diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 967bfff2..fea5f577 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -78,6 +78,12 @@ VITE_REVERB_SCHEME="${REVERB_SCHEME}"
 # Upload UI feature flag (legacy upload remains default unless explicitly enabled)
 SKINBASE_UPLOADS_V2=false
 
+# Upload transport tuning
+UPLOAD_CHUNK_MAX_BYTES=5242880
+UPLOAD_CHUNK_REQUEST_TIMEOUT_MS=45000
+UPLOAD_RATE_CHUNK_USER=180
+UPLOAD_RATE_CHUNK_IP=360
+
 # Draft abuse prevention controls
 SKINBASE_MAX_DRAFTS=10
 SKINBASE_MAX_DRAFT_STORAGE_MB=1024
diff --git a/app/Console/Commands/ConfigureMeilisearchIndex.php b/app/Console/Commands/ConfigureMeilisearchIndex.php
index ab3c7e5a..b56fbb59 100644
--- a/app/Console/Commands/ConfigureMeilisearchIndex.php
+++ b/app/Console/Commands/ConfigureMeilisearchIndex.php
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ class ConfigureMeilisearchIndex extends Command
      */
     private const SORTABLE_ATTRIBUTES = [
         'created_at',
+        'published_at_ts',
         'trending_score_24h',
         'trending_score_7d',
         'favorites_count',
diff --git a/app/Console/Commands/HealthCheckCommand.php b/app/Console/Commands/HealthCheckCommand.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..28c22710
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/Console/Commands/HealthCheckCommand.php
@@ -0,0 +1,419 @@
+<?php
+
+declare(strict_types=1);
+
+namespace App\Console\Commands;
+
+use App\Models\Artwork;
+use Illuminate\Console\Command;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Cache;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\DB;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Redis;
+use Meilisearch\Client as MeilisearchClient;
+use Throwable;
+
+/**
+ * Comprehensive service health check.
+ *
+ * Usage:
+ *   php artisan health:check               # all checks
+ *   php artisan health:check --only=meili  # single service
+ *   php artisan health:check --json        # machine-readable JSON output
+ */
+class HealthCheckCommand extends Command
+{
+    protected $signature = 'health:check
+        {--only= : Run only a named check (mysql|redis|cache|meilisearch|reverb|vision|horizon|app)}
+        {--json  : Output results as JSON}';
+
+    protected $description = 'Check health of all critical services (MySQL, Redis, Cache, Meilisearch, Reverb, Vision, Horizon, App).';
+
+    /** Collected results: [name => [status, message, details]] */
+    private array $results = [];
+
+    public function handle(): int
+    {
+        $only = $this->option('only') ? strtolower((string) $this->option('only')) : null;
+
+        $checks = [
+            'mysql'       => fn () => $this->checkMysql(),
+            'redis'       => fn () => $this->checkRedis(),
+            'cache'       => fn () => $this->checkCache(),
+            'meilisearch' => fn () => $this->checkMeilisearch(),
+            'reverb'      => fn () => $this->checkReverb(),
+            'vision'      => fn () => $this->checkVision(),
+            'horizon'     => fn () => $this->checkHorizon(),
+            'app'         => fn () => $this->checkApp(),
+        ];
+
+        if ($only !== null) {
+            if (! array_key_exists($only, $checks)) {
+                $this->error("Unknown check '{$only}'. Available: " . implode(', ', array_keys($checks)));
+                return self::FAILURE;
+            }
+            $checks = [$only => $checks[$only]];
+        }
+
+        foreach ($checks as $name => $check) {
+            $check();
+        }
+
+        if ($this->option('json')) {
+            $this->line(json_encode($this->results, JSON_PRETTY_PRINT));
+            return $this->hasFailures() ? self::FAILURE : self::SUCCESS;
+        }
+
+        $this->renderTable();
+
+        $failed = $this->countByStatus('fail');
+        $warned = $this->countByStatus('warn');
+
+        $this->newLine();
+        if ($failed > 0) {
+            $this->error("❌  {$failed} check(s) FAILED" . ($warned > 0 ? ", {$warned} warning(s)" : '') . '.');
+            return self::FAILURE;
+        }
+        if ($warned > 0) {
+            $this->warn("⚠️  All checks passed with {$warned} warning(s).");
+            return self::SUCCESS;
+        }
+        $this->info('✅  All checks passed.');
+        return self::SUCCESS;
+    }
+
+    // ── Individual checks ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+    private function checkMysql(): void
+    {
+        try {
+            DB::select('SELECT 1');
+            $db      = config('database.connections.' . config('database.default') . '.database');
+            $artworkCount = DB::table('artworks')->whereNull('deleted_at')->count();
+            $this->pass('mysql', "Connected to `{$db}`. Artworks in DB: {$artworkCount}.", ['artwork_count' => $artworkCount]);
+        } catch (Throwable $e) {
+            $this->failCheck('mysql', 'Connection failed: ' . $e->getMessage());
+        }
+    }
+
+    private function checkRedis(): void
+    {
+        try {
+            $pong = Redis::ping();
+            // ping returns "+PONG\r\n" string or true depending on driver
+            $ok = $pong === true || str_contains((string) $pong, 'PONG');
+            if ($ok) {
+                $info = Redis::info('server');
+                $version = $info['redis_version'] ?? ($info['Server']['redis_version'] ?? 'unknown');
+                $this->pass('redis', "Reachable. Redis version: {$version}.", ['version' => $version]);
+            } else {
+                $this->failCheck('redis', 'Unexpected ping response: ' . var_export($pong, true));
+            }
+        } catch (Throwable $e) {
+            $this->failCheck('redis', 'Connection failed: ' . $e->getMessage());
+        }
+    }
+
+    private function checkCache(): void
+    {
+        try {
+            $key   = '_healthcheck_' . uniqid('', true);
+            $value = 'ok_' . time();
+            Cache::put($key, $value, 10);
+            $got = Cache::get($key);
+            Cache::forget($key);
+
+            $driver = config('cache.default');
+            if ($got === $value) {
+                $this->pass('cache', "Driver `{$driver}` read/write OK.", ['driver' => $driver]);
+            } else {
+                $this->failCheck('cache', "Driver `{$driver}`: wrote '{$value}' but read back " . var_export($got, true));
+            }
+        } catch (Throwable $e) {
+            $this->failCheck('cache', 'Cache test failed: ' . $e->getMessage());
+        }
+    }
+
+    private function checkMeilisearch(): void
+    {
+        try {
+            /** @var MeilisearchClient $client */
+            $client = app(MeilisearchClient::class);
+            $health = $client->health();
+
+            if (($health['status'] ?? '') !== 'available') {
+                $this->failCheck('meilisearch', 'Meilisearch reports unhealthy status: ' . json_encode($health));
+                return;
+            }
+
+            $version    = $client->version()['pkgVersion'] ?? 'unknown';
+            $indexName  = (new Artwork())->searchableAs();
+            $index      = $client->index($indexName);
+            $stats      = $index->stats();
+            $docCount   = (int) ($stats['numberOfDocuments'] ?? 0);
+            $isIndexing = (bool) ($stats['isIndexing'] ?? false);
+
+            // Expected: ≥ 50% of DB artworks should be indexed
+            $dbCount = DB::table('artworks')
+                ->whereNull('deleted_at')
+                ->where('is_public', 1)
+                ->where('is_approved', 1)
+                ->count();
+
+            $status  = 'pass';
+            $message = "v{$version}. Index `{$indexName}`: {$docCount} docs (DB public+approved: {$dbCount}).";
+
+            if ($isIndexing) {
+                $message .= ' [currently re-indexing]';
+            }
+
+            if ($docCount === 0) {
+                $status  = 'fail';
+                $message = "Index `{$indexName}` is EMPTY (DB has {$dbCount} public+approved artworks). Run: php artisan scout:import \"App\\\\Models\\\\Artwork\"";
+            } elseif ($dbCount > 0 && $docCount < (int) ($dbCount * 0.5)) {
+                $status  = 'warn';
+                $message .= " — indexed count is < 50% of DB count. Index may be stale. Run: php artisan artworks:search-rebuild";
+            }
+
+            // Check pending Meilisearch tasks
+            try {
+                $tasks = $client->getTasks(['statuses' => 'enqueued,processing']);
+                $pendingCount = $tasks->getTotal();
+                if ($pendingCount > 0) {
+                    $message .= " ({$pendingCount} tasks still pending)";
+                }
+            } catch (Throwable) {
+                // non-fatal
+            }
+
+            $this->result('meilisearch', $status, $message, [
+                'index'           => $indexName,
+                'indexed_docs'    => $docCount,
+                'db_eligible'     => $dbCount,
+                'is_indexing'     => $isIndexing,
+                'meili_version'   => $version,
+            ]);
+        } catch (Throwable $e) {
+            $this->failCheck('meilisearch', 'Unreachable or error: ' . $e->getMessage());
+        }
+    }
+
+    private function checkReverb(): void
+    {
+        $host   = config('reverb.servers.reverb.options.host') ?? env('REVERB_HOST', '');
+        $port   = (int) (config('reverb.servers.reverb.options.port') ?? env('REVERB_PORT', 443));
+        $scheme = config('reverb.servers.reverb.options.scheme') ?? env('REVERB_SCHEME', 'https');
+
+        if (empty($host)) {
+            $this->warn_check('reverb', 'REVERB_HOST not configured — skipping.');
+            return;
+        }
+
+        // Reverb exposes an HTTP health endpoint at /apps/{appId}
+        // We do a plain TCP connect as the minimal check; a refused connection means down.
+        $timeout = 5;
+        try {
+            $errno  = 0;
+            $errstr = '';
+            $proto  = $scheme === 'https' ? 'ssl' : 'tcp';
+            $fp     = @fsockopen("{$proto}://{$host}", $port, $errno, $errstr, $timeout);
+
+            if ($fp === false) {
+                $this->failCheck('reverb', "Cannot connect to {$host}:{$port} ({$scheme}) — {$errstr} [{$errno}]");
+                return;
+            }
+
+            fclose($fp);
+
+            // Try the HTTP health probe (Reverb answers 200 on /)
+            $url      = "{$scheme}://{$host}:{$port}/";
+            $response = $this->httpGet($url, 3);
+            $code     = $response['code'] ?? 0;
+
+            // Reverb returns 200 or 400 on the root — both mean it's alive
+            if ($code >= 200 && $code < 500) {
+                $this->pass('reverb', "Reachable at {$host}:{$port} (HTTP {$code}).", ['host' => $host, 'port' => $port]);
+            } else {
+                $this->warn_check('reverb', "TCP open but HTTP returned {$code}.", ['host' => $host, 'port' => $port]);
+            }
+        } catch (Throwable $e) {
+            $this->failCheck('reverb', 'Check failed: ' . $e->getMessage());
+        }
+    }
+
+    private function checkVision(): void
+    {
+        $services = [
+            'CLIP / Gateway' => rtrim((string) config('vision.gateway.base_url', ''), '/') . '/health',
+            'Vector Gateway' => rtrim((string) config('vision.vector_gateway.base_url', ''), '/') . '/health',
+        ];
+
+        $allPassed = true;
+        $messages  = [];
+
+        foreach ($services as $label => $url) {
+            if ($url === '/health' || $url === '') {
+                $messages[] = "{$label}: not configured";
+                continue;
+            }
+
+            $response = $this->httpGet($url, 5);
+            $code     = $response['code'] ?? 0;
+
+            if ($code >= 200 && $code < 300) {
+                $messages[] = "{$label}: OK (HTTP {$code})";
+            } elseif ($code === 0) {
+                $allPassed = false;
+                $messages[] = "{$label}: UNREACHABLE ({$url})";
+            } else {
+                $allPassed = false;
+                $messages[] = "{$label}: HTTP {$code} ({$url})";
+            }
+        }
+
+        $summary = implode(' | ', $messages);
+
+        if ($allPassed) {
+            $this->pass('vision', $summary);
+        } else {
+            $this->warn_check('vision', $summary);
+        }
+    }
+
+    private function checkHorizon(): void
+    {
+        try {
+            // Horizon stores its status in Redis under the horizon:master-supervisor key prefix.
+            // A simpler cross-version check: look for any horizon-related Redis key.
+            $status = Cache::store('redis')->get('horizon:status');
+
+            if ($status === null) {
+                // Try reading directly from Redis
+                $status = Redis::get('horizon:status');
+            }
+
+            if ($status === null) {
+                $this->warn_check('horizon', 'No Horizon status key in Redis — Horizon may not be running or has never started.');
+                return;
+            }
+
+            $status = is_string($status) ? strtolower(trim($status)) : strtolower((string) $status);
+
+            if ($status === 'running') {
+                $this->pass('horizon', "Horizon status: running.");
+            } elseif ($status === 'paused') {
+                $this->warn_check('horizon', "Horizon is PAUSED. Resume with: php artisan horizon:continue");
+            } else {
+                $this->failCheck('horizon', "Horizon status: {$status}. Start with: php artisan horizon");
+            }
+        } catch (Throwable $e) {
+            $this->warn_check('horizon', 'Could not read Horizon status: ' . $e->getMessage());
+        }
+    }
+
+    private function checkApp(): void
+    {
+        $appUrl = rtrim((string) config('app.url', ''), '/');
+
+        if (empty($appUrl) || str_contains($appUrl, '.test') || str_contains($appUrl, 'localhost')) {
+            $this->warn_check('app', "APP_URL is `{$appUrl}` — looks like a local/dev URL, skipping HTTP probe.");
+            return;
+        }
+
+        // Probe the app homepage
+        $response = $this->httpGet($appUrl . '/', 10);
+        $code     = $response['code'] ?? 0;
+
+        if ($code === 200) {
+            $ttfb = $response['ttfb'] ?? 0;
+            $this->pass('app', "Homepage responded HTTP 200. TTFB: {$ttfb}ms.", ['url' => $appUrl, 'ttfb_ms' => $ttfb]);
+        } elseif ($code > 0) {
+            $this->warn_check('app', "Homepage returned HTTP {$code}. URL: {$appUrl}", ['url' => $appUrl, 'http_code' => $code]);
+        } else {
+            $this->failCheck('app', "Homepage unreachable. URL: {$appUrl}");
+        }
+    }
+
+    // ── Helpers ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+    private function httpGet(string $url, int $timeout = 5): array
+    {
+        $start = microtime(true);
+        try {
+            $ch = curl_init($url);
+            curl_setopt_array($ch, [
+                CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
+                CURLOPT_TIMEOUT        => $timeout,
+                CURLOPT_CONNECTTIMEOUT => 3,
+                CURLOPT_FOLLOWLOCATION => true,
+                CURLOPT_MAXREDIRS      => 3,
+                CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER => true,
+                CURLOPT_USERAGENT      => 'SkinbaseHealthCheck/1.0',
+                CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER     => ['Accept: application/json, text/html'],
+            ]);
+            $body = curl_exec($ch);
+            $code = (int) curl_getinfo($ch, CURLINFO_HTTP_CODE);
+            curl_close($ch);
+            $ttfb = (int) round((microtime(true) - $start) * 1000);
+            return ['code' => $code, 'body' => $body ?: '', 'ttfb' => $ttfb];
+        } catch (Throwable) {
+            return ['code' => 0, 'body' => '', 'ttfb' => 0];
+        }
+    }
+
+    private function pass(string $name, string $message, array $details = []): void
+    {
+        $this->result($name, 'pass', $message, $details);
+    }
+
+    private function failCheck(string $name, string $message, array $details = []): void
+    {
+        $this->result($name, 'fail', $message, $details);
+    }
+
+    private function warn_check(string $name, string $message, array $details = []): void
+    {
+        $this->result($name, 'warn', $message, $details);
+    }
+
+    private function result(string $name, string $status, string $message, array $details = []): void
+    {
+        $this->results[$name] = [
+            'status'  => $status,
+            'message' => $message,
+            'details' => $details,
+        ];
+    }
+
+    private function renderTable(): void
+    {
+        $this->newLine();
+        $this->line(' <fg=white;options=bold>SERVICE         STATUS   MESSAGE</>');
+        $this->line(' ' . str_repeat('─', 90));
+
+        foreach ($this->results as $name => $r) {
+            [$icon, $color] = match ($r['status']) {
+                'pass'  => ['✅', 'green'],
+                'warn'  => ['⚠️ ', 'yellow'],
+                default => ['❌', 'red'],
+            };
+
+            $label   = str_pad(strtoupper($name), 15);
+            $status  = str_pad(strtoupper($r['status']), 7);
+            $message = $r['message'];
+
+            $this->line(" {$icon} <fg={$color}>{$label} {$status}</> {$message}");
+        }
+
+        $this->line(' ' . str_repeat('─', 90));
+    }
+
+    private function hasFailures(): bool
+    {
+        return $this->countByStatus('fail') > 0;
+    }
+
+    private function countByStatus(string $status): int
+    {
+        return count(array_filter($this->results, fn ($r) => $r['status'] === $status));
+    }
+}
diff --git a/app/Console/Commands/ImportLegacyArtworks.php b/app/Console/Commands/ImportLegacyArtworks.php
index 56177bff..2b7c9e7f 100644
--- a/app/Console/Commands/ImportLegacyArtworks.php
+++ b/app/Console/Commands/ImportLegacyArtworks.php
@@ -13,12 +13,14 @@ use Throwable;
  *
  * Usage:
  *  php artisan skinbase:import-legacy-artworks --chunk=500 --dry-run
+ *  php artisan skinbase:import-legacy-artworks --artwork-id=69527
  */
 class ImportLegacyArtworks extends Command
 {
     protected $signature = 'skinbase:import-legacy-artworks
         {--chunk=500 : chunk size for processing}
         {--limit= : maximum number of legacy rows to import}
+        {--artwork-id= : import only one legacy wallz row by id}
         {--dry-run : do not persist any changes}
         {--legacy-connection=legacy : name of legacy DB connection}
         {--legacy-table=wallz : legacy artworks table name}
@@ -73,15 +75,28 @@ class ImportLegacyArtworks extends Command
     {
         $chunk = (int) $this->option('chunk');
         $limit = $this->option('limit') ? (int) $this->option('limit') : null;
+        $artworkId = $this->option('artwork-id') ? (int) $this->option('artwork-id') : null;
         $dryRun = (bool) $this->option('dry-run');
         $legacyConn = $this->option('legacy-connection');
         $legacyTable = $this->option('legacy-table');
         $connectedTable = $this->option('connected-table');
 
+        if ($artworkId !== null && $artworkId <= 0) {
+            $this->error('The --artwork-id option must be a positive integer.');
+
+            return self::FAILURE;
+        }
+
         $this->info("Starting import from {$legacyConn}.{$legacyTable} (chunk={$chunk})");
 
         $query = DB::connection($legacyConn)->table($legacyTable)->orderBy('id');
 
+        if ($artworkId !== null) {
+            $this->info("Scoping import to legacy artwork id={$artworkId}");
+            $query->where('id', $artworkId);
+            $limit = 1;
+        }
+
         $processed = 0;
 
         $query->chunkById($chunk, function ($rows) use (&$processed, $limit, $dryRun, $legacyConn, $connectedTable) {
@@ -277,8 +292,14 @@ class ImportLegacyArtworks extends Command
             return null;
         }, 'id');
 
+        if ($artworkId !== null && $processed === 0) {
+            $this->warn("Legacy artwork id={$artworkId} was not found in {$legacyConn}.{$legacyTable}.");
+
+            return self::FAILURE;
+        }
+
         $this->info('Import complete. Processed: ' . $processed);
 
-        return 0;
+        return self::SUCCESS;
     }
 }
diff --git a/app/Console/Commands/RecalculateHeatCommand.php b/app/Console/Commands/RecalculateHeatCommand.php
index 5e34342f..e7ba9382 100644
--- a/app/Console/Commands/RecalculateHeatCommand.php
+++ b/app/Console/Commands/RecalculateHeatCommand.php
@@ -12,21 +12,22 @@ use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Log;
  * Runs every 10–15 minutes via scheduler.
  *
  * Formula:
- *   raw_heat = views_delta*1 + downloads_delta*3 + favourites_delta*6
- *              + comments_delta*8 + shares_delta*12
+ *   raw_heat = ((views_delta*1 + downloads_delta*3 + favourites_delta*6
+ *                + comments_delta*8 + shares_delta*12) / window_hours)
  *
  *   age_factor = 1 / (1 + hours_since_upload / 24)
  *
  *   heat_score = raw_heat * age_factor
  *
  * Usage:  php artisan nova:recalculate-heat
- *         php artisan nova:recalculate-heat --days=60 --chunk=1000 --dry-run
+ *         php artisan nova:recalculate-heat --days=60 --chunk=1000 --lookback-hours=24 --dry-run
  */
 class RecalculateHeatCommand extends Command
 {
     protected $signature = 'nova:recalculate-heat
                             {--days=60 : Only process artworks created within this many days}
                             {--chunk=1000 : Chunk size for DB queries}
+                            {--lookback-hours=24 : Smooth heat deltas over this many trailing hours}
                             {--dry-run : Compute scores without writing to DB}';
 
     protected $description = 'Recalculate heat/momentum scores for the Rising engine';
@@ -44,31 +45,34 @@ class RecalculateHeatCommand extends Command
     {
         $days       = (int) $this->option('days');
         $chunk      = (int) $this->option('chunk');
+        $lookbackHours = max(1, (int) $this->option('lookback-hours'));
         $dryRun     = (bool) $this->option('dry-run');
         $now        = now();
         $currentHour = $now->copy()->startOfHour();
         $prevHour    = $currentHour->copy()->subHour();
+        $lookbackStart = $currentHour->copy()->subHours($lookbackHours);
 
-        $this->info("[nova:recalculate-heat] current_hour={$currentHour->toDateTimeString()} prev_hour={$prevHour->toDateTimeString()} days={$days}" . ($dryRun ? ' (dry-run)' : ''));
+        $this->info("[nova:recalculate-heat] current_hour={$currentHour->toDateTimeString()} prev_hour={$prevHour->toDateTimeString()} lookback_start={$lookbackStart->toDateTimeString()} lookback_hours={$lookbackHours} days={$days}" . ($dryRun ? ' (dry-run)' : ''));
 
         $updatedCount = 0;
         $skippedCount = 0;
 
-        // Process in chunks using artwork IDs that have at least one snapshot in the two hours
+        // Process in chunks using artwork IDs that have at least one snapshot in the smoothing window
         $artworkIds = DB::table('artwork_metric_snapshots_hourly')
-            ->whereIn('bucket_hour', [$currentHour, $prevHour])
+            ->whereBetween('bucket_hour', [$lookbackStart, $currentHour])
             ->distinct()
             ->pluck('artwork_id');
 
         if ($artworkIds->isEmpty()) {
-            $this->warn('No snapshots found for the current or previous hour. Run nova:metrics-snapshot-hourly first.');
+            $this->warn('No snapshots found inside the requested lookback window. Run nova:metrics-snapshot-hourly first.');
             return self::SUCCESS;
         }
 
-        // Load all snapshots for the two hours in bulk
+        // Load all snapshots for the lookback window in bulk
         $snapshots = DB::table('artwork_metric_snapshots_hourly')
-            ->whereIn('bucket_hour', [$currentHour, $prevHour])
+            ->whereBetween('bucket_hour', [$lookbackStart, $currentHour])
             ->whereIn('artwork_id', $artworkIds)
+            ->orderBy('bucket_hour')
             ->get()
             ->groupBy('artwork_id');
 
@@ -101,27 +105,57 @@ class RecalculateHeatCommand extends Command
                 }
 
                 $currentSnapshot = $artworkSnapshots->firstWhere('bucket_hour', $currentHour->toDateTimeString());
-                $prevSnapshot    = $artworkSnapshots->firstWhere('bucket_hour', $prevHour->toDateTimeString());
+                if (! $currentSnapshot) {
+                    $currentSnapshot = $artworkSnapshots->last();
+                }
 
-                // If we only have one snapshot, use it as current with zero deltas
-                if (!$currentSnapshot && !$prevSnapshot) {
+                $prevSnapshot = $artworkSnapshots->firstWhere('bucket_hour', $prevHour->toDateTimeString());
+                $baselineSnapshot = $artworkSnapshots
+                    ->filter(fn ($snapshot) => (string) $snapshot->bucket_hour < (string) ($currentSnapshot->bucket_hour ?? ''))
+                    ->first();
+
+                if (! $currentSnapshot) {
                     $skippedCount++;
                     continue;
                 }
 
-                // Calculate deltas
-                $viewsDelta      = max(0, (int) ($currentSnapshot?->views_count ?? 0)      - (int) ($prevSnapshot?->views_count ?? 0));
-                $downloadsDelta  = max(0, (int) ($currentSnapshot?->downloads_count ?? 0)  - (int) ($prevSnapshot?->downloads_count ?? 0));
-                $favouritesDelta = max(0, (int) ($currentSnapshot?->favourites_count ?? 0) - (int) ($prevSnapshot?->favourites_count ?? 0));
-                $commentsDelta   = max(0, (int) ($currentSnapshot?->comments_count ?? 0)   - (int) ($prevSnapshot?->comments_count ?? 0));
-                $sharesDelta     = max(0, (int) ($currentSnapshot?->shares_count ?? 0)     - (int) ($prevSnapshot?->shares_count ?? 0));
+                // One-hour counters remain explicit fields for dashboards and debugging.
+                $viewsDelta1h      = max(0, (int) ($currentSnapshot?->views_count ?? 0)      - (int) ($prevSnapshot?->views_count ?? 0));
+                $downloadsDelta1h  = max(0, (int) ($currentSnapshot?->downloads_count ?? 0)  - (int) ($prevSnapshot?->downloads_count ?? 0));
+                $favouritesDelta1h = max(0, (int) ($currentSnapshot?->favourites_count ?? 0) - (int) ($prevSnapshot?->favourites_count ?? 0));
+                $commentsDelta1h   = max(0, (int) ($currentSnapshot?->comments_count ?? 0)   - (int) ($prevSnapshot?->comments_count ?? 0));
+                $sharesDelta1h     = max(0, (int) ($currentSnapshot?->shares_count ?? 0)     - (int) ($prevSnapshot?->shares_count ?? 0));
+
+                // Smooth the heat signal over a trailing window so low-traffic periods do not flatten Rising.
+                // A single snapshot without an earlier baseline should not count as new momentum.
+                if ($baselineSnapshot) {
+                    $viewsDelta      = max(0, (int) ($currentSnapshot?->views_count ?? 0)      - (int) ($baselineSnapshot->views_count ?? 0));
+                    $downloadsDelta  = max(0, (int) ($currentSnapshot?->downloads_count ?? 0)  - (int) ($baselineSnapshot->downloads_count ?? 0));
+                    $favouritesDelta = max(0, (int) ($currentSnapshot?->favourites_count ?? 0) - (int) ($baselineSnapshot->favourites_count ?? 0));
+                    $commentsDelta   = max(0, (int) ($currentSnapshot?->comments_count ?? 0)   - (int) ($baselineSnapshot->comments_count ?? 0));
+                    $sharesDelta     = max(0, (int) ($currentSnapshot?->shares_count ?? 0)     - (int) ($baselineSnapshot->shares_count ?? 0));
+
+                    $windowHours = max(
+                        1.0,
+                        abs($currentHour->copy()->parse($currentSnapshot->bucket_hour)->floatDiffInHours($currentHour->copy()->parse($baselineSnapshot->bucket_hour)))
+                    );
+                } else {
+                    $viewsDelta = 0;
+                    $downloadsDelta = 0;
+                    $favouritesDelta = 0;
+                    $commentsDelta = 0;
+                    $sharesDelta = 0;
+                    $windowHours = 1.0;
+                }
 
                 // Raw heat
-                $rawHeat = ($viewsDelta * self::WEIGHTS['views'])
-                         + ($downloadsDelta * self::WEIGHTS['downloads'])
-                         + ($favouritesDelta * self::WEIGHTS['favourites'])
-                         + ($commentsDelta * self::WEIGHTS['comments'])
-                         + ($sharesDelta * self::WEIGHTS['shares']);
+                $rawHeat = (
+                    ($viewsDelta * self::WEIGHTS['views'])
+                    + ($downloadsDelta * self::WEIGHTS['downloads'])
+                    + ($favouritesDelta * self::WEIGHTS['favourites'])
+                    + ($commentsDelta * self::WEIGHTS['comments'])
+                    + ($sharesDelta * self::WEIGHTS['shares'])
+                ) / $windowHours;
 
                 // Age factor: favors newer works
                 $hoursSinceUpload = abs($now->floatDiffInHours($createdAt));
@@ -134,11 +168,11 @@ class RecalculateHeatCommand extends Command
                     'artwork_id'           => $artworkId,
                     'heat_score'           => round($heatScore, 4),
                     'heat_score_updated_at' => $now,
-                    'views_1h'             => $viewsDelta,
-                    'downloads_1h'         => $downloadsDelta,
-                    'favourites_1h'        => $favouritesDelta,
-                    'comments_1h'          => $commentsDelta,
-                    'shares_1h'            => $sharesDelta,
+                    'views_1h'             => $viewsDelta1h,
+                    'downloads_1h'         => $downloadsDelta1h,
+                    'favourites_1h'        => $favouritesDelta1h,
+                    'comments_1h'          => $commentsDelta1h,
+                    'shares_1h'            => $sharesDelta1h,
                 ];
 
                 $updatedCount++;
diff --git a/app/Console/Commands/RepairLegacyWallzUsersCommand.php b/app/Console/Commands/RepairLegacyWallzUsersCommand.php
index 06ace14d..fb25328c 100644
--- a/app/Console/Commands/RepairLegacyWallzUsersCommand.php
+++ b/app/Console/Commands/RepairLegacyWallzUsersCommand.php
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ use Carbon\Carbon;
 
 class RepairLegacyWallzUsersCommand extends Command
 {
-    protected $signature = 'skinbase:repair-legacy-wallz-users
+    protected $signature = 'legacySB:repair-legacy-wallz-users
         {--chunk=500 : Number of legacy wallz rows to scan per batch}
         {--legacy-connection=legacy : Legacy database connection name}
         {--legacy-table=wallz : Legacy table to update}
diff --git a/app/Http/Controllers/Dashboard/DashboardGalleryController.php b/app/Http/Controllers/Dashboard/DashboardGalleryController.php
index ead9c6e4..8d209192 100644
--- a/app/Http/Controllers/Dashboard/DashboardGalleryController.php
+++ b/app/Http/Controllers/Dashboard/DashboardGalleryController.php
@@ -64,6 +64,18 @@ class DashboardGalleryController extends Controller
     {
         $primary = $artwork->categories->sortBy('sort_order')->first();
         $present = ThumbnailPresenter::present($artwork, 'md');
+        $group = $artwork->group;
+        $isGroupPublisher = $group !== null;
+        $displayName = $isGroupPublisher ? ($group->name ?? 'Skinbase') : ($artwork->user?->name ?? 'Skinbase');
+        $username = $isGroupPublisher ? '' : ($artwork->user?->username ?? '');
+        $avatarUrl = $isGroupPublisher
+            ? $group->avatarUrl()
+            : AvatarUrl::forUser(
+                (int) ($artwork->user_id ?? 0),
+                $artwork->user?->profile?->avatar_hash ?? null,
+                64
+            );
+        $profileUrl = $isGroupPublisher ? $group->publicUrl() : ($username !== '' ? '/@' . $username : null);
 
         return (object) [
             'id' => $artwork->id,
@@ -74,13 +86,18 @@ class DashboardGalleryController extends Controller
             'category_slug' => $primary?->slug ?? '',
             'thumb_url' => $present['url'],
             'thumb_srcset' => $present['srcset'] ?? $present['url'],
-            'uname' => $artwork->user?->name ?? 'Skinbase',
-            'username' => $artwork->user?->username ?? '',
-            'avatar_url' => AvatarUrl::forUser(
-                (int) ($artwork->user_id ?? 0),
-                $artwork->user?->profile?->avatar_hash ?? null,
-                64
-            ),
+            'uname' => $displayName,
+            'username' => $username,
+            'avatar_url' => $avatarUrl,
+            'profile_url' => $profileUrl,
+            'published_as_type' => $isGroupPublisher ? 'group' : 'user',
+            'publisher' => [
+                'type' => $isGroupPublisher ? 'group' : 'user',
+                'name' => $displayName,
+                'username' => $username,
+                'avatar_url' => $avatarUrl,
+                'profile_url' => $profileUrl,
+            ],
             'published_at' => $artwork->published_at,
             'slug' => $artwork->slug ?? '',
             'width' => $artwork->width ?? null,
diff --git a/app/Http/Controllers/RSS/DiscoverFeedController.php b/app/Http/Controllers/RSS/DiscoverFeedController.php
index 73394ff8..1b798ae9 100644
--- a/app/Http/Controllers/RSS/DiscoverFeedController.php
+++ b/app/Http/Controllers/RSS/DiscoverFeedController.php
@@ -6,9 +6,12 @@ namespace App\Http\Controllers\RSS;
 
 use App\Http\Controllers\Controller;
 use App\Models\Artwork;
+use App\Services\EarlyGrowth\AdaptiveTimeWindow;
 use App\Services\RSS\RSSFeedBuilder;
 use Illuminate\Http\Response;
+use Illuminate\Support\Collection;
 use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Cache;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\DB;
 
