A live photo's default names fit, and no cut name starts with a dot

`defaultFileName` in `src/filename.ts` now gives the name a file is saved
under when the caller gives no path, and `originalName`, `thumbnailName`,
`downloadFile` and `downloadThumbnail` all call it. For a live photo's image
and video it puts the part's own extension in before cutting the name short,
so those names fit too; a path from `--out` or `outPath` is kept as given.
`shortenKeepingExtension` keeps the first character before the extension,
cutting a long extension short to leave room for it, so a cut name no longer
starts with a dot. The backup's links for such a title change to match.
TODO.md names the open bug and describes what the code does.

Model: opus-5-5

README.md

@@ -661,7 +661,15 @@ library. The read commands — `collections`, `files`, `get`, `get-thumb`,
 `backup-metadata`, `helper list-missing-thumbnails` and
 `helper fix-missing-thumbnails` — force a fresh server round-trip before they
 answer, so they report current account state rather than whatever the cache last
-held. If that round-trip fails, the command prints the error on one line and
+held. `collections` asks the server for the collection list alone, in one
+request, and neither fetches any collection's files nor changes the cache. The
+others wait for a refresh. With an empty cache, as on a first run, that refresh
+fetches the files of every collection, one collection after another, and stores
+nothing until it has them all, which on a large account takes a while. Meanwhile
+the command prints a line on stderr for each collection whose files it has
+fetched, such as `Fetched the files of 3 of 120 collections`; with `--json`,
+`files` and the two helpers print no such line. stdout holds only the command's
+output. If that round-trip fails, the command prints the error on one line and
 exits 1, or 3 when the server no longer accepts the saved session (see "Session
 handling"). An album or file quak cannot decrypt does not fail it; the command
 answers from what did decrypt (see "Default reads vs. fresh reads").
@@ -679,24 +687,26 @@ Without `--out`, `get` writes the file to the working directory under its title,
 and `get-thumb` writes the thumbnail there under `thumb_` followed by the title,
 each with unsafe characters replaced. A name over 255 bytes, which most file
 systems refuse, is cut short between two characters before its extension, so the
-extension is kept whenever it fits.
+extension is kept whenever it fits. An extension too long to leave room for the
+name's first character is cut short too, so the name never starts with a dot.
 
 `get` and `get-thumb` resolve the file by ID directly, so `--collection` is
 accepted for backward compatibility but ignored. For a live photo, `get` writes
 its image and its video, each named after the title with its own extension, as
-Ente's clients name them (`IMG_0001.heic` and `IMG_0001.mov`). With
-`--out PATH`, the image is written to `PATH` and the video beside it, with
-`PATH`'s name and the video's extension; a `PATH` with the video's extension is
-refused. `backup-metadata --exif` (alias `--all`) additionally fetches each
-file's original through the cache and records, from it or a live photo's image,
-its XMP metadata, its EXIF metadata and, for a JPEG, its dimensions. EXIF is
-read with [exifreader](https://github.com/mattiasw/ExifReader) from any image
-format it reads, JPEG, HEIC/HEIF, AVIF, PNG and WebP among them. The record's
-`exif` field is exifreader's EXIF tag output: each tag by name, with its
-`value`, `description` and `computed` value. An EXIF block exifreader finds but
-reads no tag from is recorded, base64, as `exifRaw`, with the reason in
-`exifError`. `collections`, `files`, `backup`, `helper list-missing-thumbnails`
-and `helper fix-missing-thumbnails` take `--json` for machine-readable output.
+Ente's clients name them (`IMG_0001.heic` and `IMG_0001.mov`), and each name is
+cut short as above once its own extension is in it. With `--out PATH`, the image
+is written to `PATH` and the video beside it, with `PATH`'s name and the video's
+extension; a `PATH` with the video's extension is refused.
+`backup-metadata --exif` (alias `--all`) additionally fetches each file's
+original through the cache and records, from it or a live photo's image, its XMP
+metadata, its EXIF metadata and, for a JPEG, its dimensions. EXIF is read with
+[exifreader](https://github.com/mattiasw/ExifReader) from any image format it
+reads, JPEG, HEIC/HEIF, AVIF, PNG and WebP among them. The record's `exif` field
+is exifreader's EXIF tag output: each tag by name, with its `value`,
+`description` and `computed` value. An EXIF block exifreader finds but reads no
+tag from is recorded, base64, as `exifRaw`, with the reason in `exifError`.
+`collections`, `files`, `backup`, `helper list-missing-thumbnails` and
+`helper fix-missing-thumbnails` take `--json` for machine-readable output.
 
 `backup --verify` also hashes the originals already in the backup and replaces
 any that do not match the content hash Ente records; one it cannot replace stays
@@ -856,11 +866,12 @@ gets its ID added as well: beside an album `x`, whose JSON is `x.json`, an album
 named `x.json` gets the directory `x.json (12)/`. A name too long for a file
 name, which most file systems limit to 255 bytes, gets its ID added too. A name
 with its ID added is cut short between two characters in the part before the ID,
-just far enough that it fits. When a symlink's extension alone leaves no room
-for the ID, the extension is cut short and the part before the ID keeps only the
-bytes that cut leaves over. A collection's directory name also leaves room for
-the `.json` its JSON adds. IDs never change, so a name stays the same from run
-to run until such a clash appears or goes away.
+just far enough that it fits. When a symlink's extension leaves no room for the
+ID and the first character of the name, the extension is cut short, and the part
+before the ID keeps that character and any bytes the cut leaves over. A
+collection's directory name also leaves room for the `.json` its JSON adds. IDs
+never change, so a name stays the same from run to run until such a clash
+appears or goes away.
 
 A collection whose directory or JSON cannot be written, such as one whose
 directory name is taken by a file you put in `collections/`, does not stop the
@@ -974,7 +985,11 @@ loop, and resolves to a `Library`. On an empty cache it awaits the first
 refresh, so it opens onto the account's data whenever the server is reachable;
 if that refresh fails, it opens with no data and records the error in
 `lib.status()`. On an existing cache it returns immediately and refreshes in the
-background, so an unreachable server does not block opening.
+background, so an unreachable server does not block opening. With
+`refreshOnOpen: false` it starts no refresh and returns at once onto what the
+cache holds, empty or not; a refresh then starts only when `fresh()` or
+`lib.backup()` asks, or the background timer fires. The CLI's read commands open
+it so (see "CLI surface").
 
 `LibraryOptions`:
 
@@ -984,6 +999,7 @@ background, so an unreachable server does not block opening.
 | `cacheDirectory`         | `quak/<userID>` under the per-user cache directory | where `metadata.json` and the content cache live                     |
 | `downloadDirectory`      | `photos` in the working directory                  | root of the save paths; an original stored there counts as cached    |
 | `refreshIntervalSeconds` | `3`                                                | background refresh cadence; `Infinity` for no background timer       |
+| `refreshOnOpen`          | `true`                                             | start a refresh as the library opens                                 |
 | `precacheThumbnails`     | `true`                                             | prefetch every thumbnail, newest first                               |
 | `precacheOriginals`      | `true`                                             | prefetch the favorites album and the latest-window originals         |
 | `precacheOriginalsDays`  | `7`                                                | length in days of that latest window                                 |
@@ -997,6 +1013,14 @@ background, so an unreachable server does not block opening.
 The default `downloadDirectory` is resolved against the working directory once,
 when the library opens; `lib.downloadDirectory` holds the result.
 
