfg.serifFamily
             "--ml-family"     cfg.mlFamily
             "--page-size"     (toString cfg.pageSize)
+            "--default-view"  cfg.defaultView
           ];
 
           Restart    = "on-failure";

templates/day.html

@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@
         <p class="handle">{{.Handle}}</p>
         <p class="pcount"><strong>{{.Total}}</strong> posts</p>
         <p class="pbio">{{.Bio}}{{if .BioAlt}}<br><span class="ml">{{.BioAlt}}</span>{{end}}</p>
-        <a href="/" class="rss-a">← Timeline</a>
+        <a href="{{.TimelineURL}}" class="rss-a">← Timeline</a>
       </div>
     </div>
   </header>

templates/grid.html

@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@
         <p class="handle">{{.Handle}}</p>
         <p class="pcount"><strong>{{.Total}}</strong> posts</p>
         <p class="pbio">{{.Bio}}{{if .BioAlt}}<br><span class="ml">{{.BioAlt}}</span>{{end}}</p>
-        <a href="/" class="rss-a">Timeline</a>
+        <a href="{{.TimelineURL}}" class="rss-a">Timeline</a>
         <a href="/feed.xml" class="rss-a">
           <svg width="14" height="14" viewBox="0 0 14 14" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true">
             <circle cx="2.5" cy="11.5" r="1.5"/>

templates/timeline.html

@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@
         <p class="handle">{{.Handle}}</p>
         <p class="pcount"><strong>{{.Total}}</strong> posts</p>
         <p class="pbio">{{.Bio}}{{if .BioAlt}}<br><span class="ml">{{.BioAlt}}</span>{{end}}</p>
-        <a href="/grid/" class="rss-a">Grid</a>
+        <a href="{{.GridURL}}" class="rss-a">Grid</a>
         <a href="/feed.xml" class="rss-a">
           <svg width="14" height="14" viewBox="0 0 14 14" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true">
             <circle cx="2.5" cy="11.5" r="1.5"/>