Using the Extension

The Camera Workflow extension guides you through a complete backup preparation workflow in a single Raycast command.

Launch the Extension

Press ⌘ Space and search for:

Prepare Library for Backup

Press Enter to open the conversion form.

Workflow Steps

The extension follows a six-step process:

1. Dependency Check

The form displays the dependency status at the top:

✅ Dependencies ready (embedded media-converter)

If dependencies are missing, install them before proceeding:

brew install ffmpeg imagemagick

2. Source Selection

Choose your media source using one of two methods:

File Picker (Recommended)
Suggested Volumes

Click Source Folder and browse to your SD card or media folder.The extension will automatically analyze the source and display:

Source: 45.2 GB • 1,234 images • 89 videos

3. Destination Setup

Choose where the prepared library will be saved:

Auto-create (Recommended)
Manual Selection

Enable Auto-create destination (default).The extension creates a timestamped folder on your Desktop:

~/Desktop/prepared-library-20260303-1430

You can customize the folder name in the Destination Folder Name field.The form shows a preview:

Destination path: /Users/yourname/Desktop/prepared-library-20260303-1430

4. Preset Selection

Choose a conversion preset or customize settings:

Google Photos (Recommended)
High Quality
Max Compression
Custom

Optimized for Google Photos free tier:

Photo format: AVIF at quality 78
Video codec: H.265 at CRF 28
Benefits: Excellent compression with minimal quality loss

5. Conversion Settings

Dry Run

Enable Dry Run to preview changes without converting files.The converter will:

Analyze all source files
Simulate the conversion process
Show what would be converted
Calculate estimated space savings

Always run a dry-run first to verify your settings.

Parallel Jobs

Set the number of concurrent conversions.Recommended values:

2-4 jobs: Safe for most Macs
6-8 jobs: High-end machines with ample RAM
1 job: Low-memory systems or during heavy multitasking

Higher values increase CPU/RAM usage. Monitor system performance during conversion.

6. Run and Monitor

Click Prepare Library for Backup to start the conversion.

Conversion Progress View

The extension switches to a live progress view showing:

Real-time Output

The conversion log displays in real-time:

[2026-03-03 14:30:15] Starting conversion...
[2026-03-03 14:30:16] Source: /Volumes/EOS_DIGITAL
[2026-03-03 14:30:16] Destination: /Users/you/Desktop/prepared-library-20260303-1430
[2026-03-03 14:30:17] Scanning source directory...
[2026-03-03 14:30:20] Found 1,234 images and 89 videos
[2026-03-03 14:30:21] Running safety test...
[2026-03-03 14:30:25] Converting images...
[2026-03-03 14:30:26] [1/1234] IMG_0001.jpg → 2026/03-March/2026-03-15/images/IMG_0001.avif
...

Status Indicator

The status updates automatically:

🟡 In Progress: Conversion is running
🟢 Completed: All files processed successfully
🔴 Failed: Error occurred during conversion

Backup Report

When complete, the extension displays key metrics:

- Files processed: 1,323 files
- Files skipped: 12 files (already converted)
- Files verified: 1,311 files
- Total time: 45m 32s
- Original size: 45.2 GB
- Compressed size: 12.8 GB
- Space saved: 32.4 GB (71.7%)
- Converted files in: /Users/you/Desktop/prepared-library-20260303-1430
- Detailed logs: /Users/you/Desktop/prepared-library-20260303-1430/conversion.log

Quick Actions

After conversion, use the action panel to:

Open Log File

View the detailed conversion log with timestamps, errors, and file-by-file results.

Open Prepared Library

Browse the organized output directory with converted files.

Output Structure

The prepared library is organized by date:

prepared-library-20260303-1430/
├── conversion.log
├── 2024/
│   ├── 12-December/
│   │   ├── 2024-12-25/
│   │   │   ├── images/
│   │   │   │   ├── IMG_0001.avif
│   │   │   │   └── IMG_0002.avif
│   │   │   └── videos/
│   │   │       └── VID_0001.mp4
├── 2025/
│   ├── 01-January/
│   │   ├── 2025-01-01/
│   │   │   ├── images/
│   │   │   └── videos/

Date Extraction Logic

Files are organized by their creation date, not filesystem modification time. The converter extracts dates using:

macOS metadata (mdls) - most reliable for RAW files
EXIF data (EXIF:DateTimeOriginal) - standard for photos
Video metadata (creation_time) - from video containers
File modification time - fallback only

This ensures photos are organized by when they were taken, not when they were copied to your computer.