+`onProgress` receives a `RefreshEvent` with status `"started"` as a refresh, an
+ML data fetch or a precache sweep starts, and `"done"` or `"failed"` as it ends.
+In between, a refresh sends `"progress"` after each collection whose files it
+fetched, with `fetched`, how many collections it has fetched the files of so
+far, and `total`, how many it will. A refresh fetches the files of each
+collection that is new or changed since the cache's copy, so on an empty cache
+it fetches those of every collection.
+
 Concurrency is set through `pools`: construct
 `new RequestPools({ metadataConcurrency, contentConcurrency, thumbnailConcurrency })`
 and pass it. The three pools default to 10 / 5 / 25 (see Request pools below).
@@ -1036,6 +1060,15 @@ rejects the caller (default reads stay silent and keep serving the last good
 copy). The CLI's read commands use fresh reads (issue
 https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/quak/issues/75).
 
+`await lib.freshCollections()` is the fresh read of the collection list alone:
+one collections request, answered with every live collection that decrypts, as
+the `Collection` objects `listCollections()` returns, in the server's order. It
+fetches no collection's files and stores nothing, not even the list: a refresh
+fetches a collection's files only when the collection is new or has changed
+since the stored copy, so a collection stored without its files would never get
+them. `quak collections` uses it (issue
+https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/quak/issues/210).
+
 An album or file in the server's answer that quak cannot decrypt, or whose
 metadata is not JSON, does not fail the refresh. The refresh leaves it out, an
 album with all its files, and drops any older copy the cache held, so reads

TODO.md

@@ -17,9 +17,11 @@ pre-1.0
 
 # Next Step
 
-No bug is open. The check of quak against a live Ente account,
-https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/quak/issues/187, needs an account only sneak has, so
-it waits on him.
+No bug is open. Two changes sneak asked for are open:
+https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/quak/issues/211 and
+https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/quak/issues/212. The check of quak against a live Ente
+account, https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/quak/issues/187, needs an account only sneak
+has, so it waits on him.
 
 Tagging and releases are decided by sneak alone, and happen only when he
 declares one.
@@ -27,16 +29,31 @@ declares one.
 # Completed Steps
 
 - 2026-10-18: Names quak builds from an album name or a title fit in a file name
-  (issue 205). `shortenKeepingExtension` in `src/filename.ts` cuts a name short
-  to a number of bytes, keeping its extension when it fits, and can put text
-  right before the extension; the backup's `withID` uses it for an ID. The
-  default names of `quak get`, `quak get-thumb`, `downloadFile` and
-  `downloadThumbnail` are cut short with it to 255 bytes, `thumb_` included.
-  `backup-metadata` cuts an album's name short so that its folder,
-  `<id>-<name>`, fits in 255 bytes. `safeExtension` gives `.bin` for an
+  (https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/quak/issues/205). `shortenKeepingExtension` in
+  `src/filename.ts` cuts a name short to a number of bytes, keeping its
+  extension when it fits and always its first character, and can put text right
+  before the extension; the backup's `withID` uses it for an ID.
+  `defaultFileName` there gives the name a file is saved under when the caller
+  gives no path: a prefix such as `thumb_` and the title with unsafe characters
+  replaced, cut short with it to 255 bytes, and, for a live photo's image or
+  video, with that part's own extension before the cut. `quak get`,
+  `quak get-thumb`, `downloadFile` and `downloadThumbnail` use it without
+  `--out` or `outPath`. `backup-metadata` cuts an album's name short so that its
+  folder, `<id>-<name>`, fits in 255 bytes. `safeExtension` gives `.bin` for an
   extension of more than 16 letters and digits, so a save path's name always
   fits.
 
+- 2026-10-18: `quak collections` no longer waits for the files of every
+  collection (issue 210). On an empty cache it opened its library with a refresh
+  that fetched and decrypted the files of each collection in turn, printing
+  nothing and storing nothing until all were done, so on a large account it
+  seemed to hang. It now reads the collection list alone through the new
+  `lib.freshCollections()`, one request that stores nothing. The read commands
+  open their library with the new `refreshOnOpen: false`, so each makes only the
+  refresh it asks for. A refresh sends a `"progress"` event after each
+  collection whose files it fetched, and the commands that wait on one print it
+  on stderr, except with `--json`.
+
 - 2026-10-16: ML data the server sends that does not decrypt, gunzip or parse is
   no longer taken for no ML data (issue 198). `fetchMLDataBatch` returns why for
   each such file beside the payloads; ML data that parses to something other

src/backup.ts

@@ -290,9 +290,10 @@ const rebuildSymlink = (linkPath: string, target: string): void => {
 // case (two names that differ only in case are one entry on a case-insensitive
 // file system), or it is too long for a file name; then it gets ` (<id>)`,
 // right before the extension when `beforeExtension` is set. To fit, the part
-// before the ID is cut short as far as it must be. When the extension alone
-// leaves no room for the ID, the extension is cut short and the part before
-// the ID keeps only the bytes that cut leaves over. With `withJSON`, each
+// before the ID is cut short as far as it must be. When the extension leaves
+// no room for the ID and the first character of the name, the extension is
+// cut short, and the part before the ID keeps that character and any bytes
+// the cut leaves over (see `shortenKeepingExtension`). With `withJSON`, each
 // entry also has the JSON file `<name>.json` beside it, as an album does: a
 // name then leaves room for `.json`, and one that is another entry's JSON name
 // gets its ID added too.

src/cli-commands.ts

@@ -125,15 +125,29 @@ const readLibraryClient = (client: Client): LibraryClient => ({
 
 // Open a library for a single point command: the aggressive background precache
 // (issue #48) is off — a one-shot `collections` or `get` must not start
-// downloading the whole account — and the refresh interval is long so no second
-// refresh fires mid-command.
-const openReadLibrary = (ctx: CliContext, client: Client): Promise<Library> =>
+// downloading the whole account — and no refresh starts as it opens or on a
+// timer: each command asks for the one it needs, and `collections` needs none
+// (issue #210). While a refresh runs, each collection whose files it has
+// fetched is counted on stderr, unless `json` is set, so a large account shows
+// progress rather than nothing.
+const openReadLibrary = (
+    ctx: CliContext,
+    client: Client,
+    opts: { json?: boolean } = {},
+): Promise<Library> =>
     Library.open({
         client: readLibraryClient(client),
         cacheDirectory: ctx.cacheDir,
-        refreshIntervalSeconds: 3600,
+        refreshOnOpen: false,
+        refreshIntervalSeconds: Infinity,
         precacheThumbnails: false,
         precacheOriginals: false,
+        onProgress: (event) => {
+            if (opts.json || event.status !== "progress") return;
+            ctx.stderr.write(
+                `Fetched the files of ${event.fetched} of ${event.total} collections\n`,
+            );
+        },
     });
 
 export const loginCommand = async (ctx: CliContext): Promise<number> => {
@@ -221,9 +235,10 @@ export const collectionsCommand = async (
     if (!client) return 3;
     const lib = await openReadLibrary(ctx, client);
     try {
-        // Force a server round-trip and list in enumeration order (issue #36
-        // amendment, issue #52): the pre-library CLI printed current state in
-        // this order, not the albums projection's newest-first order.
+        // Ask the server for the collection list alone and list it in its
+        // order (issue #36 amendment, issues #52 and #210): the pre-library
+        // CLI printed current state in this order, not the albums
+        // projection's newest-first order.
         const collections = await freshCollections(lib);
 
         if (opts.json) {
@@ -264,7 +279,7 @@ export const filesCommand = async (
     const collectionID = parseID(ctx, "collection", opts.collection);
     if (collectionID === undefined) return 1;
 