 /**
  * DiscoverFeedController
@@ -22,7 +25,10 @@ use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Cache;
  */
 final class DiscoverFeedController extends Controller
 {
-    public function __construct(private readonly RSSFeedBuilder $builder) {}
+    public function __construct(
+        private readonly RSSFeedBuilder $builder,
+        private readonly AdaptiveTimeWindow $timeWindow,
+    ) {}
 
     /** /rss/discover → redirect to fresh */
     public function index(): Response
@@ -77,15 +83,19 @@ final class DiscoverFeedController extends Controller
     public function rising(): Response
     {
         $feedUrl  = url('/rss/discover/rising');
-        $artworks = Cache::remember('rss:discover:rising', 600, fn () =>
-            Artwork::public()->published()
-                ->with(['user:id,username', 'categories:id,name,slug,content_type_id'])
-                ->leftJoin('artwork_stats', 'artwork_stats.artwork_id', '=', 'artworks.id')
-                ->orderByDesc('artwork_stats.heat_score')
-                ->orderByDesc('artworks.published_at')
-                ->select('artworks.*')
-                ->limit(RSSFeedBuilder::FEED_LIMIT)
-                ->get()
+        $windowDays = $this->timeWindow->getTrendingWindowDays(30);
+        $artworks = Cache::remember(
+            "rss:discover:rising.{$windowDays}d",
+            600,
+            function () use ($windowDays) {
+                $artworks = $this->risingArtworks($windowDays);
+
+                if ($this->collectionHasNoRisingMomentum($artworks)) {
+                    return $this->risingLowSignalArtworks($windowDays);
+                }
+
+                return $artworks;
+            }
         );
 
         return $this->builder->buildFromArtworks(
@@ -95,4 +105,76 @@ final class DiscoverFeedController extends Controller
             $artworks,
         );
     }
+
+    private function risingArtworks(int $windowDays): Collection
+    {
+        $cutoff = now()->subDays($windowDays)->startOfDay();
+
+        return Artwork::public()
+            ->published()
+            ->with(['user:id,username', 'categories:id,name,slug,content_type_id'])
+            ->leftJoin('artwork_stats', 'artwork_stats.artwork_id', '=', 'artworks.id')
+            ->select('artworks.*')
+            ->selectRaw('COALESCE(artwork_stats.heat_score, 0) as heat_score')
+            ->selectRaw('COALESCE(artwork_stats.engagement_velocity, 0) as engagement_velocity')
+            ->where('artworks.published_at', '>=', $cutoff)
+            ->orderByDesc('artwork_stats.heat_score')
+            ->orderByDesc('artwork_stats.engagement_velocity')
+            ->orderByDesc('artworks.published_at')
+            ->orderByDesc('artworks.id')
+            ->limit(RSSFeedBuilder::FEED_LIMIT)
+            ->get();
+    }
+
+    private function risingLowSignalArtworks(int $windowDays): Collection
+    {
+        $cutoff = now()->subDays($windowDays)->startOfDay();
+
+        return Artwork::public()
+            ->published()
+            ->with(['user:id,username', 'categories:id,name,slug,content_type_id'])
+            ->leftJoin('artwork_stats', 'artwork_stats.artwork_id', '=', 'artworks.id')
+            ->leftJoinSub($this->risingRecentActivitySubquery(), 'recent_rising_activity', function ($join): void {
+                $join->on('recent_rising_activity.artwork_id', '=', 'artworks.id');
+            })
+            ->select('artworks.*')
+            ->selectRaw('COALESCE(artwork_stats.heat_score, 0) as heat_score')
+            ->selectRaw('COALESCE(artwork_stats.engagement_velocity, 0) as engagement_velocity')
+            ->selectRaw('COALESCE(recent_rising_activity.recent_signal_24h, 0) as recent_signal_24h')
+            ->where('artworks.published_at', '>=', $cutoff)
+            ->orderByDesc('recent_signal_24h')
+            ->orderByDesc('artworks.published_at')
+            ->orderByDesc('artworks.id')
+            ->limit(RSSFeedBuilder::FEED_LIMIT)
+            ->get();
+    }
+
+    private function collectionHasNoRisingMomentum(Collection $artworks): bool
+    {
+        if ($artworks->isEmpty()) {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        return $artworks->every(function (Artwork $artwork): bool {
+            return (float) ($artwork->heat_score ?? 0) <= 0
+                && (float) ($artwork->engagement_velocity ?? 0) <= 0;
+        });
+    }
+
+    private function risingRecentActivitySubquery()
+    {
+        $since = now()->startOfHour()->subHours(24);
+
+        return DB::table('artwork_metric_snapshots_hourly as rising_snapshots')
+            ->selectRaw('rising_snapshots.artwork_id')
+            ->selectRaw('(
+                COALESCE(MAX(rising_snapshots.views_count) - MIN(rising_snapshots.views_count), 0)
+                + (COALESCE(MAX(rising_snapshots.downloads_count) - MIN(rising_snapshots.downloads_count), 0) * 3)
+                + (COALESCE(MAX(rising_snapshots.favourites_count) - MIN(rising_snapshots.favourites_count), 0) * 4)
+                + (COALESCE(MAX(rising_snapshots.comments_count) - MIN(rising_snapshots.comments_count), 0) * 5)
+                + (COALESCE(MAX(rising_snapshots.shares_count) - MIN(rising_snapshots.shares_count), 0) * 6)
+            ) as recent_signal_24h')
+            ->where('rising_snapshots.bucket_hour', '>=', $since)
+            ->groupBy('rising_snapshots.artwork_id');
+    }
 }
diff --git a/app/Http/Controllers/Web/BrowseGalleryController.php b/app/Http/Controllers/Web/BrowseGalleryController.php
index a74861c7..a706b24d 100644
--- a/app/Http/Controllers/Web/BrowseGalleryController.php
+++ b/app/Http/Controllers/Web/BrowseGalleryController.php
@@ -280,11 +280,18 @@ class BrowseGalleryController extends \App\Http\Controllers\Controller
     {
         $primaryCategory = $artwork->categories->sortBy('sort_order')->first();
         $present         = ThumbnailPresenter::present($artwork, 'md');
-        $avatarUrl       = \App\Support\AvatarUrl::forUser(
-            (int) ($artwork->user_id ?? 0),
-            $artwork->user?->profile?->avatar_hash ?? null,
-            64
-        );
+        $group           = $artwork->group;
+        $isGroupPublisher = $group !== null;
+        $avatarUrl       = $isGroupPublisher
+            ? $group->avatarUrl()
+            : \App\Support\AvatarUrl::forUser(
+                (int) ($artwork->user_id ?? 0),
+                $artwork->user?->profile?->avatar_hash ?? null,
+                64
+            );
+        $displayName     = $isGroupPublisher ? ($group->name ?? 'Skinbase') : ($artwork->user?->name ?? 'Skinbase');
+        $username        = $isGroupPublisher ? '' : ($artwork->user?->username ?? '');
+        $profileUrl      = $isGroupPublisher ? $group->publicUrl() : ($username !== '' ? '/@' . $username : null);
 
         return (object) [
             'id'            => $artwork->id,
@@ -295,9 +302,18 @@ class BrowseGalleryController extends \App\Http\Controllers\Controller
             'category_slug' => $primaryCategory->slug ?? '',
             'thumb_url'     => $present['url'],
             'thumb_srcset'  => $present['srcset'] ?? $present['url'],
-            'uname'         => $artwork->user?->name ?? 'Skinbase',
-            'username'      => $artwork->user?->username ?? '',
+            'uname'         => $displayName,
+            'username'      => $username,
             'avatar_url'    => $avatarUrl,
+            'profile_url'   => $profileUrl,
+            'published_as_type' => $isGroupPublisher ? 'group' : 'user',
+            'publisher'     => [
+                'type' => $isGroupPublisher ? 'group' : 'user',
+                'name' => $displayName,
+                'username' => $username,
+                'avatar_url' => $avatarUrl,
+                'profile_url' => $profileUrl,
+            ],
             'published_at'  => $artwork->published_at,
             'width'         => $artwork->width  ?? null,
             'height'        => $artwork->height ?? null,
diff --git a/app/Http/Controllers/Web/DiscoverController.php b/app/Http/Controllers/Web/DiscoverController.php
index 54427b74..1bd9e75c 100644
--- a/app/Http/Controllers/Web/DiscoverController.php
+++ b/app/Http/Controllers/Web/DiscoverController.php
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ use App\Models\Artwork;
 use App\Services\CommunityActivityService;
 use App\Services\ArtworkSearchService;
 use App\Services\ArtworkService;
-use App\Services\EarlyGrowth\FeedBlender;
+use App\Services\EarlyGrowth\AdaptiveTimeWindow;
 use App\Services\EarlyGrowth\GridFiller;
 use App\Services\Recommendations\RecommendationFeedResolver;
 use App\Services\UserSuggestionService;
@@ -33,8 +33,8 @@ final class DiscoverController extends Controller
     public function __construct(
         private readonly ArtworkService        $artworkService,
         private readonly ArtworkSearchService  $searchService,
+        private readonly AdaptiveTimeWindow    $timeWindow,
         private readonly RecommendationFeedResolver $feedResolver,
-        private readonly FeedBlender           $feedBlender,
         private readonly GridFiller            $gridFiller,
         private readonly CommunityActivityService $communityActivity,
         private readonly UserSuggestionService $userSuggestions,
@@ -45,9 +45,18 @@ final class DiscoverController extends Controller
     public function trending(Request $request)
     {
         $perPage = 24;
-        $page    = max(1, (int) $request->query('page', 1));
-        $results = $this->searchService->discoverTrending($perPage);
-        $results = $this->gridFiller->fill($results, 0, $page);
+        $windowDays = $this->timeWindow->getTrendingWindowDays(30);
+
+        try {
+            $results = $this->searchService->discoverTrending($perPage);
+        } catch (\Throwable) {
+            $results = $this->fallbackTrendingFromDatabase($perPage, $windowDays);
+        }
+
+        if ($this->paginatorIsEmpty($results)) {
+            $results = $this->fallbackTrendingFromDatabase($perPage, $windowDays);
+        }
+
         $this->hydrateDiscoverSearchResults($results);
 
         return view('web.discover.index', [
@@ -64,9 +73,22 @@ final class DiscoverController extends Controller
     public function rising(Request $request)
     {
         $perPage = 24;
-        $page    = max(1, (int) $request->query('page', 1));
-        $results = $this->searchService->discoverRising($perPage);
-        $results = $this->gridFiller->fill($results, 0, $page);
+        $windowDays = $this->timeWindow->getTrendingWindowDays(30);
+
+        try {
+            $results = $this->searchService->discoverRising($perPage);
+        } catch (\Throwable) {
+            $results = $this->fallbackRisingFromDatabase($perPage, $windowDays);
+        }
+
+        if ($this->paginatorIsEmpty($results)) {
+            $results = $this->fallbackRisingFromDatabase($perPage, $windowDays);
+        }
+
+        if ($this->paginatorHasNoRisingMomentum($results)) {
+            $results = $this->fallbackRisingLowSignalFromDatabase($perPage, $windowDays);
+        }
+
         $this->hydrateDiscoverSearchResults($results);
 
         return view('web.discover.index', [
@@ -83,11 +105,12 @@ final class DiscoverController extends Controller
     public function fresh(Request $request)
     {
         $perPage = 24;
-        $page    = max(1, (int) $request->query('page', 1));
         $results = $this->searchService->discoverFresh($perPage);
-        // EGS: blend fresh feed with curated + spotlight on page 1
-        $results = $this->feedBlender->blend($results, $perPage, $page);
-        $results = $this->gridFiller->fill($results, 0, $page);
+
+        if ($this->paginatorIsEmpty($results)) {
+            $results = $this->fallbackFreshFromDatabase($perPage);
+        }
+
         $this->hydrateDiscoverSearchResults($results);
 
         return view('web.discover.index', [
@@ -351,6 +374,152 @@ final class DiscoverController extends Controller
 
     // ─── Helpers ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
+    private function paginatorIsEmpty($paginator): bool
+    {
+        if (! is_object($paginator) || ! method_exists($paginator, 'getCollection')) {
+            return true;
+        }
+
+        $items = $paginator->getCollection();
+
+        return ! $items || $items->isEmpty();
+    }
+
+    private function paginatorHasNoRisingMomentum($paginator): bool
+    {
+        if (! is_object($paginator) || ! method_exists($paginator, 'getCollection')) {
+            return true;
+        }
+
+        $items = $paginator->getCollection();
+
+        if (! $items || $items->isEmpty()) {
+            return true;
+        }
+
+        return $items->every(function ($item): bool {
+            $heat = (float) ($item->heat_score ?? $item->stats?->heat_score ?? 0);
+            $velocity = (float) ($item->engagement_velocity ?? $item->stats?->engagement_velocity ?? 0);
+
+            return $heat <= 0.0 && $velocity <= 0.0;
+        });
+    }
+
+    private function fallbackFreshFromDatabase(int $perPage)
+    {
+        return Artwork::query()
+            ->public()
+            ->published()
+            ->with([
+                'user:id,name,username',
+                'user.profile:user_id,avatar_hash',
+                'categories:id,name,slug,content_type_id,parent_id,sort_order',
+                'categories.contentType:id,slug,name',
+            ])
+            ->orderByDesc('published_at')
+            ->orderByDesc('id')
+            ->paginate($perPage)
+            ->withQueryString();
+    }
+
+    private function fallbackTrendingFromDatabase(int $perPage, int $windowDays)
+    {
+        $cutoff = now()->subDays($windowDays)->startOfDay();
+
+        return Artwork::query()
+            ->public()
+            ->published()
+            ->with([
+                'user:id,name,username',
+                'user.profile:user_id,avatar_hash',
+                'categories:id,name,slug,content_type_id,parent_id,sort_order',
+                'categories.contentType:id,slug,name',
+            ])
+            ->leftJoin('artwork_stats as discover_stats', 'discover_stats.artwork_id', '=', 'artworks.id')
+            ->select('artworks.*')
+            ->where('artworks.published_at', '>=', $cutoff)
+            ->orderByDesc('discover_stats.ranking_score')
+            ->orderByDesc('discover_stats.engagement_velocity')
+            ->orderByDesc('discover_stats.views')
+            ->orderByDesc('artworks.published_at')
+            ->orderByDesc('artworks.id')
+            ->paginate($perPage)
+            ->withQueryString();
+    }
+
+    private function fallbackRisingFromDatabase(int $perPage, int $windowDays)
+    {
+        $cutoff = now()->subDays($windowDays)->startOfDay();
+
+        return Artwork::query()
+            ->public()
+            ->published()
+            ->with([
+                'user:id,name,username',
+                'user.profile:user_id,avatar_hash',
+                'categories:id,name,slug,content_type_id,parent_id,sort_order',
+                'categories.contentType:id,slug,name',
+            ])
+            ->leftJoin('artwork_stats as discover_stats', 'discover_stats.artwork_id', '=', 'artworks.id')
+            ->select('artworks.*')
+            ->selectRaw('COALESCE(discover_stats.heat_score, 0) as heat_score')
+            ->selectRaw('COALESCE(discover_stats.engagement_velocity, 0) as engagement_velocity')
+            ->where('artworks.published_at', '>=', $cutoff)
+            ->orderByDesc('discover_stats.heat_score')
+            ->orderByDesc('discover_stats.engagement_velocity')
+            ->orderByDesc('artworks.published_at')
+            ->orderByDesc('artworks.id')
+            ->paginate($perPage)
+            ->withQueryString();
+    }
+
+    private function fallbackRisingLowSignalFromDatabase(int $perPage, int $windowDays)
+    {
+        $cutoff = now()->subDays($windowDays)->startOfDay();
+        $recentActivity = $this->risingRecentActivitySubquery();
+
+        return Artwork::query()
+            ->public()
+            ->published()
+            ->with([
+                'user:id,name,username',
+                'user.profile:user_id,avatar_hash',
+                'categories:id,name,slug,content_type_id,parent_id,sort_order',
+                'categories.contentType:id,slug,name',
+            ])
+            ->leftJoin('artwork_stats as discover_stats', 'discover_stats.artwork_id', '=', 'artworks.id')
+            ->leftJoinSub($recentActivity, 'recent_rising_activity', function ($join): void {
+                $join->on('recent_rising_activity.artwork_id', '=', 'artworks.id');
+            })
+            ->select('artworks.*')
+            ->selectRaw('COALESCE(discover_stats.heat_score, 0) as heat_score')
+            ->selectRaw('COALESCE(discover_stats.engagement_velocity, 0) as engagement_velocity')
+            ->selectRaw('COALESCE(recent_rising_activity.recent_signal_24h, 0) as recent_signal_24h')
+            ->where('artworks.published_at', '>=', $cutoff)
+            ->orderByDesc('recent_signal_24h')
+            ->orderByDesc('artworks.published_at')
+            ->orderByDesc('artworks.id')
+            ->paginate($perPage)
+            ->withQueryString();
+    }
+
+    private function risingRecentActivitySubquery()
+    {
+        $since = now()->startOfHour()->subHours(24);
+
+        return DB::table('artwork_metric_snapshots_hourly as rising_snapshots')
+            ->selectRaw('rising_snapshots.artwork_id')
+            ->selectRaw('(
+                COALESCE(MAX(rising_snapshots.views_count) - MIN(rising_snapshots.views_count), 0)
+                + (COALESCE(MAX(rising_snapshots.downloads_count) - MIN(rising_snapshots.downloads_count), 0) * 3)
+                + (COALESCE(MAX(rising_snapshots.favourites_count) - MIN(rising_snapshots.favourites_count), 0) * 4)
+                + (COALESCE(MAX(rising_snapshots.comments_count) - MIN(rising_snapshots.comments_count), 0) * 5)
+                + (COALESCE(MAX(rising_snapshots.shares_count) - MIN(rising_snapshots.shares_count), 0) * 6)
+            ) as recent_signal_24h')
+            ->where('rising_snapshots.bucket_hour', '>=', $since)
+            ->groupBy('rising_snapshots.artwork_id');
+    }
+
     private function hydrateDiscoverSearchResults($paginator): void
     {
         if (!is_object($paginator) || !method_exists($paginator, 'getCollection') || !method_exists($paginator, 'setCollection')) {
@@ -377,6 +546,7 @@ final class DiscoverController extends Controller
             ->with([
                 'user:id,name,username',
                 'user.profile:user_id,avatar_hash',
+                'group:id,name,slug,avatar_path',
                 'categories:id,name,slug,content_type_id,parent_id,sort_order',
             ])
             ->get()
@@ -398,9 +568,12 @@ final class DiscoverController extends Controller
                     'category_slug' => $item->category_slug ?? '',
                     'thumb_url'     => $item->thumbnail_url ?? $item->thumb_url ?? $item->thumb ?? null,
                     'thumb_srcset'  => $item->thumb_srcset ?? null,
-                    'uname'         => $item->author ?? $item->uname ?? 'Skinbase',
-                    'username'      => $item->username ?? '',
+                    'uname'         => $item->author_name ?? $item->author ?? $item->uname ?? 'Skinbase',
+                    'username'      => (($item->published_as_type ?? null) === 'group') ? '' : ($item->username ?? ''),
                     'avatar_url'    => \App\Support\AvatarUrl::forUser((int) ($item->user_id ?? $item->author_id ?? 0), null, 64),
+                    'profile_url'   => $item->profile_url ?? null,
+                    'published_as_type' => $item->published_as_type ?? null,
+                    'publisher'     => $item->publisher ?? null,
                     'published_at'  => $item->published_at ?? null,
                     'width'         => isset($item->width)  && $item->width  ? (int) $item->width  : null,
                     'height'        => isset($item->height) && $item->height ? (int) $item->height : null,
@@ -413,11 +586,18 @@ final class DiscoverController extends Controller
     {
         $primaryCategory = $artwork->categories->sortBy('sort_order')->first();
         $present         = ThumbnailPresenter::present($artwork, 'md');
-        $avatarUrl       = \App\Support\AvatarUrl::forUser(
-            (int) ($artwork->user_id ?? 0),
-            $artwork->user?->profile?->avatar_hash ?? null,
-            64
-        );
+        $group           = $artwork->group;
+        $isGroupPublisher = $group !== null;
+        $avatarUrl       = $isGroupPublisher
+            ? $group->avatarUrl()
+            : \App\Support\AvatarUrl::forUser(
+                (int) ($artwork->user_id ?? 0),
+                $artwork->user?->profile?->avatar_hash ?? null,
+                64
+            );
+        $displayName     = $isGroupPublisher ? ($group->name ?? 'Skinbase') : ($artwork->user?->name ?? 'Skinbase');
+        $username        = $isGroupPublisher ? '' : ($artwork->user?->username ?? '');
+        $profileUrl      = $isGroupPublisher ? $group->publicUrl() : ($username !== '' ? '/@' . $username : null);
 
         return (object) [
             'id'            => $artwork->id,
@@ -429,8 +609,18 @@ final class DiscoverController extends Controller
             'gid_num'       => $primaryCategory ? ((int) $primaryCategory->id % 5) * 5 : 0,
             'thumb_url'     => $present['url'],
             'thumb_srcset'  => $present['srcset'] ?? $present['url'],
-            'uname'         => $artwork->user->name ?? 'Skinbase',
+            'uname'         => $displayName,
+            'username'      => $username,
             'avatar_url'    => $avatarUrl,
+            'profile_url'   => $profileUrl,
+            'published_as_type' => $isGroupPublisher ? 'group' : 'user',
+            'publisher'     => [
+                'type' => $isGroupPublisher ? 'group' : 'user',
+                'name' => $displayName,
+                'username' => $username,
+                'avatar_url' => $avatarUrl,
+                'profile_url' => $profileUrl,
+            ],
             'published_at'  => $artwork->published_at,
             'width'         => $artwork->width  ?? null,
             'height'        => $artwork->height ?? null,
diff --git a/app/Http/Controllers/Web/ExploreController.php b/app/Http/Controllers/Web/ExploreController.php
index a80261c8..75c61c60 100644
--- a/app/Http/Controllers/Web/ExploreController.php
+++ b/app/Http/Controllers/Web/ExploreController.php
@@ -276,11 +276,18 @@ final class ExploreController extends Controller
     {
         $primary   = $artwork->categories->sortBy('sort_order')->first();
         $present   = ThumbnailPresenter::present($artwork, 'md');
-        $avatarUrl = \App\Support\AvatarUrl::forUser(
-            (int) ($artwork->user_id ?? 0),
-            $artwork->user?->profile?->avatar_hash ?? null,
-            64
-        );
+        $group     = $artwork->group;
+        $isGroupPublisher = $group !== null;
+        $avatarUrl = $isGroupPublisher
+            ? $group->avatarUrl()
+            : \App\Support\AvatarUrl::forUser(
+                (int) ($artwork->user_id ?? 0),
+                $artwork->user?->profile?->avatar_hash ?? null,
+                64
+            );
+        $displayName = $isGroupPublisher ? ($group->name ?? 'Skinbase') : ($artwork->user?->name ?? 'Skinbase');
+        $username = $isGroupPublisher ? '' : ($artwork->user?->username ?? '');
+        $profileUrl = $isGroupPublisher ? $group->publicUrl() : ($username !== '' ? '/@' . $username : null);
 
         return (object) [
             'id'            => $artwork->id,
@@ -291,9 +298,18 @@ final class ExploreController extends Controller
             'category_slug' => $primary->slug ?? '',
             'thumb_url'     => $present['url'],
             'thumb_srcset'  => $present['srcset'] ?? $present['url'],
-            'uname'         => $artwork->user?->name ?? 'Skinbase',
-            'username'      => $artwork->user?->username ?? '',
+            'uname'         => $displayName,
+            'username'      => $username,
             'avatar_url'    => $avatarUrl,
+            'profile_url'   => $profileUrl,
+            'published_as_type' => $isGroupPublisher ? 'group' : 'user',
+            'publisher'     => [
+                'type' => $isGroupPublisher ? 'group' : 'user',
+                'name' => $displayName,
+                'username' => $username,
+                'avatar_url' => $avatarUrl,
+                'profile_url' => $profileUrl,
+            ],
             'published_at'  => $artwork->published_at,
             'slug'          => $artwork->slug ?? '',
             'width'         => $artwork->width  ?? null,
diff --git a/app/Http/Controllers/Web/SimilarArtworksPageController.php b/app/Http/Controllers/Web/SimilarArtworksPageController.php
index 3ed1b663..4a72496f 100644
--- a/app/Http/Controllers/Web/SimilarArtworksPageController.php
+++ b/app/Http/Controllers/Web/SimilarArtworksPageController.php
@@ -290,11 +290,18 @@ final class SimilarArtworksPageController extends Controller
     {
         $primary   = $artwork->categories->sortBy('sort_order')->first();
         $present   = ThumbnailPresenter::present($artwork, 'md');
-        $avatarUrl = AvatarUrl::forUser(
-            (int) ($artwork->user_id ?? 0),
-            $artwork->user?->profile?->avatar_hash ?? null,
-            64
-        );
+        $group     = $artwork->group;
+        $isGroupPublisher = $group !== null;
+        $avatarUrl = $isGroupPublisher
+            ? $group->avatarUrl()
+            : AvatarUrl::forUser(
+                (int) ($artwork->user_id ?? 0),
+                $artwork->user?->profile?->avatar_hash ?? null,
+                64
+            );
+        $displayName = $isGroupPublisher ? ($group->name ?? 'Skinbase') : ($artwork->user?->name ?? 'Skinbase');
+        $username = $isGroupPublisher ? '' : ($artwork->user?->username ?? '');
+        $profileUrl = $isGroupPublisher ? $group->publicUrl() : ($username !== '' ? '/@' . $username : null);
 
         return (object) [
             'id'                => $artwork->id,
@@ -305,9 +312,18 @@ final class SimilarArtworksPageController extends Controller
             'category_slug'     => $primary?->slug ?? '',
             'thumb_url'         => $present['url'],
             'thumb_srcset'      => $present['srcset'] ?? $present['url'],
-            'uname'             => $artwork->user?->name ?? 'Skinbase',
-            'username'          => $artwork->user?->username ?? '',
+            'uname'             => $displayName,
+            'username'          => $username,
             'avatar_url'        => $avatarUrl,
+            'profile_url'       => $profileUrl,
+            'published_as_type' => $isGroupPublisher ? 'group' : 'user',
+            'publisher'         => [
+                'type' => $isGroupPublisher ? 'group' : 'user',
+                'name' => $displayName,
+                'username' => $username,
+                'avatar_url' => $avatarUrl,
+                'profile_url' => $profileUrl,
+            ],
             'published_at'      => $artwork->published_at,
             'slug'              => $artwork->slug ?? '',
             'width'             => $artwork->width  ?? null,
diff --git a/app/Http/Controllers/Web/TagController.php b/app/Http/Controllers/Web/TagController.php
index df00402a..20fd0f02 100644
--- a/app/Http/Controllers/Web/TagController.php
+++ b/app/Http/Controllers/Web/TagController.php
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ use App\Http\Controllers\Controller;
 use App\Models\ContentType;
 use App\Models\Tag;
 use App\Services\ArtworkSearchService;
-use App\Services\EarlyGrowth\GridFiller;
 use App\Services\Tags\TagDiscoveryService;
 use App\Services\ThumbnailPresenter;
 use Illuminate\Http\Request;
@@ -18,7 +17,6 @@ final class TagController extends Controller
 {
     public function __construct(
         private readonly ArtworkSearchService $search,
-        private readonly GridFiller           $gridFiller,
         private readonly TagDiscoveryService  $tagDiscovery,
     ) {}
 
@@ -45,29 +43,10 @@ final class TagController extends Controller
 
     public function show(Tag $tag, Request $request): View
     {
-        $sort    = $request->query('sort', 'popular'); // popular | latest | downloads
+        $sort    = $request->query('sort', 'popular'); // popular | likes | latest | downloads
         $perPage = min((int) $request->query('per_page', 24), 100);
 
-        // Convert sort param to Meili sort expression
-        $sortMap = [
-            'popular'   => 'views:desc',
-            'likes'     => 'likes:desc',
-            'latest'    => 'created_at:desc',
-            'downloads' => 'downloads:desc',
-        ];
-        $meiliSort = $sortMap[$sort] ?? 'views:desc';
-
-        $artworks = \App\Models\Artwork::search('')
-            ->options([
-                'filter' => 'is_public = true AND is_approved = true AND tags = "' . addslashes($tag->slug) . '"',
-                'sort'   => [$meiliSort],
-            ])
-            ->paginate($perPage)
-            ->appends(['sort' => $sort]);
-
-        // EGS: ensure tag pages never show a half-empty grid on page 1
-        $page     = max(1, (int) $request->query('page', 1));
-        $artworks = $this->gridFiller->fill($artworks, 0, $page);
+        $artworks = $this->search->byTag($tag->slug, $perPage, $sort);
 
         // Eager-load relations used by the gallery presenter and thumbnails.
         $artworks->getCollection()->each(fn($m) => $m->loadMissing(['user.profile', 'categories']));
diff --git a/app/Http/Requests/Uploads/UploadChunkRequest.php b/app/Http/Requests/Uploads/UploadChunkRequest.php
index 4da808fd..e3d2da0b 100644
--- a/app/Http/Requests/Uploads/UploadChunkRequest.php
+++ b/app/Http/Requests/Uploads/UploadChunkRequest.php
@@ -7,10 +7,24 @@ namespace App\Http\Requests\Uploads;
 use App\Repositories\Uploads\UploadSessionRepository;
 use App\Services\Uploads\UploadTokenService;
 use Illuminate\Foundation\Http\FormRequest;
+use Illuminate\Validation\ValidationException;
 use Symfony\Component\HttpKernel\Exception\NotFoundHttpException;
 
 final class UploadChunkRequest extends FormRequest
 {
+    protected function prepareForValidation(): void
+    {
+        $uploadError = $this->detectChunkUploadError();
+
+        if ($uploadError !== null && $uploadError !== UPLOAD_ERR_OK) {
+            $this->logChunkUploadFailure($uploadError);
+
+            throw ValidationException::withMessages([
+                'chunk' => [$this->messageForUploadError($uploadError)],
+            ]);
+        }
+    }
+
     public function authorize(): bool
     {
         $user = $this->user();
@@ -79,6 +93,63 @@ final class UploadChunkRequest extends FormRequest
         throw new NotFoundHttpException();
     }
 
+    private function detectChunkUploadError(): ?int
+    {
+        $uploadedFile = $this->file('chunk');
+        if ($uploadedFile !== null) {
+            return (int) $uploadedFile->getError();
+        }
+
+        $rawError = data_get($_FILES, 'chunk.error');
+        if ($rawError === null || $rawError === '') {
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        return (int) $rawError;
+    }
+
+    private function messageForUploadError(int $error): string
+    {
+        return match ($error) {
+            UPLOAD_ERR_INI_SIZE => 'The upload chunk exceeded PHP upload_max_filesize. Lower UPLOAD_CHUNK_MAX_BYTES or raise upload_max_filesize/post_max_size.',
+            UPLOAD_ERR_FORM_SIZE => 'The upload chunk exceeded the allowed form upload size.',
+            UPLOAD_ERR_PARTIAL => 'The upload chunk was only partially received. Check Nginx/PHP-FPM request handling and network stability.',
+            UPLOAD_ERR_NO_FILE => 'No upload chunk file was received by PHP.',
+            UPLOAD_ERR_NO_TMP_DIR => 'PHP upload_tmp_dir is missing or unavailable. Check the configured temporary upload directory on the server.',
+            UPLOAD_ERR_CANT_WRITE => 'PHP could not write the upload chunk to the temporary directory. Check upload_tmp_dir permissions and free disk space.',
+            UPLOAD_ERR_EXTENSION => 'A PHP extension stopped the upload chunk before Laravel could process it.',
+            default => 'The upload chunk failed before Laravel could read it. Check PHP temporary upload storage and request size limits.',
+        };
+    }
+
+    private function logChunkUploadFailure(int $error): void
+    {
+        $uploadTmpDir = (string) (ini_get('upload_tmp_dir') ?: sys_get_temp_dir() ?: '');
+        $tmpExists = $uploadTmpDir !== '' ? is_dir($uploadTmpDir) : false;
+        $tmpWritable = $tmpExists ? is_writable($uploadTmpDir) : false;
+
+        logger()->warning('Upload chunk failed before validation completed', [
+            'session_id' => (string) $this->input('session_id'),
+            'user_id' => $this->user()?->id,
+            'ip' => $this->ip(),
+            'upload_error' => $error,
+            'upload_error_message' => $this->messageForUploadError($error),
+            'content_length' => $this->server('CONTENT_LENGTH'),
+            'post_max_size' => ini_get('post_max_size'),
+            'upload_max_filesize' => ini_get('upload_max_filesize'),
+            'upload_tmp_dir' => $uploadTmpDir,
+            'tmp_exists' => $tmpExists,
+            'tmp_writable' => $tmpWritable,
+            'raw_files' => isset($_FILES['chunk']) ? [
+                'name' => $_FILES['chunk']['name'] ?? null,
+                'type' => $_FILES['chunk']['type'] ?? null,
+                'size' => $_FILES['chunk']['size'] ?? null,
+                'tmp_name' => $_FILES['chunk']['tmp_name'] ?? null,
+                'error' => $_FILES['chunk']['error'] ?? null,
+            ] : null,
+        ]);
+    }
+
     private function logUnauthorized(string $reason): void
     {
         logger()->warning('Upload chunk unauthorized access', [
diff --git a/app/Http/Resources/ArtworkListResource.php b/app/Http/Resources/ArtworkListResource.php
index a88aac29..1aee5026 100644
--- a/app/Http/Resources/ArtworkListResource.php
+++ b/app/Http/Resources/ArtworkListResource.php
@@ -61,6 +61,22 @@ class ArtworkListResource extends JsonResource
 
