diff --git a/test/library/read.test.ts b/test/library/read.test.ts
new file mode 100644
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/library/read.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,536 @@
+/**
+ * Tests for the in-process read surface (issue #44).
+ *
+ * Phase 1 (#43) projected the decrypted store into plain `AlbumRecord` /
+ * `PhotoRecord` values. This phase adds the read API a CLI or in-process script
+ * uses, all served from RAM with no network:
+ *
+ *  - `lib.albums`  — `list` / `byName` / `byID`, returning thin `Album` wrappers.
+ *  - `lib.photos`  — `byID` (a `Photo` wrapper) and `records` (plain records).
+ *  - `lib.timeline.groups` — photos bucketed by local day / week / month.
+ *
+ * Every call takes a single named-argument object; there are no positional
+ * arguments. The wrapper classes are for in-process callers only (they hold
+ * object identity, not JSON); the plain records remain the IPC-safe surface.
+ * Content-fetch methods (`Photo.original` / `thumbnail`) are a later unit and
+ * deliberately absent here — this surface is read-only.
+ *
+ * The detailed cases drive the API factories directly over a hand-built
+ * projection (`deriveRecords`), which keeps them free of disk and timers. A
+ * final section opens a real `Library` to prove the namespaces are wired to the
+ * live store and that a read never touches the client.
+ */
+
+import { describe, it, expect, beforeAll, afterAll } from "vitest";
+import { mkdtempSync, rmSync } from "node:fs";
+import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+
+import {
+    deriveRecords,
+    type DerivedRecords,
+} from "../../src/library/records.js";
+import {
+    Album,
+    Photo,
+    makeAlbumsAPI,
+    makePhotosAPI,
+    makeTimelineAPI,
+    type TimelineGroup,
+} from "../../src/library/read.js";
+import { Library } from "../../src/library/index.js";
+import { MetadataStore } from "../../src/library/store.js";
+import type { CollectionsPage, FilesPage } from "../../src/client.js";
+import type { Collection, EnteFile } from "../../src/model/types.js";
+
+const OWNER = 42;
+
+// Ente stores times in microseconds; records expose milliseconds. These
+// helpers keep the fixtures readable: `ms(...)` picks an epoch-millisecond
+// instant, `micros(...)` is what the fixture stores so the derived record's
+// `takenAt` comes back as the same millisecond value.
+const ms = (epochMillis: number): number => epochMillis;
+const micros = (epochMillis: number): number => epochMillis * 1000;
+
+const collection = (
+    id: number,
+    opts: Partial<Collection> = {},
+): Collection => ({
+    id,
+    ownerID: OWNER,
+    key: new Uint8Array([id & 0xff, 1, 2, 3]),
+    name: `album-${id}`,
+    type: "album",
+    updationTime: micros(1_700_000_000_000),
+    isShared: false,
+    ...opts,
+});
+
+const file = (
+    id: number,
+    collectionID: number,
+    opts: Partial<EnteFile> & {
+        creationTime?: number;
+        title?: string;
+        fileType?: EnteFile["metadata"]["fileType"];
+        latitude?: number;
+        longitude?: number;
+    } = {},
+): EnteFile => {
+    const { creationTime, title, fileType, latitude, longitude, ...rest } =
+        opts;
+    const metadata: EnteFile["metadata"] = {
+        title: title ?? `file-${id}.jpg`,
+        fileType: fileType ?? "image",
+        creationTime: creationTime ?? micros(1_700_000_000_000),
+        modificationTime: micros(1_700_000_000_000),
+    };
+    if (latitude !== undefined) metadata.latitude = latitude;
+    if (longitude !== undefined) metadata.longitude = longitude;
+    return {
+        id,
+        collectionID,
+        ownerID: OWNER,
+        key: new Uint8Array([id & 0xff, 9, 8, 7]),
+        metadata,
+        file: { decryptionHeader: "aGVhZGVy" },
+        thumbnail: { decryptionHeader: "dGh1bWI=" },
+        updationTime: micros(1_700_000_000_000),
+        ...rest,
+    };
+};
+
+// Build the three API objects over one fixed projection, the way `Library`
+// wires them over its live store.
+const apis = (records: DerivedRecords) => {
+    const derive = () => records;
+    return {
+        albums: makeAlbumsAPI(derive),
+        photos: makePhotosAPI(derive),
+        timeline: makeTimelineAPI(derive),
+    };
+};
+
+// Every file id present across all timeline groups, in group-then-member order.