-    const lib = await openReadLibrary(ctx, client);
+    const lib = await openReadLibrary(ctx, client, opts);
     try {
         // Force a server round-trip and list in enumeration order (issue #36
         // amendment, issue #52). Each file prints from its own decrypted
@@ -317,8 +332,8 @@ export const getCommand = async (
         const result = await photo.original();
         // Default name is the file's own title, as the pre-library CLI used
         // (not the editedName-preferring projection title) (issue #52).
-        const outPath = opts.out ?? originalName(file);
         if (result.videoPath === undefined) {
+            const outPath = opts.out ?? originalName(file);
             copyFileSync(result.path, outPath);
             ctx.stderr.write(`${result.bytes} bytes -> ${outPath}\n`);
             return 0;
@@ -326,9 +341,13 @@ export const getCommand = async (
         // A live photo is written as its image and its video, each named after
         // the title with its own extension, as Ente's clients name them. With
         // --out, the image goes there and the video beside it.
-        const imageOut =
-            opts.out ?? withExtension(outPath, extname(result.path));
-        const videoOut = withExtension(outPath, extname(result.videoPath));
+        const imageExt = extname(result.path);
+        const videoExt = extname(result.videoPath);
+        const imageOut = opts.out ?? originalName(file, imageExt);
+        const videoOut =
+            opts.out === undefined
+                ? originalName(file, videoExt)
+                : withExtension(opts.out, videoExt);
         if (imageOut.toLowerCase() === videoOut.toLowerCase()) {
             ctx.stderr.write(
                 `File ${fileID} is a live photo, and its video would also be written to ${imageOut}\n`,
@@ -490,7 +509,7 @@ export const listMissingThumbnailsCommand = async (
     await init();
     const client = requireSession(ctx);
     if (!client) return 3;
-    const lib = await openReadLibrary(ctx, client);
+    const lib = await openReadLibrary(ctx, client, opts);
     try {
         // Refresh first so files added since the cache was written are
         // checked; a failed refresh throws.
@@ -535,7 +554,7 @@ export const fixMissingThumbnailsCommand = async (
         if (fileID === undefined) return 1;
         fileIDs.push(fileID);
     }
-    const lib = await openReadLibrary(ctx, client);
+    const lib = await openReadLibrary(ctx, client, opts);
     try {
         // Refresh first so files added since the cache was written are found;
         // a failed refresh throws.

src/cli-output.ts

@@ -9,11 +9,7 @@
 // `metadata.title`, and issue #52 requires that output stay byte-identical, so
 // the commands shape their output from the raw `EnteFile` through here.
 
-import {
-    MAX_NAME_BYTES,
-    sanitizeFileName,
-    shortenKeepingExtension,
-} from "./filename.js";
+import { defaultFileName } from "./filename.js";
 import type { EnteFile, FileType, Microseconds } from "./model/types.js";
 
 // One row of `quak files --json`.
@@ -37,20 +33,13 @@ export const fileListRow = (file: EnteFile): FileListRow => ({
 export const fileListLine = (file: EnteFile): string =>
     `${file.id}\t${file.metadata.fileType}\t${file.metadata.title}`;
 
-// Default output path for `quak get` when `--out` is not given. The title comes
-// from the server, so it is sanitized, and cut short to fit in a file name,
-// keeping its extension; `--out` is the user's and is used as is.
-export const originalName = (file: EnteFile): string =>
-    shortenKeepingExtension(
-        sanitizeFileName(file.metadata.title, `file-${file.id}`),
-        MAX_NAME_BYTES,
-    );
+// Default output path for `quak get` when `--out` is not given, made from the
+// title (see `defaultFileName`), with `ext` in place of its extension for a
+// live photo's image or video; `--out` is the user's and is used as is.
+export const originalName = (file: EnteFile, ext?: string): string =>
+    defaultFileName(file.metadata.title, file.id, { ext });
 
 // Default output path for `quak get-thumb` when `--out` is not given: `thumb_`
-// and the title, cut short so that the two fit in a file name.
+// and the title.
 export const thumbnailName = (file: EnteFile): string =>
-    "thumb_" +
-    shortenKeepingExtension(
-        sanitizeFileName(file.metadata.title, `file-${file.id}`),
-        MAX_NAME_BYTES - "thumb_".length,
-    );
+    defaultFileName(file.metadata.title, file.id, { prefix: "thumb_" });

src/cli-read.ts

@@ -2,12 +2,16 @@
 //
 // `collections`, `files --collection`, `get`, and `get-thumb` must answer for
 // the account's state at the moment the command runs, not for whatever the
-// local cache last happened to hold (owner amendment, issue #36). Each helper
-// therefore forces a server round-trip through `Library.fresh()` and only then
-// reads — so a collection, file, or metadata change made elsewhere is visible.
+// local cache last happened to hold (owner amendment, issue #36). `files`,
+// `get` and `get-thumb` therefore force a server round-trip through
+// `Library.fresh()` and only then read — so a collection, file, or metadata
+// change made elsewhere is visible. `collections` asks the library for the
+// collection list alone through `Library.freshCollections()` (issue #210): a
+// refresh would also fetch the files of every collection, which on a large
+// account takes long and which `collections` does not print.
 //
-// `collections` and `files` also list in the library's own enumeration order —
-// `listCollections()`/`listFiles()`, the order the pre-library CLI printed —
+// `collections` lists in the server's order and `files` in the library's own
+// enumeration order (`listFiles()`), the orders the pre-library CLI printed,
 // rather than the `albums`/`photos` projection's newest-first order, which
 // re-sorts the rows. The field values still come from each record's raw
 // metadata via `cli-output.ts`.
@@ -17,23 +21,22 @@ import type { Photo, PhotosAPI } from "./library/index.js";
 
 // The slice of `Library` these helpers read. `Library` satisfies it
 // structurally; a test can drive them with a stand-in that records the
-// `fresh()` call and serves records in a known enumeration order.
+// `fresh()` and `freshCollections()` calls and serves records in a known
+// enumeration order.
 export interface FreshReadLibrary {
     fresh(): Promise<unknown>;
-    listCollections(): Collection[];
+    freshCollections(): Promise<Collection[]>;
     getCollection(id: number): Collection | undefined;
     listFiles(collectionID: number): EnteFile[];
     getFileByID(fileID: number): EnteFile | undefined;
     photos: Pick<PhotosAPI, "byID">;
 }
 
-// Every live collection, current as of a forced refresh, in enumeration order.
-export const freshCollections = async (
+// Every live collection, current as of one collections request, in the
+// server's order.
+export const freshCollections = (
     lib: FreshReadLibrary,
-): Promise<Collection[]> => {
-    await lib.fresh();
-    return lib.listCollections();
-};
+): Promise<Collection[]> => lib.freshCollections();
 
 // The files of one collection, current as of a forced refresh, in enumeration
 // order. `undefined` (not an empty list) when the collection does not exist, so