         $decode = static fn (?string $v): string => html_entity_decode((string) ($v ?? ''), ENT_QUOTES | ENT_HTML5, 'UTF-8');
 
+        $group = $this->relationLoaded('group') ? $this->group : null;
+        $user = $this->relationLoaded('user') ? $this->user : null;
+        $isGroupPublisher = $group !== null;
+        $publisher = ($group || $user)
+            ? [
+                'type' => $isGroupPublisher ? 'group' : 'user',
+                'id' => (int) ($isGroupPublisher ? $group?->id : $user?->id),
+                'name' => $decode($isGroupPublisher ? $group?->name : $user?->name),
+                'username' => $isGroupPublisher ? '' : (string) ($user?->username ?? ''),
+                'avatar_url' => $isGroupPublisher ? $group?->avatarUrl() : $user?->profile?->avatar_url,
+                'profile_url' => $isGroupPublisher
+                    ? $group?->publicUrl()
+                    : (! empty($user?->username) ? '/@' . $user->username : null),
+            ]
+            : null;
+
         return [
             'id' => $artId,
             'slug' => $slugVal,
@@ -71,12 +87,12 @@ class ArtworkListResource extends JsonResource
                 'height' => $get('height'),
             ],
             'thumbnail_url' => $this->when(! empty($hash) && ! empty($thumbExt), fn() => ThumbnailService::fromHash($hash, $thumbExt, 'md')),
-            'author' => $this->whenLoaded('user', function () use ($decode) {
-                return [
-                    'name' => $decode($this->user->name ?? null),
-                    'avatar_url' => $this->user?->profile?->avatar_url,
-                ];
-            }),
+            'author' => $publisher,
+            'publisher' => $publisher,
+            'author_name' => $publisher['name'] ?? '',
+            'avatar_url' => $publisher['avatar_url'] ?? null,
+            'profile_url' => $publisher['profile_url'] ?? null,
+            'published_as_type' => $publisher['type'] ?? null,
             'category' => $primaryCategory ? [
                 'slug' => $primaryCategory->slug ?? null,
                 'name' => $decode($primaryCategory->name ?? null),
diff --git a/app/Models/Artwork.php b/app/Models/Artwork.php
index f090dc28..91033f30 100644
--- a/app/Models/Artwork.php
+++ b/app/Models/Artwork.php
@@ -329,6 +329,7 @@ class Artwork extends Model
 
 		$stat     = $this->stats;
 		$awardStat = $this->awardStat;
+		$publishedSortAt = $this->published_at ?? $this->created_at;
 
 		// Orientation derived from pixel dimensions
 		$orientation = 'square';
@@ -380,7 +381,8 @@ class Artwork extends Model
 			'downloads'   => (int) ($stat?->downloads ?? 0),
 			'likes'       => (int) ($stat?->favorites ?? 0),
 			'views'       => (int) ($stat?->views ?? 0),
-			'created_at'  => $this->published_at?->toDateString() ?? $this->created_at?->toDateString() ?? '',
+			'created_at'  => $publishedSortAt?->toDateString() ?? '',
+			'published_at_ts' => $publishedSortAt?->getTimestamp() ?? 0,
 			'is_public'   => (bool) $this->is_public,
 			'is_approved' => (bool) $this->is_approved,
 			// ── Trending / discovery fields ────────────────────────────────────
diff --git a/app/Providers/AppServiceProvider.php b/app/Providers/AppServiceProvider.php
index f3e182c6..9e35e1c6 100644
--- a/app/Providers/AppServiceProvider.php
+++ b/app/Providers/AppServiceProvider.php
@@ -255,6 +255,10 @@ class AppServiceProvider extends ServiceProvider
             return $this->buildUploadLimits($request, 'init');
         });
 
+        RateLimiter::for('uploads-chunk', function (Request $request): array {
+            return $this->buildUploadLimits($request, 'chunk');
+        });
+
         RateLimiter::for('uploads-finish', function (Request $request): array {
             return $this->buildUploadLimits($request, 'finish');
         });
diff --git a/app/Services/ArtworkSearchService.php b/app/Services/ArtworkSearchService.php
index 0b995502..b8730b14 100644
--- a/app/Services/ArtworkSearchService.php
+++ b/app/Services/ArtworkSearchService.php
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ use App\Models\Tag;
 use App\Services\EarlyGrowth\AdaptiveTimeWindow;
 use Illuminate\Contracts\Pagination\LengthAwarePaginator;
 use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Cache;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\DB;
 
 /**
  * High-level search API powered by Meilisearch via Laravel Scout.
@@ -19,6 +20,7 @@ final class ArtworkSearchService
 {
     private const BASE_FILTER = 'is_public = true AND is_approved = true';
     private const CACHE_TTL   = 300; // 5 minutes
+    private const TAG_SORTS   = ['popular', 'likes', 'latest', 'downloads'];
 
     public function __construct(
         private readonly AdaptiveTimeWindow $timeWindow,
@@ -82,22 +84,46 @@ final class ArtworkSearchService
     /**
      * Load artworks for a tag page, sorted by views + likes descending.
      */
-    public function byTag(string $slug, int $perPage = 24): LengthAwarePaginator
+    public function byTag(string $slug, int $perPage = 24, string $sort = 'popular'): LengthAwarePaginator
     {
         $tag = Tag::where('slug', $slug)->first();
         if (! $tag) {
             return $this->emptyPaginator($perPage);
         }
 
-        $cacheKey = "search.tag.{$slug}.page." . request()->get('page', 1);
+        $sort = in_array($sort, self::TAG_SORTS, true) ? $sort : 'popular';
+        $cacheKey = "search.tag.{$slug}.{$sort}.{$perPage}.page." . request()->get('page', 1);
 
-        return Cache::remember($cacheKey, self::CACHE_TTL, function () use ($slug, $perPage) {
-            return Artwork::search('')
-                ->options([
-                    'filter' => self::BASE_FILTER . ' AND tags = "' . addslashes($slug) . '"',
-                    'sort'   => ['views:desc', 'likes:desc'],
-                ])
-                ->paginate($perPage);
+        return Cache::remember($cacheKey, self::CACHE_TTL, function () use ($tag, $perPage, $sort) {
+            $query = Artwork::query()
+                ->public()
+                ->published()
+            ->whereHas('tags', fn ($tagQuery) => $tagQuery->where('tags.id', $tag->id))
+                ->leftJoin('artwork_stats', 'artwork_stats.artwork_id', '=', 'artworks.id')
+                ->select('artworks.*')
+                ->with(['user.profile', 'categories.contentType']);
+
+            match ($sort) {
+                'likes' => $query
+                    ->orderByRaw('COALESCE(artwork_stats.favorites, 0) DESC')
+                    ->orderByRaw('COALESCE(artwork_stats.views, 0) DESC')
+                    ->orderByDesc('artworks.published_at'),
+                'latest' => $query
+                    ->orderByDesc('artworks.published_at')
+                    ->orderByDesc('artworks.id'),
+                'downloads' => $query
+                    ->orderByRaw('COALESCE(artwork_stats.downloads, 0) DESC')
+                    ->orderByRaw('COALESCE(artwork_stats.views, 0) DESC')
+                    ->orderByDesc('artworks.published_at'),
+                default => $query
+                    ->orderByRaw('COALESCE(artwork_stats.views, 0) DESC')
+                    ->orderByRaw('COALESCE(artwork_stats.favorites, 0) DESC')
+                    ->orderByDesc('artworks.published_at'),
+            };
+
+            return $query
+                ->paginate($perPage)
+                ->withQueryString();
         });
     }
 
@@ -125,12 +151,12 @@ final class ArtworkSearchService
      * Used by categoryPageSort() and contentTypePageSort().
      */
     private const CATEGORY_SORT_FIELDS = [
-        'trending'   => ['trending_score_24h:desc', 'created_at:desc'],
-        'fresh'      => ['created_at:desc'],
+        'trending'   => ['trending_score_24h:desc', 'published_at_ts:desc'],
+        'fresh'      => ['published_at_ts:desc'],
         'top-rated'  => ['awards_received_count:desc', 'favorites_count:desc'],
         'favorited'  => ['favorites_count:desc', 'trending_score_24h:desc'],
         'downloaded' => ['downloads_count:desc', 'trending_score_24h:desc'],
-        'oldest'     => ['created_at:asc'],
+        'oldest'     => ['published_at_ts:asc'],
     ];
 
     /** Cache TTL (seconds) per sort alias for category pages. */
@@ -237,7 +263,7 @@ final class ArtworkSearchService
     }
 
     /**
-     * Most recent artworks by created_at.
+     * Most recent artworks by publish timestamp.
      */
     public function recent(int $perPage = 24): LengthAwarePaginator
     {
@@ -245,7 +271,7 @@ final class ArtworkSearchService
             return Artwork::search('')
                 ->options([
                     'filter' => self::BASE_FILTER,
-                    'sort'   => ['created_at:desc'],
+                    'sort'   => ['published_at_ts:desc'],
                 ])
                 ->paginate($perPage);
         });
@@ -294,7 +320,7 @@ final class ArtworkSearchService
             return Artwork::search('')
                 ->options([
                     'filter' => self::BASE_FILTER . ' AND created_at >= "' . $cutoff . '"',
-                    'sort'   => ['heat_score:desc', 'engagement_velocity:desc', 'created_at:desc'],
+                    'sort'   => ['heat_score:desc', 'engagement_velocity:desc', 'published_at_ts:desc'],
                 ])
                 ->paginate($perPage);
         });
@@ -310,7 +336,7 @@ final class ArtworkSearchService
             return Artwork::search('')
                 ->options([
                     'filter' => self::BASE_FILTER,
-                    'sort'   => ['created_at:desc'],
+                    'sort'   => ['published_at_ts:desc'],
                 ])
                 ->paginate($perPage);
         });
@@ -378,7 +404,7 @@ final class ArtworkSearchService
     }
 
     /**
-     * Fresh artworks in given categories, sorted by created_at desc.
+    * Fresh artworks in given categories, sorted by publish timestamp desc.
      * Used for personalized "Fresh in your favourite categories" section.
      *
      * @param string[] $categorySlugs
@@ -400,7 +426,7 @@ final class ArtworkSearchService
             return Artwork::search('')
                 ->options([
                     'filter' => self::BASE_FILTER . ' AND (' . $catFilter . ')',
-                    'sort'   => ['created_at:desc'],
+                    'sort'   => ['published_at_ts:desc'],
                 ])
                 ->paginate($limit);
         });
diff --git a/app/Services/ArtworkService.php b/app/Services/ArtworkService.php
index 21232e98..c7afa5fa 100644
--- a/app/Services/ArtworkService.php
+++ b/app/Services/ArtworkService.php
@@ -23,6 +23,24 @@ class ArtworkService
 {
     protected int $cacheTtl = 3600; // seconds
 
+    /**
+     * Lightweight relations needed to render browse/list cards.
+     *
+     * @return array<int|string, mixed>
+     */
+    private function browseRelations(): array
+    {
+        return [
+            'user:id,name,username',
+            'user.profile:user_id,avatar_url',
+            'group:id,name,slug,avatar_path',
+            'categories' => function ($q) {
+                $q->select('categories.id', 'categories.content_type_id', 'categories.parent_id', 'categories.name', 'categories.slug', 'categories.sort_order')
+                    ->with(['parent:id,parent_id,content_type_id,name,slug', 'contentType:id,slug,name']);
+            },
+        ];
+    }
+
     /**
      * Shared browse query used by /browse, content-type pages, and category pages.
      */
@@ -30,13 +48,7 @@ class ArtworkService
     {
         $query = Artwork::public()
             ->published()
-            ->with([
-                'user:id,name',
-                'categories' => function ($q) {
-                    $q->select('categories.id', 'categories.content_type_id', 'categories.parent_id', 'categories.name', 'categories.slug', 'categories.sort_order')
-                        ->with(['parent:id,parent_id,content_type_id,name,slug', 'contentType:id,slug,name']);
-                },
-            ]);
+            ->with($this->browseRelations());
 
         $normalizedSort = strtolower(trim($sort));
         if ($normalizedSort === 'oldest') {
@@ -110,6 +122,7 @@ class ArtworkService
     public function getCategoryArtworks(Category $category, int $perPage = 24): CursorPaginator
     {
         $query = Artwork::public()->published()
+            ->with($this->browseRelations())
             ->whereHas('categories', function ($q) use ($category) {
                 $q->where('categories.id', $category->id);
             })
diff --git a/app/Services/EarlyGrowth/AdaptiveTimeWindow.php b/app/Services/EarlyGrowth/AdaptiveTimeWindow.php
index 829c02fb..3b26760e 100644
--- a/app/Services/EarlyGrowth/AdaptiveTimeWindow.php
+++ b/app/Services/EarlyGrowth/AdaptiveTimeWindow.php
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ final class AdaptiveTimeWindow
     {
         $ttl = (int) config('early_growth.cache_ttl.time_window', 600);
 
-        return Cache::remember('egs.uploads_per_day', $ttl, function (): float {
+        return (float) Cache::remember('egs.uploads_per_day', $ttl, function (): float {
             $count = Artwork::query()
                 ->where('is_public', true)
                 ->where('is_approved', true)
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ final class AdaptiveTimeWindow
                 ->where('published_at', '>=', now()->subDays(7))
                 ->count();
 
-            return round($count / 7, 2);
+            return (float) round($count / 7, 2);
         });
     }
 }
diff --git a/app/Services/HomepageService.php b/app/Services/HomepageService.php
index 57fc923e..519f4fe4 100644
--- a/app/Services/HomepageService.php
+++ b/app/Services/HomepageService.php
@@ -244,6 +244,15 @@ final class HomepageService
     }
 
     public function getHomepageGroups(?\App\Models\User $viewer = null): array
+    {
+        if (! $viewer) {
+            return Cache::remember('homepage.groups', self::CACHE_TTL, fn (): array => $this->buildHomepageGroups());
+        }
+
+        return $this->buildHomepageGroups($viewer);
+    }
+
+    private function buildHomepageGroups(?\App\Models\User $viewer = null): array
     {
         $featured = $this->groupDiscovery->surfaceCards($viewer, 'featured', 4);
         $spotlight = $featured[0] ?? null;
@@ -314,6 +323,10 @@ final class HomepageService
                     return $this->getRisingFromDb($limit);
                 }
 
+                if ($this->collectionHasNoRisingMomentum($this->searchResultCollection($results))) {
+                    return $this->getRisingLowSignalFromDb($limit);
+                }
+
                 return $items
                     ->map(fn ($a) => $this->serializeArtwork($a))
                     ->values()
@@ -348,6 +361,26 @@ final class HomepageService
             ->all();
     }
 
+    private function getRisingLowSignalFromDb(int $limit): array
+    {
+        return Artwork::public()
+            ->published()
+            ->with(self::ARTWORK_SERIALIZATION_RELATIONS)
+            ->leftJoinSub($this->risingRecentActivitySubquery(), 'recent_rising_activity', function ($join): void {
+                $join->on('recent_rising_activity.artwork_id', '=', 'artworks.id');
+            })
+            ->select('artworks.*')
+            ->where('artworks.published_at', '>=', now()->subDays(30))
+            ->orderByRaw('COALESCE(recent_rising_activity.recent_signal_24h, 0) DESC')
+            ->orderByDesc('artworks.published_at')
+            ->orderByDesc('artworks.id')
+            ->limit($limit)
+            ->get()
+            ->map(fn ($a) => $this->serializeArtwork($a))
+            ->values()
+            ->all();
+    }
+
     /**
      * Trending: up to 12 artworks sorted by Ranking V2 `ranking_score`.
      *
@@ -466,26 +499,38 @@ final class HomepageService
             try {
                 $since = now()->subWeek();
 
-                $rows = DB::table('artworks')
-                    ->join('users as u', 'u.id', '=', 'artworks.user_id')
+                $weeklyUploads = Artwork::query()
+                    ->selectRaw('user_id, COUNT(*) as weekly_uploads')
+                    ->where('is_public', true)
+                    ->where('is_approved', true)
+                    ->whereNull('deleted_at')
+                    ->whereNotNull('published_at')
+                    ->where('published_at', '<=', now())
+                    ->where('published_at', '>=', $since)
+                    ->groupBy('user_id');
+
+                $rows = DB::table('users as u')
                     ->leftJoin('user_profiles as up', 'up.user_id', '=', 'u.id')
-                    ->leftJoin('artwork_awards as aw', 'aw.artwork_id', '=', 'artworks.id')
-                    ->leftJoin('artwork_stats as s', 's.artwork_id', '=', 'artworks.id')
+                    ->leftJoin('user_statistics as us', 'us.user_id', '=', 'u.id')
+                    ->leftJoinSub($weeklyUploads, 'weekly_uploads', function ($join): void {
+                        $join->on('weekly_uploads.user_id', '=', 'u.id');
+                    })
                     ->select(
                         'u.id',
                         'u.name',
                         'u.username',
                         'up.avatar_hash',
-                        DB::raw('COUNT(DISTINCT artworks.id) as upload_count'),
-                        DB::raw('SUM(CASE WHEN artworks.published_at >= \'' . $since->toDateTimeString() . '\' THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) as weekly_uploads'),
-                        DB::raw('COALESCE(SUM(s.views), 0) as total_views'),
-                        DB::raw('COUNT(DISTINCT aw.id) as total_awards')
+                        DB::raw('COALESCE(us.uploads_count, 0) as upload_count'),
+                        DB::raw('COALESCE(weekly_uploads.weekly_uploads, 0) as weekly_uploads'),
+                        DB::raw('COALESCE(us.artwork_views_received_count, 0) as total_views'),
+                        DB::raw('COALESCE(us.awards_received_count, 0) as total_awards')
                     )
-                    ->where('artworks.is_public', true)
-                    ->where('artworks.is_approved', true)
-                    ->whereNull('artworks.deleted_at')
-                    ->whereNotNull('artworks.published_at')
-                    ->groupBy('u.id', 'u.name', 'u.username', 'up.avatar_hash')
+                    ->whereNull('u.deleted_at')
+                    ->where('u.is_active', true)
+                    ->where(function ($query): void {
+                        $query->where('us.uploads_count', '>', 0)
+                            ->orWhere('weekly_uploads.weekly_uploads', '>', 0);
+                    })
                     ->orderByDesc('weekly_uploads')
                     ->orderByDesc('total_awards')
                     ->orderByDesc('total_views')
@@ -494,18 +539,23 @@ final class HomepageService
 
                 $userIds = $rows->pluck('id')->all();
 
-                // Pick one random artwork thumbnail per creator for the card background.
-                $thumbsByUser = Artwork::public()
+                $latestArtworkIds = Artwork::public()
                     ->published()
                     ->whereIn('user_id', $userIds)
                     ->whereNotNull('hash')
                     ->whereNotNull('thumb_ext')
-                    ->inRandomOrder()
+                    ->selectRaw('MAX(id) as id')
+                    ->groupBy('user_id')
+                    ->pluck('id')
+                    ->all();
+
+                $thumbsByUser = Artwork::query()
+                    ->whereIn('id', $latestArtworkIds)
                     ->get(['id', 'user_id', 'hash', 'thumb_ext'])
-                    ->groupBy('user_id');
+                    ->keyBy('user_id');
 
                 return $rows->map(function ($u) use ($thumbsByUser) {
-                    $artworkForBg = $thumbsByUser->get($u->id)?->first();
+                    $artworkForBg = $thumbsByUser->get($u->id);
                     $bgThumb      = $artworkForBg ? $artworkForBg->thumbUrl('md') : null;
 
                     return [
@@ -792,6 +842,37 @@ final class HomepageService
         return $artworks;
     }
 
+    private function collectionHasNoRisingMomentum(Collection $items): bool
+    {
+        if ($items->isEmpty()) {
+            return true;
+        }
+
+        return $items->every(function ($item): bool {
+            $heat = (float) ($item->heat_score ?? $item->stats?->heat_score ?? 0);
+            $velocity = (float) ($item->engagement_velocity ?? $item->stats?->engagement_velocity ?? 0);
+
+            return $heat <= 0.0 && $velocity <= 0.0;
+        });
+    }
+
+    private function risingRecentActivitySubquery()
+    {
+        $since = now()->startOfHour()->subHours(24);
+
+        return DB::table('artwork_metric_snapshots_hourly as rising_snapshots')
+            ->selectRaw('rising_snapshots.artwork_id')
+            ->selectRaw('(
+                COALESCE(MAX(rising_snapshots.views_count) - MIN(rising_snapshots.views_count), 0)
+                + (COALESCE(MAX(rising_snapshots.downloads_count) - MIN(rising_snapshots.downloads_count), 0) * 3)
+                + (COALESCE(MAX(rising_snapshots.favourites_count) - MIN(rising_snapshots.favourites_count), 0) * 4)
+                + (COALESCE(MAX(rising_snapshots.comments_count) - MIN(rising_snapshots.comments_count), 0) * 5)
+                + (COALESCE(MAX(rising_snapshots.shares_count) - MIN(rising_snapshots.shares_count), 0) * 6)
+            ) as recent_signal_24h')
+            ->where('rising_snapshots.bucket_hour', '>=', $since)
+            ->groupBy('rising_snapshots.artwork_id');
+    }
+
     private function serializeArtwork(Artwork $artwork, string $preferSize = 'md'): array
     {
         $thumbMd = $artwork->thumbUrl('md');
diff --git a/app/Services/Studio/CreatorStudioContentService.php b/app/Services/Studio/CreatorStudioContentService.php
index d16313e9..fa595629 100644
--- a/app/Services/Studio/CreatorStudioContentService.php
+++ b/app/Services/Studio/CreatorStudioContentService.php
@@ -407,6 +407,7 @@ final class CreatorStudioContentService
     {
         $now = Carbon::now();
         $updatedAt = Carbon::parse((string) ($item['updated_at'] ?? $item['created_at'] ?? $now->toIso8601String()));
+        $status = (string) ($item['status'] ?? '');
         $isDraft = ($item['status'] ?? null) === 'draft';
         $missing = [];
         $score = 0;
@@ -441,6 +442,16 @@ final class CreatorStudioContentService
             default => 'Needs more work',
         };
 
+        $readiness = $status === 'published'
+            ? null
+            : [
+                'score' => $score,
+                'max' => 4,
+                'label' => $label,
+                'can_publish' => $score >= 3,
+                'missing' => $missing,
+            ];
+
         $workflowActions = match ((string) ($item['module'] ?? '')) {
             'artworks' => [
                 ['label' => 'Create card', 'href' => route('studio.cards.create'), 'icon' => 'fa-solid fa-id-card'],
@@ -466,13 +477,7 @@ final class CreatorStudioContentService
             'is_stale_draft' => $isDraft && $updatedAt->lte($now->copy()->subDays(3)),
             'last_touched_days' => max(0, $updatedAt->diffInDays($now)),
             'resume_label' => $isDraft ? 'Resume draft' : 'Open item',
-            'readiness' => [
-                'score' => $score,
-                'max' => 4,
-                'label' => $label,
-                'can_publish' => $score >= 3,
-                'missing' => $missing,
-            ],
+            'readiness' => $readiness,
             'cross_module_actions' => $workflowActions,
         ];
 
diff --git a/app/Services/Studio/Providers/ArtworkStudioProvider.php b/app/Services/Studio/Providers/ArtworkStudioProvider.php
index 8cf10a77..e1fb8717 100644
--- a/app/Services/Studio/Providers/ArtworkStudioProvider.php
+++ b/app/Services/Studio/Providers/ArtworkStudioProvider.php
@@ -50,9 +50,10 @@ final class ArtworkStudioProvider implements CreatorStudioProvider
         $draftCount = (clone $baseQuery)
             ->whereNull('deleted_at')
             ->where(function (Builder $query): void {
-                $query->where('is_public', false)
-                    ->orWhere('artwork_status', 'draft');
+                $query->whereNull('artwork_status')
+                    ->orWhere('artwork_status', '!=', 'scheduled');
             })
+            ->where('is_public', false)
             ->count();
 
         $publishedCount = (clone $baseQuery)
@@ -92,16 +93,29 @@ final class ArtworkStudioProvider implements CreatorStudioProvider
         $query = Artwork::query()
             ->withTrashed()
             ->where('user_id', $user->id)
-            ->with(['stats', 'categories', 'tags'])
+            ->with([
+                'stats',
+                'categories',
+                'tags',
+                'features' => function ($query): void {
+                    $query->where('is_active', true)
+                        ->whereNull('deleted_at')
+                        ->where(function (Builder $builder): void {
+                            $builder->whereNull('expires_at')
+                                ->orWhere('expires_at', '>', now());
+                        });
+                },
+            ])
             ->orderByDesc('updated_at')
             ->limit($limit);
 
         if ($bucket === 'drafts') {
             $query->whereNull('deleted_at')
                 ->where(function (Builder $builder): void {
-                    $builder->where('is_public', false)
-                        ->orWhere('artwork_status', 'draft');
-                });
+                    $builder->whereNull('artwork_status')
+                        ->orWhere('artwork_status', '!=', 'scheduled');
+                })
+                ->where('is_public', false);
         } elseif ($bucket === 'scheduled') {
             $query->whereNull('deleted_at')
                 ->where('artwork_status', 'scheduled');
@@ -199,7 +213,7 @@ final class ArtworkStudioProvider implements CreatorStudioProvider
             'published_at' => $artwork->published_at?->toIso8601String(),
             'scheduled_at' => $artwork->publish_at?->toIso8601String(),
             'schedule_timezone' => $artwork->artwork_timezone,
-            'featured' => false,
+            'featured' => $artwork->features->isNotEmpty(),
             'metrics' => [
                 'views' => (int) ($stats?->views ?? 0),
                 'appreciation' => (int) ($stats?->favorites ?? 0),
diff --git a/app/Services/Studio/StudioBulkActionService.php b/app/Services/Studio/StudioBulkActionService.php
index 7a3ec619..9bf1f293 100644
--- a/app/Services/Studio/StudioBulkActionService.php
+++ b/app/Services/Studio/StudioBulkActionService.php
@@ -31,6 +31,8 @@ final class StudioBulkActionService
         $query = Artwork::where('user_id', $userId);
         if ($action === 'unarchive') {
             $query->onlyTrashed();
+        } elseif ($action === 'delete') {
+            $query->withTrashed();
         }
         $artworks = $query->whereIn('id', $artworkIds)->get();
 
diff --git a/config/scout.php b/config/scout.php
index 23103f06..668d8dae 100644
--- a/config/scout.php
+++ b/config/scout.php
@@ -105,6 +105,7 @@ return [
                 ],
                 'sortableAttributes' => [
                     'created_at',
+                    'published_at_ts',
                     'downloads',
                     'likes',
                     'views',
diff --git a/config/uploads.php b/config/uploads.php
index 31693654..f3af29a7 100644
--- a/config/uploads.php
+++ b/config/uploads.php
@@ -97,6 +97,10 @@ return [
             'per_user' => env('UPLOAD_RATE_INIT_USER', 10),
             'per_ip' => env('UPLOAD_RATE_INIT_IP', 30),
         ],
+        'chunk' => [
+            'per_user' => env('UPLOAD_RATE_CHUNK_USER', 180),
+            'per_ip' => env('UPLOAD_RATE_CHUNK_IP', 360),
+        ],
         'finish' => [
             'per_user' => env('UPLOAD_RATE_FINISH_USER', 6),
             'per_ip' => env('UPLOAD_RATE_FINISH_IP', 12),
@@ -126,6 +130,7 @@ return [
         'max_bytes' => env('UPLOAD_CHUNK_MAX_BYTES', 5242880),
         'lock_seconds' => env('UPLOAD_CHUNK_LOCK_SECONDS', 10),
         'lock_wait_seconds' => env('UPLOAD_CHUNK_LOCK_WAIT_SECONDS', 5),
+        'request_timeout_ms' => env('UPLOAD_CHUNK_REQUEST_TIMEOUT_MS', 45000),
     ],
 