+const allFileIDs = (groups: TimelineGroup[]): number[] =>
+    groups.flatMap((g) => g.fileIDs);
+
+describe("lib.albums", () => {
+    it("lists albums as Album wrappers, newest updated first", () => {
+        const records = deriveRecords(
+            [
+                collection(1, { updationTime: micros(1_700_000_000_000) }),
+                collection(2, { updationTime: micros(1_705_000_000_000) }),
+            ],
+            [file(10, 1), file(20, 2)],
+        );
+        const albums = apis(records).albums.list();
+        expect(albums.every((a) => a instanceof Album)).toBe(true);
+        // Collection 2 updated later, so it sorts ahead of collection 1.
+        expect(albums.map((a) => a.collectionID)).toEqual([2, 1]);
+    });
+
+    it("exposes album fields and its photos newest first", () => {
+        const records = deriveRecords(
+            [
+                collection(7, {
+                    name: "Trip",
+                    type: "favorites",
+                    isShared: true,
+                }),
+            ],
+            [
+                file(1, 7, { creationTime: micros(1_600_000_000_000) }),
+                file(2, 7, { creationTime: micros(1_800_000_000_000) }),
+                file(3, 7, { creationTime: micros(1_700_000_000_000) }),
+            ],
+        );
+        const album = apis(records).albums.byID({ collectionID: 7 })!;
+        expect(album.name).toBe("Trip");
+        expect(album.type).toBe("favorites");
+        expect(album.isShared).toBe(true);
+        expect(album.fileIDs).toEqual([2, 3, 1]);
+
+        const photos = album.photos.list();
+        expect(photos.every((p) => p instanceof Photo)).toBe(true);
+        expect(photos.map((p) => p.fileID)).toEqual([2, 3, 1]);
+
+        // record() hands back the plain, JSON-safe projection.
+        expect("key" in album.record()).toBe(false);
+    });
+
+    it("finds an album by exact name and returns undefined when absent", () => {
+        const records = deriveRecords(
+            [
+                collection(1, { name: "Berlin" }),
+                collection(2, { name: "Paris" }),
+            ],
+            [file(10, 1), file(20, 2)],
+        );
+        const { albums } = apis(records);
+        expect(albums.byName({ albumName: "Paris" })?.collectionID).toBe(2);
+        expect(albums.byName({ albumName: "paris" })).toBeUndefined();
+        expect(albums.byName({ albumName: "Nowhere" })).toBeUndefined();
+    });
+
+    it("returns undefined for an unknown collection id", () => {
+        const records = deriveRecords([collection(1)], [file(10, 1)]);
+        expect(
+            apis(records).albums.byID({ collectionID: 999 }),
+        ).toBeUndefined();
+    });
+});
+
+describe("lib.photos", () => {
+    it("byID returns a Photo wrapper carrying the mapped fields", () => {
+        const records = deriveRecords(
+            [collection(1)],
+            [
+                file(1001, 1, {
+                    title: "IMG.jpg",
+                    fileType: "video",
+                    creationTime: micros(1_699_000_000_000),
+                    latitude: 52.52,
+                    longitude: 13.405,
+                    pubMagicMetadata: { caption: "at the lake" },
+                }),
+            ],
+        );
+        const photo = apis(records).photos.byID({ fileID: 1001 })!;
+        expect(photo).toBeInstanceOf(Photo);
+        expect(photo.title).toBe("IMG.jpg");
+        expect(photo.fileType).toBe("video");
+        expect(photo.takenAt).toBe(ms(1_699_000_000_000));
+        expect(photo.caption).toBe("at the lake");
+        expect(photo.latitude).toBeCloseTo(52.52);
+        expect(photo.isArchived).toBe(false);
+        expect(photo.isHidden).toBe(false);
+        // The wrapper hands back the plain record, IPC-safe.
+        expect("key" in photo.record()).toBe(false);
+    });
+
+    it("byID returns undefined for an unknown file id", () => {
+        const records = deriveRecords([collection(1)], [file(1, 1)]);
+        expect(apis(records).photos.byID({ fileID: 999 })).toBeUndefined();
+    });
+
+    it("records() returns plain records in requested order, deduped, skipping unknowns", () => {
+        const records = deriveRecords(
+            [collection(1)],
+            [file(1, 1), file(2, 1), file(3, 1)],
+        );
+        const out = apis(records).photos.records({
+            fileIDs: [3, 1, 3, 999, 2],
+        });
+        // Requested order preserved; the repeated 3 appears once; 999 is dropped.