src/download/index.ts

@@ -16,13 +16,7 @@ import {
     streamTagFinal,
 } from "../crypto/index.js";
 import { TruncatedStreamError } from "../errors.js";
-import {
-    MAX_NAME_BYTES,
-    safeExtension,
-    sanitizeFileName,
-    shortenKeepingExtension,
-    withExtension,
-} from "../filename.js";
+import { defaultFileName, safeExtension, withExtension } from "../filename.js";
 import { withRetry } from "../retry.js";
 import type { ApiClient } from "../api/client.js";
 import type { EnteFile } from "../model/types.js";
@@ -371,10 +365,14 @@ const openPart = async (
 // name starts with `image` as the image and the one whose name starts with
 // `video` as the video, and refuses a ZIP holding a second of either. It is
 // written unpacked: each part is named `destination` with the extension
-// replaced by its own entry's, and the two must differ ignoring case. When the
-// file records a hash, `<imageHash>:<videoHash>` must match it, each over that
-// part's own bytes. Only then are the image, then the video, renamed into
-// place; on any failure neither is stored.
+// replaced by its own entry's, and the two must differ ignoring case. When
+// `defaultName` is set, `destination` is the name `defaultFileName` made from
+// the title rather than a path the caller gave, and each part is named as
+// `defaultFileName` names it with its own extension, so that the name is cut
+// short to fit with that extension. When the file records a hash,
+// `<imageHash>:<videoHash>` must match it, each over that part's own bytes.
+// Only then are the image, then the video, renamed into place; on any failure
+// neither is stored.
 //
 // The ZIP is chosen by its uploader and may expand enormously, so each part is
 // written as it decompresses and never held, and the ZIP is refused once the
@@ -394,6 +392,7 @@ const decryptLivePhoto = async (
     key: Uint8Array,
     onProgress: ProgressCallback | undefined,
     file: EnteFile,
+    defaultName: boolean,
 ): Promise<DownloadResult> => {
     const sliceSize = 4096;
     const dir = dirname(destination);
@@ -492,8 +491,12 @@ const decryptLivePhoto = async (
                 `live photo's image and video have the same extension, ${video.ext}`,
             );
         }
-        const path = withExtension(destination, image.ext);
-        const videoPath = withExtension(destination, video.ext);
+        const partPath = (ext: string): string =>
+            defaultName
+                ? defaultFileName(file.metadata.title, file.id, { ext })
+                : withExtension(destination, ext);
+        const path = partPath(image.ext);
+        const videoPath = partPath(video.ext);
         for (const part of parts) {
             await part.handle.sync();
             await part.handle.close();
@@ -537,6 +540,9 @@ const decryptLivePhoto = async (
 // and then removes its own temp file, and only the attempt that reaches
 // TAG_FINAL renames one into place, so a download that needed three tries still
 // performs exactly one rename over the destination.
+//
+// `defaultName` says `destination` is the name `defaultFileName` made, not a
+// path the caller gave (see `decryptLivePhoto`).
 const fetchAndDecrypt = async (
     api: ApiClient,
     openStream: () => Promise<ReadableStream<Uint8Array>>,
@@ -545,6 +551,7 @@ const fetchAndDecrypt = async (
     destination: string,
     onProgress?: ProgressCallback,
     original?: EnteFile,
+    defaultName = false,
 ): Promise<DownloadResult> =>
     withRetry(async () => {
         const stream = await openStream();
@@ -557,6 +564,7 @@ const fetchAndDecrypt = async (
                     key,
                     onProgress,
                     original,
+                    defaultName,
                 );
             }
             const bytesWritten = await decryptToTemp(
@@ -588,15 +596,11 @@ export const downloadFile = async (
     outPath?: string,
     onProgress?: ProgressCallback,
 ): Promise<DownloadResult> => {
-    // `outPath` is the caller's and is used as is; the title is the server's
-    // and is sanitized so it can only name a file in the current directory,
-    // and cut short to fit in a file name, keeping its extension.
+    // `outPath` is the caller's and is used as is. Without it, the file is
+    // written in the current directory under the name `defaultFileName` makes
+    // from the title, which is the server's.
     const resolvedPath =
-        outPath ??
-        shortenKeepingExtension(
-            sanitizeFileName(file.metadata.title, `file-${file.id}`),
-            MAX_NAME_BYTES,
-        );
+        outPath ?? defaultFileName(file.metadata.title, file.id);
     const header = fromBase64(file.file.decryptionHeader);
     return fetchAndDecrypt(
         api,
@@ -606,6 +610,7 @@ export const downloadFile = async (
         resolvedPath,
         onProgress,
         file,
+        outPath === undefined,
     );
 };
 
@@ -618,11 +623,7 @@ export const downloadThumbnail = async (
     // As in `downloadFile`, with `thumb_` before the title.
     const resolvedPath =
         outPath ??
-        "thumb_" +
-            shortenKeepingExtension(
-                sanitizeFileName(file.metadata.title, `file-${file.id}`),
-                MAX_NAME_BYTES - "thumb_".length,
-            );
+        defaultFileName(file.metadata.title, file.id, { prefix: "thumb_" });
     const header = fromBase64(file.thumbnail.decryptionHeader);
     return fetchAndDecrypt(
         api,

src/filename.ts

@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@
 // directory the caller chose: never a path, never `..`, never hidden, never a
 // Windows device name. Such a name can still be too long for a file name, and
 // `shortenToBytes` or `shortenKeepingExtension` cuts one short.
+// `defaultFileName` does both for the name a file is saved under when the
+// caller gives no path.
 //
 // A path the user typed (`--out`, `outPath`) is not passed through here: the
 // caller is trusted, the server is not.
@@ -61,10 +63,12 @@ export const shortenToBytes = (name: string, maxBytes: number): string => {
 // `name` cut short to fit in `maxBytes` bytes with `insert` put right before
 // its extension (`IMG_0001 (12).jpg`), each cut made as `shortenToBytes`
 // makes it. The part before the extension is cut first, so the extension is
-// kept whenever it fits. When the extension alone leaves no room for
-// `insert`, the extension is cut short too, and the part before it keeps only
-// the bytes that cut leaves over. `insert` is never cut. With no `insert`, a
-// name that fits comes back unchanged.
+// kept whenever it fits, but that part always keeps its first character:
+// when the extension leaves no room for `insert` and that character, the
+// extension is cut short too, and the part before it keeps the bytes that cut
+// leaves over. So a name that does not start with a dot never comes back
+// starting with one, which would hide it. `insert` is never cut. With no
+// `insert`, a name that fits comes back unchanged.
 export const shortenKeepingExtension = (
     name: string,
     maxBytes: number,
@@ -72,7 +76,36 @@ export const shortenKeepingExtension = (
 ): string => {
     const fullExt = extname(name);
     const stem = name.slice(0, name.length - fullExt.length);
-    const ext = shortenToBytes(fullExt, maxBytes - Buffer.byteLength(insert));
+    const first = Array.from(stem)[0] ?? "";
+    const ext = shortenToBytes(
+        fullExt,
+        maxBytes - Buffer.byteLength(insert + first),
+    );
     const room = maxBytes - Buffer.byteLength(insert + ext);
     return shortenToBytes(stem, room) + insert + ext;
 };
+
+// The name a file is saved under in the working directory when the caller
+// gives no path (`quak get` without `--out`, `downloadFile` without
+// `outPath`): `prefix` (`thumb_` for a thumbnail), then the file's title with
+// unsafe characters replaced, or `file-<id>` when the title is empty, cut
+// short so that the whole fits in a file name, keeping the title's extension
+// whenever it fits. `ext` (".mov"), when given, takes the place of the
+// title's extension before the name is cut short; a live photo's image and
+// video are each named with their own.
+export const defaultFileName = (
+    title: string,
+    fileID: number,
+    opts: { prefix?: string; ext?: string } = {},
+): string => {
+    const { prefix = "", ext } = opts;
+    const safe = sanitizeFileName(title, `file-${fileID}`);
+    const name = ext === undefined ? safe : withExtension(safe, ext);
+    return (
+        prefix +
+        shortenKeepingExtension(
+            name,
+            MAX_NAME_BYTES - Buffer.byteLength(prefix),
+        )
+    );
+};