     'scan' => [
diff --git a/deploy/supervisor/skinbase-queue.conf b/deploy/supervisor/skinbase-queue.conf
index 5e28cc40..3210dec5 100644
--- a/deploy/supervisor/skinbase-queue.conf
+++ b/deploy/supervisor/skinbase-queue.conf
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 [program:skinbase-queue]
-command=/usr/bin/php /var/www/skinbase/artisan queue:work --sleep=3 --tries=3 --timeout=90 --queue=forum-security,forum-moderation,vision,recommendations,discovery,mail,default
+command=/usr/bin/php /var/www/skinbase/artisan queue:work --sleep=3 --tries=3 --timeout=90 --queue=search,forum-security,forum-moderation,vision,recommendations,discovery,mail,default
 process_name=%(program_name)s_%(process_num)02d
 numprocs=1
 autostart=true
diff --git a/deploy/systemd/skinbase-queue.service b/deploy/systemd/skinbase-queue.service
index a5814ff7..8eb92827 100644
--- a/deploy/systemd/skinbase-queue.service
+++ b/deploy/systemd/skinbase-queue.service
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ Group=www-data
 Restart=always
 RestartSec=3
 WorkingDirectory=/var/www/skinbase
-ExecStart=/usr/bin/php /var/www/skinbase/artisan queue:work --sleep=3 --tries=3 --timeout=90 --queue=forum-security,forum-moderation,vision,recommendations,discovery,mail,default
+ExecStart=/usr/bin/php /var/www/skinbase/artisan queue:work --sleep=3 --tries=3 --timeout=90 --queue=search,forum-security,forum-moderation,vision,recommendations,discovery,mail,default
 StandardOutput=syslog
 StandardError=syslog
 SyslogIdentifier=skinbase-queue
diff --git a/docs/Discover/README.md b/docs/Discover/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d6100942
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/Discover/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+# Discover Pages
+
+This folder documents how each public discovery surface is assembled today.
+
+It is intentionally page-oriented rather than architecture-oriented.
+For the broader discovery engine, signal collection, and personalization background, also see `docs/discovery-personalization-engine.md`.
+
+## Pages Covered
+
+- `Trending` → `GET /discover/trending`
+- `Rising` → `GET /discover/rising`
+- `Fresh` → `GET /discover/fresh`
+- `Top Rated` → `GET /discover/top-rated`
+- `Most Downloaded` → `GET /discover/most-downloaded`
+- `Today Downloads` → `GET /downloads/today`
+- `On This Day` → `GET /discover/on-this-day`
+- `For You` → `GET /discover/for-you` (auth only)
+
+## Shared Request Pipeline
+
+Most Discover pages follow this pattern:
+
+1. Route enters `App\Http\Controllers\Web\DiscoverController`.
+2. The controller calls `App\Services\ArtworkSearchService`.
+3. `ArtworkSearchService` queries the `artworks` Meilisearch index through Laravel Scout.
+4. The search result usually contains only search/index fields.
+5. `DiscoverController::hydrateDiscoverSearchResults()` then reloads full `Artwork` rows from MySQL with relations (`user`, `profile`, `categories`) and converts them into the view model used by Blade.
+6. Some pages can still pass through additional presentation layers such as `GridFiller`, depending on the controller action.
+
+## Shared Visibility Rules
+
+All search-backed pages use the same base visibility filter in `ArtworkSearchService`:
+
+```text
+is_public = true AND is_approved = true
+```
+
+That means an artwork must be:
+
+- public
+- approved
+- present in the Meilisearch index
+
+If the database row is correct but search is stale, the page can still miss the artwork until indexing catches up.
+
+## Shared Cache Behavior
+
+`ArtworkSearchService` uses application cache in front of Meilisearch.
+
+- Default TTL: 300 seconds
+- `Rising`: 120 seconds
+- Category/content-type sort pages use per-sort TTLs, but those are outside this folder's scope
+
+The page can therefore lag behind a real publish or stat change even when the underlying data is already correct.
+
+## Shared Supporting Jobs
+
+These jobs are active in the current Laravel 11 runtime scheduler (`routes/console.php`):
+
+- `skinbase:flush-redis-stats` every 5 minutes
+- `skinbase:recalculate-trending --period=24h` every 30 minutes
+- `skinbase:recalculate-trending --period=7d --skip-index` every 30 minutes
+- `skinbase:reset-windowed-stats --period=24h` daily at 03:30
+- `skinbase:reset-windowed-stats --period=7d` weekly (Monday) at 03:30
+- `nova:recalculate-rankings --sync-rank-scores` every 30 minutes
+- `artworks:publish-scheduled` every minute
+- `analytics:aggregate-discovery-feedback` daily at 03:25
+- `RecBuildItemPairsFromFavouritesJob` every 4 hours
+- `RecComputeSimilarByTagsJob` daily at 02:00
+- `RecComputeSimilarByBehaviorJob` daily at 02:15
+- `RecComputeSimilarHybridJob` daily at 02:30
+
+## Important Scheduler Caveat
+
+The codebase still contains some discovery-related schedules inside `app/Console/Kernel.php`, but the active Laravel 11 runtime schedule comes from `routes/console.php`.
+
+The Rising pipeline depends on these active runtime jobs:
+
+- `nova:metrics-snapshot-hourly` hourly
+- `nova:recalculate-heat` every 15 minutes
+
+If Rising stops moving while Trending changes, check `php artisan schedule:list` first and confirm both jobs are still active.
+
+## File Map
+
+- `trending.md`
+- `rising.md`
+- `fresh.md`
+- `top-rated.md`
+- `most-downloaded.md`
+- `today-downloads.md`
+- `on-this-day.md`
+- `for-you.md`
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/docs/Discover/for-you.md b/docs/Discover/for-you.md
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/Discover/for-you.md
@@ -0,0 +1,174 @@
+# For You
+
+## Route
+
+- URL: `GET /discover/for-you`
+- Auth required: yes
+- Controller: `App\Http\Controllers\Web\DiscoverController::forYou()`
+- Entry service: `App\Services\Recommendations\RecommendationFeedResolver`
+
+## High-level flow
+
+`For You` is not a simple search sort.
+It is a recommendation pipeline with engine selection, caching, layered candidate generation, reranking, and cursor pagination.
+
+The controller:
+
+1. reads `limit` and `cursor`
+2. calls `RecommendationFeedResolver::getFeed()`
+3. converts feed items into the artwork card view model
+4. returns HTML or JSON depending on request type
+
+## Engine selection
+
+`RecommendationFeedResolver` chooses between two implementations:
+
+- V2: `App\Services\Recommendations\RecommendationServiceV2`
+- V1: `App\Services\Recommendations\PersonalizedFeedService`
+
+Selection is based on:
+
+- `config('discovery.v2.enabled')`
+- rollout percentage bucket for the current user
+- explicit `algo_version` override
+
+## Cache model
+
+Both engines use `user_recommendation_cache`.
+
+At request time:
+
+1. Load cache row for `(user_id, algo_version)`
+2. Check cache version and `expires_at`
+3. If missing or stale, dispatch `RegenerateUserRecommendationCacheJob`
+4. If the row is empty, build fallback recommendations inline for the current request
+
+This means the page is usually cache-backed, but it does not hard-fail if the cache is cold.
+
+## V2 pipeline
+
+V2 is the richer layered engine.
+
+### Candidate layers
+
+The candidate pool is blended from:
+
+- personalized layer
+- social layer
+- trending layer
+- exploration layer
+- vector layer (only when V3/vector support is enabled and configured)
+
+Default target ratios from `config/discovery.php`:
+
+- personalized: 50%
+- social: 20%
+- trending: 20%
+- exploration: 10%
+
+### Main V2 score
+
+For each candidate row:
+
+```text
+score
+  = (base_score * weight_base)
+  + session_boost
+  + social_boost
+  + trending_boost
+  + exploration_boost
+  + creator_boost
+  + vector_boost
+  - negative_penalty
+  - repetition_penalty
+```
+
+Where:
+
+- `session_boost` comes from merged session/profile signals
+- `social_boost` comes from followed creators and artworks liked by followed creators
+- `trending_boost` is built from `trending_score_1h`, `trending_score_24h`, `trending_score_7d`
+- `exploration_boost` rewards fresh uploads, new creators, and unseen tags
+- `creator_boost` uses creator follower count plus artwork momentum metrics
+- `vector_boost` comes from visual similarity when vector mode is enabled
+- `negative_penalty` reflects hidden artworks and disliked tags
+- `repetition_penalty` suppresses creator and tag repetition inside one result page
+
+### Trending contribution inside V2
+
+V2 combines the artwork's stored trending columns like this:
+
+```text
+trendingBoost
+  = (trending_score_1h * weight_1h)
+  + (trending_score_24h * weight_24h)
+  + (trending_score_7d * weight_7d)
+```
+
+Then divides by 100 before merging into the final score.
+
+### Negative signals
+
+V2 reads `user_negative_signals` and applies:
+
+- hidden artwork exclusion
+- disliked tag penalty
+
+### Supporting data sources
+
+V2 reads from:
+
+- `user_recommendation_cache`
+- session/profile signal builders
+- `artworks`
+- `artwork_stats`
+- `artwork_similarities`
+- `artwork_embeddings` and vector service, when enabled
+- `user_followers`
+- `artwork_favourites`
+- `user_negative_signals`
+
+## V1 pipeline
+
+V1 is simpler and category-affinity driven.
+
+It reads `user_interest_profiles`, then scores candidates with a weighted blend:
+
+```text
+score = (w1 * affinity)
+      + (w2 * recency)
+      + (w3 * popularity)
+      + (w4 * novelty)
+```
+
+Cold start falls back to a blend of popular artworks and `artwork_similarities` seeds.
+
+## Background jobs and schedules
+
+### Directly relevant
+
+- `RegenerateUserRecommendationCacheJob`
+  - dispatched on demand when cache is missing or stale
+
+### Support jobs for candidate quality
+
+- `RecBuildItemPairsFromFavouritesJob` every 4 hours
+- `RecComputeSimilarByTagsJob` daily at 02:00
+- `RecComputeSimilarByBehaviorJob` daily at 02:15
+- `RecComputeSimilarHybridJob` daily at 02:30
+- `analytics:aggregate-discovery-feedback` daily at 03:25
+
+These jobs do not directly render the page, but they improve the offline inputs and behavioral data used by the recommender.
+
+## Cache behavior
+
+- V1 cache TTL default: 60 minutes
+- V2 cache TTL default: 15 minutes
+
+Cursor pagination is offset-based under the hood.
+
+## Notes
+
+- `For You` is the most configuration-sensitive page in this set.
+- What a given user sees can differ by rollout bucket, `algo_version`, cache state, and whether V2/V3 features are enabled.
+- If you are debugging a single user's page, inspect `RecommendationFeedResolver::inspectDecision()` first.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/docs/Discover/fresh.md b/docs/Discover/fresh.md
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+++ b/docs/Discover/fresh.md
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+# Fresh
+
+## Route
+
+- URL: `GET /discover/fresh`
+- Controller: `App\Http\Controllers\Web\DiscoverController::fresh()`
+- Service: `App\Services\ArtworkSearchService::discoverFresh()`
+
+## What the page reads
+
+Fresh is Meilisearch-backed, then hydrated from MySQL.
+
+The page does not directly query `artworks` for ranking order.
+It relies on the search index being up to date.
+
+If the search-backed result comes back empty, the controller falls back to a direct MySQL query ordered by `published_at DESC, id DESC` so the page does not render blank while search is catching up.
+
+## Search query
+
+`discoverFresh()` uses:
+
+- filter: `is_public = true AND is_approved = true`
+- sort:
+  - `published_at_ts:desc`
+
+`published_at_ts` is a numeric timestamp field stored in the search document specifically so same-day uploads can be ordered correctly by hour and minute.
+
+## Why the dedicated timestamp field exists
+
+Historically, the index sorted by a date-only `created_at` string, which meant all uploads on the same calendar day could collapse to the same sort value.
+
+The current implementation uses `published_at_ts` to preserve intra-day ordering and avoid newer uploads being buried behind older uploads from the same date.
+
+## Page behavior
+
+Fresh now uses the raw newest-first search result without any curated blending or grid filler injection.
+
+That means:
+
+- page 1 is not mixed with spotlight content
+- page 1 is not padded with older trending artworks
+- deeper pages follow the same ordering model as page 1
+
+If older artworks appear near the top, the likely causes are stale search documents or stale cache, not intentional feed mixing.
+
+If the page renders completely empty even though recent public artworks exist, the DB fallback should populate it. A blank page after that points to a real data visibility problem, not just search freshness.
+
+## Data sources
+
+Ranking eligibility depends on:
+
+- `is_public`
+- `is_approved`
+- presence in Meilisearch
+- `published_at_ts` in the indexed document
+
+Hydration reads full rows from MySQL after the search query returns IDs.
+
+When the fallback path is used, the page is served directly from MySQL and does not require Meilisearch for that request.
+
+## Relevant jobs and schedules
+
+Fresh does not have a dedicated score calculation job.
+It depends on publication and indexing freshness.
+
+Relevant active schedules:
+
+- `artworks:publish-scheduled` every minute
+- `skinbase:flush-redis-stats` every 5 minutes (not for ordering, but for displayed stats freshness)
+
+Index freshness depends on:
+
+- normal Scout indexing from artwork updates
+- scheduled-publication indexing after an artwork transitions from scheduled to published
+- manual/full imports after search-document schema changes
+
+## Cache behavior
+
+- Cache key: `discover.fresh.{page}`
+- TTL: 300 seconds
+
+## Notes
+
+- Fresh is the page most sensitive to stale indexing because it is supposed to surface the latest publish action immediately.
+- If an artwork is public in MySQL but absent from Fresh, the usual causes are:
+  - it has not been indexed yet
+  - app cache has not expired yet
+  - the artwork is not actually public and approved at the same time
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/docs/Discover/most-downloaded.md b/docs/Discover/most-downloaded.md
new file mode 100644
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/Discover/most-downloaded.md
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+# Most Downloaded
+
+## Route
+
+- URL: `GET /discover/most-downloaded`
+- Controller: `App\Http\Controllers\Web\DiscoverController::mostDownloaded()`
+- Service: `App\Services\ArtworkSearchService::discoverMostDownloaded()`
+
+## What the page reads
+
+This page is Meilisearch-ranked and then hydrated from MySQL.
+
+## Search query
+
+`discoverMostDownloaded()` uses:
+
+- filter: `is_public = true AND is_approved = true`
+- sort:
+  - `downloads:desc`
+  - `views:desc`
+
+In the indexed document:
+
+- `downloads` is sourced from `artwork_stats.downloads`
+- `views` is sourced from `artwork_stats.views`
+
+This is therefore an all-time leaderboard, not a rolling-window leaderboard.
+
+## Where the download counts come from
+
+Downloads are recorded in two places:
+
+1. `artwork_downloads`
+   - full event log of each tracked download
+2. `artwork_stats.downloads`
+   - all-time aggregate counter used by this page
+
+The page sorts on the aggregate counter, not by counting the event log live.
+
+## Background jobs and schedules
+
+No dedicated page-specific cron exists.
+
+Relevant active maintenance:
+
+- `skinbase:flush-redis-stats` every 5 minutes
+  - pushes deferred Redis counters into MySQL
+
+Window reset commands exist too, but they maintain `downloads_24h` and `downloads_7d` rather than the all-time `downloads` column used by this page.
+
+## Cache behavior
+
+- Cache key: `discover.most-downloaded.{page}`
+- TTL: 300 seconds
+
+## Notes
+
+- This page is separate from `Today Downloads`.
+- If you need "what is hot today by download activity," use the dedicated `/downloads/today` page instead.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/docs/Discover/on-this-day.md b/docs/Discover/on-this-day.md
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/Discover/on-this-day.md
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+# On This Day
+
+## Route
+
+- URL: `GET /discover/on-this-day`
+- Controller: `App\Http\Controllers\Web\DiscoverController::onThisDay()`
+
+## What the page reads
+
+This page is a direct MySQL query over `artworks`.
+It does not use Meilisearch.
+
+## Query logic
+
+The controller selects artworks that are:
+
+- public
+- published
+- approved
+- published on the same month/day as today
+- from a previous year only
+
+It then sorts them by `published_at DESC` and paginates 24 per page.
+
+Equivalent logic:
+
+```text
+MONTH(published_at) = today.month
+AND DAY(published_at) = today.day
+AND YEAR(published_at) < today.year
+```
+
+## Data sources
+
+- primary source: `artworks`
+- supporting eager loads: `user`, `user.profile`, `categories`
+
+## Cache behavior
+
+- no explicit controller cache
+
+## Background jobs and schedules
+
+No dedicated cron drives this page.
+
+It only depends on correct `published_at` values and the usual public/published scopes.
+
+## Notes
+
+- This is a calendar-history page, not a popularity or momentum page.
+- The current implementation simply orders by newest qualifying `published_at`, not by views, downloads, or favourites.
+- There are also legacy `TodayInHistoryController` variants elsewhere in the codebase, but `/discover/on-this-day` currently uses `DiscoverController::onThisDay()`.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/docs/Discover/rising.md b/docs/Discover/rising.md
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index 00000000..0192dc09
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/Discover/rising.md
@@ -0,0 +1,115 @@
+# Rising
+
+## Route
+
+- URL: `GET /discover/rising`
+- Controller: `App\Http\Controllers\Web\DiscoverController::rising()`
+- Service: `App\Services\ArtworkSearchService::discoverRising()`
+- RSS feed: `GET /rss/discover/rising` via `App\Http\Controllers\RSS\DiscoverFeedController::rising()`
+
+## What the page reads
+
+Like most Discover surfaces, this page ranks via Meilisearch and then hydrates the result IDs from MySQL for presentation.
+
+If the search-backed query throws or returns no items, the controller falls back to a direct MySQL query against `artworks` + `artwork_stats`.
+
+If the page receives a non-empty result set but every item has zero `heat_score` and zero `engagement_velocity`, it switches to a low-signal fallback policy instead of pretending that the zero-heat order is meaningful.
+
+The RSS Rising feed now follows the same low-signal policy and the same adaptive lookback window, so it does not drift to a stale zero-heat ordering when recent engagement is sparse.
+
+Primary ranking fields:
+
+- `heat_score`
+- `engagement_velocity`
+- `published_at_ts` as the final recency tie-breaker
+
+## Search query
+
+`discoverRising()` uses:
+
+- filter: `is_public = true AND is_approved = true AND created_at >= cutoff`
+- sort:
+  - `heat_score:desc`
+  - `engagement_velocity:desc`
+  - `published_at_ts:desc`
+
+The cutoff comes from the same adaptive time-window service used by Trending.
+
+## Rising formula
+
+`heat_score` is produced by `App\Console\Commands\RecalculateHeatCommand`.
+
+Current formula:
+
+```text
+raw_heat
+  = ((views_delta * 1)
+     + (downloads_delta * 3)
+     + (favourites_delta * 6)
+     + (comments_delta * 8)
+     + (shares_delta * 12)) / window_hours
+
+age_factor
+  = 1 / (1 + hours_since_upload / 24)
+
+heat_score
+  = raw_heat * age_factor
+```
+
+The heat command smooths deltas over a trailing lookback window, rather than relying only on the last single hour.
+
+That matters on low-traffic periods, because a pure 1-hour delta often collapses to zero for almost every artwork.
+
+An artwork still needs at least two snapshots inside that window for the smoothed heat delta to count. A single snapshot without an earlier baseline does not count as momentum.
+
+The `views_1h`, `downloads_1h`, `favourites_1h`, `comments_1h`, and `shares_1h` columns are still stored from the previous-hour comparison for diagnostics and dashboards.
+
+## Data sources
+
+The page depends on:
+
+- `artwork_metric_snapshots_hourly`
+- `artwork_stats.heat_score`
+- `artwork_stats.engagement_velocity`
+- artwork publish timestamps
+
+In zero-signal periods, the fallback policy also uses a 24-hour snapshot delta rollup from `artwork_metric_snapshots_hourly` and then falls back to `published_at DESC`.
+
+`engagement_velocity` is not part of the heat command. It comes from the ranking engine and acts as a secondary momentum signal.
+
+## Intended background jobs
+
+The intended pipeline is:
+
+1. `nova:metrics-snapshot-hourly`
+   - captures hourly totals into `artwork_metric_snapshots_hourly`
+2. `nova:recalculate-heat`
+   - computes `heat_score` from snapshot deltas
+3. Meilisearch picks up the updated score after indexing
+
+## Runtime schedule
+
+Rising depends on two active Laravel 11 runtime jobs in `routes/console.php`:
+
+- `nova:metrics-snapshot-hourly`
+- `nova:recalculate-heat`
+
+If either one disappears from `php artisan schedule:list`, Rising will quickly drift toward stale or low-signal ordering.
+
+## Active jobs that still affect Rising
+
+- `nova:recalculate-rankings --sync-rank-scores` every 30 minutes updates `engagement_velocity`
+- `skinbase:flush-redis-stats` every 5 minutes keeps all-time stats fresher
+
+## Cache behavior
+
+- Cache key: `discover.rising.{windowDays}d.{page}`
+- TTL: 120 seconds
+
+If Meilisearch sort settings are missing or the search result is empty, the controller falls back to the DB query instead of returning an empty page or a 500.
+
+## Notes
+
+- If Rising looks frozen while Trending moves, the first place to check is whether `nova:metrics-snapshot-hourly` and `nova:recalculate-heat` are actually being executed in production.
+- The page no longer uses `GridFiller`, so it should not pull in unrelated older artworks when the real result set is thin.
+- If all heat and velocity values are zero, Rising intentionally behaves like a low-signal discovery feed: recent activity in the last 24 hours first, then newest published artworks.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/docs/Discover/today-downloads.md b/docs/Discover/today-downloads.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..55587e4b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/Discover/today-downloads.md
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+# Today Downloads
+
+## Route
+
+- URL: `GET /downloads/today`
+- Controller: `App\Http\Controllers\User\TodayDownloadsController::index()`
+
+## Important scope note
+
+This page is not inside `/discover/*`, but it is included here because it is discovery-adjacent and was requested together with the Discover surfaces.
+
+## What the page reads
+
+This page does not use Meilisearch.
+It is a direct MySQL query over the download event log.
+
+## Query logic
+
+The controller:
+
+1. Takes today's date
+2. Reads `artwork_downloads`
+3. Filters rows to `whereDate(created_at, today)`
+4. Groups by `artwork_id`
+5. Orders by `COUNT(*) DESC`
+6. Eager-loads each artwork and related user/category data
+
+Effectively:
+
+```text
+SELECT artwork_id, COUNT(*) AS num_downloads
+FROM artwork_downloads
+WHERE DATE(created_at) = today
+GROUP BY artwork_id
+ORDER BY num_downloads DESC
+```
+
+Only artworks that are currently public and published are allowed through `whereHas('artwork', ...)`.
+
+## Data sources
+
+- primary source: `artwork_downloads`
+- supporting source: `artworks`, `users`, `user_profiles`, `categories`
+
+Unlike `Most Downloaded`, this page does not trust the aggregate `artwork_stats.downloads` counter for ranking.
+It re-counts today's actual events.
+
+## Cache behavior
+
+- no dedicated application cache in the controller
+
+The page is as fresh as the underlying event log.
+
+## Background jobs and schedules
+
+No page-specific cron is needed because it reads the raw event log directly.
+
+The only prerequisite is that downloads are being recorded correctly by the download endpoint.
+
+## Notes
+
+- This page is often the more operationally trustworthy answer to "what is being downloaded right now?"
+- Because it counts raw rows, it is less sensitive to delayed aggregate-counter flushes than `Most Downloaded`.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/docs/Discover/top-rated.md b/docs/Discover/top-rated.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c175777b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/Discover/top-rated.md
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+# Top Rated
+
+## Route
+
+- URL: `GET /discover/top-rated`
+- Controller: `App\Http\Controllers\Web\DiscoverController::topRated()`
+- Service: `App\Services\ArtworkSearchService::discoverTopRated()`
+
+## What the page reads
+
+This is a Meilisearch-ranked page with MySQL hydration after the fact.
+
+## Search query
+
+`discoverTopRated()` uses:
+
+- filter: `is_public = true AND is_approved = true`
+- sort:
+  - `likes:desc`
+  - `views:desc`
+
+In the indexed document:
+
+- `likes` is sourced from `artwork_stats.favorites`
+- `views` is sourced from `artwork_stats.views`
+
+So "Top Rated" really means highest favourite count, with views as a tie-breaker.
+
+## Data sources
+
+The page depends on:
+
+- `artwork_stats.favorites`
+- `artwork_stats.views`
+- Scout/Meilisearch document freshness
+
+It does not run a custom score formula beyond the sort order above.
+
+## Background jobs and schedules
+
+There is no dedicated top-rated cron.
+The page depends on the freshness of the underlying stats.
+
+Relevant active maintenance:
+
+- `skinbase:flush-redis-stats` every 5 minutes for deferred stat deltas
+
+Favorites themselves are typically updated in the normal request path rather than by a dedicated scheduled command.
+
+## Cache behavior
+
+- Cache key: `discover.top-rated.{page}`
+- TTL: 300 seconds
+
+## Notes
+
+- Awards are not part of this page's ranking.
+- If the business meaning should be "best overall" rather than "most favourited," this page would need a different sort field.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/docs/Discover/trending.md b/docs/Discover/trending.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..15e1e811
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/Discover/trending.md
@@ -0,0 +1,125 @@
+# Trending
+
+## Route
+
+- URL: `GET /discover/trending`
+- Controller: `App\Http\Controllers\Web\DiscoverController::trending()`
+- Service: `App\Services\ArtworkSearchService::discoverTrending()`
+
+## What the page actually reads
+
+Primary ranking comes from Meilisearch, not directly from MySQL.
+
+The controller flow is:
+
+1. Query Meilisearch through `ArtworkSearchService`
+2. If the search-backed query throws or returns no items, fall back to a direct MySQL query against `artworks` + `artwork_stats`
+3. Hydrate the returned IDs back into full `Artwork` Eloquent models when needed
+4. Render `resources/views/web/discover/index.blade.php`
+
+So the page is effectively:
+
+- ranking source: Meilisearch
+- fallback ranking source: MySQL + `artwork_stats`
+- display hydration source: MySQL
+
+## Search query
+
+`discoverTrending()` uses:
+
+- filter: `is_public = true AND is_approved = true AND created_at >= cutoff`
+- sort:
+  - `ranking_score:desc`
+  - `engagement_velocity:desc`
+  - `views:desc`
+
+`created_at` here is the search index field, not necessarily the raw DB column semantics.
+
+## Time window
+
+The cutoff is not hardcoded to 30 days in all cases.
+
+`App\Services\EarlyGrowth\AdaptiveTimeWindow` chooses the effective look-back window:
+
+- 7 days when uploads/day is healthy
+- 30 days in moderate activity
+- 90 days in low activity
+
+That widening only changes which artworks are eligible for the query.
+It does not rewrite timestamps.
+
+## Ranking formula
+
+The page does not sort by `trending_score_7d` anymore.
+It sorts by `ranking_score`, which is produced by `App\Services\Ranking\ArtworkRankingService`.
+
+Current V2 ranking formula:
+
+```text
+base_score
+  = (views_all * 0.2)
+  + (downloads_all * 1.5)
+  + (favourites_all * 2.5)
+  + (comments_count * 3.0)
+  + (shares_count * 4.0)
+
+authority_multiplier
+  = 1 + ((log10(1 + author_followers_count)
+          + (author_favourites_received / 1000)) * 0.05)
+
+decay_factor
+  = 1 / (1 + age_hours / 48)
+
+velocity_boost
+  = ((views_24h * 1.0)
+     + (favourites_24h * 3.0)
+     + (comments_24h * 4.0)
+     + (shares_24h * 5.0)) * 0.5
+
+ranking_score
+  = (base_score * authority_multiplier * decay_factor) + velocity_boost
+```
+
+`engagement_velocity` is the raw `velocity_boost` term stored separately in `artwork_stats`.
+
+## Where the numbers come from
+
+The page depends mainly on:
+
+- `artwork_stats.ranking_score`
+- `artwork_stats.engagement_velocity`
+- `artwork_stats.views`
+- `artwork_stats.downloads`
+- `artwork_stats.favorites`
+- `artwork_stats.comments_count`
+- `artwork_stats.shares_count`
+- author-level follower and favourites-received signals
+
+Those values are copied into the search document by `Artwork::toSearchableArray()`.
+
+## Active jobs and schedules
+
+Relevant active schedules:
+
+- `nova:recalculate-rankings --sync-rank-scores` every 30 minutes
+- `skinbase:flush-redis-stats` every 5 minutes
+
+Indirectly relevant:
+
+- `artworks:publish-scheduled` every minute
+- Meilisearch indexing jobs dispatched after score recalculation
+
+## Cache behavior
+
+- Cache key: `discover.trending.{windowDays}d.{page}`
+- TTL: 300 seconds
+
+That means a ranking update can be correct in Meilisearch but still hidden by app cache for up to 5 minutes.
+
+If Meilisearch sort settings are missing or the index returns no results, the controller falls back to a DB query instead of rendering a 500 or an empty page.
+
+## Notes
+
+- The view text still says "most-viewed artworks on Skinbase over the past 7 days," but the current implementation is really a `ranking_score` page with a dynamic eligibility window.
+- The page is only as fresh as both the index and the app cache.
+- The page no longer uses `GridFiller`, so it should not inject older out-of-window artworks just to pad page 1.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/public/gfx/skinbase_logo.webp b/public/gfx/skinbase_logo.webp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6ab17a6f
Binary files /dev/null and b/public/gfx/skinbase_logo.webp differ
diff --git a/public/gfx/skinbase_logo_128.webp b/public/gfx/skinbase_logo_128.webp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ce254c1d
Binary files /dev/null and b/public/gfx/skinbase_logo_128.webp differ
diff --git a/public/gfx/skinbase_logo_256.webp b/public/gfx/skinbase_logo_256.webp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ce254c1d
Binary files /dev/null and b/public/gfx/skinbase_logo_256.webp differ
diff --git a/public/gfx/skinbase_logo_32.webp b/public/gfx/skinbase_logo_32.webp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c94e4ef8
Binary files /dev/null and b/public/gfx/skinbase_logo_32.webp differ
diff --git a/public/gfx/skinbase_logo_512.webp b/public/gfx/skinbase_logo_512.webp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ce515e1a
Binary files /dev/null and b/public/gfx/skinbase_logo_512.webp differ
diff --git a/public/gfx/skinbase_logo_64.webp b/public/gfx/skinbase_logo_64.webp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7900b159
Binary files /dev/null and b/public/gfx/skinbase_logo_64.webp differ
diff --git a/public/gfx/skinbase_logo_96.webp b/public/gfx/skinbase_logo_96.webp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..bdbd2843
Binary files /dev/null and b/public/gfx/skinbase_logo_96.webp differ
diff --git a/resources/js/Pages/Studio/StudioArtworkEdit.jsx b/resources/js/Pages/Studio/StudioArtworkEdit.jsx
index edd6a082..5b80c295 100644
--- a/resources/js/Pages/Studio/StudioArtworkEdit.jsx
+++ b/resources/js/Pages/Studio/StudioArtworkEdit.jsx
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import Button from '../../components/ui/Button'
 import Modal from '../../components/ui/Modal'
 import FormField from '../../components/ui/FormField'
 import Toggle from '../../components/ui/Toggle'
+import NovaSelect from '../../components/ui/NovaSelect'
 import TagPicker from '../../components/tags/TagPicker'
 import SchedulePublishPicker from '../../components/upload/SchedulePublishPicker'
 
@@ -286,6 +287,29 @@ export default function StudioArtworkEdit() {
     selectedRoot?.name || 'No root category',
     subCategoryId ? subCategories.find((item) => item.id === subCategoryId)?.name : null,
   ].filter(Boolean)
+  const publishingIdentityOptions = useMemo(() => {
+    const personalOption = {
+      value: '',
+      label: 'Personal profile',
+      icon: <i className="fa-solid fa-user text-[11px] text-sky-200" aria-hidden="true" />,
+      contextLabel: 'Publish under your own creator identity',
+    }
+
+    const groupItems = groupOptions.map((group) => ({
+      value: group.slug,
+      label: group.name,
+      icon: <i className="fa-solid fa-users text-[11px] text-violet-200" aria-hidden="true" />,
+      contextLabel: 'Publish under the shared group identity',
+    }))
+
+    return [personalOption, ...groupItems]
+  }, [groupOptions])
+  const primaryAuthorOptions = useMemo(() => currentContributorOptions.map((user) => ({
+    value: Number(user.id),
+    label: user.name || user.username,
+    username: user.username,
+    avatarUrl: user.avatar_url || null,
+  })), [currentContributorOptions])
 
   // ── Handlers ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
   const handleContentTypeChange = (id) => {
@@ -1172,37 +1196,60 @@ export default function StudioArtworkEdit() {
                 </span>
               </div>
 
-              <label className="block">
-                <span className="text-sm font-medium text-white/90">Publishing identity</span>
-                <select
-                  value={groupSlug}
-                  onChange={(event) => setGroupSlug(event.target.value)}
-                  className="mt-2 w-full rounded-xl border border-white/15 bg-black/20 px-3 py-3 text-sm text-white outline-none transition focus:border-sky-300/40"
-                >
-                  <option value="">Personal profile</option>
-                  {groupOptions.map((group) => (
-                    <option key={group.slug} value={group.slug}>{group.name}</option>
-                  ))}
-                </select>
-                {errors.group?.[0] ? <p className="mt-2 text-xs text-red-400">{errors.group[0]}</p> : null}
-              </label>
+              <NovaSelect
+                label="Publishing identity"
+                value={groupSlug || ''}
+                onChange={(nextValue) => setGroupSlug(String(nextValue || ''))}
+                options={publishingIdentityOptions}
+                searchable={false}
+                placeholder="Choose publishing identity"
+                error={errors.group?.[0]}
+                hint={selectedGroupOption
+                  ? 'The artwork will be publicly published under the selected group while authorship stays editable below.'
+                  : 'Personal publishing keeps the artwork under your own creator profile.'}
+                className="mt-2 bg-black/20"
+                renderOption={(option) => (
+                  <span className="flex min-w-0 items-center gap-3">
+                    <span className="flex h-7 w-7 shrink-0 items-center justify-center rounded-full border border-white/10 bg-white/[0.04]">
+                      {option.icon}
+                    </span>
+                    <span className="min-w-0">
+                      <span className="block truncate font-medium text-white">{option.label}</span>
+                      <span className="block truncate text-[11px] text-slate-500">{option.contextLabel}</span>
+                    </span>
+                  </span>
+                )}
+              />
 
               {groupSlug ? (
                 <div className="grid gap-5 lg:grid-cols-[minmax(0,0.95fr)_minmax(0,1.05fr)]">
                   <div>
-                    <label className="block">
-                      <span className="text-sm font-medium text-white/90">Primary author</span>
-                      <select
-                        value={primaryAuthorUserId || ''}
-                        onChange={(event) => setPrimaryAuthorUserId(event.target.value ? Number(event.target.value) : null)}
-                        className="mt-2 w-full rounded-xl border border-white/15 bg-black/20 px-3 py-3 text-sm text-white outline-none transition focus:border-sky-300/40"
-                      >
-                        {currentContributorOptions.map((user) => (
-                          <option key={user.id} value={user.id}>{user.name || user.username}</option>
-                        ))}
-                      </select>
-                    </label>
-                    {errors.primary_author_user_id?.[0] ? <p className="mt-2 text-xs text-red-400">{errors.primary_author_user_id[0]}</p> : <p className="mt-2 text-xs text-slate-400">Primary author remains the lead creator shown on the public artwork page.</p>}
+                    <NovaSelect
+                      label="Primary author"
+                      value={primaryAuthorUserId || null}
+                      onChange={(nextValue) => setPrimaryAuthorUserId(nextValue ? Number(nextValue) : null)}
+                      options={primaryAuthorOptions}
+                      placeholder="Choose primary author"
+                      searchable={primaryAuthorOptions.length > 6}
+                      error={errors.primary_author_user_id?.[0]}
+                      hint="Primary author remains the lead creator shown on the public artwork page."
+                      className="mt-2 bg-black/20"
+                      renderOption={(option) => (
+                        <span className="flex min-w-0 items-center gap-3">
+                          {option.avatarUrl ? (
+                            <img src={option.avatarUrl} alt="" className="h-7 w-7 shrink-0 rounded-full object-cover" />
+                          ) : (
+                            <span className="flex h-7 w-7 shrink-0 items-center justify-center rounded-full border border-white/10 bg-white/[0.04] text-slate-400">
+                              <i className="fa-solid fa-user text-[11px]" aria-hidden="true" />
+                            </span>
+                          )}
+                          <span className="min-w-0">
+                            <span className="block truncate font-medium text-white">{option.label}</span>
+                            {option.username ? <span className="block truncate text-[11px] text-slate-500">@{option.username}</span> : null}
+                          </span>
+                        </span>
+                      )}
+                    />
                   </div>
 