+        expect(out.map((r) => r.fileID)).toEqual([3, 1, 2]);
+        // Plain records, not wrappers, and JSON round-trips whole.
+        expect(out[0]).not.toBeInstanceOf(Photo);
+        expect(JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(out[0]))).toEqual(out[0]);
+    });
+
+    it("emits one record for a file even when it belongs to several albums", () => {
+        // File 1001 is a member of collections 1 and 2.
+        const records = deriveRecords(
+            [collection(1), collection(2)],
+            [file(1001, 1), file(1001, 2)],
+        );
+        const out = apis(records).photos.records({ fileIDs: [1001, 1001] });
+        expect(out).toHaveLength(1);
+        expect(out[0]!.albumIDs).toEqual([1, 2]);
+    });
+});
+
+describe("lib.timeline grouping", () => {
+    // Group keys and `startsAt` are computed in local time. Pinning the zone to
+    // UTC makes the expected values exact and lets the fixtures use `Date.UTC`.
+    const savedTZ = process.env.TZ;
+    beforeAll(() => {
+        process.env.TZ = "UTC";
+    });
+    afterAll(() => {
+        if (savedTZ === undefined) delete process.env.TZ;
+        else process.env.TZ = savedTZ;
+    });
+
+    it("buckets by local day, newest group and newest member first", () => {
+        const records = deriveRecords(
+            [collection(1)],
+            [
+                file(1, 1, { creationTime: micros(Date.UTC(2024, 0, 15, 9)) }),
+                file(2, 1, { creationTime: micros(Date.UTC(2024, 0, 15, 18)) }),
+                file(3, 1, { creationTime: micros(Date.UTC(2024, 0, 16, 12)) }),
+                file(4, 1, { creationTime: micros(Date.UTC(2024, 1, 1, 12)) }),
+            ],
+        );
+        const groups = apis(records).timeline.groups({ groupBy: "day" });
+        expect(groups.map((g) => g.key)).toEqual([
+            "2024-02-01",
+            "2024-01-16",
+            "2024-01-15",
+        ]);
+        // Group start is local midnight of the day.
+        expect(groups[2]!.startsAt).toBe(Date.UTC(2024, 0, 15));
+        // Within the 2024-01-15 group, the later photo (id 2) is first.
+        expect(groups[2]!.fileIDs).toEqual([2, 1]);
+    });
+
+    it("buckets by week with weeks starting on Monday", () => {
+        // 2024-01-15 is a Monday; the week runs through Sunday 2024-01-21.
+        const records = deriveRecords(
+            [collection(1)],
+            [
+                file(1, 1, { creationTime: micros(Date.UTC(2024, 0, 15, 12)) }), // Mon
+                file(2, 1, { creationTime: micros(Date.UTC(2024, 0, 17, 12)) }), // Wed
+                file(3, 1, { creationTime: micros(Date.UTC(2024, 0, 21, 12)) }), // Sun
+                file(4, 1, { creationTime: micros(Date.UTC(2024, 0, 22, 12)) }), // next Mon
+            ],
+        );
+        const groups = apis(records).timeline.groups({ groupBy: "week" });
+        expect(groups.map((g) => g.key)).toEqual(["2024-01-22", "2024-01-15"]);
+        const first = groups.find((g) => g.key === "2024-01-15")!;
+        expect(first.startsAt).toBe(Date.UTC(2024, 0, 15));
+        // The Sunday belongs to the Monday-started week, not the next one.
+        expect(first.fileIDs.sort((a, b) => a - b)).toEqual([1, 2, 3]);
+    });
+
+    it("assigns a Sunday to the preceding Monday's week across a month boundary", () => {
+        // 2024-01-14 is a Sunday; its week started Monday 2024-01-08.