src/library/index.ts

@@ -18,6 +18,16 @@
 // the caller (the default reads stay silent and serve the last good copy). The
 // default methods and the background loop are unchanged.
 //
+// `freshCollections()` is the fresh read of the collection list alone (issue
+// #210): one collections request, no collection's files, and nothing stored,
+// for a caller such as `quak collections` that needs no more. A caller that
+// asks for each refresh it needs can also open the library with
+// `refreshOnOpen: false`, so that `open()` starts none.
+//
+// A refresh reports through `onProgress` each collection whose files it has
+// fetched, so a large account, whose first refresh fetches the files of every
+// collection, shows progress.
+//
 // A refresh stages all of its network work first and only mutates the store
 // once every fetch has succeeded. A refresh that fails partway therefore never
 // becomes visible to reads: the last good snapshot stays in place, and the
@@ -161,18 +171,21 @@ export interface LibraryClient {
 // exactly one of "done" or "failed"; "failed" carries the error message and
 // an ML "done" reports how many payloads it stored and, in `mlDataErrors`,
 // each file whose ML data did not decrypt, gunzip or parse, with the reason.
-// The precache fills ("precacheThumbnails"/"precacheOriginals", #48) fire
-// "started"/"done" around each sweep that has work, "done" reporting the count
-// newly cached.
+// In between, a refresh fires "progress" after each collection whose files it
+// fetched: `fetched` is how many collections it has fetched the files of so
+// far, `total` how many it will. The precache fills
+// ("precacheThumbnails"/"precacheOriginals", #48) fire "started"/"done" around
+// each sweep that has work, "done" reporting the count newly cached.
 export interface RefreshEvent {
     operation:
         | "refresh"
         | "fetchMLData"
         | "precacheThumbnails"
         | "precacheOriginals";
-    status: "started" | "done" | "failed";
+    status: "started" | "progress" | "done" | "failed";
     error?: string;
     fetched?: number;
+    total?: number;
     mlDataErrors?: { fileID: number; error: string }[];
 }
 
@@ -192,6 +205,10 @@ export interface LibraryOptions {
     // `Infinity` starts none: the library then refreshes only as it opens and
     // when `fresh()` or `backup()` asks.
     refreshIntervalSeconds?: number;
+    // Whether `open()` starts a refresh. Defaults to true. With false, `open()`
+    // returns at once onto what the cache holds, empty or not, and a refresh
+    // starts only when `fresh()` or `backup()` asks or the timer fires.
+    refreshOnOpen?: boolean;
     onProgress?: RefreshProgressCallback;
     // The bounded request pools (issue #45), shared by the ML-data fetch (the
     // metadata pool) and the content cache. Defaults to a fresh set at the
@@ -382,7 +399,8 @@ export class Library {
     // then opens empty with the failure recorded in `status()`. With an
     // existing cache the first refresh runs in the background and `open()`
     // returns as soon as the cached data is ready — an unreachable server does
-    // not block opening.
+    // not block opening. With `refreshOnOpen: false` there is no first
+    // refresh: `open()` returns onto the cache as it is.
     static async open(opts: LibraryOptions): Promise<Library> {
         const { userID } = opts.client.whoami();
         const cacheDirectory =
@@ -485,7 +503,10 @@ export class Library {
         // refresh.
         precache?.start();
 
-        if (store.loadedFromDisk) {
+        if (opts.refreshOnOpen === false) {
+            // The caller asks for each refresh it needs.
+            lib.scheduleNext();
+        } else if (store.loadedFromDisk) {
             // An existing copy already answers reads; refresh in the background
             // and start the interval once that first cycle settles.
             void lib.runRefresh().then(() => lib.scheduleNext());
@@ -589,6 +610,21 @@ export class Library {
         };
     }
 
+    // The fresh read of the collection list alone (issue #210): every live
+    // collection that decrypts, in the server's order, from one collections
+    // request. Unlike a refresh, it fetches no collection's files, which on a
+    // large account take long. Nothing is stored: a refresh fetches a
+    // collection's files only when the collection is new or has changed since
+    // the stored copy, so a collection stored here without its files would
+    // never have them fetched.
+    async freshCollections(): Promise<Collection[]> {
+        if (this.closed) throw new Error("the library is closed");
+        const { collections } = await this.client.collectionsSince({
+            sinceTime: 0,
+        });
+        return collections;
+    }
+
     // Back up every in-scope file to `opts.downloadDirectory`, or else the
     // library's, each original at its save path, with a durable failure
     // ledger (issue #51). Takes the lock in that directory first, unless the
@@ -742,18 +778,28 @@ export class Library {
         // Stage per-collection file diffs. A collection's files are
         // re-enumerated only when its updationTime has advanced past the cached
         // copy; an unchanged album's file list cannot have changed. New
-        // collections enumerate from the beginning of time.
+        // collections enumerate from the beginning of time. Each collection
+        // whose files are fetched is reported, with how many there are to
+        // fetch.
+        const changedCollections = page.collections.filter((collection) => {
+            const known = this.store.getCollection(collection.id);
+            return !known || collection.updationTime > known.updationTime;
+        });
         const filePages: { collectionID: number; page: FilesPage }[] = [];
-        for (const collection of page.collections) {
+        for (const collection of changedCollections) {
             const known = this.store.getCollection(collection.id);
-            if (known && collection.updationTime <= known.updationTime)
-                continue;
             const filePage = await this.client.filesSince({
                 collectionID: collection.id,
                 collectionKey: collection.key,
                 sinceTime: known ? known.updationTime : 0,
             });
             filePages.push({ collectionID: collection.id, page: filePage });
+            this.emit({
+                operation: "refresh",
+                status: "progress",
+                fetched: filePages.length,
+                total: changedCollections.length,
+            });
         }
 
         // Network work done; commit to the store and persist only if something

test/cli/backup.test.ts

@@ -1795,12 +1795,11 @@ describe("backup album folders", () => {
         expect(readLedger(outDir).files["5"]).toMatchObject({ attempts: 1 });
     });
 
-    // The extensions of these titles leave no room for the ID, so each is cut
-    // short and the name before the ID keeps only the bytes that cut leaves
-    // over. File 1's extension is 303 bytes and is cut to 251, which leaves
-    // none. File 2's is 271 bytes and is cut to 250, since "€" takes three
-    // bytes, which leaves one, for the "a". Neither extension is only letters
-    // and digits, so both originals are saved with `.bin`, a name that fits.
+    // The extensions of these titles leave no room for the ID and the "a"
+    // before them, so each is cut short to 250 bytes, which leaves one, for
+    // the "a". File 1's extension is 303 bytes and file 2's 271. Neither
+    // extension is only letters and digits, so both originals are saved with
+    // `.bin`, a name that fits.
     it("cuts the extension of a title short when it leaves no room for the ID", async () => {
         const outDir = join(root, "backup");
         const lib = libraryOf([
@@ -1815,7 +1814,7 @@ describe("backup album folders", () => {
 
         const result = await runBackup(lib, { downloadDirectory: outDir });
 
-        const link = ` (1).${"L".repeat(250)}`;
+        const link = `a (1).${"L".repeat(249)}`;
         const link2 = `a (2).${"€".repeat(83)}`;
         expect(Buffer.byteLength(link)).toBe(255);
         expect(Buffer.byteLength(link2)).toBe(255);
@@ -1830,9 +1829,9 @@ describe("backup album folders", () => {
 