                   <div>
diff --git a/resources/js/Pages/Studio/StudioGroupCreate.jsx b/resources/js/Pages/Studio/StudioGroupCreate.jsx
index 1e26086c..c20347da 100644
--- a/resources/js/Pages/Studio/StudioGroupCreate.jsx
+++ b/resources/js/Pages/Studio/StudioGroupCreate.jsx
@@ -1,12 +1,38 @@
-import React, { useRef, useState } from 'react'
+import React, { useMemo, useRef, useState } from 'react'
 import { router, usePage } from '@inertiajs/react'
 import StudioLayout from '../../Layouts/StudioLayout'
 import GroupStudioPromoCard from '../../components/groups/GroupStudioPromoCard'
 
+function slugifyGroupValue(value) {
+  return String(value || '')
+    .normalize('NFKD')
+    .replace(/[\u0300-\u036f]/g, '')
+    .toLowerCase()
+    .replace(/[^a-z0-9]+/g, '-')
+    .replace(/^-+|-+$/g, '')
+    .slice(0, 90)
+}
+
+function resolveMediaPreviewUrl(path, filesCdnUrl) {
+  const trimmed = String(path || '').trim()
+
+  if (!trimmed) {
+    return ''
+  }
+
+  if (trimmed.startsWith('blob:') || trimmed.startsWith('data:') || trimmed.startsWith('http://') || trimmed.startsWith('https://')) {
+    return trimmed
+  }
+
+  return `${String(filesCdnUrl || '').replace(/\/$/, '')}/${trimmed.replace(/^\/+/, '')}`
+}
+
 export default function StudioGroupCreate() {
   const { props } = usePage()
+  const filesCdnUrl = props?.cdn?.files_url || ''
   const avatarInputRef = useRef(null)
   const bannerInputRef = useRef(null)
+  const [slugManuallyEdited, setSlugManuallyEdited] = useState(false)
   const [form, setForm] = useState({
     name: '',
     slug: '',
@@ -25,6 +51,8 @@ export default function StudioGroupCreate() {
   })
   const [avatarPreview, setAvatarPreview] = useState('')
   const [bannerPreview, setBannerPreview] = useState('')
+  const resolvedAvatarPreview = useMemo(() => avatarPreview || resolveMediaPreviewUrl(form.avatar_path, filesCdnUrl), [avatarPreview, form.avatar_path, filesCdnUrl])
+  const resolvedBannerPreview = useMemo(() => bannerPreview || resolveMediaPreviewUrl(form.banner_path, filesCdnUrl), [bannerPreview, form.banner_path, filesCdnUrl])
 
   const updateLink = (index, key, value) => {
     setForm((current) => ({
@@ -72,6 +100,23 @@ export default function StudioGroupCreate() {
     }
   }
 
+  const handleNameChange = (event) => {
+    const nextName = event.target.value
+
+    setForm((current) => ({
+      ...current,
+      name: nextName,
+      slug: slugManuallyEdited ? current.slug : slugifyGroupValue(nextName),
+    }))
+  }
+
+  const handleSlugChange = (event) => {
+    const nextSlug = slugifyGroupValue(event.target.value)
+
+    setSlugManuallyEdited(nextSlug !== '')
+    setForm((current) => ({ ...current, slug: nextSlug }))
+  }
+
   return (
     <StudioLayout title={props.title} subtitle={props.description}>
       <div className="mx-auto mb-6 max-w-5xl">
@@ -94,11 +139,11 @@ export default function StudioGroupCreate() {
         <div className="grid gap-5">
           <label className="grid gap-2 text-sm text-slate-200">
             <span>Name</span>
-            <input value={form.name} onChange={(event) => setForm((current) => ({ ...current, name: event.target.value, slug: current.slug || event.target.value.toLowerCase().replace(/[^a-z0-9]+/g, '-').replace(/^-|-$/g, '') }))} className="rounded-2xl border border-white/10 bg-black/20 px-4 py-3 text-white outline-none" />
+            <input value={form.name} onChange={handleNameChange} className="rounded-2xl border border-white/10 bg-black/20 px-4 py-3 text-white outline-none" />
           </label>
           <label className="grid gap-2 text-sm text-slate-200">
             <span>Slug</span>
-            <input value={form.slug} onChange={(event) => setForm((current) => ({ ...current, slug: event.target.value }))} className="rounded-2xl border border-white/10 bg-black/20 px-4 py-3 text-white outline-none" />
+            <input value={form.slug} onChange={handleSlugChange} className="rounded-2xl border border-white/10 bg-black/20 px-4 py-3 text-white outline-none" />
           </label>
           <label className="grid gap-2 text-sm text-slate-200">
             <span>Short description</span>
@@ -126,7 +171,7 @@ export default function StudioGroupCreate() {
             <div className="grid gap-3 rounded-[24px] border border-white/10 bg-black/20 p-4 text-sm text-slate-200">
               <span className="text-sm font-semibold text-white">Avatar / logo</span>
               <div className="flex h-28 w-28 items-center justify-center overflow-hidden rounded-[24px] border border-white/10 bg-white/[0.04]">
-                {avatarPreview || form.avatar_path ? <img src={avatarPreview || form.avatar_path} alt="Avatar preview" className="h-full w-full object-cover" /> : <i className="fa-solid fa-image text-slate-500" />}
+                {resolvedAvatarPreview ? <img src={resolvedAvatarPreview} alt="Avatar preview" className="h-full w-full object-cover" /> : <i className="fa-solid fa-image text-slate-500" />}
               </div>
               <input ref={avatarInputRef} type="file" accept="image/png,image/jpeg,image/webp" onChange={handleFileSelected('avatar_file', setAvatarPreview)} className="hidden" />
               <div className="flex flex-wrap gap-2">
@@ -141,7 +186,7 @@ export default function StudioGroupCreate() {
             <div className="grid gap-3 rounded-[24px] border border-white/10 bg-black/20 p-4 text-sm text-slate-200">
               <span className="text-sm font-semibold text-white">Cover image</span>
               <div className="flex h-28 w-full items-center justify-center overflow-hidden rounded-[24px] border border-white/10 bg-white/[0.04]">
-                {bannerPreview || form.banner_path ? <img src={bannerPreview || form.banner_path} alt="Cover preview" className="h-full w-full object-cover" /> : <i className="fa-solid fa-panorama text-slate-500" />}
+                {resolvedBannerPreview ? <img src={resolvedBannerPreview} alt="Cover preview" className="h-full w-full object-cover" /> : <i className="fa-solid fa-panorama text-slate-500" />}
               </div>
               <input ref={bannerInputRef} type="file" accept="image/png,image/jpeg,image/webp" onChange={handleFileSelected('banner_file', setBannerPreview)} className="hidden" />
               <div className="flex flex-wrap gap-2">
diff --git a/resources/js/Pages/Studio/StudioGroupSettings.jsx b/resources/js/Pages/Studio/StudioGroupSettings.jsx
index 87960672..940446b5 100644
--- a/resources/js/Pages/Studio/StudioGroupSettings.jsx
+++ b/resources/js/Pages/Studio/StudioGroupSettings.jsx
@@ -2,9 +2,24 @@ import React, { useMemo, useRef, useState } from 'react'
 import { router, usePage } from '@inertiajs/react'
 import StudioLayout from '../../Layouts/StudioLayout'
 
+function resolveMediaPreviewUrl(path, filesCdnUrl) {
+  const trimmed = String(path || '').trim()
+
+  if (!trimmed) {
+    return ''
+  }
+
+  if (trimmed.startsWith('blob:') || trimmed.startsWith('data:') || trimmed.startsWith('http://') || trimmed.startsWith('https://')) {
+    return trimmed
+  }
+
+  return `${String(filesCdnUrl || '').replace(/\/$/, '')}/${trimmed.replace(/^\/+/, '')}`
+}
+
 export default function StudioGroupSettings() {
   const { props } = usePage()
   const group = props.studioGroup || {}
+  const filesCdnUrl = props?.cdn?.files_url || ''
   const featuredArtworkOptions = Array.isArray(props.featuredArtworkOptions) ? props.featuredArtworkOptions : []
   const avatarInputRef = useRef(null)
   const bannerInputRef = useRef(null)
@@ -27,6 +42,8 @@ export default function StudioGroupSettings() {
   })
   const [avatarPreview, setAvatarPreview] = useState('')
   const [bannerPreview, setBannerPreview] = useState('')
+  const resolvedAvatarPreview = useMemo(() => avatarPreview || resolveMediaPreviewUrl(form.avatar_path || group.avatar_url, filesCdnUrl), [avatarPreview, form.avatar_path, group.avatar_url, filesCdnUrl])
+  const resolvedBannerPreview = useMemo(() => bannerPreview || resolveMediaPreviewUrl(form.banner_path || group.banner_url, filesCdnUrl), [bannerPreview, form.banner_path, group.banner_url, filesCdnUrl])
 
   const selectedFeaturedArtwork = useMemo(
     () => featuredArtworkOptions.find((item) => Number(item.id) === Number(form.featured_artwork_id)) || null,
@@ -105,7 +122,7 @@ export default function StudioGroupSettings() {
             <div className="grid gap-3 rounded-[24px] border border-white/10 bg-black/20 p-4 text-sm text-slate-200">
               <span className="text-sm font-semibold text-white">Avatar / logo</span>
               <div className="flex h-28 w-28 items-center justify-center overflow-hidden rounded-[24px] border border-white/10 bg-white/[0.04]">
-                {avatarPreview || form.avatar_path || group.avatar_url ? <img src={avatarPreview || form.avatar_path || group.avatar_url} alt="Avatar preview" className="h-full w-full object-cover" /> : <i className="fa-solid fa-image text-slate-500" />}
+                {resolvedAvatarPreview ? <img src={resolvedAvatarPreview} alt="Avatar preview" className="h-full w-full object-cover" /> : <i className="fa-solid fa-image text-slate-500" />}
               </div>
               <input ref={avatarInputRef} type="file" accept="image/png,image/jpeg,image/webp" onChange={handleFileSelected('avatar_file', setAvatarPreview)} className="hidden" />
               <div className="flex flex-wrap gap-2">
@@ -117,7 +134,7 @@ export default function StudioGroupSettings() {
             <div className="grid gap-3 rounded-[24px] border border-white/10 bg-black/20 p-4 text-sm text-slate-200">
               <span className="text-sm font-semibold text-white">Cover image</span>
               <div className="flex h-28 w-full items-center justify-center overflow-hidden rounded-[24px] border border-white/10 bg-white/[0.04]">
-                {bannerPreview || form.banner_path || group.banner_url ? <img src={bannerPreview || form.banner_path || group.banner_url} alt="Cover preview" className="h-full w-full object-cover" /> : <i className="fa-solid fa-panorama text-slate-500" />}
+                {resolvedBannerPreview ? <img src={resolvedBannerPreview} alt="Cover preview" className="h-full w-full object-cover" /> : <i className="fa-solid fa-panorama text-slate-500" />}
               </div>
               <input ref={bannerInputRef} type="file" accept="image/png,image/jpeg,image/webp" onChange={handleFileSelected('banner_file', setBannerPreview)} className="hidden" />
               <div className="flex flex-wrap gap-2">
diff --git a/resources/js/Pages/Upload/Index.jsx b/resources/js/Pages/Upload/Index.jsx
index d53ada70..ab83b978 100644
--- a/resources/js/Pages/Upload/Index.jsx
+++ b/resources/js/Pages/Upload/Index.jsx
@@ -17,6 +17,19 @@ const phases = {
   error: 'error',
 }
 
+const DEFAULT_CHUNK_REQUEST_TIMEOUT_MS = 45000
+const MIN_CHUNK_SIZE_BYTES = 256 * 1024
+
+function formatChunkSize(bytes) {
+  if (!Number.isFinite(bytes) || bytes <= 0) return '0 KB'
+  if (bytes >= 1024 * 1024) return `${(bytes / (1024 * 1024)).toFixed(bytes % (1024 * 1024) === 0 ? 0 : 1)} MB`
+  return `${Math.max(1, Math.round(bytes / 1024))} KB`
+}
+
+function isRequestTooLarge(error) {
+  return Number(error?.response?.status || 0) === 413
+}
+
 const initialState = {
   phase: phases.idle,
   sessionId: null,
@@ -163,9 +176,14 @@ function getTypeKey(ct) {
   return String(ct.name || '').toLowerCase().replace(/\s+/g, '_').replace(/[^a-z0-9_]/g, '')
 }
 
-function useUploadMachine({ draftId, filesCdnUrl, chunkSize, userId }) {
+function useUploadMachine({ draftId, filesCdnUrl, chunkSize, chunkRequestTimeoutMs, userId }) {
   const [state, dispatch] = useReducer(reducer, { ...initialState, draftId })
   const pollRef = useRef(null)
+  const adaptiveChunkSizeRef = useRef(Math.max(1, Number(chunkSize || 0)))
+  const effectiveChunkRequestTimeoutMs = (() => {
+    const parsed = Number(chunkRequestTimeoutMs)
+    return Number.isFinite(parsed) && parsed > 0 ? Math.floor(parsed) : DEFAULT_CHUNK_REQUEST_TIMEOUT_MS
+  })()
 
   const extractErrorMessage = useCallback((error, fallback) => {
     const message = error?.response?.data?.message
@@ -379,6 +397,7 @@ function useUploadMachine({ draftId, filesCdnUrl, chunkSize, userId }) {
 
     try {
       const res = await window.axios.post('/api/uploads/chunk', payload, {
+        timeout: effectiveChunkRequestTimeoutMs,
         headers: uploadToken ? { 'X-Upload-Token': uploadToken } : undefined,
       })
 
@@ -389,13 +408,16 @@ function useUploadMachine({ draftId, filesCdnUrl, chunkSize, userId }) {
 
       return data
     } catch (error) {
+      if (isRequestTooLarge(error)) {
+        throw error
+      }
       if (attempt < MAX_CHUNK_RETRIES) {
         await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, RETRY_DELAY_MS * (attempt + 1)))
         return uploadChunk(sessionId, uploadToken, blob, offset, totalSize, attempt + 1)
       }
       throw error
     }
-  }, [])
+  }, [effectiveChunkRequestTimeoutMs])
 
   const uploadFile = useCallback(async (sessionId, uploadToken, file) => {
     dispatch({ type: 'UPLOAD_START' })
@@ -415,7 +437,8 @@ function useUploadMachine({ draftId, filesCdnUrl, chunkSize, userId }) {
     if (offset > totalSize) offset = 0
 
     while (offset < totalSize) {
-      const nextOffset = Math.min(offset + chunkSize, totalSize)
+      const activeChunkSize = Math.max(MIN_CHUNK_SIZE_BYTES, Number(adaptiveChunkSizeRef.current || chunkSize || MIN_CHUNK_SIZE_BYTES))
+      const nextOffset = Math.min(offset + activeChunkSize, totalSize)
       const chunk = file.slice(offset, nextOffset)
 
       try {
@@ -425,6 +448,14 @@ function useUploadMachine({ draftId, filesCdnUrl, chunkSize, userId }) {
           offset = nextOffset
         }
       } catch (error) {
+        if (isRequestTooLarge(error) && activeChunkSize > MIN_CHUNK_SIZE_BYTES) {
+          const nextChunkSize = Math.max(MIN_CHUNK_SIZE_BYTES, Math.floor(activeChunkSize / 2))
+          if (nextChunkSize < activeChunkSize) {
+            adaptiveChunkSizeRef.current = nextChunkSize
+            pushNotice('warning', `Server rejected ${formatChunkSize(activeChunkSize)} chunks. Retrying with ${formatChunkSize(nextChunkSize)} chunks.`)
+            continue
+          }
+        }
         const notice = mapUploadErrorNotice(error, 'File upload failed. Please retry.')
         dispatch({ type: 'UPLOAD_ERROR', error: notice.message })
         pushMappedNotice(notice)
@@ -587,7 +618,7 @@ function useUploadMachine({ draftId, filesCdnUrl, chunkSize, userId }) {
   }
 }
 
-export default function UploadPage({ draftId, filesCdnUrl, chunkSize }) {
+export default function UploadPage({ draftId, filesCdnUrl, chunkSize, chunkRequestTimeoutMs }) {
   const { props } = usePage()
 
   const windowFlags = window?.SKINBASE_FLAGS || {}
@@ -618,6 +649,7 @@ export default function UploadPage({ draftId, filesCdnUrl, chunkSize }) {
                 <UploadWizard
                   initialDraftId={draftId ?? null}
                   chunkSize={chunkSize}
+                  chunkRequestTimeoutMs={chunkRequestTimeoutMs}
                   contentTypes={Array.isArray(props?.content_types) ? props.content_types : []}
                   suggestedTags={Array.isArray(props?.suggested_tags) ? props.suggested_tags : []}
                   groupOptions={Array.isArray(props?.group_options) ? props.group_options : []}
@@ -689,7 +721,13 @@ export default function UploadPage({ draftId, filesCdnUrl, chunkSize }) {
   const userId = props?.auth?.user?.id ?? null
   const suggestedTags = Array.isArray(props?.suggested_tags) ? props.suggested_tags : []
   const safeChunkSize = Math.max(1, Number(chunkSize || 0))
-  const { state, dispatch, previewUrl, startUpload, cancelUpload } = useUploadMachine({ draftId, filesCdnUrl, chunkSize: safeChunkSize, userId })
+  const { state, dispatch, previewUrl, startUpload, cancelUpload } = useUploadMachine({
+    draftId,
+    filesCdnUrl,
+    chunkSize: safeChunkSize,
+    chunkRequestTimeoutMs,
+    userId,
+  })
   const fileInputRef = useRef(null)
   const [confirmCancel, setConfirmCancel] = useState(false)
   const [contentTypes, setContentTypes] = useState([])
diff --git a/resources/js/components/Studio/StudioContentBrowser.jsx b/resources/js/components/Studio/StudioContentBrowser.jsx
index 21a42cab..1e874633 100644
--- a/resources/js/components/Studio/StudioContentBrowser.jsx
+++ b/resources/js/components/Studio/StudioContentBrowser.jsx
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import React, { useEffect, useState } from 'react'
 import { router } from '@inertiajs/react'
 import { studioSurface, trackStudioEvent } from '../../utils/studioEvents'
+import ConfirmDangerModal from './ConfirmDangerModal'
 
 function formatDate(value) {
   if (!value) return 'Unscheduled'
@@ -39,6 +40,23 @@ function statusClasses(status) {
   }
 }
 
+function itemReadiness(item) {
+  if (item?.status === 'published') return null
+  return item?.workflow?.readiness ?? null
+}
+
+function bulkErrorMessage(payload, fallback = 'Bulk action failed.') {
+  if (Array.isArray(payload?.errors) && payload.errors.length > 0) {
+    return payload.errors[0]
+  }
+
+  return payload?.message
+    || payload?.error
+    || payload?.errors?.confirm?.[0]
+    || payload?.errors?.action?.[0]
+    || fallback
+}
+
 function ActionLink({ href, icon, label, onClick }) {
   if (!href) return null
 
@@ -79,6 +97,8 @@ function PreviewLink({ item }) {
 }
 
 function GridCard({ item, onExecuteAction, busyKey }) {
+  const readiness = itemReadiness(item)
+
   const handleEditClick = () => {
     trackStudioEvent('studio_item_edited', {
       surface: studioSurface(),
@@ -117,10 +137,10 @@ function GridCard({ item, onExecuteAction, busyKey }) {
           </span>
         </div>
 
-        {item.workflow?.readiness && (
+        {readiness && (
           <div className="flex flex-wrap items-center gap-2">
-            <span className={`inline-flex items-center rounded-full border px-2.5 py-1 text-[11px] font-medium ${readinessClasses(item.workflow.readiness)}`}>
-              {item.workflow.readiness.label}
+            <span className={`inline-flex items-center rounded-full border px-2.5 py-1 text-[11px] font-medium ${readinessClasses(readiness)}`}>
+              {readiness.label}
             </span>
             {item.workflow.is_stale_draft && (
               <span className="inline-flex items-center rounded-full border border-amber-400/30 bg-amber-400/10 px-2.5 py-1 text-[11px] font-medium text-amber-100">
@@ -128,7 +148,7 @@ function GridCard({ item, onExecuteAction, busyKey }) {
               </span>
             )}
             <span className="text-[11px] uppercase tracking-[0.16em] text-slate-500">
-              {item.workflow.readiness.score}/{item.workflow.readiness.max} ready
+              {readiness.score}/{readiness.max} ready
             </span>
           </div>
         )}
@@ -137,9 +157,9 @@ function GridCard({ item, onExecuteAction, busyKey }) {
           {item.description || 'No description yet.'}
         </p>
 
-        {Array.isArray(item.workflow?.readiness?.missing) && item.workflow.readiness.missing.length > 0 && (
+        {Array.isArray(readiness?.missing) && readiness.missing.length > 0 && (
           <div className="rounded-2xl border border-white/5 bg-slate-950/35 p-3 text-xs text-slate-400">
-            {item.workflow.readiness.missing.slice(0, 2).join(' • ')}
+            {readiness.missing.slice(0, 2).join(' • ')}
           </div>
         )}
 
@@ -186,6 +206,8 @@ function GridCard({ item, onExecuteAction, busyKey }) {
 }
 
 function ListRow({ item, onExecuteAction, busyKey }) {
+  const readiness = itemReadiness(item)
+
   const handleEditClick = () => {
     trackStudioEvent('studio_item_edited', {
       surface: studioSurface(),
@@ -224,9 +246,9 @@ function ListRow({ item, onExecuteAction, busyKey }) {
         <p className="mt-1 text-sm text-slate-400">{item.subtitle || item.visibility || 'Untitled metadata'}</p>
         <p className="mt-3 line-clamp-2 text-sm text-slate-300/90">{item.description || 'No description yet.'}</p>
         <div className="mt-3 flex flex-wrap gap-2">
-          {item.workflow?.readiness && (
-            <span className={`inline-flex items-center rounded-full border px-2.5 py-1 text-[11px] font-medium ${readinessClasses(item.workflow.readiness)}`}>
-              {item.workflow.readiness.label}
+          {readiness && (
+            <span className={`inline-flex items-center rounded-full border px-2.5 py-1 text-[11px] font-medium ${readinessClasses(readiness)}`}>
+              {readiness.label}
             </span>
           )}
           {item.workflow?.is_stale_draft && (
@@ -241,8 +263,8 @@ function ListRow({ item, onExecuteAction, busyKey }) {
           <span>{metricValue(item, 'comments')} comments</span>
           <span>Updated {formatDate(item.updated_at)}</span>
         </div>
-        {Array.isArray(item.workflow?.readiness?.missing) && item.workflow.readiness.missing.length > 0 && (
-          <div className="mt-3 text-xs text-slate-500">{item.workflow.readiness.missing.slice(0, 2).join(' • ')}</div>
+        {Array.isArray(readiness?.missing) && readiness.missing.length > 0 && (
+          <div className="mt-3 text-xs text-slate-500">{readiness.missing.slice(0, 2).join(' • ')}</div>
         )}
       </div>
 
@@ -262,13 +284,15 @@ function ListRow({ item, onExecuteAction, busyKey }) {
   )
 }
 
-function AdvancedFilterControl({ filter, onChange }) {
+function AdvancedFilterControl({ filter, onChange, value }) {
+  const controlValue = value ?? filter.value
+
   if (filter.type === 'select') {
     return (
       <label className="space-y-2 text-sm text-slate-300">
         <span className="block text-[11px] font-semibold uppercase tracking-[0.2em] text-slate-500">{filter.label}</span>
         <select
-          value={filter.value || 'all'}
+          value={controlValue || 'all'}
           onChange={(event) => onChange(filter.key, event.target.value)}
           className="w-full rounded-2xl border border-white/10 bg-black/20 px-4 py-3 text-sm text-white outline-none transition focus:border-sky-300/40 focus:bg-black/30"
         >
@@ -287,7 +311,7 @@ function AdvancedFilterControl({ filter, onChange }) {
       <span className="block text-[11px] font-semibold uppercase tracking-[0.2em] text-slate-500">{filter.label}</span>
       <input
         type="search"
-        value={filter.value || ''}
+        value={controlValue || ''}
         onChange={(event) => onChange(filter.key, event.target.value)}
         placeholder={filter.placeholder || filter.label}
         className="w-full rounded-2xl border border-white/10 bg-black/20 px-4 py-3 text-sm text-white outline-none transition placeholder:text-slate-500 focus:border-sky-300/40 focus:bg-black/30"
@@ -306,23 +330,77 @@ export default function StudioContentBrowser({
 }) {
   const [viewMode, setViewMode] = useState('grid')
   const [busyKey, setBusyKey] = useState(null)
+  const [selectedIds, setSelectedIds] = useState([])
+  const [bulkBusy, setBulkBusy] = useState(false)
+  const [optimisticRemovedIds, setOptimisticRemovedIds] = useState([])
+  const [pendingFilters, setPendingFilters] = useState({
+    q: '',
+    bucket: 'all',
+    sort: 'updated_desc',
+    category: 'all',
+    tag: '',
+  })
+  const [deleteDialog, setDeleteDialog] = useState({
+    open: false,
+    title: '',
+    message: '',
+    target: null,
+  })
   const filters = listing?.filters || {}
   const items = listing?.items || []
   const meta = listing?.meta || {}
   const advancedFilters = listing?.advanced_filters || []
+  const visibleItems = items.filter((item) => !optimisticRemovedIds.includes(Number(item.numeric_id)))
+  const currentModule = filters.module || listing?.module || items[0]?.module || null
+  const visibleQuickCreate = hideModuleFilter && currentModule && currentModule !== 'all'
+    ? quickCreate.filter((action) => action.key === currentModule)
+    : quickCreate
+  const supportsArtworkBulk = currentModule === 'artworks' && items.every((item) => item.module === 'artworks')
+  const selectableIds = supportsArtworkBulk
+    ? visibleItems.map((item) => Number(item.numeric_id)).filter((value) => Number.isInteger(value) && value > 0)
+    : []
+  const allVisibleSelected = selectableIds.length > 0 && selectableIds.every((id) => selectedIds.includes(id))
+  const selectedOnPage = selectedIds.filter((id) => selectableIds.includes(id))
+  const visibleTotal = Math.max(0, Number(meta.total || 0) - optimisticRemovedIds.length)
+  const filterControlCount = 1 + (hideModuleFilter ? 0 : 1) + (hideBucketFilter ? 0 : 1) + 1 + advancedFilters.length + 1
+  const filterGridClass = filterControlCount <= 4
+    ? 'xl:grid-cols-4'
+    : filterControlCount === 5
+      ? 'xl:grid-cols-5'
+      : filterControlCount === 6
+        ? 'xl:grid-cols-6'
+        : 'xl:grid-cols-6 2xl:grid-cols-7'
 
   useEffect(() => {
     const stored = window.localStorage.getItem('studio-content-view')
-    if (stored === 'grid' || stored === 'list') {
+    if (stored === 'grid' || stored === 'list' || stored === 'table') {
       setViewMode(stored)
       return
     }
 
-    if (listing?.default_view === 'grid' || listing?.default_view === 'list') {
+    if (listing?.default_view === 'grid' || listing?.default_view === 'list' || listing?.default_view === 'table') {
       setViewMode(listing.default_view)
     }
   }, [listing?.default_view])
 
+  useEffect(() => {
+    setSelectedIds((current) => current.filter((id) => selectableIds.includes(id)))
+  }, [visibleItems, supportsArtworkBulk])
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    setOptimisticRemovedIds([])
+  }, [items])
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    setPendingFilters({
+      q: filters.q || '',
+      bucket: filters.bucket || 'all',
+      sort: filters.sort || 'updated_desc',
+      category: filters.category || 'all',
+      tag: filters.tag || '',
+    })
+  }, [filters.q, filters.bucket, filters.sort, filters.category, filters.tag])
+
   const updateQuery = (patch) => {
     const next = {
       ...filters,
@@ -360,11 +438,251 @@ export default function StudioContentBrowser({
     })
   }
 
+  const setPendingFilter = (key, value) => {
+    setPendingFilters((current) => ({
+      ...current,
+      [key]: value,
+    }))
+  }
+
+  const submitSearch = () => {
+    updateQuery({
+      q: pendingFilters.q,
+      bucket: pendingFilters.bucket,
+      sort: pendingFilters.sort,
+      category: pendingFilters.category,
+      tag: pendingFilters.tag,
+    })
+  }
+
+  const addOptimisticallyRemovedIds = (ids) => {
+    setOptimisticRemovedIds((current) => Array.from(new Set([
+      ...current,
+      ...ids.map((value) => Number(value)).filter((value) => Number.isInteger(value) && value > 0),
+    ])))
+  }
+
+  const toggleSelected = (numericId) => {
+    setSelectedIds((current) => current.includes(numericId)
+      ? current.filter((id) => id !== numericId)
+      : [...current, numericId])
+  }
+
+  const toggleSelectAllVisible = () => {
+    if (!supportsArtworkBulk || selectableIds.length === 0) {
+      return
+    }
+
+    setSelectedIds((current) => {
+      if (allVisibleSelected) {
+        return current.filter((id) => !selectableIds.includes(id))
+      }
+
+      return Array.from(new Set([...current, ...selectableIds]))
+    })
+  }
+
+  const executeBulkAction = async (actionKey) => {
+    if (!supportsArtworkBulk || selectedIds.length === 0 || bulkBusy) {
+      return
+    }
+
+    const labels = {
+      publish: 'publish',
+      unpublish: 'move to draft',
+      archive: 'archive',
+      unarchive: 'restore',
+      delete: 'delete permanently',
+    }
+
+    if (actionKey === 'delete') {
+      setDeleteDialog({
+        open: true,
+        title: `Delete ${selectedIds.length} artwork${selectedIds.length === 1 ? '' : 's'}?`,
+        message: 'This permanently removes the selected artworks. This cannot be undone.',
+        target: {
+          kind: 'bulk',
+          actionKey,
+          ids: [...selectedIds],
+        },
+      })
+      return
+    }
+
+    if (!window.confirm(`Are you sure you want to ${labels[actionKey] || actionKey} ${selectedIds.length} artwork${selectedIds.length === 1 ? '' : 's'}?`)) {
+      return
+    }
+
+    setBulkBusy(true)
+
+    try {
+      const response = await fetch('/api/studio/artworks/bulk', {
+        method: 'POST',
+        credentials: 'same-origin',
+        headers: {
+          Accept: 'application/json',
+          'Content-Type': 'application/json',
+          'X-CSRF-TOKEN': document.querySelector('meta[name="csrf-token"]')?.getAttribute('content') || '',
+          'X-Requested-With': 'XMLHttpRequest',
+        },
+        body: JSON.stringify({
+          action: actionKey,
+          artwork_ids: selectedIds,
+        }),
+      })
+
+      const payload = await response.json().catch(() => ({}))
+
+      if (!response.ok) {
+        throw new Error(bulkErrorMessage(payload))
+      }
+
+      trackStudioEvent('studio_filter_used', {
+        surface: studioSurface(),
+        module: 'artworks',
+        meta: {
+          bulk_action: actionKey,
+          count: selectedIds.length,
+        },
+      })
+
+      setSelectedIds([])
+      router.reload({ preserveScroll: true, preserveState: true })
+    } catch (error) {
+      window.alert(error?.message || 'Bulk action failed.')
+    } finally {
+      setBulkBusy(false)
+    }
+  }
+
+  const closeDeleteDialog = () => {
+    setDeleteDialog({
+      open: false,
+      title: '',
+      message: '',
+      target: null,
+    })
+  }
+
+  const confirmDeleteDialog = async () => {
+    const target = deleteDialog.target
+    if (!target) {
+      closeDeleteDialog()
+      return
+    }
+
+    if (target.kind === 'bulk') {
+      setBulkBusy(true)
+
+      try {
+        const response = await fetch('/api/studio/artworks/bulk', {
+          method: 'POST',
+          credentials: 'same-origin',
+          headers: {
+            Accept: 'application/json',
+            'Content-Type': 'application/json',
+            'X-CSRF-TOKEN': document.querySelector('meta[name="csrf-token"]')?.getAttribute('content') || '',
+            'X-Requested-With': 'XMLHttpRequest',
+          },
+          body: JSON.stringify({
+            action: 'delete',
+            artwork_ids: target.ids,
+            confirm: 'DELETE',
+          }),
+        })
+
+        const payload = await response.json().catch(() => ({}))
+
+        if (!response.ok) {
+          throw new Error(bulkErrorMessage(payload))
+        }
+
+        trackStudioEvent('studio_filter_used', {
+          surface: studioSurface(),
+          module: 'artworks',
+          meta: {
+            bulk_action: 'delete',
+            count: target.ids.length,
+          },
+        })
+
+        addOptimisticallyRemovedIds(target.ids)
+        setSelectedIds([])
+        closeDeleteDialog()
+        router.reload({ preserveScroll: true, preserveState: true })
+      } catch (error) {
+        window.alert(error?.message || 'Bulk action failed.')
+      } finally {
+        setBulkBusy(false)
+      }
+
+      return
+    }
+
+    if (target.kind === 'single') {
+      const action = target.action
+      const requestKey = `${action.key}:${action.url}`
+      setBusyKey(requestKey)
+
+      try {
+        const response = await fetch(action.url, {
+          method: String(action.method || 'post').toUpperCase(),
+          credentials: 'same-origin',
+          headers: {
+            Accept: 'application/json',
+            'Content-Type': 'application/json',
+            'X-CSRF-TOKEN': document.querySelector('meta[name="csrf-token"]')?.getAttribute('content') || '',
+            'X-Requested-With': 'XMLHttpRequest',
+          },
+          body: action.payload ? JSON.stringify(action.payload) : undefined,
+        })
+
+        const payload = await response.json().catch(() => ({}))
+
+        if (!response.ok) {
+          throw new Error(payload?.message || payload?.error || 'Request failed')
+        }
+
+        addOptimisticallyRemovedIds(action.payload?.artwork_ids || [])
+        closeDeleteDialog()
+
+        if (action.redirect_pattern && payload?.data?.id) {
+          window.location.assign(action.redirect_pattern.replace('__ID__', String(payload.data.id)))
+          return
+        }
+
+        if (payload?.redirect) {
+          window.location.assign(payload.redirect)
+          return
+        }
+
+        router.reload({ preserveScroll: true, preserveState: true })
+      } catch (error) {
+        window.alert(error?.message || 'Action failed.')
+      } finally {
+        setBusyKey(null)
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
   const executeAction = async (action) => {
     if (!action?.url || action.type !== 'request') {
       return
     }
 