+        const records = deriveRecords(
+            [collection(1)],
+            [file(1, 1, { creationTime: micros(Date.UTC(2024, 0, 14, 12)) })],
+        );
+        const groups = apis(records).timeline.groups({ groupBy: "week" });
+        expect(groups.map((g) => g.key)).toEqual(["2024-01-08"]);
+        expect(groups[0]!.startsAt).toBe(Date.UTC(2024, 0, 8));
+    });
+
+    it("buckets by month", () => {
+        const records = deriveRecords(
+            [collection(1)],
+            [
+                file(1, 1, { creationTime: micros(Date.UTC(2024, 0, 3, 12)) }),
+                file(2, 1, { creationTime: micros(Date.UTC(2024, 0, 28, 12)) }),
+                file(3, 1, { creationTime: micros(Date.UTC(2024, 1, 9, 12)) }),
+            ],
+        );
+        const groups = apis(records).timeline.groups({ groupBy: "month" });
+        expect(groups.map((g) => g.key)).toEqual(["2024-02", "2024-01"]);
+        expect(groups[1]!.startsAt).toBe(Date.UTC(2024, 0, 1));
+        expect(groups[1]!.fileIDs).toEqual([2, 1]);
+    });
+
+    it("lists each file once even when it belongs to several albums", () => {
+        // File 1001 is in collections 1 and 2 but must appear once in a group.
+        const records = deriveRecords(
+            [collection(1), collection(2)],
+            [
+                file(1001, 1, {
+                    creationTime: micros(Date.UTC(2024, 0, 15, 12)),
+                }),
+                file(1001, 2, {
+                    creationTime: micros(Date.UTC(2024, 0, 15, 12)),
+                }),
+            ],
+        );
+        const groups = apis(records).timeline.groups({ groupBy: "day" });
+        expect(allFileIDs(groups)).toEqual([1001]);
+    });
+});
+
+describe("lib.timeline uses local time, not UTC", () => {
+    const savedTZ = process.env.TZ;
+    afterAll(() => {
+        if (savedTZ === undefined) delete process.env.TZ;
+        else process.env.TZ = savedTZ;
+    });
+
+    it("buckets by the viewer's local day", () => {
+        // Kolkata is UTC+5:30 with no DST. An instant at 2024-01-14T20:00Z is
+        // 2024-01-15 01:30 local, so it belongs to the local day 2024-01-15.
+        process.env.TZ = "Asia/Kolkata";
+        const records = deriveRecords(
+            [collection(1)],
+            [file(1, 1, { creationTime: micros(Date.UTC(2024, 0, 14, 20)) })],
+        );
+        const groups = apis(records).timeline.groups({ groupBy: "day" });
+        expect(groups[0]!.key).toBe("2024-01-15");
+        // Local midnight of 2024-01-15, which is 2024-01-14T18:30Z.
+        expect(groups[0]!.startsAt).toBe(new Date(2024, 0, 15).getTime());
+        expect(groups[0]!.startsAt).toBe(Date.UTC(2024, 0, 14, 18, 30));
+    });
+});
+
+describe("PhotoFilter", () => {
+    // A fixture spanning albums, file types, geotags, captions, and the two
+    // visibility states, all on the same local day so grouping is incidental.
+    const day = (h: number): number => micros(Date.UTC(2024, 2, 4, h));
+    const records = (): DerivedRecords =>
+        deriveRecords(
+            [
+                collection(1, { name: "Holidays" }),
+                collection(2, { name: "Work" }),
+            ],
+            [
+                file(1, 1, {
+                    title: "Beach sunset",
+                    creationTime: day(1),
+                    latitude: 1,
+                    longitude: 2,
+                }),
+                file(2, 1, {
+                    title: "clip.mov",
+                    fileType: "video",
+                    creationTime: day(2),
+                }),
+                file(3, 2, {
+                    title: "invoice scan",
+                    creationTime: day(3),
+                    pubMagicMetadata: { caption: "SUNSET colours" },
+                }),
+                file(4, 2, {
+                    title: "archived note",
+                    creationTime: day(4),
+                    magicMetadata: { visibility: 1 },
+                }),
+                file(5, 2, {
+                    title: "secret",
+                    creationTime: day(5),
+                    magicMetadata: { visibility: 2 },
+                }),
+            ],
+        );
+
+    const idsWith = (
+        filter: Parameters<
+            ReturnType<typeof apis>["timeline"]["groups"]
+        >[0]["filter"],
+    ): number[] =>
+        allFileIDs(
+            apis(records()).timeline.groups({ groupBy: "day", filter }),
+        ).sort((a, b) => a - b);
+
+    it("never includes hidden photos and excludes archived by default", () => {
+        // No filter: hidden (5) always gone, archived (4) gone unless asked for.