     // Files 1 and 3 share a title, so each gets its ID before the
     // extension. File 2's title is too long, and its extension leaves no
-    // room for the ID. Were the ID put at the end of file 2's title cut
-    // short, its link would have file 1's name, and the link made second
-    // would replace the first.
+    // room for the ID and the "x" before it. Were the ID put at the end of
+    // file 2's title cut short, its link would have file 1's name, and the
+    // link made second would replace the first.
     it("keeps names unique when a title's extension leaves no room for the ID", async () => {
         const outDir = join(root, "backup");
         const shared = `x.${"Q".repeat(245)} (2)`;
@@ -1852,8 +1851,8 @@ describe("backup album folders", () => {
         expect(result.failed).toBe(0);
         expect(tree(outDir)).toEqual([
             "Trip/",
-            `Trip/ (2).${"Q".repeat(250)} -> ${linkTo("2.bin")}`,
             `Trip/x (1).${"Q".repeat(245)} (2) -> ${linkTo("1.bin")}`,
+            `Trip/x (2).${"Q".repeat(249)} -> ${linkTo("2.bin")}`,
             `Trip/x (3).${"Q".repeat(245)} (2) -> ${linkTo("3.bin")}`,
             "Trip.json",
         ]);

test/cli/commands.test.ts

@@ -53,11 +53,21 @@ import {
 } from "../../src/cli-commands.js";
 import { run } from "../../src/cli-run.js";
 import { loadSession } from "../../src/cli-session.js";
-import type { Client, ClientSnapshot, LoginOptions } from "../../src/client.js";
+import {
+    Client,
+    type ClientSnapshot,
+    type LoginOptions,
+} from "../../src/client.js";
 import { savePath, type ContentSource } from "../../src/library/content.js";
 import type { Collection, EnteFile } from "../../src/model/types.js";
 import { encryptBlob, init, toBase64 } from "../../src/crypto/index.js";
 import { defaultCacheDirectory } from "../../src/library/index.js";
+import {
+    buildAccount,
+    buildMetaFetch,
+    encryptSecretbox,
+    encryptStreamBlob,
+} from "../ente-server.js";
 import { HEIC_WITH_EXIF } from "../exif-heic.js";
 import {
     asLivePhoto,
@@ -171,6 +181,15 @@ const fakeClient = (
     return fake as unknown as Client;
 };
 
+// What a read command prints on stderr while the refresh it waits for fetches
+// the files of each of the fake's two albums, on an empty cache.
+const FETCHED_BOTH_ALBUMS =
+    "Fetched the files of 1 of 2 collections\n" +
+    "Fetched the files of 2 of 2 collections\n";
+
+// The same for an account with one album.
+const FETCHED_ONE_ALBUM = "Fetched the files of 1 of 1 collections\n";
+
 // Collects everything written to it.
 class Output {
     text = "";
@@ -510,7 +529,9 @@ describe("files", () => {
 
     it("exits 1 for an unknown collection", async () => {
         expect(await filesCommand(context(), { collection: "9" })).toBe(1);
-        expect(stderr.text).toBe("Collection 9 not found\n");
+        expect(stderr.text).toBe(
+            FETCHED_BOTH_ALBUMS + "Collection 9 not found\n",
+        );
     });
 });
 
@@ -519,27 +540,27 @@ describe("get and get-thumb", () => {
         const out = join(root, "diagram.png");
         expect(await getCommand(context(), "200", { out })).toBe(0);
         expect(readFileSync(out)).toEqual(Buffer.alloc(7, 200));
-        expect(stderr.text).toBe(`7 bytes -> ${out}\n`);
+        expect(stderr.text).toBe(FETCHED_BOTH_ALBUMS + `7 bytes -> ${out}\n`);
     });
 
     it("get-thumb finds a file in any album without --collection", async () => {
         const out = join(root, "thumb.jpg");
         expect(await getThumbCommand(context(), "200", { out })).toBe(0);
         expect(readFileSync(out)).toEqual(Buffer.alloc(3, 200));
-        expect(stderr.text).toBe(`3 bytes -> ${out}\n`);
+        expect(stderr.text).toBe(FETCHED_BOTH_ALBUMS + `3 bytes -> ${out}\n`);
     });
 
     it("get exits 1 when no album has the file", async () => {
         const out = join(root, "x");
         expect(await getCommand(context(), "999", { out })).toBe(1);
-        expect(stderr.text).toBe("File 999 not found\n");
+        expect(stderr.text).toBe(FETCHED_BOTH_ALBUMS + "File 999 not found\n");
         expect(existsSync(out)).toBe(false);
     });
 
     it("get-thumb exits 1 when no album has the file", async () => {
         const out = join(root, "x");
         expect(await getThumbCommand(context(), "999", { out })).toBe(1);
-        expect(stderr.text).toBe("File 999 not found\n");
+        expect(stderr.text).toBe(FETCHED_BOTH_ALBUMS + "File 999 not found\n");
         expect(existsSync(out)).toBe(false);
     });
 });
@@ -587,7 +608,7 @@ describe("names from an album name or a title over 255 bytes", () => {
         expect(Buffer.byteLength(name)).toBe(255);
         expect(code).toBe(0);
         expect(readdirSync(dir)).toEqual([name]);
-        expect(stderr.text).toBe(`7 bytes -> ${name}\n`);
+        expect(stderr.text).toBe(FETCHED_ONE_ALBUM + `7 bytes -> ${name}\n`);
     });
 
     it("get-thumb cuts the title short so that thumb_ and it fit in 255 bytes, and exits 0", async () => {
@@ -599,7 +620,7 @@ describe("names from an album name or a title over 255 bytes", () => {
         expect(Buffer.byteLength(name)).toBe(255);
         expect(code).toBe(0);
         expect(readdirSync(dir)).toEqual([name]);
-        expect(stderr.text).toBe(`3 bytes -> ${name}\n`);
+        expect(stderr.text).toBe(FETCHED_ONE_ALBUM + `3 bytes -> ${name}\n`);
     });
 
     it("backup-metadata cuts the album name short so that its folder's name fits in 255 bytes, and exits 0", async () => {
@@ -641,9 +662,12 @@ describe("names from an album name or a title over 255 bytes", () => {
 // one live photo, 300, downloaded through the real download layer
 // (test/live-photo.ts).
 describe("a live photo", () => {
-    const livePhotoClient = async (image = IMAGE): Promise<Client> => {
+    const livePhotoClient = async (
+        image = IMAGE,
+        title = "IMG_0300.HEIC",
+    ): Promise<Client> => {
         const { file: live, body } = await asLivePhoto(
-            file(300, 1, "IMG_0300.HEIC"),
+            file(300, 1, title),
             livePhotoZip({ "image.heic": image, "video.mov": VIDEO }),
             livePhotoHash(image, VIDEO),
         );
@@ -685,11 +709,50 @@ describe("a live photo", () => {
             Buffer.from(VIDEO),
         );
         expect(stderr.text).toBe(
-            `${IMAGE.length} bytes -> IMG_0300.heic\n` +
+            FETCHED_ONE_ALBUM +
+                `${IMAGE.length} bytes -> IMG_0300.heic\n` +
                 `${VIDEO.length} bytes -> IMG_0300.mov\n`,
         );
     });
 
+    // Run `get` without `--out` in a new directory for a live photo titled
+    // `title`, and return its exit code and the names it wrote.
+    const getInNewDirectory = async (
+        title: string,
+    ): Promise<{ code: number; names: string[] }> => {
+        const ctx = context(await livePhotoClient(IMAGE, title));
+        const dir = mkdtempSync(join(root, "cwd-"));
+        const previous = process.cwd();
+        process.chdir(dir);
+        try {
+            const code = await getCommand(ctx, "300", {});
+            return { code, names: readdirSync(dir).sort() };
+        } finally {
+            process.chdir(previous);
+        }
+    };
+    const imageName = `${"t".repeat(250)}.heic`;
+    const videoName = `${"t".repeat(251)}.mov`;
+
+    // The title fits, but ".heic" is one byte longer than ".jpg", so the
+    // image's name is cut short once its extension is in it.
+    it("get cuts its image's name short for a 255-byte title ending in .jpg, and exits 0", async () => {
+        const title = `${"t".repeat(251)}.jpg`;
+
+        const result = await getInNewDirectory(title);
+
+        expect(Buffer.byteLength(title)).toBe(255);
+        expect(Buffer.byteLength(imageName)).toBe(255);
+        expect(Buffer.byteLength(videoName)).toBe(255);
+        expect(result).toEqual({ code: 0, names: [imageName, videoName] });
+    });
+
+    it("get cuts the names of its image and video short for a 300-byte title with no extension, and exits 0", async () => {
+        const result = await getInNewDirectory("t".repeat(300));
+
+        expect(result).toEqual({ code: 0, names: [imageName, videoName] });
+    });
+
     it("get --out writes the image there and the video beside it", async () => {
         const out = join(root, "photo.jpg");
         const video = join(root, "photo.mov");
@@ -701,7 +764,8 @@ describe("a live photo", () => {
         expect(readFileSync(out)).toEqual(Buffer.from(IMAGE));
         expect(readFileSync(video)).toEqual(Buffer.from(VIDEO));
         expect(stderr.text).toBe(
-            `${IMAGE.length} bytes -> ${out}\n${VIDEO.length} bytes -> ${video}\n`,
+            FETCHED_ONE_ALBUM +
+                `${IMAGE.length} bytes -> ${out}\n${VIDEO.length} bytes -> ${video}\n`,
         );
     });
 