+    if (action.key === 'delete') {
+      setDeleteDialog({
+        open: true,
+        title: 'Delete artwork permanently?',
+        message: action.confirm || 'This artwork will be permanently removed and cannot be restored.',
+        target: {
+          kind: 'single',
+          action,
+        },
+      })
+      return
+    }
+
     if (action.confirm && !window.confirm(action.confirm)) {
       return
     }
@@ -439,13 +757,13 @@ export default function StudioContentBrowser({
     <div className="space-y-6">
       <section className="rounded-[30px] border border-white/10 bg-[radial-gradient(circle_at_top_left,_rgba(34,197,94,0.12),_transparent_35%),radial-gradient(circle_at_bottom_right,_rgba(56,189,248,0.12),_transparent_40%),linear-gradient(135deg,_rgba(15,23,42,0.86),_rgba(2,6,23,0.96))] p-5 shadow-[0_22px_60px_rgba(2,6,23,0.28)] lg:p-6">
         <div className="grid gap-4 lg:grid-cols-[minmax(0,1fr)_auto] lg:items-end">
-          <div className={`grid gap-3 md:grid-cols-2 ${advancedFilters.length > 0 ? 'xl:grid-cols-5' : 'xl:grid-cols-4'}`}>
+          <div className={`grid gap-3 md:grid-cols-2 ${filterGridClass}`}>
             <label className="space-y-2 text-sm text-slate-300">
               <span className="block text-[11px] font-semibold uppercase tracking-[0.2em] text-slate-500">Search</span>
               <input
                 type="search"
-                value={filters.q || ''}
-                onChange={(event) => updateQuery({ q: event.target.value })}
+                value={pendingFilters.q}
+                onChange={(event) => setPendingFilter('q', event.target.value)}
                 placeholder="Title, description, module"
                 className="w-full rounded-2xl border border-white/10 bg-black/20 px-4 py-3 text-sm text-white outline-none transition placeholder:text-slate-500 focus:border-sky-300/40 focus:bg-black/30"
               />
@@ -472,8 +790,8 @@ export default function StudioContentBrowser({
               <label className="space-y-2 text-sm text-slate-300">
                 <span className="block text-[11px] font-semibold uppercase tracking-[0.2em] text-slate-500">Status</span>
                 <select
-                  value={filters.bucket || 'all'}
-                  onChange={(event) => updateQuery({ bucket: event.target.value })}
+                  value={pendingFilters.bucket}
+                  onChange={(event) => setPendingFilter('bucket', event.target.value)}
                   className="w-full rounded-2xl border border-white/10 bg-black/20 px-4 py-3 text-sm text-white outline-none transition focus:border-sky-300/40 focus:bg-black/30"
                 >
                   {(listing?.bucket_options || []).map((option) => (
@@ -488,8 +806,8 @@ export default function StudioContentBrowser({
             <label className="space-y-2 text-sm text-slate-300">
               <span className="block text-[11px] font-semibold uppercase tracking-[0.2em] text-slate-500">Sort</span>
               <select
-                value={filters.sort || 'updated_desc'}
-                onChange={(event) => updateQuery({ sort: event.target.value })}
+                value={pendingFilters.sort}
+                onChange={(event) => setPendingFilter('sort', event.target.value)}
                 className="w-full rounded-2xl border border-white/10 bg-black/20 px-4 py-3 text-sm text-white outline-none transition focus:border-sky-300/40 focus:bg-black/30"
               >
                 {(listing?.sort_options || []).map((option) => (
@@ -501,8 +819,31 @@ export default function StudioContentBrowser({
             </label>
 
             {advancedFilters.map((filter) => (
-              <AdvancedFilterControl key={filter.key} filter={filter} onChange={(key, value) => updateQuery({ [key]: value })} />
+              <AdvancedFilterControl
+                key={filter.key}
+                filter={filter}
+                value={filter.key === 'category' || filter.key === 'tag' ? pendingFilters[filter.key] : undefined}
+                onChange={(key, value) => {
+                  if (key === 'category' || key === 'tag') {
+                    setPendingFilter(key, value)
+                    return
+                  }
+
+                  updateQuery({ [key]: value })
+                }}
+              />
             ))}
+
+            <div className="flex items-end">
+              <button
+                type="button"
+                onClick={submitSearch}
+                className="inline-flex w-full items-center justify-center gap-2 rounded-2xl border border-sky-300/20 bg-sky-300/10 px-4 py-3 text-sm font-semibold text-sky-100 transition hover:border-sky-300/35 hover:bg-sky-300/15"
+              >
+                <i className="fa-solid fa-magnifying-glass" />
+                <span>Search</span>
+              </button>
+            </div>
           </div>
 
           <div className="flex flex-wrap items-center gap-3 lg:justify-end">
@@ -510,6 +851,7 @@ export default function StudioContentBrowser({
               {[
                 { value: 'grid', icon: 'fa-solid fa-table-cells-large', label: 'Grid view' },
                 { value: 'list', icon: 'fa-solid fa-list', label: 'List view' },
+                { value: 'table', icon: 'fa-solid fa-table-list', label: 'Table view' },
               ].map((option) => (
                 <button
                   key={option.value}
@@ -523,7 +865,7 @@ export default function StudioContentBrowser({
               ))}
             </div>
 
-            {quickCreate.map((action) => (
+            {visibleQuickCreate.map((action) => (
               <a
                 key={action.key}
                 href={action.url}
@@ -547,19 +889,179 @@ export default function StudioContentBrowser({
 
       <div className="flex flex-wrap items-center justify-between gap-3 text-sm text-slate-400">
         <p>
-          Showing <span className="font-semibold text-white">{items.length}</span> of <span className="font-semibold text-white">{Number(meta.total || 0).toLocaleString()}</span> items
+          Showing <span className="font-semibold text-white">{visibleItems.length}</span> of <span className="font-semibold text-white">{visibleTotal.toLocaleString()}</span> items
         </p>
         <p>Page {meta.current_page || 1} of {meta.last_page || 1}</p>
       </div>
 
-      {items.length > 0 ? (
+      {viewMode === 'table' && supportsArtworkBulk && (
+        <section className="flex flex-wrap items-center justify-between gap-3 rounded-[24px] border border-white/10 bg-white/[0.03] px-4 py-3 text-sm text-slate-300">
+          <div className="flex flex-wrap items-center gap-3">
+            <label className="inline-flex items-center gap-2 text-sm text-slate-300">
+              <input
+                type="checkbox"
+                checked={allVisibleSelected}
+                onChange={toggleSelectAllVisible}
+                className="h-4 w-4 rounded border-white/20 bg-slate-950/60 text-sky-400 focus:ring-sky-400/40"
+              />
+              <span>Select page</span>
+            </label>
+            <span className="text-slate-500">
+              {selectedIds.length > 0 ? `${selectedIds.length} selected` : 'Select artworks to run bulk actions'}
+            </span>
+          </div>
+
+          <div className="flex flex-wrap gap-2">
+            {[
+              { key: 'publish', label: 'Publish', icon: 'fa-solid fa-rocket' },
+              { key: 'unpublish', label: 'Draft', icon: 'fa-solid fa-file-pen' },
+              { key: 'archive', label: 'Archive', icon: 'fa-solid fa-box-archive' },
+              { key: 'unarchive', label: 'Restore', icon: 'fa-solid fa-rotate-left' },
+              { key: 'delete', label: 'Delete', icon: 'fa-solid fa-trash' },
+            ].map((action) => (
+              <button
+                key={action.key}
+                type="button"
+                disabled={selectedIds.length === 0 || bulkBusy}
+                onClick={() => executeBulkAction(action.key)}
+                className="inline-flex items-center gap-2 rounded-full border border-white/10 bg-black/20 px-3 py-2 text-xs font-semibold text-slate-200 transition hover:border-white/20 hover:bg-black/30 disabled:cursor-not-allowed disabled:opacity-40"
+              >
+                <i className={action.icon} />
+                <span>{bulkBusy ? 'Working...' : action.label}</span>
+              </button>
+            ))}
+          </div>
+        </section>
+      )}
+
+      {visibleItems.length > 0 ? (
         viewMode === 'grid' ? (
           <div className="grid gap-5 sm:grid-cols-2 xl:grid-cols-3 2xl:grid-cols-4">
-            {items.map((item) => <GridCard key={item.id} item={item} onExecuteAction={executeAction} busyKey={busyKey} />)}
+            {visibleItems.map((item) => <GridCard key={item.id} item={item} onExecuteAction={executeAction} busyKey={busyKey} />)}
+          </div>
+        ) : viewMode === 'list' ? (
+          <div className="space-y-4">
+            {visibleItems.map((item) => <ListRow key={item.id} item={item} onExecuteAction={executeAction} busyKey={busyKey} />)}
           </div>
         ) : (
-          <div className="space-y-4">
-            {items.map((item) => <ListRow key={item.id} item={item} onExecuteAction={executeAction} busyKey={busyKey} />)}
+          <div className="overflow-hidden rounded-[28px] border border-white/10 bg-white/[0.03]">
+            <div className="overflow-x-auto">
+              <table className="min-w-full divide-y divide-white/10 text-left text-sm text-slate-300">
+                <thead className="bg-black/20 text-[11px] uppercase tracking-[0.18em] text-slate-500">
+                  <tr>
+                    {supportsArtworkBulk && (
+                      <th scope="col" className="w-12 px-4 py-3">
+                        <input
+                          type="checkbox"
+                          checked={allVisibleSelected}
+                          onChange={toggleSelectAllVisible}
+                          className="h-4 w-4 rounded border-white/20 bg-slate-950/60 text-sky-400 focus:ring-sky-400/40"
+                          aria-label="Select all artworks on this page"
+                        />
+                      </th>
+                    )}
+                    <th scope="col" className="px-4 py-3">Item</th>
+                    <th scope="col" className="px-4 py-3">Status</th>
+                    <th scope="col" className="px-4 py-3">Category</th>
+                    <th scope="col" className="px-4 py-3">Updated</th>
+                    <th scope="col" className="px-4 py-3">Stats</th>
+                    <th scope="col" className="px-4 py-3">Actions</th>
+                  </tr>
+                </thead>
+                <tbody className="divide-y divide-white/5">
+                  {visibleItems.map((item) => {
+                    const isSelected = selectedOnPage.includes(Number(item.numeric_id))
+
+                    return (
+                      <tr key={item.id} className="align-top transition hover:bg-white/[0.03]">
+                        {supportsArtworkBulk && (
+                          <td className="px-4 py-4">
+                            <input
+                              type="checkbox"
+                              checked={isSelected}
+                              onChange={() => toggleSelected(Number(item.numeric_id))}
+                              className="mt-1 h-4 w-4 rounded border-white/20 bg-slate-950/60 text-sky-400 focus:ring-sky-400/40"
+                              aria-label={`Select ${item.title}`}
+                            />
+                          </td>
+                        )}
+                        <td className="px-4 py-4">
+                          <div className="flex min-w-[280px] items-start gap-3">
+                            <div className="h-16 w-16 shrink-0 overflow-hidden rounded-2xl bg-slate-950/60">
+                              {item.image_url ? (
+                                <img src={item.image_url} alt={item.title} className="h-full w-full object-cover" loading="lazy" />
+                              ) : (
+                                <div className="flex h-full items-center justify-center text-slate-500">
+                                  <i className={`${item.module_icon} text-lg`} />
+                                </div>
+                              )}
+                            </div>
+                            <div className="min-w-0">
+                              <div className="flex flex-wrap items-center gap-2">
+                                <span className="inline-flex items-center gap-2 rounded-full border border-white/10 bg-white/[0.04] px-2.5 py-1 text-[10px] font-semibold uppercase tracking-[0.18em] text-slate-300">
+                                  <i className={`${item.module_icon} text-[10px]`} />
+                                  {item.module_label}
+                                </span>
+                                <span className="text-xs text-slate-500">#{item.numeric_id}</span>
+                              </div>
+                              <div className="mt-2 truncate text-sm font-semibold text-white">{item.title}</div>
+                              <div className="mt-1 text-xs text-slate-400">{item.subtitle || item.visibility || 'Untitled metadata'}</div>
+                              {Array.isArray(item.taxonomies?.tags) && item.taxonomies.tags.length > 0 && (
+                                <div className="mt-2 flex flex-wrap gap-1.5">
+                                  {item.taxonomies.tags.slice(0, 3).map((tag) => (
+                                    <span key={`${item.id}-${tag.slug}`} className="rounded-full border border-white/10 px-2 py-1 text-[10px] text-slate-400">
+                                      {tag.name}
+                                    </span>
+                                  ))}
+                                </div>
+                              )}
+                            </div>
+                          </div>
+                        </td>
+                        <td className="px-4 py-4">
+                          <div className="space-y-2">
+                            <span className={`inline-flex items-center rounded-full border px-2.5 py-1 text-[11px] font-medium capitalize ${statusClasses(item.status)}`}>
+                              {String(item.status || 'unknown').replace('_', ' ')}
+                            </span>
+                            {itemReadiness(item) && (
+                              <div>
+                                <span className={`inline-flex items-center rounded-full border px-2.5 py-1 text-[11px] font-medium ${readinessClasses(itemReadiness(item))}`}>
+                                  {itemReadiness(item).label}
+                                </span>
+                              </div>
+                            )}
+                          </div>
+                        </td>
+                        <td className="px-4 py-4 text-sm text-slate-400">
+                          <div>{item.subtitle || item.taxonomies?.categories?.[0]?.name || 'Uncategorized'}</div>
+                          <div className="mt-1 text-xs text-slate-500">{item.visibility || 'private'}</div>
+                        </td>
+                        <td className="px-4 py-4 text-sm text-slate-400">
+                          <div>Updated {formatDate(item.updated_at)}</div>
+                          <div className="mt-1 text-xs text-slate-500">Created {formatDate(item.created_at)}</div>
+                          {item.published_at && <div className="mt-1 text-xs text-slate-500">Published {formatDate(item.published_at)}</div>}
+                        </td>
+                        <td className="px-4 py-4 text-sm text-slate-400">
+                          <div>{metricValue(item, 'views')} views</div>
+                          <div className="mt-1">{metricValue(item, 'appreciation')} reactions</div>
+                          <div className="mt-1">{metricValue(item, 'comments')} comments</div>
+                        </td>
+                        <td className="px-4 py-4">
+                          <div className="flex min-w-[220px] flex-wrap gap-2">
+                            <ActionLink href={item.edit_url || item.manage_url} icon="fa-solid fa-pen-to-square" label="Edit" />
+                            <PreviewLink item={item} />
+                            <ActionLink href={item.view_url} icon="fa-solid fa-arrow-up-right-from-square" label="Open" />
+                            {(item.actions || []).slice(0, 2).map((action) => (
+                              <RequestActionButton key={`${item.id}-${action.key}`} action={{ ...action, item_id: item.numeric_id, item_module: item.module }} onExecute={executeAction} busyKey={busyKey} />
+                            ))}
+                          </div>
+                        </td>
+                      </tr>
+                    )
+                  })}
+                </tbody>
+              </table>
+            </div>
           </div>
         )
       ) : (
@@ -592,6 +1094,15 @@ export default function StudioContentBrowser({
           <i className="fa-solid fa-arrow-right" />
         </button>
       </div>
+
+      <ConfirmDangerModal
+        open={deleteDialog.open}
+        onClose={closeDeleteDialog}
+        onConfirm={confirmDeleteDialog}
+        title={deleteDialog.title}
+        message={deleteDialog.message}
+        confirmText="DELETE"
+      />
     </div>
   )
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/resources/js/components/artwork/ArtworkCard.jsx b/resources/js/components/artwork/ArtworkCard.jsx
index 92c70132..1c5a3406 100644
--- a/resources/js/components/artwork/ArtworkCard.jsx
+++ b/resources/js/components/artwork/ArtworkCard.jsx
@@ -119,6 +119,24 @@ function getCsrfToken() {
   return document.querySelector('meta[name="csrf-token"]')?.getAttribute('content') || ''
 }
 
+function swapImageToFallbackOnce(event, fallbackSrc, { clearResponsive = false } = {}) {
+  const image = event.currentTarget
+
+  if (!image || image.dataset.fallbackApplied === '1') {
+    return
+  }
+
+  image.dataset.fallbackApplied = '1'
+  image.onerror = null
+
+  if (clearResponsive) {
+    image.removeAttribute('srcset')
+    image.removeAttribute('sizes')
+  }
+
+  image.src = fallbackSrc
+}
+
 function sendDiscoveryEvent(endpoint, payload) {
   if (!endpoint) return
 
@@ -437,18 +455,27 @@ export default function ArtworkCard({
 
   const item = artwork || {}
   const rawAuthor = item.author || item.creator
+  const publisher = item.publisher && typeof item.publisher === 'object' ? item.publisher : null
+  const isGroupPublisher = (publisher?.type === 'group') || item.published_as_type === 'group'
   const title = decodeHtml(item.title || item.name || 'Untitled artwork')
   const author = decodeHtml(
-    (typeof rawAuthor === 'string' ? rawAuthor : rawAuthor?.name)
+    (isGroupPublisher ? publisher?.name : null)
+      || (typeof rawAuthor === 'string' ? rawAuthor : rawAuthor?.name)
       || item.author_name
       || item.uname
       || 'Skinbase Artist'
   )
-  const username = rawAuthor?.username || item.author_username || item.username || null
-  const authorLevel = Number(rawAuthor?.level ?? item.author_level ?? item.creator?.level ?? 0)
-  const authorRank = rawAuthor?.rank || item.author_rank || item.creator?.rank || ''
+  const username = isGroupPublisher ? null : (rawAuthor?.username || item.author_username || item.username || null)
+  const authorLevel = isGroupPublisher ? 0 : Number(rawAuthor?.level ?? item.author_level ?? item.creator?.level ?? 0)
+  const authorRank = isGroupPublisher ? '' : (rawAuthor?.rank || item.author_rank || item.creator?.rank || '')
   const image = item.image || item.thumb || item.thumb_url || item.thumbnail_url || IMAGE_FALLBACK
-  const avatar = rawAuthor?.avatar_url || rawAuthor?.avatar || item.avatar || item.author_avatar || item.avatar_url || AVATAR_FALLBACK
+  const avatar = (isGroupPublisher ? publisher?.avatar_url : null)
+    || rawAuthor?.avatar_url
+    || rawAuthor?.avatar
+    || item.avatar
+    || item.author_avatar
+    || item.avatar_url
+    || AVATAR_FALLBACK
   const likes = item.likes ?? item.favourites ?? 0
   const views = item.views ?? item.views_count ?? item.view_count ?? 0
   const downloads = item.downloads ?? item.downloads_count ?? item.download_count ?? 0
@@ -470,7 +497,7 @@ export default function ArtworkCard({
   const aspectClass = compact ? 'aspect-square' : 'aspect-[4/5]'
   const titleClass = compact ? 'text-[0.96rem]' : 'text-[1rem] sm:text-[1.08rem]'
   const metadataLine = [contentType, category, resolution].filter(Boolean).join(' • ')
-  const authorHref = username ? `/@${username}` : null
+  const authorHref = publisher?.profile_url || rawAuthor?.profile_url || item.profile_url || item.author_url || (username ? `/@${username}` : null)
   const resolvedMetricBadge = metricBadge || item.metric_badge || null
   const relativePublishedAt = useMemo(
     () => formatRelativeTime(item.published_at || item.publishedAt || null),
@@ -750,7 +777,7 @@ export default function ArtworkCard({
               decoding={decoding}
               className="h-full w-full object-cover transition-transform duration-300 group-hover:scale-105"
               onError={(event) => {
-                event.currentTarget.src = IMAGE_FALLBACK
+                swapImageToFallbackOnce(event, IMAGE_FALLBACK)
               }}
             />
           </div>
@@ -761,7 +788,7 @@ export default function ArtworkCard({
               <div className="mt-0.5 flex items-center gap-2 text-xs text-slate-400">
                 {authorHref ? (
                   <span>
-                    by {author} <span className="text-slate-500">@{username}</span>
+                    by {author} {username ? <span className="text-slate-500">@{username}</span> : null}
                   </span>
                 ) : (
                   <span>by {author}</span>
@@ -810,7 +837,7 @@ export default function ArtworkCard({
             fetchPriority={fetchPriority || undefined}
             className={cx('h-full w-full object-cover transition duration-500 group-hover:scale-110 group-focus-within:scale-110', imageClassName)}
             onError={(event) => {
-              event.currentTarget.src = IMAGE_FALLBACK
+              swapImageToFallbackOnce(event, IMAGE_FALLBACK, { clearResponsive: true })
             }}
           />
 
@@ -880,14 +907,14 @@ export default function ArtworkCard({
                       decoding="async"
                       className="h-9 w-9 shrink-0 rounded-full object-cover"
                       onError={(event) => {
-                        event.currentTarget.src = AVATAR_FALLBACK
+                        swapImageToFallbackOnce(event, AVATAR_FALLBACK)
                       }}
                     />
                     <span className="min-w-0 flex-1">
                       <span className="flex items-center gap-2">
                         <span className="block min-w-0 truncate text-sm font-medium text-white/90">
                           {author}
-                          {username && <span className="text-[11px] text-white/60"> @{username}</span>}
+                          {username ? <span className="text-[11px] text-white/60"> @{username}</span> : null}
                         </span>
                         {authorLevel > 0 ? <LevelBadge level={authorLevel} rank={authorRank} compact className="shrink-0" /> : null}
                       </span>
diff --git a/resources/js/components/artwork/ArtworkHero.jsx b/resources/js/components/artwork/ArtworkHero.jsx
index 259cacb9..cd3e2cec 100644
--- a/resources/js/components/artwork/ArtworkHero.jsx
+++ b/resources/js/components/artwork/ArtworkHero.jsx
@@ -6,6 +6,9 @@ const FALLBACK_XL = 'https://files.skinbase.org/default/missing_xl.webp'
 
 export default function ArtworkHero({ artwork, presentMd, presentLg, presentXl, mediaWidth = null, mediaHeight = null, mediaKey = 'cover', onOpenViewer, hasPrev, hasNext, onPrev, onNext }) {
   const [isLoaded, setIsLoaded] = useState(false)
+  const [mainImageMode, setMainImageMode] = useState('primary')
+  const [previewImageMode, setPreviewImageMode] = useState('primary')
+  const [showBackdrop, setShowBackdrop] = useState(true)
 
   const mdSource = presentMd?.url || artwork?.thumbs?.md?.url || null
   const lgSource = presentLg?.url || artwork?.thumbs?.lg?.url || null
@@ -17,6 +20,19 @@ export default function ArtworkHero({ artwork, presentMd, presentLg, presentXl,
 
   const hasRealArtworkImage = Boolean(mdSource || lgSource || xlSource)
   const blurBackdropSrc = mdSource || lgSource || xlSource || null
+  const primaryMainSrc = lgSource || xlSource || mdSource || FALLBACK_LG
+  const primaryPreviewSrc = mdSource || lgSource || xlSource || FALLBACK_MD
+  const srcSet = [
+    mdSource ? `${mdSource} 640w` : null,
+    lgSource ? `${lgSource} 1280w` : null,
+    xlSource ? `${xlSource} 1920w` : null,
+  ].filter(Boolean).join(', ')
+  const resolvedMainSrc = mainImageMode === 'fallback'
+    ? FALLBACK_LG
+    : (mainImageMode === 'hidden' ? null : primaryMainSrc)
+  const resolvedPreviewSrc = previewImageMode === 'fallback'
+    ? FALLBACK_MD
+    : (previewImageMode === 'hidden' ? null : primaryPreviewSrc)
 
   const dbWidth = Number(mediaWidth ?? artwork?.width)
   const dbHeight = Number(mediaHeight ?? artwork?.height)
@@ -30,6 +46,10 @@ export default function ArtworkHero({ artwork, presentMd, presentLg, presentXl,
 
   useEffect(() => {
     setIsLoaded(false)
+    setMainImageMode('primary')
+    setPreviewImageMode('primary')
+    setShowBackdrop(true)
+
     if (hasDbDims) {
       setNaturalDims({ w: dbWidth, h: dbHeight })
       return
@@ -47,16 +67,15 @@ export default function ArtworkHero({ artwork, presentMd, presentLg, presentXl,
         setNaturalDims({ w: img.naturalWidth, h: img.naturalHeight })
       }
     }
+    img.onerror = null
     img.src = xlSource
   }, [xlSource, naturalDims])
 
   const aspectRatio = naturalDims ? `${naturalDims.w} / ${naturalDims.h}` : '16 / 9'
 
-  const srcSet = `${md} 640w, ${lg} 1280w, ${xl} 1920w`
-
   return (
     <figure className="relative w-full overflow-hidden rounded-[2rem] border border-white/10 bg-gradient-to-b from-nova-950 via-nova-900 to-nova-900 p-2 shadow-[0_35px_90px_-35px_rgba(15,23,36,0.9)] sm:p-4">
-      {blurBackdropSrc && (
+      {blurBackdropSrc && showBackdrop && (
         <>
           <img
             src={blurBackdropSrc}
@@ -65,6 +84,10 @@ export default function ArtworkHero({ artwork, presentMd, presentLg, presentXl,
             className="pointer-events-none absolute inset-0 h-full w-full scale-110 object-cover opacity-30 blur-3xl"
             loading="eager"
             decoding="async"
+            onError={(event) => {
+              event.currentTarget.onerror = null
+              setShowBackdrop(false)
+            }}
           />
           <div className="pointer-events-none absolute inset-0 bg-gradient-to-b from-nova-950/55 via-nova-900/40 to-nova-950/70" />
           <div className="pointer-events-none absolute inset-0 backdrop-blur-sm" />
@@ -102,29 +125,52 @@ export default function ArtworkHero({ artwork, presentMd, presentLg, presentXl,
               }
             } : undefined}
           >
-            <img
-              src={md}
-              alt={artwork?.title ?? 'Artwork'}
-              className="absolute inset-0 h-full w-full object-contain rounded-xl"
-              loading="eager"
-              decoding="async"
-              fetchPriority="high"
-            />
+            {resolvedPreviewSrc ? (
+              <img
+                src={resolvedPreviewSrc}
+                alt={artwork?.title ?? 'Artwork'}
+                className="absolute inset-0 h-full w-full object-contain rounded-xl"
+                loading="eager"
+                decoding="async"
+                fetchPriority="high"
+                onError={(event) => {
+                  event.currentTarget.onerror = null
 
-            <img
-              src={lg}
-              srcSet={srcSet}
-              sizes="(min-width: 1536px) 1400px, (min-width: 1024px) 92vw, 100vw"
-              alt={artwork?.title ?? 'Artwork'}
-              className={`absolute inset-0 h-full w-full object-contain transition-opacity duration-500 ${isLoaded ? 'opacity-100' : 'opacity-0'}`}
-              loading="eager"
-              decoding="async"
-              fetchPriority="high"
-              onLoad={() => setIsLoaded(true)}
-              onError={(event) => {
-                event.currentTarget.src = FALLBACK_LG
-              }}
-            />
+                  if (previewImageMode === 'primary') {
+                    setPreviewImageMode('fallback')
+                    return
+                  }
+
+                  setPreviewImageMode('hidden')
+                }}
+              />
+            ) : null}
+
+            {resolvedMainSrc ? (
+              <img
+                src={resolvedMainSrc}
+                srcSet={mainImageMode === 'primary' && srcSet !== '' ? srcSet : undefined}
+                sizes={mainImageMode === 'primary' && srcSet !== '' ? '(min-width: 1536px) 1400px, (min-width: 1024px) 92vw, 100vw' : undefined}
+                alt={artwork?.title ?? 'Artwork'}
+                className={`absolute inset-0 h-full w-full object-contain transition-opacity duration-500 ${isLoaded ? 'opacity-100' : 'opacity-0'}`}
+                loading="eager"
+                decoding="async"
+                fetchPriority="high"
+                onLoad={() => setIsLoaded(true)}
+                onError={(event) => {
+                  event.currentTarget.onerror = null
+
+                  if (mainImageMode === 'primary') {
+                    setMainImageMode('fallback')
+                    setIsLoaded(false)
+                    return
+                  }
+
+                  setMainImageMode('hidden')
+                  setIsLoaded(true)
+                }}
+              />
+            ) : null}
 
             {onOpenViewer && (
               <button
diff --git a/resources/js/components/gallery/MasonryGallery.jsx b/resources/js/components/gallery/MasonryGallery.jsx
index abe4ac33..abccd9d3 100644
--- a/resources/js/components/gallery/MasonryGallery.jsx
+++ b/resources/js/components/gallery/MasonryGallery.jsx
@@ -150,14 +150,18 @@ function mapRankApiArtwork(item) {
   const h = item.dimensions?.height ?? null;
   const thumb = item.thumbnail_url ?? null;
   const webUrl = item.urls?.web ?? item.category?.url ?? null;
+  const publisher = item.publisher && typeof item.publisher === 'object' ? item.publisher : null;
   return {
     id:            item.id            ?? null,
     name:          item.title         ?? item.name ?? null,
     thumb:         thumb,
     thumb_url:     thumb,
     uname:         item.author?.name  ?? '',
-    username:      item.author?.username ?? item.author?.name ?? '',
+    username:      publisher?.type === 'group' ? '' : (item.author?.username ?? ''),
     avatar_url:    item.author?.avatar_url ?? null,
+    profile_url:   publisher?.profile_url ?? item.author?.profile_url ?? null,
+    published_as_type: publisher?.type ?? null,
+    publisher:     publisher,
     content_type_name: item.category?.content_type_name ?? item.category?.content_type_slug ?? item.category?.content_type ?? '',
     content_type_slug: item.category?.content_type_slug ?? item.category?.content_type ?? '',
     category_name: item.category?.name    ?? '',
diff --git a/resources/js/components/tags/TagInput.jsx b/resources/js/components/tags/TagInput.jsx
index 59841b29..72caf363 100644
--- a/resources/js/components/tags/TagInput.jsx
+++ b/resources/js/components/tags/TagInput.jsx
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import React, { useCallback, useEffect, useMemo, useRef, useState } from 'react'
+import { createPortal } from 'react-dom'
 
 const DEFAULT_MAX_TAGS = 15
 const DEFAULT_MIN_LENGTH = 2
@@ -27,6 +28,49 @@ function parseTagList(input) {
     .filter(Boolean)
 }
 