+        expect(idsWith(undefined)).toEqual([1, 2, 3]);
+    });
+
+    it("includes archived photos when includeArchived is set, hidden still never", () => {
+        expect(idsWith({ includeArchived: true })).toEqual([1, 2, 3, 4]);
+    });
+
+    it("filters by album membership", () => {
+        expect(idsWith({ albumID: 1 })).toEqual([1, 2]);
+        expect(idsWith({ albumID: 2 })).toEqual([3]);
+    });
+
+    it("filters by file type", () => {
+        expect(idsWith({ fileTypes: ["video"] })).toEqual([2]);
+        expect(idsWith({ fileTypes: ["image", "video"] })).toEqual([1, 2, 3]);
+    });
+
+    it("filters by presence or absence of location", () => {
+        expect(idsWith({ hasLocation: true })).toEqual([1]);
+        expect(idsWith({ hasLocation: false })).toEqual([2, 3]);
+    });
+
+    it("matches text case-insensitively against title, caption, and album name", () => {
+        // Title match (case-insensitive): "Beach sunset".
+        expect(idsWith({ text: "SUNSET" })).toEqual([1, 3]);
+        // Caption-only match: file 3's caption is "SUNSET colours".
+        expect(idsWith({ text: "colours" })).toEqual([3]);
+        // Album-name match: everything in "Holidays".
+        expect(idsWith({ text: "holiday" })).toEqual([1, 2]);
+    });
+
+    it("combines filters", () => {
+        // Images in album 1 with a location: only file 1.
+        expect(
+            idsWith({ albumID: 1, fileTypes: ["image"], hasLocation: true }),
+        ).toEqual([1]);
+    });
+});
+
+/**
+ * A minimal mock `Client`, enough for `Library.open` to run its refresh loop.
+ * The queues are empty, so the background refresh over a seeded cache changes
+ * nothing; the counters prove that a read never calls the client.
+ */
+class MockClient {
+    userID = OWNER;
+    collectionsCalls = 0;
+    filesCalls = 0;
+
+    whoami(): { email: string; userID: number } {
+        return { email: "user@example.com", userID: this.userID };
+    }
+    async collectionsSince(args: {
+        sinceTime: number;
+    }): Promise<CollectionsPage> {
+        this.collectionsCalls++;
+        return { collections: [], deleted: [], cursor: args.sinceTime };
+    }
+    async filesSince(args: {
+        collectionID: number;
+        collectionKey: Uint8Array;
+        sinceTime: number;
+    }): Promise<FilesPage> {
+        this.filesCalls++;
+        return { files: [], deleted: [], cursor: args.sinceTime };
+    }
+}
+
+describe("Library exposes the read surface over its live store", () => {
+    let dir: string;
+
+    beforeAll(() => {
+        dir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "quak-read-"));
+    });
+    afterAll(() => {
+        rmSync(dir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    });
+
+    it("serves albums, photos, and timeline from RAM without calling the client", async () => {
+        const cacheDirectory = join(dir, "cache");
+        const path = join(cacheDirectory, "metadata.json");
+
+        // Seed a cache as a prior run left it, so open() serves it at once.
+        const seed = await MetadataStore.load(path);
+        seed.userID = OWNER;
+        seed.collectionsSinceTime = 100;
+        seed.putCollection(collection(1, { name: "Seeded" }));
+        seed.putFile(
+            file(1001, 1, { creationTime: micros(Date.UTC(2024, 5, 1, 12)) }),
+        );
+        await seed.save();
+
+        const client = new MockClient();
+        // A long interval keeps the background timer from firing during the test.
+        const lib = await Library.open({
+            client,
+            cacheDirectory,
+            refreshIntervalSeconds: 3600,
+        });
+        try {
+            const collectionsBefore = client.collectionsCalls;
+            const filesBefore = client.filesCalls;
+
+            expect(lib.albums.list().map((a) => a.name)).toEqual(["Seeded"]);
+            expect(
+                lib.albums.byName({ albumName: "Seeded" })?.collectionID,
+            ).toBe(1);
+            expect(lib.photos.byID({ fileID: 1001 })?.fileID).toBe(1001);
+            expect(
+                lib.photos.records({ fileIDs: [1001] }).map((r) => r.fileID),
+            ).toEqual([1001]);
+            const groups = lib.timeline.groups({ groupBy: "month" });
+            expect(allFileIDs(groups)).toEqual([1001]);
+
+            // Reads are answered from RAM: no read called the client.
+            expect(client.collectionsCalls).toBe(collectionsBefore);
+            expect(client.filesCalls).toBe(filesBefore);
+        } finally {
+            lib.close();
+        }
+    });
+});