Phials documentation
Developer docs

File & Metadata Caches

To keep browsing fast, Phials saves two kinds of work to disk so it doesn’t have to redo it every time you open a folder:

  • Thumbnails: the small preview images shown in grid and gallery views.
  • File metadata: the details Phials reads from your files (dimensions, duration, and so on).

Both live under Settings → Files → Media, and both can be cleared safely. Clearing only removes Phials’ saved copies, never your actual files.

Thumbnails

Phials can generate small preview images and keep them in a cache so the same folders load quickly the next time.

  • Enable Cache (on by default): store generated thumbnails on disk.
    • On: grid views show optimized thumbnails. Folders can show a composite preview of their contents, and videos show a frame.
    • Off: images load from the original file (slower for large photos), folders show plain icons, and videos show a generic video icon.
  • Size: the edge length of generated thumbnails, from 64 to 512 pixels (default 256). Larger looks sharper in big tiles; smaller saves space.
  • Quality: how much generated JPEG thumbnails are compressed, from 40% to 95% (default 80%). Higher looks cleaner; lower saves space.
  • Clear Cache: delete all stored thumbnails. They are regenerated as you browse.

When to clear the thumbnail cache

  • Thumbnails look wrong after you edited or replaced files outside Phials.
  • You want to reclaim disk space.
  • You changed Size or Quality and want everything regenerated consistently.

File metadata

When Phials reads details from a file, it remembers them so it doesn’t have to read the file again. Clear metadata cache (in the same Media settings) discards those saved details; Phials reads them fresh the next time you view the file. This helps if metadata looks stale after a file changed outside Phials.

Media tooling

Video thumbnails and some file details rely on media tooling that ships with Phials, so they work out of the box. The Media settings page shows its status. See Video and Default Behaviors for playback options.