+function analyzePastedTags(rawText, selectedTags, minLength, maxLength, maxTags) {
+  const parts = parseTagList(rawText)
+  const tagsToAdd = []
+  const skippedDuplicates = []
+  const skippedInvalid = []
+  const skippedOverflow = []
+
+  for (const part of parts) {
+    const normalized = normalizeTag(part)
+
+    if (!normalized) {
+      skippedInvalid.push(String(part ?? '').trim())
+      continue
+    }
+
+    if (selectedTags.includes(normalized) || tagsToAdd.includes(normalized)) {
+      skippedDuplicates.push(normalized)
+      continue
+    }
+
+    if (normalized.length < minLength || normalized.length > maxLength || !/^[a-z0-9_-]+$/.test(normalized)) {
+      skippedInvalid.push(String(part ?? '').trim())
+      continue
+    }
+
+    if (selectedTags.length + tagsToAdd.length >= maxTags) {
+      skippedOverflow.push(normalized)
+      continue
+    }
+
+    tagsToAdd.push(normalized)
+  }
+
+  return {
+    parsedCount: parts.length,
+    tagsToAdd,
+    nextTags: [...selectedTags, ...tagsToAdd],
+    skippedDuplicates,
+    skippedInvalid,
+    skippedOverflow,
+  }
+}
+
 function validateTag(tag, selectedTags, minLength, maxLength, maxTags) {
   if (selectedTags.length >= maxTags) return 'Max tags reached'
   if (tag.length < minLength) return 'Tag too short'
@@ -240,13 +284,124 @@ function StatusHints({ error, count, maxTags }) {
   return (
     <div className="flex items-center justify-between gap-3 text-xs">
       <span className={error ? 'text-amber-200' : 'text-white/55'} role="status" aria-live="polite">
-        {error || 'Type and press Enter, comma, or Tab to add'}
+        {error || 'Type and press Enter, comma, or Tab to add. Paste a comma-separated list to review multiple tags.'}
       </span>
       <span className="text-white/50">{count}/{maxTags}</span>
     </div>
   )
 }
 
+function PastedTagsDialog({ open, preview, maxTags, onClose, onConfirm }) {
+  const backdropRef = useRef(null)
+  const cancelButtonRef = useRef(null)
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (!open) return undefined
+    const timeoutId = window.setTimeout(() => cancelButtonRef.current?.focus(), 60)
+    return () => window.clearTimeout(timeoutId)
+  }, [open])
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (!open) return undefined
+
+    const handleKeyDown = (event) => {
+      if (event.key === 'Escape') {
+        onClose?.()
+      }
+    }
+
+    window.addEventListener('keydown', handleKeyDown)
+    return () => window.removeEventListener('keydown', handleKeyDown)
+  }, [onClose, open])
+
+  if (!open || !preview) return null
+
+  const duplicateCount = preview.skippedDuplicates.length
+  const invalidCount = preview.skippedInvalid.length
+  const overflowCount = preview.skippedOverflow.length
+
+  return createPortal(
+    <div
+      ref={backdropRef}
+      className="fixed inset-0 z-[9999] flex items-center justify-center bg-[#04070dcc] px-4 backdrop-blur-md"
+      onClick={(event) => {
+        if (event.target === backdropRef.current) {
+          onClose?.()
+        }
+      }}
+      role="presentation"
+    >
+      <div
+        role="dialog"
+        aria-modal="true"
+        aria-labelledby="tag-input-paste-title"
+        className="w-full max-w-lg overflow-hidden rounded-3xl border border-white/10 bg-[linear-gradient(180deg,rgba(16,22,34,0.98),rgba(8,12,19,0.98))] shadow-[0_30px_80px_rgba(0,0,0,0.55)]"
+      >
+        <div className="border-b border-white/[0.06] bg-white/[0.02] px-6 py-5">
+          <p className="text-[11px] font-semibold uppercase tracking-[0.24em] text-white/35">Tag Import</p>
+          <h3 id="tag-input-paste-title" className="mt-2 text-lg font-semibold text-white">
+            Add {preview.tagsToAdd.length} pasted tag{preview.tagsToAdd.length === 1 ? '' : 's'}?
+          </h3>
+          <p className="mt-2 text-sm leading-6 text-white/65">
+            Parsed {preview.parsedCount} item{preview.parsedCount === 1 ? '' : 's'} from your paste. Confirm before adding them to the artwork.
+          </p>
+        </div>
+
+        <div className="space-y-4 px-6 py-5">
+          {overflowCount > 0 && (
+            <div className="rounded-2xl border border-amber-300/25 bg-amber-400/10 px-4 py-3 text-sm text-amber-100">
+              Only {preview.tagsToAdd.length} tag{preview.tagsToAdd.length === 1 ? '' : 's'} can be added because the limit is {maxTags}. {overflowCount} pasted tag{overflowCount === 1 ? '' : 's'} will be skipped.
+            </div>
+          )}
+
+          {(duplicateCount > 0 || invalidCount > 0) && (
+            <div className="rounded-2xl border border-white/10 bg-white/[0.03] px-4 py-3 text-sm text-white/70">
+              {duplicateCount > 0 ? `${duplicateCount} duplicate tag${duplicateCount === 1 ? '' : 's'} ignored.` : ''}
+              {duplicateCount > 0 && invalidCount > 0 ? ' ' : ''}
+              {invalidCount > 0 ? `${invalidCount} invalid tag${invalidCount === 1 ? '' : 's'} ignored.` : ''}
+            </div>
+          )}
+
+          <div>
+            <p className="mb-3 text-xs font-semibold uppercase tracking-[0.18em] text-white/40">Tags to add</p>
+            <div className="max-h-56 overflow-auto rounded-2xl border border-white/10 bg-white/[0.03] p-3">
+              <div className="flex flex-wrap gap-2">
+                {preview.tagsToAdd.map((tag) => (
+                  <span
+                    key={tag}
+                    className="inline-flex items-center rounded-full border border-sky-300/25 bg-sky-400/10 px-3 py-1.5 text-xs font-medium text-sky-100"
+                  >
+                    {tag}
+                  </span>
+                ))}
+              </div>
+            </div>
+          </div>
+        </div>
+
+        <div className="flex items-center justify-end gap-3 border-t border-white/[0.06] px-6 py-4">
+          <button
+            ref={cancelButtonRef}
+            type="button"
+            onClick={() => onClose?.()}
+            className="inline-flex items-center justify-center rounded-full border border-white/[0.08] bg-white/[0.04] px-4 py-2 text-sm font-medium text-white/70 transition hover:bg-white/[0.08] hover:text-white focus-visible:outline-none focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-white/20"
+          >
+            Cancel
+          </button>
+          <button
+            type="button"
+            onClick={() => onConfirm?.()}
+            className="inline-flex items-center justify-center rounded-full border border-sky-300/25 bg-sky-400/90 px-4 py-2 text-sm font-semibold text-slate-950 transition hover:brightness-110 focus-visible:outline-none focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-sky-300/40"
+          >
+            Add tags
+          </button>
+        </div>
+      </div>
+    </div>,
+    document.body,
+  )
+}
+
 export default function TagInput({
   value,
   onChange,
@@ -268,6 +423,7 @@ export default function TagInput({
   const [searchError, setSearchError] = useState(false)
   const [isOpen, setIsOpen] = useState(false)
   const [highlightedIndex, setHighlightedIndex] = useState(-1)
+  const [pastePreview, setPastePreview] = useState(null)
 
   const queryCacheRef = useRef(new Map())
   const abortControllerRef = useRef(null)
@@ -304,23 +460,38 @@ export default function TagInput({
   }, [selectedTags, updateTags])
 
   const applyPastedTags = useCallback((rawText) => {
-    const parts = parseTagList(rawText)
-    if (parts.length === 0) return
+    const preview = analyzePastedTags(rawText, selectedTags, minLength, maxLength, maxTags)
 
-    let next = [...selectedTags]
-    for (const part of parts) {
-      const normalized = normalizeTag(part)
-      const validation = validateTag(normalized, next, minLength, maxLength, maxTags)
-      if (!validation) {
-        next.push(normalized)
+    if (preview.parsedCount === 0) return false
+
+    if (preview.tagsToAdd.length === 0) {
+      if (selectedTags.length >= maxTags || preview.skippedOverflow.length > 0) {
+        setError('Max tags reached')
+      } else {
+        setError('No new tags found in pasted text')
       }
+      return false
     }
 
-    next = Array.from(new Set(next))
-    updateTags(next)
+    setError('')
+    setIsOpen(false)
+    setHighlightedIndex(-1)
+    setPastePreview(preview)
+    return true
+  }, [selectedTags, minLength, maxLength, maxTags])
+
+  const closePastePreview = useCallback(() => {
+    setPastePreview(null)
+  }, [])
+
+  const confirmPastePreview = useCallback(() => {
+    if (!pastePreview) return
+
+    updateTags(pastePreview.nextTags)
     setInputValue('')
     setError('')
-  }, [selectedTags, minLength, maxLength, maxTags, updateTags])
+    setPastePreview(null)
+  }, [pastePreview, updateTags])
 
   const runSearch = useCallback(async (query) => {
     const normalizedQuery = normalizeTag(query)
@@ -452,7 +623,10 @@ export default function TagInput({
 
   const handlePaste = useCallback((event) => {
     const raw = event.clipboardData?.getData('text')
-    if (!raw || !raw.includes(',')) return
+    if (!raw) return
+
+    const parts = parseTagList(raw)
+    if (parts.length <= 1) return
 
     event.preventDefault()
     applyPastedTags(raw)
@@ -465,43 +639,53 @@ export default function TagInput({
   }, [inputValue, runSearch])
 
   return (
-    <div className="flex h-full flex-col gap-3" data-testid="tag-input-root">
-      <TagPillList tags={selectedTags} onRemove={removeTag} disabled={disabled} />
+    <>
+      <div className="flex h-full flex-col gap-3" data-testid="tag-input-root">
+        <TagPillList tags={selectedTags} onRemove={removeTag} disabled={disabled} />
 
-      <SearchInput
-        inputValue={inputValue}
-        onInputChange={(next) => {
-          setInputValue(next)
-          setError('')
-        }}
-        onKeyDown={handleInputKeyDown}
-        onPaste={handlePaste}
-        onFocus={handleFocus}
-        disabled={disabled}
-        expanded={isOpen}
-        listboxId={listboxId}
-        placeholder={placeholder}
+        <SearchInput
+          inputValue={inputValue}
+          onInputChange={(next) => {
+            setInputValue(next)
+            setError('')
+          }}
+          onKeyDown={handleInputKeyDown}
+          onPaste={handlePaste}
+          onFocus={handleFocus}
+          disabled={disabled}
+          expanded={isOpen}
+          listboxId={listboxId}
+          placeholder={placeholder}
+        />
+
+        <SuggestionDropdown
+          isOpen={isOpen}
+          loading={loading}
+          error={searchError}
+          suggestions={suggestions}
+          highlightedIndex={highlightedIndex}
+          onSelect={addTag}
+          query={inputValue.trim()}
+          listboxId={listboxId}
+        />
+
+        <SuggestedTagsPanel
+          items={aiSuggestedItems}
+          selectedTags={selectedTags}
+          onAdd={addTag}
+          disabled={disabled}
+        />
+
+        <StatusHints error={error} count={selectedTags.length} maxTags={maxTags} />
+      </div>
+
+      <PastedTagsDialog
+        open={Boolean(pastePreview)}
+        preview={pastePreview}
+        maxTags={maxTags}
+        onClose={closePastePreview}
+        onConfirm={confirmPastePreview}
       />
-
-      <SuggestionDropdown
-        isOpen={isOpen}
-        loading={loading}
-        error={searchError}
-        suggestions={suggestions}
-        highlightedIndex={highlightedIndex}
-        onSelect={addTag}
-        query={inputValue.trim()}
-        listboxId={listboxId}
-      />
-
-      <SuggestedTagsPanel
-        items={aiSuggestedItems}
-        selectedTags={selectedTags}
-        onAdd={addTag}
-        disabled={disabled}
-      />
-
-      <StatusHints error={error} count={selectedTags.length} maxTags={maxTags} />
-    </div>
+    </>
   )
 }
diff --git a/resources/js/components/tags/TagInput.test.jsx b/resources/js/components/tags/TagInput.test.jsx
index 3d2412f6..c37ed065 100644
--- a/resources/js/components/tags/TagInput.test.jsx
+++ b/resources/js/components/tags/TagInput.test.jsx
@@ -85,16 +85,37 @@ describe('TagInput', () => {
     })
   })
 
-  it('supports comma-separated paste', async () => {
+  it('shows a confirmation dialog before adding comma-separated pasted tags', async () => {
     render(<Harness />)
 
     const input = screen.getByLabelText('Tag input')
     await userEvent.click(input)
     await userEvent.paste('art, city, night')
 
-    expect(screen.getByText('art')).not.toBeNull()
-    expect(screen.getByText('city')).not.toBeNull()
-    expect(screen.getByText('night')).not.toBeNull()
+    expect(screen.getByRole('dialog')).not.toBeNull()
+    expect(screen.queryByRole('button', { name: 'Remove tag art' })).toBeNull()
+
+    await userEvent.click(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Add tags' }))
+
+    expect(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Remove tag art' })).not.toBeNull()
+    expect(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Remove tag city' })).not.toBeNull()
+    expect(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Remove tag night' })).not.toBeNull()
+  })
+
+  it('warns when pasted tags exceed the max and only adds the allowed tags', async () => {
+    render(<Harness initial={['t1', 't2', 't3', 't4', 't5', 't6', 't7', 't8', 't9', 't10', 't11', 't12', 't13', 't14']} />)
+
+    const input = screen.getByLabelText('Tag input')
+    await userEvent.click(input)
+    await userEvent.paste('alpha, beta, gamma')
+
+    expect(screen.getByText('Only 1 tag can be added because the limit is 15. 2 pasted tags will be skipped.')).not.toBeNull()
+
+    await userEvent.click(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Add tags' }))
+
+    expect(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Remove tag alpha' })).not.toBeNull()
+    expect(screen.queryByRole('button', { name: 'Remove tag beta' })).toBeNull()
+    expect(screen.queryByRole('button', { name: 'Remove tag gamma' })).toBeNull()
   })
 
   it('handles API failure gracefully', async () => {
diff --git a/resources/js/components/tags/TagPicker.jsx b/resources/js/components/tags/TagPicker.jsx
index e80a0a14..279a3b73 100644
--- a/resources/js/components/tags/TagPicker.jsx
+++ b/resources/js/components/tags/TagPicker.jsx
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
  * Value format: string[] of tag slugs
  */
 import React, { useCallback, useEffect, useMemo, useRef, useState } from 'react'
+import { createPortal } from 'react-dom'
 
 const MAX_TAGS = 15
 const DEBOUNCE_MS = 250
@@ -33,6 +34,55 @@ function normalizeSlug(raw) {
     .slice(0, MAX_LENGTH)
 }
 
+function parseTagList(input) {
+  if (Array.isArray(input)) return input
+  if (typeof input !== 'string') return []
+
+  return input
+    .split(/[\n,]+/)
+    .map((item) => item.trim())
+    .filter(Boolean)
+}
+
+function analyzePastedTags(rawText, selectedSlugs, maxTags) {
+  const parts = parseTagList(rawText)
+  const itemsToAdd = []
+  const skippedDuplicates = []
+  const skippedInvalid = []
+  const skippedOverflow = []
+
+  for (const part of parts) {
+    const name = String(part ?? '').trim()
+    const slug = normalizeSlug(name)
+
+    if (!slug || slug.length < MIN_LENGTH || slug.length > MAX_LENGTH) {
+      skippedInvalid.push(name)
+      continue
+    }
+
+    if (selectedSlugs.includes(slug) || itemsToAdd.some((item) => item.slug === slug)) {
+      skippedDuplicates.push(slug)
+      continue
+    }
+
+    if (selectedSlugs.length + itemsToAdd.length >= maxTags) {
+      skippedOverflow.push(slug)
+      continue
+    }
+
+    itemsToAdd.push({ slug, name })
+  }
+
+  return {
+    parsedCount: parts.length,
+    itemsToAdd,
+    nextSlugs: [...selectedSlugs, ...itemsToAdd.map((item) => item.slug)],
+    skippedDuplicates,
+    skippedInvalid,
+    skippedOverflow,
+  }
+}
+
 function toListItem(item) {
   if (!item) return null
   if (typeof item === 'string') {
@@ -55,7 +105,7 @@ function toListItem(item) {
 
 // ─── sub-components ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
-function SearchInput({ value, onChange, onKeyDown, inputRef, disabled, hint }) {
+function SearchInput({ value, onChange, onKeyDown, onPaste, inputRef, disabled, hint }) {
   return (
     <div className="relative">
       <input
@@ -64,6 +114,7 @@ function SearchInput({ value, onChange, onKeyDown, inputRef, disabled, hint }) {
         value={value}
         onChange={(e) => onChange(e.target.value)}
         onKeyDown={onKeyDown}
+        onPaste={onPaste}
         disabled={disabled}
         className="w-full rounded-xl border border-white/10 bg-white/5 py-2.5 pl-3 pr-9 text-sm text-white placeholder:text-white/40 focus:border-accent/50 focus:outline-none focus:ring-2 focus:ring-accent/30 disabled:cursor-not-allowed disabled:opacity-60"
         placeholder={hint || 'Search or add tags…'}
@@ -170,6 +221,117 @@ function ListRow({ item, isSelected, onToggle, disabled }) {
   )
 }
 
+function PastedTagsDialog({ open, preview, maxTags, onClose, onConfirm }) {
+  const backdropRef = useRef(null)
+  const cancelButtonRef = useRef(null)
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (!open) return undefined
+    const timeoutId = window.setTimeout(() => cancelButtonRef.current?.focus(), 60)
+    return () => window.clearTimeout(timeoutId)
+  }, [open])
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (!open) return undefined
+
+    const handleKeyDown = (event) => {
+      if (event.key === 'Escape') {
+        onClose?.()
+      }
+    }
+
+    window.addEventListener('keydown', handleKeyDown)
+    return () => window.removeEventListener('keydown', handleKeyDown)
+  }, [onClose, open])
+
+  if (!open || !preview) return null
+
+  const duplicateCount = preview.skippedDuplicates.length
+  const invalidCount = preview.skippedInvalid.length
+  const overflowCount = preview.skippedOverflow.length
+
+  return createPortal(
+    <div
+      ref={backdropRef}
+      className="fixed inset-0 z-[9999] flex items-center justify-center bg-[#04070dcc] px-4 backdrop-blur-md"
+      onClick={(event) => {
+        if (event.target === backdropRef.current) {
+          onClose?.()
+        }
+      }}
+      role="presentation"
+    >
+      <div
+        role="dialog"
+        aria-modal="true"
+        aria-labelledby="tag-picker-paste-title"
+        className="w-full max-w-lg overflow-hidden rounded-3xl border border-white/10 bg-[linear-gradient(180deg,rgba(16,22,34,0.98),rgba(8,12,19,0.98))] shadow-[0_30px_80px_rgba(0,0,0,0.55)]"
+      >
+        <div className="border-b border-white/[0.06] bg-white/[0.02] px-6 py-5">
+          <p className="text-[11px] font-semibold uppercase tracking-[0.24em] text-white/35">Tag Import</p>
+          <h3 id="tag-picker-paste-title" className="mt-2 text-lg font-semibold text-white">
+            Add {preview.itemsToAdd.length} pasted tag{preview.itemsToAdd.length === 1 ? '' : 's'}?
+          </h3>
+          <p className="mt-2 text-sm leading-6 text-white/65">
+            Parsed {preview.parsedCount} item{preview.parsedCount === 1 ? '' : 's'} from your paste. Confirm before applying them.
+          </p>
+        </div>
+
+        <div className="space-y-4 px-6 py-5">
+          {overflowCount > 0 && (
+            <div className="rounded-2xl border border-amber-300/25 bg-amber-400/10 px-4 py-3 text-sm text-amber-100">
+              Only {preview.itemsToAdd.length} tag{preview.itemsToAdd.length === 1 ? '' : 's'} can be added because the limit is {maxTags}. {overflowCount} pasted tag{overflowCount === 1 ? '' : 's'} will be skipped.
+            </div>
+          )}
+
+          {(duplicateCount > 0 || invalidCount > 0) && (
+            <div className="rounded-2xl border border-white/10 bg-white/[0.03] px-4 py-3 text-sm text-white/70">
+              {duplicateCount > 0 ? `${duplicateCount} duplicate tag${duplicateCount === 1 ? '' : 's'} ignored.` : ''}
+              {duplicateCount > 0 && invalidCount > 0 ? ' ' : ''}
+              {invalidCount > 0 ? `${invalidCount} invalid tag${invalidCount === 1 ? '' : 's'} ignored.` : ''}
+            </div>
+          )}
+
+          <div>
+            <p className="mb-3 text-xs font-semibold uppercase tracking-[0.18em] text-white/40">Tags to add</p>
+            <div className="max-h-56 overflow-auto rounded-2xl border border-white/10 bg-white/[0.03] p-3">
+              <div className="flex flex-wrap gap-2">
+                {preview.itemsToAdd.map((item) => (
+                  <span
+                    key={item.slug}
+                    className="inline-flex items-center rounded-full border border-sky-300/25 bg-sky-400/10 px-3 py-1.5 text-xs font-medium text-sky-100"
+                  >
+                    {item.name}
+                  </span>
+                ))}
+              </div>
+            </div>
+          </div>
+        </div>
+
+        <div className="flex items-center justify-end gap-3 border-t border-white/[0.06] px-6 py-4">
+          <button
+            ref={cancelButtonRef}
+            type="button"
+            onClick={() => onClose?.()}
+            className="inline-flex items-center justify-center rounded-full border border-white/[0.08] bg-white/[0.04] px-4 py-2 text-sm font-medium text-white/70 transition hover:bg-white/[0.08] hover:text-white focus-visible:outline-none focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-white/20"
+          >
+            Cancel
+          </button>
+          <button
+            type="button"
+            onClick={() => onConfirm?.()}
+            className="inline-flex items-center justify-center rounded-full border border-sky-300/25 bg-sky-400/90 px-4 py-2 text-sm font-semibold text-slate-950 transition hover:brightness-110 focus-visible:outline-none focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-sky-300/40"
+          >
+            Add tags
+          </button>
+        </div>
+      </div>
+    </div>,
+    document.body,
+  )
+}
+
 // ─── main component ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 export default function TagPicker({
@@ -193,6 +355,7 @@ export default function TagPicker({
   const [loading, setLoading] = useState(false)
   const [fetchError, setFetchError] = useState(false)
   const [inputError, setInputError] = useState('')
+  const [pastePreview, setPastePreview] = useState(null)
 
   // slug → display name (for chips)
   const [nameMap, setNameMap] = useState({})
@@ -288,6 +451,20 @@ export default function TagPicker({
     onChange?.(selectedSlugs.filter((s) => s !== slug))
   }, [selectedSlugs, onChange])
 
+  const closePastePreview = useCallback(() => {
+    setPastePreview(null)
+  }, [])
+
+  const confirmPastePreview = useCallback(() => {
+    if (!pastePreview) return
+
+    updateNameMap(pastePreview.itemsToAdd)
+    onChange?.(pastePreview.nextSlugs)
+    setQuery('')
+    setInputError('')
+    setPastePreview(null)
+  }, [onChange, pastePreview, updateNameMap])
+
   // Commit on Enter / comma / Tab
   const handleKeyDown = useCallback((e) => {
     const commit = e.key === 'Enter' || e.key === ',' || e.key === 'Tab'
@@ -306,6 +483,29 @@ export default function TagPicker({
     addTag(candidate, candidate)
   }, [query, selectedSlugs, addTag, removeTag])
 
+  const handlePaste = useCallback((event) => {
+    const raw = event.clipboardData?.getData('text')
+    if (!raw) return
+
+    const parts = parseTagList(raw)
+    if (parts.length <= 1) return
+
+    event.preventDefault()
+
+    const preview = analyzePastedTags(raw, selectedSlugs, maxTags)
+    if (preview.itemsToAdd.length === 0) {
+      if (selectedSlugs.length >= maxTags || preview.skippedOverflow.length > 0) {
+        setInputError('Maximum tags reached')
+      } else {
+        setInputError('No new tags found in pasted text')
+      }
+      return
+    }
+
+    setInputError('')
+    setPastePreview(preview)
+  }, [maxTags, selectedSlugs])
+
   // Show "Add 'query'" row when the query doesn't exactly match any result
   const querySlug = normalizeSlug(query)
   const showAddNew = Boolean(
@@ -341,6 +541,7 @@ export default function TagPicker({
         value={query}
         onChange={(v) => { setQuery(v); setInputError('') }}
         onKeyDown={handleKeyDown}
+        onPaste={handlePaste}
         inputRef={inputRef}
         disabled={disabled}
         hint={placeholder}
@@ -402,11 +603,19 @@ export default function TagPicker({
         <span>{selectedSlugs.length}/{maxTags} tags selected</span>
         {atMax
           ? <span className="text-amber-300/80">Maximum tags reached</span>
-          : <span className="text-white/30">Enter, comma or Tab to add</span>
+          : <span className="text-white/30">Enter, comma or Tab to add. Paste a comma-separated list to review multiple tags.</span>
         }
       </div>
 
       {error && <p className="text-xs text-red-300">{error}</p>}
+
+      <PastedTagsDialog
+        open={Boolean(pastePreview)}
+        preview={pastePreview}
+        maxTags={maxTags}
+        onClose={closePastePreview}
+        onConfirm={confirmPastePreview}
+      />
     </div>
   )
 }
diff --git a/resources/js/components/tags/TagPicker.test.jsx b/resources/js/components/tags/TagPicker.test.jsx
index 983b536e..1f66ac5a 100644
--- a/resources/js/components/tags/TagPicker.test.jsx
+++ b/resources/js/components/tags/TagPicker.test.jsx
@@ -73,4 +73,37 @@ describe('TagPicker', () => {
     expect(screen.getByText('High Contrast')).not.toBeNull()
     expect(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Remove tag High Contrast' })).not.toBeNull()
   })
+
+  it('shows a confirmation dialog before adding comma-separated pasted tags', async () => {
+    render(<Harness />)
+
+    const input = screen.getByLabelText('Search or add tags')
+    await userEvent.click(input)
+    await userEvent.paste('space art, galaxy, robot mascot')
+
+    expect(screen.getByRole('dialog')).not.toBeNull()
+    expect(screen.queryByRole('button', { name: 'Remove tag space art' })).toBeNull()
+
+    await userEvent.click(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Add tags' }))
+
+    expect(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Remove tag space art' })).not.toBeNull()
+    expect(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Remove tag galaxy' })).not.toBeNull()
+    expect(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Remove tag robot mascot' })).not.toBeNull()
+  })
+
+  it('warns when pasted tags exceed the max and only applies the allowed tags', async () => {
+    render(<Harness initial={['t1', 't2', 't3', 't4', 't5', 't6', 't7', 't8', 't9', 't10', 't11', 't12', 't13', 't14']} />)
+
+    const input = screen.getByLabelText('Search or add tags')
+    await userEvent.click(input)
+    await userEvent.paste('alpha, beta, gamma')
+
+    expect(screen.getByText('Only 1 tag can be added because the limit is 15. 2 pasted tags will be skipped.')).not.toBeNull()
+
+    await userEvent.click(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Add tags' }))
+
+    expect(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Remove tag alpha' })).not.toBeNull()
+    expect(screen.queryByRole('button', { name: 'Remove tag beta' })).toBeNull()
+    expect(screen.queryByRole('button', { name: 'Remove tag gamma' })).toBeNull()
+  })
 })
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/resources/js/components/upload/UploadWizard.jsx b/resources/js/components/upload/UploadWizard.jsx
index 9fd12dde..803aecf3 100644
--- a/resources/js/components/upload/UploadWizard.jsx
+++ b/resources/js/components/upload/UploadWizard.jsx
@@ -104,6 +104,7 @@ export default function UploadWizard({
   onValidationStateChange,
   initialDraftId = null,
   chunkSize,
+  chunkRequestTimeoutMs,
   contentTypes = [],
   suggestedTags = [],
   groupOptions = [],
@@ -193,6 +194,7 @@ export default function UploadWizard({
     initialDraftId,
     metadata,
     chunkSize,
+    chunkRequestTimeoutMs,
     onArtworkCreated: (id) => setResolvedArtworkId(id),
     onNotice: (notice) => {
       if (!notice?.message) return
diff --git a/resources/js/hooks/upload/useUploadMachine.js b/resources/js/hooks/upload/useUploadMachine.js
index c922130c..d1f372bd 100644
--- a/resources/js/hooks/upload/useUploadMachine.js
+++ b/resources/js/hooks/upload/useUploadMachine.js
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@ import { mapUploadErrorNotice, mapUploadResultNotice } from '../../lib/uploadNot
 
 // ─── Constants ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 const DEFAULT_CHUNK_SIZE_BYTES = 5 * 1024 * 1024
+const DEFAULT_CHUNK_REQUEST_TIMEOUT_MS = 45000
+const MIN_CHUNK_SIZE_BYTES = 256 * 1024
 const POLL_INTERVAL_MS = 2000
 
 // ─── State machine ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -76,6 +78,16 @@ function toPercent(loaded, total) {
   return Math.max(0, Math.min(100, Math.round((loaded / total) * 100)))
 }
 
+function formatChunkSize(bytes) {
+  if (!Number.isFinite(bytes) || bytes <= 0) return '0 KB'
+  if (bytes >= 1024 * 1024) return `${(bytes / (1024 * 1024)).toFixed(bytes % (1024 * 1024) === 0 ? 0 : 1)} MB`
+  return `${Math.max(1, Math.round(bytes / 1024))} KB`
+}
+
+function isRequestTooLarge(error) {
+  return Number(error?.response?.status || 0) === 413
+}
+
 function getProcessingValue(payload) {
   const direct = String(payload?.processing_state || payload?.status || '').toLowerCase()
   return direct || 'processing'
@@ -114,6 +126,7 @@ export default function useUploadMachine({
   initialDraftId = null,
   metadata,
   chunkSize = DEFAULT_CHUNK_SIZE_BYTES,
+  chunkRequestTimeoutMs = DEFAULT_CHUNK_REQUEST_TIMEOUT_MS,
   onArtworkCreated,
   onNotice,
 }) {
@@ -137,6 +150,11 @@ export default function useUploadMachine({
     const parsed = Number(chunkSize)
     return Number.isFinite(parsed) && parsed > 0 ? Math.floor(parsed) : DEFAULT_CHUNK_SIZE_BYTES
   })()
+  const effectiveChunkRequestTimeoutMs = (() => {
+    const parsed = Number(chunkRequestTimeoutMs)
+    return Number.isFinite(parsed) && parsed > 0 ? Math.floor(parsed) : DEFAULT_CHUNK_REQUEST_TIMEOUT_MS
+  })()
+  const adaptiveChunkSizeRef = useRef(effectiveChunkSize)
 