@@ -715,7 +779,8 @@ describe("a live photo", () => {
         expect(existsSync(out)).toBe(false);
         expect(existsSync(join(root, "photo.mov"))).toBe(false);
         expect(stderr.text).toBe(
-            `File 300 is a live photo, and its video would also be written to ${out}\n`,
+            FETCHED_ONE_ALBUM +
+                `File 300 is a live photo, and its video would also be written to ${out}\n`,
         );
     });
 
@@ -1195,11 +1260,12 @@ describe("backup-metadata --exif", () => {
     });
 });
 
-// Each test first runs `collections` so the cache holds the account as it was,
-// then changes the server under it.
+// Each test first runs `files` so the cache holds the account as it was, then
+// changes the server under it. (`collections` would not do: it reads the
+// collection list alone and stores nothing.)
 describe("backup-metadata and the thumbnail helpers refresh first", () => {
     beforeEach(async () => {
-        expect(await collectionsCommand(context(), {})).toBe(0);
+        expect(await filesCommand(context(), { collection: "1" })).toBe(0);
         stdout.text = "";
         stderr.text = "";
     });
@@ -1384,3 +1450,169 @@ describe("an ID given on the command line", () => {
         },
     );
 });
+
+// An account with many albums (issue #210). On an empty cache `collections`
+// used to wait for a refresh that fetched and decrypted the files of every
+// album, one album after another, before it printed anything, so on such an
+// account it seemed to hang. The account here has 40 albums of one photo each,
+// encrypted as Ente's clients encrypt them, on the fake Ente server of
+// `test/ente-server.ts`, which also records the path of each request quak
+// sends. The session is the one logging in to that server saves.
+describe("an account with many albums", () => {
+    const ALBUMS = 40;
+    const PASSWORD = "many-albums";
+    const paths: string[] = [];
+    let server: typeof globalThis.fetch;
+    let snapshot: ClientSnapshot;
+
+    // Album n is named `Album n` and holds one photo, n * 100, titled
+    // `photo-n.jpg`.
+    beforeAll(async () => {
+        await sodium.ready;
+        const account = await buildAccount(PASSWORD);
+        const collections: Record<string, unknown>[] = [];
+        const filesByCollection: Record<number, Record<string, unknown>[]> = {};
+        for (let id = 1; id <= ALBUMS; id++) {
+            const albumKey = sodium.crypto_secretbox_keygen();
+            const albumKeyBox = encryptSecretbox(albumKey, account.masterKey);
+            const name = encryptSecretbox(
+                new TextEncoder().encode(`Album ${id}`),
+                albumKey,
+            );
+            collections.push({
+                id,
+                owner: { id: USER_ID },
+                encryptedKey: toBase64(albumKeyBox.ciphertext),
+                keyDecryptionNonce: toBase64(albumKeyBox.nonce),
+                encryptedName: toBase64(name.ciphertext),
+                nameDecryptionNonce: toBase64(name.nonce),
+                type: "album",
+                updationTime: 1,
+            });
+            const photoKey =
+                sodium.crypto_secretstream_xchacha20poly1305_keygen();
+            const photoKeyBox = encryptSecretbox(photoKey, albumKey);
+            const metadata = encryptStreamBlob(
+                new TextEncoder().encode(
+                    JSON.stringify({
+                        title: `photo-${id}.jpg`,
+                        fileType: 0,
+                        creationTime: 1000,
+                        modificationTime: 1000,
+                    }),
+                ),
+                photoKey,
+            );
+            filesByCollection[id] = [
+                {
+                    id: id * 100,
+                    collectionID: id,
+                    ownerID: USER_ID,
+                    encryptedKey: toBase64(photoKeyBox.ciphertext),
+                    keyDecryptionNonce: toBase64(photoKeyBox.nonce),
+                    metadata: {
+                        encryptedData: toBase64(metadata.ciphertext),
+                        decryptionHeader: toBase64(metadata.header),
+                    },
+                    // These tests fetch no original and no thumbnail.
+                    file: { decryptionHeader: "" },
+                    thumbnail: { decryptionHeader: "" },
+                    updationTime: 1,
+                },
+            ];
+        }
+        const ente = buildMetaFetch({
+            verifier: account.verifier,
+            srpAttributes: account.srpAttributes,
+            keyAttributes: account.keyAttributes,
+            encryptedToken: account.encryptedToken,
+            collections,
+            filesByCollection,
+            encryptedMLData: {},
+            fileCiphertexts: {},
+        });
+        server = (async (input: RequestInfo | URL, init?: RequestInit) => {
+            const url =
+                typeof input === "string"
+                    ? input
+                    : input instanceof URL
+                      ? input.href
+                      : input.url;
+            paths.push(new URL(url).pathname);
+            return ente(input, init);
+        }) as typeof globalThis.fetch;
+        const client = await Client.login({
+            email: "many@example.com",
+            password: PASSWORD,
+            apiOptions: { fetch: server },
+        });
+        snapshot = client.toJSON();
+    });
+
+    beforeEach(() => {
+        paths.length = 0;
+    });
+
+    // A context whose saved session sends its requests to the fake server.
+    const accountContext = (): CliContext => {
+        const ctx = context();
+        saveSession(ctx.sessionDir, snapshot);
+        return {
+            ...ctx,
+            loadSession: (path) => loadSession(path, { fetch: server }),
+        };
+    };
+
+    it("collections lists every album from one request, fetching no album's files", async () => {
+        const ctx = accountContext();
+        expect(await collectionsCommand(ctx, {})).toBe(0);
+
+        let albums = "";
+        for (let id = 1; id <= ALBUMS; id++)
+            albums += `${id}\talbum\tAlbum ${id}\n`;
+        expect(stdout.text).toBe(albums);
+        expect(stderr.text).toBe("");
+        expect(paths).toEqual(["/collections/v2"]);
+
+        // It stored nothing that would make a refresh skip an album's files:
+        // `files` after it still finds the album's photo.
+        stdout.text = "";
+        expect(await filesCommand(ctx, { collection: "7" })).toBe(0);
+        expect(stdout.text).toBe("700\timage\tphoto-7.jpg\n");
+    });
+
+    it("files counts on stderr each album whose files its refresh fetched", async () => {
+        expect(await filesCommand(accountContext(), { collection: "7" })).toBe(
+            0,
+        );
+
+        expect(stdout.text).toBe("700\timage\tphoto-7.jpg\n");
+        let progress = "";
+        for (let n = 1; n <= ALBUMS; n++) {
+            progress += `Fetched the files of ${n} of ${ALBUMS} collections\n`;
+        }
+        expect(stderr.text).toBe(progress);
+    });
+
+    // With `--json` the refresh's progress is not printed, as `backup` and
+    // the thumbnail helpers print none of theirs.
+    it("files --json prints no progress", async () => {
+        expect(
+            await filesCommand(accountContext(), {
+                collection: "7",
+                json: true,
+            }),
+        ).toBe(0);
+
+        expect(JSON.parse(stdout.text)).toEqual([
+            {
+                id: 700,
+                title: "photo-7.jpg",
+                fileType: "image",
+                creationTime: 1000,
+                collectionID: 7,
+            },
+        ]);
+        expect(stderr.text).toBe("");
+    });
+});