Safety Features

The extension includes multiple safety mechanisms:

Pre-conversion Checks

Disk space verification: Ensures sufficient space for output
Dependency validation: Confirms all required tools are available
Path validation: Verifies source and destination exist and are accessible
Safety test: Converts a sample file before batch processing

During Conversion

Original preservation: Source files are never modified (unless explicitly deleted)
Atomic operations: Files are converted to .tmp then renamed atomically
Processing markers: Track active conversions with PID/timestamp
Integrity verification: Validates output files after conversion

Recovery and Resumption

Idempotent operations: Re-running the same command safely skips completed files
Abandoned file cleanup: Detects and removes .tmp files from crashed processes
Corruption detection: Re-converts files that fail integrity checks

Always run a dry-run first to verify your settings and see what will be converted.

Common Workflows

Quick SD Card Backup

Goal: Quickly prepare an SD card for cloud backup

Insert SD card and launch extension

The card should appear in Suggested Source automatically.

Use defaults

Preset: Google Photos
Destination: Auto-create on Desktop
Dry Run: Enabled (first time)

Review dry-run results

Check the report to see space savings and file counts.

Run actual conversion

Disable Dry Run and run again.

Upload to cloud

Open the prepared library folder and upload to Google Photos, iCloud, etc.

Archive with Maximum Quality

Goal: Create an archive with minimal quality loss

Select source and destination

Choose your media folder and output location.

Use High Quality preset

Preset: High Quality
This uses AVIF 90 and H.265 CRF 23

Adjust parallel jobs

Increase to 4-8 for faster processing on powerful machines.

Run conversion

Monitor progress and review final report.

Custom Settings for Special Cases

Goal: Fine-tune conversion for specific requirements

Select Custom preset

This unlocks all advanced settings.

Configure photo settings

Format: AVIF or WebP
Quality: Adjust based on your needs (70-95 recommended)

Configure video settings

Codec: H.265 (best compatibility), AV1 (best compression, slower)
CRF: 23-28 for good balance, lower for higher quality

Test with dry-run

Always preview custom settings before converting.

Next Steps

Extension Overview

Learn about the architecture and design

CLI Interface

Use the command-line tool directly

Getting Started

CLI Reference

Core Features

Raycast Extension

Advanced

Development

Launch the Extension

Workflow Steps

1. Dependency Check

2. Source Selection

3. Destination Setup

4. Preset Selection

5. Conversion Settings

6. Run and Monitor

Conversion Progress View

Real-time Output

Status Indicator

Backup Report

Quick Actions

Open Log File

Open Prepared Library

Output Structure

Date Extraction Logic

Safety Features

Pre-conversion Checks

During Conversion

Recovery and Resumption

Common Workflows

Next Steps

Extension Overview

CLI Interface

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Getting Started

CLI Reference

Core Features

Raycast Extension

Advanced

Development

​Launch the Extension

​Workflow Steps

​1. Dependency Check

​2. Source Selection

​3. Destination Setup

​4. Preset Selection

​5. Conversion Settings

​6. Run and Monitor

​Conversion Progress View

​Real-time Output

​Status Indicator

​Backup Report

​Quick Actions

Open Log File

Open Prepared Library

​Output Structure

​Date Extraction Logic

​Safety Features

​Pre-conversion Checks

​During Conversion

​Recovery and Resumption

​Common Workflows

​Next Steps

Extension Overview

CLI Interface

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Launch the Extension

Workflow Steps

1. Dependency Check

2. Source Selection

3. Destination Setup

4. Preset Selection

5. Conversion Settings

6. Run and Monitor

Conversion Progress View

Real-time Output

Status Indicator

Backup Report

Quick Actions

Output Structure

Date Extraction Logic

Safety Features

Pre-conversion Checks

During Conversion

Recovery and Resumption

Common Workflows

Next Steps