   // ── Controller registry ────────────────────────────────────────────────────
   const registerController = useCallback(() => {
@@ -251,7 +269,8 @@ export default function useUploadMachine({
     const totalSize = file.size
 
     while (uploadedForFile < totalSize) {
-      const nextOffset = Math.min(uploadedForFile + effectiveChunkSize, totalSize)
+      const activeChunkSize = Math.max(MIN_CHUNK_SIZE_BYTES, Number(adaptiveChunkSizeRef.current || effectiveChunkSize))
+      const nextOffset = Math.min(uploadedForFile + activeChunkSize, totalSize)
       const blob = file.slice(uploadedForFile, nextOffset)
 
       const payload = new FormData()
@@ -266,8 +285,22 @@ export default function useUploadMachine({
       try {
         await window.axios.post(uploadEndpoints.chunk(), payload, {
           signal: chunkController.signal,
+          timeout: effectiveChunkRequestTimeoutMs,
           headers: { 'X-Upload-Token': uploadToken },
         })
+      } catch (error) {
+        if (isRequestTooLarge(error) && activeChunkSize > MIN_CHUNK_SIZE_BYTES) {
+          const nextChunkSize = Math.max(MIN_CHUNK_SIZE_BYTES, Math.floor(activeChunkSize / 2))
+          if (nextChunkSize < activeChunkSize) {
+            adaptiveChunkSizeRef.current = nextChunkSize
+            onNotice?.({
+              type: 'warning',
+              message: `Server rejected ${formatChunkSize(activeChunkSize)} chunks. Retrying with ${formatChunkSize(nextChunkSize)} chunks.`,
+            })
+            continue
+          }
+        }
+        throw error
       } finally {
         unregisterController(chunkController)
       }
@@ -279,7 +312,7 @@ export default function useUploadMachine({
     }
 
     return uploadedBaseBytes + totalSize
-  }, [effectiveChunkSize, registerController, unregisterController])
+  }, [effectiveChunkRequestTimeoutMs, effectiveChunkSize, onNotice, registerController, unregisterController])
 
   const cancelUploadSession = useCallback(async (sessionId, uploadToken) => {
     if (!sessionId) return
diff --git a/resources/js/lib/uploadNotices.js b/resources/js/lib/uploadNotices.js
index 04644c5e..ebe77b54 100644
--- a/resources/js/lib/uploadNotices.js
+++ b/resources/js/lib/uploadNotices.js
@@ -28,15 +28,21 @@ export function mapUploadErrorNotice(error, fallback = 'Upload failed.') {
   const payload = error?.response?.data || {}
   const reason = String(payload?.reason || '').toLowerCase()
   const mapped = REASON_MAP[reason]
+  const errorCode = String(error?.code || '').toUpperCase()
+  const rawMessage = typeof error?.message === 'string' ? error.message.trim() : ''
+  const timedOut = errorCode === 'ECONNABORTED' || /timeout/i.test(rawMessage)
+  const requestTooLarge = status === 413
 
   const type = mapped?.type
     ? mapped.type
-    : normalizeType(payload?.type || payload?.level, status >= 500 ? 'error' : 'warning')
+    : normalizeType(payload?.type || payload?.level, requestTooLarge ? 'warning' : (status >= 500 ? 'error' : 'warning'))
 
   const message =
+    (requestTooLarge ? 'Server rejected this upload chunk as too large. Retrying with smaller chunks may help, or increase Nginx/PHP upload limits.' : '') ||
+    (timedOut ? 'Upload request timed out before the server responded. Check Nginx/PHP-FPM body handling and try again.' : '') ||
     mapped?.message ||
     (typeof payload?.message === 'string' && payload.message.trim()) ||
-    (typeof error?.message === 'string' && error.message.trim()) ||
+    rawMessage ||
     fallback
 
   return {
diff --git a/resources/views/components/artwork-card.blade.php b/resources/views/components/artwork-card.blade.php
index ed36ea80..fb43a040 100644
--- a/resources/views/components/artwork-card.blade.php
+++ b/resources/views/components/artwork-card.blade.php
@@ -23,8 +23,12 @@
 
     $title = trim((string) ($art->name ?? $art->title ?? 'Untitled artwork'));
 
+    $publisherType = (string) (data_get($art, 'publisher.type') ?? ($art->published_as_type ?? ''));
+    $isGroupPublisher = $publisherType === 'group';
+
     $author = trim((string) (
-        $art->uname
+        ($isGroupPublisher ? data_get($art, 'publisher.name') : null)
+        ?? $art->uname
         ?? $art->author_name
         ?? $art->author
         ?? ($art->user->name ?? null)
@@ -32,11 +36,13 @@
         ?? 'Skinbase'
     ));
 
-    $username = trim((string) (
-        $art->username
-        ?? ($art->user->username ?? null)
-        ?? ''
-    ));
+    $username = $isGroupPublisher
+        ? ''
+        : trim((string) (
+            $art->username
+            ?? ($art->user->username ?? null)
+            ?? ''
+        ));
 
     $rawContentType = trim((string) (
         $art->content_type_name
@@ -61,7 +67,14 @@
 
     $avatarUserId = $art->user->id ?? $art->user_id ?? null;
     $avatarHash = $art->user->profile->avatar_hash ?? $art->avatar_hash ?? null;
-    $avatarUrl = \App\Support\AvatarUrl::forUser((int) ($avatarUserId ?? 0), $avatarHash, 64);
+    $avatarUrl = trim((string) (
+        ($isGroupPublisher ? data_get($art, 'publisher.avatar_url') : null)
+        ?? ($art->avatar_url ?? null)
+        ?? ''
+    ));
+    if ($avatarUrl === '') {
+        $avatarUrl = \App\Support\AvatarUrl::forUser((int) ($avatarUserId ?? 0), $avatarHash, 64);
+    }
 
     $license = trim((string) ($art->license ?? 'Standard'));
     $resolution = trim((string) ($art->resolution ?? ((isset($art->width, $art->height) && $art->width && $art->height) ? ($art->width . '×' . $art->height) : '')));
@@ -131,7 +144,14 @@
             $cardUrl = '#';
         }
     }
-    $authorUrl = $username !== '' ? '/@' . strtolower($username) : null;
+    $authorUrl = trim((string) (
+        ($isGroupPublisher ? data_get($art, 'publisher.profile_url') : null)
+        ?? ($art->profile_url ?? null)
+        ?? ($username !== '' ? '/@' . strtolower($username) : '')
+    ));
+    if ($authorUrl === '') {
+        $authorUrl = null;
+    }
 
     $metaParts = [];
     if ($contentType !== '') {
diff --git a/resources/views/emails/staff_application_received.blade.php b/resources/views/emails/staff_application_received.blade.php
index 51bf6ae2..7b8cf675 100644
--- a/resources/views/emails/staff_application_received.blade.php
+++ b/resources/views/emails/staff_application_received.blade.php
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@
 <body>
   <div class="container">
     <div class="brand">
-      <img src="{{ asset('gfx/skinbase_logo.png') }}" alt="Skinbase">
+      <img src="https://cdn.skinbase.org/images/skinbase_logo_64.webp" alt="Skinbase">
       <div>
         <div style="font-weight:700;">Skinbase</div>
         <div style="font-size:12px;color:#64748b;">New staff application / contact form submission</div>
diff --git a/resources/views/gallery/index.blade.php b/resources/views/gallery/index.blade.php
index 44bcc3c6..beae656c 100644
--- a/resources/views/gallery/index.blade.php
+++ b/resources/views/gallery/index.blade.php
@@ -325,8 +325,11 @@
                             'thumb'         => $art->thumb_url     ?? $art->thumb ?? null,
                             'thumb_srcset'  => $art->thumb_srcset  ?? null,
                             'uname'         => $art->uname         ?? '',
-                            'username'      => $art->username      ?? $art->uname ?? '',
+                            'username'      => $art->username      ?? '',
                             'avatar_url'    => $art->avatar_url    ?? null,
+                            'profile_url'   => $art->profile_url   ?? null,
+                            'published_as_type' => $art->published_as_type ?? null,
+                            'publisher'     => $art->publisher     ?? null,
                             'category_name' => $art->category_name ?? '',
                             'category_slug' => $art->category_slug ?? '',
                             'slug'          => $art->slug          ?? '',
diff --git a/resources/views/layouts/nova/footer.blade.php b/resources/views/layouts/nova/footer.blade.php
index ba85f60b..9a7832b0 100644
--- a/resources/views/layouts/nova/footer.blade.php
+++ b/resources/views/layouts/nova/footer.blade.php
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 <footer class="border-t border-neutral-800 bg-nova">
     <div class="px-6 md:px-10 py-8 flex flex-col md:flex-row md:items-center md:justify-between gap-2">
         <div class="text-xl font-semibold tracking-wide flex items-center gap-1">
-            <img src="/gfx/skinbase_logo.png" alt="Skinbase" width="320" height="64" class="h-16 w-auto object-contain">
+            <img src="https://cdn.skinbase.org/images/skinbase_logo_64.webp" alt="Skinbase" width="320" height="64" class="h-16 w-auto object-contain">
             <span class="sr-only">Skinbase</span>
         </div>
 
diff --git a/resources/views/search/index.blade.php b/resources/views/search/index.blade.php
index 9a318763..6ab4a715 100644
--- a/resources/views/search/index.blade.php
+++ b/resources/views/search/index.blade.php
@@ -18,8 +18,11 @@
             'thumb'         => $art->thumb_url ?? $art->thumb ?? null,
             'thumb_srcset'  => $art->thumb_srcset ?? null,
             'uname'         => $art->uname ?? '',
-            'username'      => $art->username ?? $art->uname ?? '',
+            'username'      => $art->username ?? '',
             'avatar_url'    => $art->avatar_url ?? null,
+            'profile_url'   => $art->profile_url ?? null,
+            'published_as_type' => $art->published_as_type ?? null,
+            'publisher'     => $art->publisher ?? null,
             'category_name' => $art->category_name ?? '',
             'category_slug' => $art->category_slug ?? '',
             'slug'          => $art->slug ?? '',
diff --git a/resources/views/web/discover/for-you.blade.php b/resources/views/web/discover/for-you.blade.php
index 294d6e43..34851d9d 100644
--- a/resources/views/web/discover/for-you.blade.php
+++ b/resources/views/web/discover/for-you.blade.php
@@ -77,6 +77,9 @@
         'uname'         => $art->uname ?? '',
         'username'      => $art->username ?? '',
         'avatar_url'    => $art->avatar_url ?? null,
+        'profile_url'   => $art->profile_url ?? null,
+        'published_as_type' => $art->published_as_type ?? null,
+        'publisher'     => $art->publisher ?? null,
         'published_at'  => $art->published_at ?? null,
         'content_type_name' => $art->content_type_name ?? '',
         'category_name' => $art->category_name ?? '',
diff --git a/resources/views/web/discover/index.blade.php b/resources/views/web/discover/index.blade.php
index 90a29de8..46762fe3 100644
--- a/resources/views/web/discover/index.blade.php
+++ b/resources/views/web/discover/index.blade.php
@@ -157,8 +157,11 @@
         'thumb'         => $art->thumb_url ?? $art->thumb ?? null,
         'thumb_srcset'  => $art->thumb_srcset ?? null,
         'uname'         => $art->uname ?? '',
-        'username'      => $art->uname ?? '',
+        'username'      => $art->username ?? '',
         'avatar_url'    => $art->avatar_url ?? null,
+        'profile_url'   => $art->profile_url ?? null,
+        'published_as_type' => $art->published_as_type ?? null,
+        'publisher'     => $art->publisher ?? null,
         'category_name' => $art->category_name ?? '',
         'category_slug' => $art->category_slug ?? '',
         'slug'          => $art->slug ?? '',
diff --git a/resources/views/web/explore/index.blade.php b/resources/views/web/explore/index.blade.php
index 51eae6b6..4a453f52 100644
--- a/resources/views/web/explore/index.blade.php
+++ b/resources/views/web/explore/index.blade.php
@@ -52,8 +52,11 @@
         'thumb'         => $art->thumb_url ?? $art->thumb ?? null,
         'thumb_srcset'  => $art->thumb_srcset ?? null,
         'uname'         => $art->uname ?? '',
-        'username'      => $art->username ?? $art->uname ?? '',
+        'username'      => $art->username ?? '',
         'avatar_url'    => $art->avatar_url ?? null,
+        'profile_url'   => $art->profile_url ?? null,
+        'published_as_type' => $art->published_as_type ?? null,
+        'publisher'     => $art->publisher ?? null,
         'category_name' => $art->category_name ?? '',
         'category_slug' => $art->category_slug ?? '',
         'slug'          => $art->slug ?? '',
diff --git a/resources/views/web/featured-artworks.blade.php b/resources/views/web/featured-artworks.blade.php
index 9c50c2f7..92d40378 100644
--- a/resources/views/web/featured-artworks.blade.php
+++ b/resources/views/web/featured-artworks.blade.php
@@ -21,8 +21,11 @@
         'thumb_url'     => $art->thumb_url ?? null,
         'thumb_srcset'  => $art->thumb_srcset ?? null,
         'uname'         => $art->uname ?? '',
-        'username'      => $art->username ?? $art->uname ?? '',
+        'username'      => $art->username ?? '',
         'avatar_url'    => $art->avatar_url ?? null,
+        'profile_url'   => $art->profile_url ?? null,
+        'published_as_type' => $art->published_as_type ?? null,
+        'publisher'     => $art->publisher ?? null,
         'category_name' => $art->category_name ?? '',
         'category_slug' => $art->category_slug ?? '',
         'width'         => $art->width ?? null,
diff --git a/routes/api.php b/routes/api.php
index 0a3f24c7..43cdd098 100644
--- a/routes/api.php
+++ b/routes/api.php
@@ -411,7 +411,7 @@ Route::middleware(['web', 'auth', 'normalize.username'])->prefix('uploads')->nam
         ->name('processing-status');
 
     Route::post('chunk', [\App\Http\Controllers\Api\UploadController::class, 'chunk'])
-        ->middleware(['throttle:uploads-init', 'forum.bot.protection:api_write'])
+        ->middleware(['throttle:uploads-chunk'])
         ->name('chunk');
 
     Route::post('finish', [\App\Http\Controllers\Api\UploadController::class, 'finish'])
diff --git a/routes/console.php b/routes/console.php
index 7c2164e3..3f8510c9 100644
--- a/routes/console.php
+++ b/routes/console.php
@@ -95,6 +95,32 @@ Schedule::command('posts:publish-scheduled')
     ->name('publish-scheduled-posts')
     ->withoutOverlapping();
 
+// ── Scheduled content publishing ──────────────────────────────────────────────
+// These must live in routes/console.php for Laravel 11's active scheduler.
+Schedule::command('artworks:publish-scheduled')
+    ->everyMinute()
+    ->name('publish-scheduled-artworks')
+    ->withoutOverlapping(2)
+    ->runInBackground();
+
+Schedule::command('news:publish-scheduled')
+    ->everyMinute()
+    ->name('publish-scheduled-news')
+    ->withoutOverlapping(2)
+    ->runInBackground();
+
+Schedule::command('nova-cards:publish-scheduled')
+    ->everyMinute()
+    ->name('publish-scheduled-nova-cards')
+    ->withoutOverlapping(2)
+    ->runInBackground();
+
+Schedule::command('collections:sync-lifecycle')
+    ->everyTenMinutes()
+    ->name('sync-collection-lifecycle')
+    ->withoutOverlapping()
+    ->runInBackground();
+
 // ── Feed 2.0: Trending Cache Warm-up ─────────────────────────────────────────
 // Warm the post trending cache every 2 minutes (complements the 2-min TTL).
 Schedule::command('posts:warm-trending')
@@ -111,6 +137,20 @@ Schedule::command('nova:recalculate-rankings --sync-rank-scores')
     ->withoutOverlapping()
     ->runInBackground();
 
+// ── Rising Engine (Heat / Momentum) ───────────────────────────────────────────
+// Snapshot current totals each hour, then recalculate heat every 15 minutes.
+Schedule::command('nova:metrics-snapshot-hourly')
+    ->hourly()
+    ->name('metrics-snapshot-hourly')
+    ->withoutOverlapping()
+    ->runInBackground();
+
+Schedule::command('nova:recalculate-heat')
+    ->everyFifteenMinutes()
+    ->name('recalculate-heat')
+    ->withoutOverlapping()
+    ->runInBackground();
+
 Schedule::command('forum:ai-scan')
     ->everyTenMinutes()
     ->name('forum-ai-scan')
diff --git a/routes/web.php b/routes/web.php
index 08902c7f..393239d7 100644
--- a/routes/web.php
+++ b/routes/web.php
@@ -774,6 +774,7 @@ Route::middleware(['auth', 'ensure.onboarding.complete'])->group(function () {
             'initial_group' => $initialGroupSlug !== '' ? $initialGroupSlug : null,
             'filesCdnUrl' => config('cdn.files_url'),
             'chunkSize' => (int) config('uploads.chunk.max_bytes', 5242880),
+            'chunkRequestTimeoutMs' => (int) config('uploads.chunk.request_timeout_ms', 45000),
             'feature_flags' => [
                 'uploads_v2' => (bool) config('features.uploads_v2', false),
             ],
@@ -829,6 +830,7 @@ Route::middleware(['auth', 'ensure.onboarding.complete'])->group(function () {
             'initial_group' => $initialGroupSlug !== '' ? $initialGroupSlug : null,
             'filesCdnUrl' => config('cdn.files_url'),
             'chunkSize' => (int) config('uploads.chunk.max_bytes', 5242880),
+            'chunkRequestTimeoutMs' => (int) config('uploads.chunk.request_timeout_ms', 45000),
             'feature_flags' => [
                 'uploads_v2' => (bool) config('features.uploads_v2', false),
             ],
diff --git a/scripts/deploy-production.sh b/scripts/deploy-production.sh
index fefbe159..28c16901 100644
--- a/scripts/deploy-production.sh
+++ b/scripts/deploy-production.sh
@@ -17,12 +17,15 @@ run_local_build=1
 run_remote_migrations=1
 run_db_sync=0
 run_meilisearch_setup=0
+auto_detect_meilisearch=1
 db_sync_source=""
 legacy_db_sync_mode=0
 force_db_sync=0
 skip_maintenance=0
 db_sync_confirm_target="${DB_SYNC_CONFIRM_TARGET:-}"
 db_sync_confirm_phrase="${DB_SYNC_CONFIRM_PHRASE:-}"
+meilisearch_models_csv=""
+readonly all_meilisearch_models_csv='App\Models\Artwork,App\Models\User,App\Models\Group,App\Models\Post,App\Models\Message'
 
 usage() {
   cat <<'EOF'
@@ -38,7 +41,8 @@ Options:
                         Must equal 'replace production db from local' when running non-interactively.
   --with-db             Legacy alias for --with-db-from=local.
   --force-db-sync       Legacy extra confirmation flag for --with-db.
-  --with-meilisearch    Sync index settings then reimport all searchable models.
+  --with-meilisearch    Force Meilisearch settings sync and reimport all searchable models.
+  --skip-meilisearch    Skip Meilisearch refresh, including auto-detected refreshes.
   --no-maintenance      Skip php artisan down/up during deploy.
   --help                Show this help.
 
@@ -120,6 +124,97 @@ run_frontend_build() {
   )
 }
 
+build_rsync_args() {
+  rsync_args=(
+    -rlvz
+    --no-perms
+    --no-times
+    --omit-dir-times
+    --delete
+    --delete-delay
+    --exclude ".phpintel/"
+    --exclude "bootstrap/cache/"
+    --exclude ".env"
+    --exclude "public/hot"
+    --exclude "node_modules"
+    --exclude "public/files/"
+    --exclude "resources/lang/"
+    --exclude "storage/"
+    --exclude ".git/"
+    --exclude ".cursor/"
+    --exclude ".venv/"
+    --exclude "/oldSite"
+    --exclude "/vendor"
+    -e "$ssh_bin"
+  )
+}
+
+collect_sync_changed_files() {
+  local itemized
+
+  if ! itemized="$($rsync_bin "${rsync_args[@]}" --dry-run --itemize-changes "$local_folder/" "$remote_server:$remote_folder/" 2>/dev/null)"; then
+    return 1
+  fi
+
+  printf '%s\n' "$itemized" | awk '
+    /^deleting / {
+      sub(/^deleting /, "", $0)
+      if ($0 !~ /\/$/) print
+      next
+    }
+    /^[<>ch.*][^ ]* / {
+      path = $0
+      sub(/^[^ ]+ /, "", path)
+      if (path !~ /\/$/) print path
+    }
+  ' | sed '/^$/d' | sort -u
+}
+
+detect_meilisearch_models_from_sync() {
+  local changed_files
+  local file
+  local force_full=0
+  local -a models=()
+
+  if ! changed_files="$(collect_sync_changed_files)"; then
+    return 1
+  fi
+
+  [[ -n "$changed_files" ]] || return 1
+
+  while IFS= read -r file; do
+    case "$file" in
+      config/scout.php|app/Console/Commands/ConfigureMeilisearchIndex.php)
+        force_full=1
+        ;;
+      app/Models/Artwork.php)
+        models+=("App\Models\Artwork")
+        ;;
+      app/Models/User.php)
+        models+=("App\Models\User")
+        ;;
+      app/Models/Group.php)
+        models+=("App\Models\Group")
+        ;;
+      app/Models/Post.php)
+        models+=("App\Models\Post")
+        ;;
+      app/Models/Message.php)
+        models+=("App\Models\Message")
+        ;;
+    esac
+  done <<< "$changed_files"
+
+  if [[ "$force_full" -eq 1 ]]; then
+    printf '%s\n' "$all_meilisearch_models_csv"
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  [[ ${#models[@]} -gt 0 ]] || return 1
+
+  printf '%s\n' "$(printf '%s\n' "${models[@]}" | awk '!seen[$0]++' | paste -sd, -)"
+}
+
 while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
   case "$1" in
     --skip-build)
@@ -161,6 +256,13 @@ while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
       ;;
     --with-meilisearch)
       run_meilisearch_setup=1
+      auto_detect_meilisearch=0
+      meilisearch_models_csv="$all_meilisearch_models_csv"
+      ;;
+    --skip-meilisearch)
+      run_meilisearch_setup=0
+      auto_detect_meilisearch=0
+      meilisearch_models_csv=""
       ;;
     --no-maintenance)
       skip_maintenance=1
@@ -202,27 +304,17 @@ if [[ "$run_local_build" -eq 1 ]]; then
   run_frontend_build
 fi
 
+build_rsync_args
+
+if [[ "$run_meilisearch_setup" -eq 0 && "$auto_detect_meilisearch" -eq 1 ]]; then
+  if meilisearch_models_csv="$(detect_meilisearch_models_from_sync)"; then
+    run_meilisearch_setup=1
+    echo "Detected Meilisearch-relevant changes in this deployment; will refresh indexes for: $meilisearch_models_csv"
+  fi
+fi
+
 echo "Syncing application files to $remote_server..."
-"$rsync_bin" -avz \
-  --delete \
-  --delete-delay \
-  --chmod=D755,F644 \
-  --exclude ".phpintel/" \
-  --exclude "bootstrap/cache/" \
-  --exclude ".env" \
-  --exclude "public/hot" \
-  --exclude "node_modules" \
-  --exclude "public/files/" \
-  --exclude "resources/lang/" \
-  --exclude "storage/" \
-  --exclude ".git/" \
-  --exclude ".cursor/" \
-  --exclude ".venv/" \
-  --exclude "/oldSite" \
-  --exclude "/vendor" \
-  -e ssh \
-  "$local_folder/" \
-  "$remote_server:$remote_folder/"
+"$rsync_bin" "${rsync_args[@]}" "$local_folder/" "$remote_server:$remote_folder/"
 
 if [[ "$run_db_sync" -eq 1 ]]; then
   echo "Replacing the production database from the local dump..."
@@ -241,11 +333,34 @@ echo "Running remote Composer and Artisan steps..."
   RUN_REMOTE_MIGRATIONS="$run_remote_migrations" \
   SKIP_MAINTENANCE="$skip_maintenance" \
   RUN_MEILISEARCH_SETUP="$run_meilisearch_setup" \
+  MEILISEARCH_MODELS_CSV="$(printf '%q' "$meilisearch_models_csv")" \
   'bash -s' <<'EOF'
 set -euo pipefail
 
 cd "$REMOTE_FOLDER"
 
+ensure_php_runtime_dir() {
+  local target_dir="$1"
+
+  if command -v sudo >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    if [[ ! -d "$target_dir" ]]; then
+      mkdir -p "$target_dir"
+    fi
+    chown -R skinbase:skinbase "$target_dir"
+    chmod 770 "$target_dir"
+    return
+  fi
+
+  if [[ ! -d "$target_dir" ]]; then
+    mkdir -p "$target_dir"
+  fi
+  chown -R skinbase:skinbase "$target_dir"
+  chmod 770 "$target_dir"
+}
+
+ensure_php_runtime_dir "$REMOTE_FOLDER/var/php-tmp"
+ensure_php_runtime_dir "$REMOTE_FOLDER/var/php-sessions"
+
 bring_app_up() {
   if [[ "$SKIP_MAINTENANCE" -eq 0 ]]; then
     "$PHP_BIN" artisan up >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
@@ -270,12 +385,18 @@ fi
 "$PHP_BIN" artisan queue:restart || true
 
 if [[ "$RUN_MEILISEARCH_SETUP" -eq 1 ]]; then
+  if [[ -z "${MEILISEARCH_MODELS_CSV:-}" ]]; then
+    MEILISEARCH_MODELS_CSV='App\Models\Artwork,App\Models\User,App\Models\Group,App\Models\Post,App\Models\Message'
+  fi
+
+  IFS=',' read -r -a meilisearch_models <<< "$MEILISEARCH_MODELS_CSV"
+
   echo "Importing searchable models into Meilisearch (auto-creates indexes)..."
-  "$PHP_BIN" artisan scout:import "App\\Models\\Artwork"
-  "$PHP_BIN" artisan scout:import "App\\Models\\User"
-  "$PHP_BIN" artisan scout:import "App\\Models\\Group"
-  "$PHP_BIN" artisan scout:import "App\\Models\\Post"
-  "$PHP_BIN" artisan scout:import "App\\Models\\Message"
+  for model in "${meilisearch_models[@]}"; do
+    [[ -n "$model" ]] || continue
+    echo "  -> $model"
+    "$PHP_BIN" artisan scout:import "$model"
+  done
   echo "Syncing Meilisearch index settings..."
   "$PHP_BIN" artisan scout:sync-index-settings
   echo "Meilisearch setup complete."
diff --git a/tests/Feature/DiscoverRisingFeedTest.php b/tests/Feature/DiscoverRisingFeedTest.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4f4819a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/Feature/DiscoverRisingFeedTest.php
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+<?php
+
+use App\Models\Artwork;
+use App\Models\ArtworkMetricSnapshotHourly;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Cache;
+
+beforeEach(function (): void {
+    Cache::flush();
+});
+
+it('GET /rss/discover/rising returns 200', function (): void {
+    $this->get('/rss/discover/rising')
+        ->assertOk();
+});
+
+it('uses the low-signal fallback ordering in the RSS rising feed', function (): void {
+    $olderActiveArtwork = Artwork::withoutEvents(fn () => Artwork::factory()->create([
+        'title' => 'RSS Older Active Artwork',
+        'is_public' => true,
+        'is_approved' => true,
+        'published_at' => now()->subDays(3),
+        'created_at' => now()->subDays(3),
+    ]));
+
+    $newerQuietArtwork = Artwork::withoutEvents(fn () => Artwork::factory()->create([
+        'title' => 'RSS Newer Quiet Artwork',
+        'is_public' => true,
+        'is_approved' => true,
+        'published_at' => now()->subHour(),
+        'created_at' => now()->subHour(),
+    ]));
+
+    $previousHour = now()->startOfHour()->subHour();
+    $currentHour = now()->startOfHour();
+
+    ArtworkMetricSnapshotHourly::create([
+        'artwork_id' => $olderActiveArtwork->id,
+        'bucket_hour' => $previousHour,
+        'views_count' => 10,
+        'downloads_count' => 0,
+        'favourites_count' => 0,
+        'comments_count' => 0,
+        'shares_count' => 0,
+    ]);
+
+    ArtworkMetricSnapshotHourly::create([
+        'artwork_id' => $olderActiveArtwork->id,
+        'bucket_hour' => $currentHour,
+        'views_count' => 45,
+        'downloads_count' => 2,
+        'favourites_count' => 1,
+        'comments_count' => 0,
+        'shares_count' => 0,
+    ]);
+
+    $response = $this->get('/rss/discover/rising');
+
+    $response->assertOk();
+    $response->assertSeeInOrder([
+        'RSS Older Active Artwork',
+        'RSS Newer Quiet Artwork',
+    ], false);
+
+    expect($newerQuietArtwork->id)->not->toBe($olderActiveArtwork->id);
+});
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/Feature/DiscoverRisingTest.php b/tests/Feature/DiscoverRisingTest.php
index 0432c13c..6718f52c 100644
--- a/tests/Feature/DiscoverRisingTest.php
+++ b/tests/Feature/DiscoverRisingTest.php
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 <?php
 
+use App\Models\Artwork;
 use App\Services\ArtworkService;
 use Illuminate\Pagination\LengthAwarePaginator;
 
@@ -40,3 +41,25 @@ it('home page still renders with rising section data', function () {
     $this->get('/')
         ->assertStatus(200);
 });
+
+it('uses the low-signal fallback ordering when rising search results have no momentum', function () {
+    $olderArtwork = Artwork::withoutEvents(fn () => Artwork::factory()->create([
+        'title' => 'Older Fallback Artwork',
+        'is_public' => true,
+        'is_approved' => true,
+        'published_at' => now()->subDays(4),
+        'created_at' => now()->subDays(4),
+    ]));
+
+    $newerArtwork = Artwork::withoutEvents(fn () => Artwork::factory()->create([
+        'title' => 'Newer Fallback Artwork',
+        'is_public' => true,
+        'is_approved' => true,
+        'published_at' => now()->subHour(),
+        'created_at' => now()->subHour(),
+    ]));
+
+    $this->get('/discover/rising')
+        ->assertStatus(200)
+        ->assertSeeInOrder(['Newer Fallback Artwork', 'Older Fallback Artwork'], false);
+});
diff --git a/tests/Feature/RisingEngineTest.php b/tests/Feature/RisingEngineTest.php
index 2dfb9a27..dcac0dd3 100644
--- a/tests/Feature/RisingEngineTest.php
+++ b/tests/Feature/RisingEngineTest.php
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@
 use App\Models\Artwork;
 use App\Models\ArtworkStats;
 use App\Models\ArtworkMetricSnapshotHourly;
-use Illuminate\Foundation\Testing\RefreshDatabase;
 
 /**
  * Helper: create an artwork row without triggering observers (avoids GREATEST() SQLite issue).
@@ -137,6 +136,92 @@ it('computes heat_score from snapshot deltas', function () {
     expect((int) $stat->shares_1h)->toBe(1);        // 1 - 0
 });
 
+it('smooths heat_score over a wider lookback window while keeping 1h counters exact', function () {
+    $artwork = createArtworkWithoutObserver([
+        'is_approved' => true,
+        'is_public'   => true,
+        'published_at' => now()->subHours(10),
+    ]);
+
+    ArtworkStats::upsert([
+        ['artwork_id' => $artwork->id, 'views' => 0, 'downloads' => 0, 'favorites' => 0],
+    ], ['artwork_id']);
+
+    $sixHoursAgo = now()->startOfHour()->subHours(6);
+    $prevHour    = now()->startOfHour()->subHour();
+    $currentHour = now()->startOfHour();
+
+    ArtworkMetricSnapshotHourly::create([
+        'artwork_id'       => $artwork->id,
+        'bucket_hour'      => $sixHoursAgo,
+        'views_count'      => 10,
+        'downloads_count'  => 0,
+        'favourites_count' => 0,
+        'comments_count'   => 0,
+        'shares_count'     => 0,
+    ]);
+
+    ArtworkMetricSnapshotHourly::create([
+        'artwork_id'       => $artwork->id,
+        'bucket_hour'      => $prevHour,
+        'views_count'      => 30,
+        'downloads_count'  => 1,
+        'favourites_count' => 0,
+        'comments_count'   => 0,
+        'shares_count'     => 0,
+    ]);
+
+    ArtworkMetricSnapshotHourly::create([
+        'artwork_id'       => $artwork->id,
+        'bucket_hour'      => $currentHour,
+        'views_count'      => 30,
+        'downloads_count'  => 1,
+        'favourites_count' => 0,
+        'comments_count'   => 0,
+        'shares_count'     => 0,
+    ]);
+
+    $this->artisan('nova:recalculate-heat --lookback-hours=6')
+        ->assertSuccessful();
+
+    $stat = ArtworkStats::where('artwork_id', $artwork->id)->first();
+
+    expect((float) $stat->heat_score)->toBeGreaterThan(0);
+    expect((int) $stat->views_1h)->toBe(0);
+    expect((int) $stat->downloads_1h)->toBe(0);
+});
+
+it('does not assign heat from a single snapshot without a baseline', function () {
+    $artwork = createArtworkWithoutObserver([
+        'is_approved' => true,
+        'is_public'   => true,
+        'published_at' => now()->subHours(5),
+    ]);
+
+    ArtworkStats::upsert([
+        ['artwork_id' => $artwork->id, 'views' => 0, 'downloads' => 0, 'favorites' => 0],
+    ], ['artwork_id']);
+
+    ArtworkMetricSnapshotHourly::create([
+        'artwork_id'       => $artwork->id,
+        'bucket_hour'      => now()->startOfHour(),
+        'views_count'      => 300,
+        'downloads_count'  => 25,
+        'favourites_count' => 4,
+        'comments_count'   => 1,
+        'shares_count'     => 0,
+    ]);
+
+    $this->artisan('nova:recalculate-heat --lookback-hours=24')
+        ->assertSuccessful();
+
+    $stat = ArtworkStats::where('artwork_id', $artwork->id)->first();
+
+    expect((float) $stat->heat_score)->toBe(0.0);
+    expect((int) $stat->views_1h)->toBe(300);
+    expect((int) $stat->downloads_1h)->toBe(25);
+});
+
 it('handles negative deltas gracefully by clamping to zero', function () {
     $artwork = createArtworkWithoutObserver([
         'is_approved' => true,