test/cli/read.test.ts

@@ -3,10 +3,13 @@
  * issue #36, issue #52).
  *
  * The `collections`, `files`, `get`, and `get-thumb` commands must answer for
- * current server state, not the local cache, so each helper forces a
- * `Library.fresh()` round-trip before it reads. The stand-in library below
- * serves nothing until `fresh()` has been awaited, so a helper that read
- * without refreshing would come back empty and fail here.
+ * current server state, not the local cache. `files`, `get` and `get-thumb`
+ * force a `Library.fresh()` round-trip before they read; the stand-in library
+ * below serves nothing until `fresh()` has been awaited, so a helper that read
+ * without refreshing would come back empty and fail here. `collections` asks
+ * the library for the collection list alone (`freshCollections()`, issue
+ * #210), and must not wait for a refresh, which would fetch the files of every
+ * collection.
  *
  * `collections` and `files` also list in the library's enumeration order
  * (`listCollections`/`listFiles`) — the order the pre-library CLI printed — not
@@ -60,10 +63,13 @@ const file = (
 });
 
 // A library that reveals its records only after `fresh()` has been awaited, and
-// serves them in the enumeration order it was given. `photos.byID` returns a
-// stand-in `Photo` carrying just the fileID the helper passes through.
+// serves them in the enumeration order it was given. `freshCollections()`
+// answers the collection list in that order without a refresh. `photos.byID`
+// returns a stand-in `Photo` carrying just the fileID the helper passes
+// through.
 class FakeLibrary implements FreshReadLibrary {
     freshCalls = 0;
+    freshCollectionsCalls = 0;
     private refreshed = false;
 
     constructor(
@@ -77,12 +83,14 @@ class FakeLibrary implements FreshReadLibrary {
         return {};
     }
 
-    listCollections(): Collection[] {
-        return this.refreshed ? this.collections : [];
+    async freshCollections(): Promise<Collection[]> {
+        this.freshCollectionsCalls++;
+        return this.collections;
     }
 
     getCollection(id: number): Collection | undefined {
-        return this.listCollections().find((c) => c.id === id);
+        if (!this.refreshed) return undefined;
+        return this.collections.find((c) => c.id === id);
     }
 
     listFiles(collectionID: number): EnteFile[] {
@@ -106,7 +114,7 @@ class FakeLibrary implements FreshReadLibrary {
 }
 
 describe("CLI read helpers (issue #36 amendment, issue #52)", () => {
-    it("freshCollections refreshes first, then lists in enumeration order", async () => {
+    it("freshCollections reads the collection list alone, in enumeration order", async () => {
         // Enumeration order 2, 1, 3; a newest-first sort would be 3, 2, 1.
         const lib = new FakeLibrary(
             [collection(2, 200), collection(1, 300), collection(3, 100)],
@@ -114,7 +122,8 @@ describe("CLI read helpers (issue #36 amendment, issue #52)", () => {
         );
         const rows = await freshCollections(lib);
 
-        expect(lib.freshCalls).toBe(1);
+        expect(lib.freshCollectionsCalls).toBe(1);
+        expect(lib.freshCalls).toBe(0);
         expect(rows.map((c) => c.id)).toEqual([2, 1, 3]);
         // The projection's newest-first order is a different sequence, so this
         // is not accidentally that order.

test/download/download.test.ts

@@ -1923,6 +1923,53 @@ describe("downloadFile live photos", () => {
         ]);
     });
 
+    // A file system refuses a file name over 255 bytes. Each name is cut
+    // short once its own extension is in it.
+    const imageName = `${"t".repeat(250)}.heic`;
+    const videoName = `${"t".repeat(251)}.mov`;
+
+    // The title fits, but ".heic" is one byte longer than ".jpg".
+    it("cuts the image's name short for a 255-byte title ending in .jpg when no outPath is given", async () => {
+        const title = `${"t".repeat(251)}.jpg`;
+        const t = setup(livePhotoZip(), { ...livePhoto, title });
+
+        const result = await inDirectory(t.dir, () =>
+            downloadFile(t.api, t.file),
+        );
+
+        expect(Buffer.byteLength(title)).toBe(255);
+        expect(Buffer.byteLength(imageName)).toBe(255);
+        expect(Buffer.byteLength(videoName)).toBe(255);
+        expect(result.path).toBe(imageName);
+        expect(result.videoPath).toBe(videoName);
+        expect(readdirSync(t.dir).sort()).toEqual([imageName, videoName]);
+    });
+
+    it("cuts the names of the image and the video short for a 300-byte title with no extension when no outPath is given", async () => {
+        const t = setup(livePhotoZip(), {
+            ...livePhoto,
+            title: "t".repeat(300),
+        });
+
+        const result = await inDirectory(t.dir, () =>
+            downloadFile(t.api, t.file),
+        );
+
+        expect(result.path).toBe(imageName);
+        expect(result.videoPath).toBe(videoName);
+        expect(readdirSync(t.dir).sort()).toEqual([imageName, videoName]);
+    });
+
+    // The caller's path is used as is; only the extension is each part's own.
+    it("keeps an outPath too long for a file name as given", async () => {
+        const t = setup(livePhotoZip(), livePhoto);
+        const outPath = join(t.dir, `${"t".repeat(251)}.jpg`);
+
+        await expect(downloadFile(t.api, t.file, outPath)).rejects.toThrow(
+            /ENAMETOOLONG/,
+        );
+    });
+
     it("gives each part its own extension from the ZIP, letters and digits only", async () => {
         const zip = livePhotoZip({ "image.JPG": IMAGE, "video.m-4v": VIDEO });
         const t = setup(zip, livePhoto);

test/filename/filename.test.ts

@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
 
 import {
+    defaultFileName,
     safeExtension,
     sanitizeFileName,
     shortenKeepingExtension,
@@ -141,9 +142,17 @@ describe("shortenKeepingExtension", () => {
         );
     });
 
-    it("cuts the extension short when it alone does not fit", () => {
+    // A name cut down to its extension would start with a dot, and so be
+    // hidden.
+    it("keeps the first character before the extension, cutting the extension short to leave room for it", () => {
         expect(shortenKeepingExtension(`b.${"e".repeat(300)}`, 255)).toBe(
-            `.${"e".repeat(254)}`,
+            `b.${"e".repeat(253)}`,
+        );
+        expect(shortenKeepingExtension(`ab.${"e".repeat(300)}`, 255)).toBe(
+            `a.${"e".repeat(253)}`,
+        );
+        expect(shortenKeepingExtension(`é.${"e".repeat(300)}`, 255)).toBe(
+            `é.${"e".repeat(252)}`,
         );
         // "€" takes three bytes, so the extension is cut to 253 and the
         // part before it keeps the two bytes left over, for the "a".
@@ -161,6 +170,50 @@ describe("shortenKeepingExtension", () => {
         ).toBe(`${"t".repeat(247)} (7).jpg`);
         expect(
             shortenKeepingExtension(`b.${"e".repeat(300)}`, 255, " (7)"),
-        ).toBe(` (7).${"e".repeat(250)}`);
+        ).toBe(`b (7).${"e".repeat(249)}`);
+    });
+});
+
+describe("defaultFileName", () => {
+    it("is the title when it is safe and fits", () => {
+        expect(defaultFileName("IMG_0001.HEIC", 42)).toBe("IMG_0001.HEIC");
+    });
+
+    it("replaces unsafe characters, and is file-<id> for an empty title", () => {
+        expect(defaultFileName("../x.jpg", 42)).toBe("__x.jpg");
+        expect(defaultFileName("", 42)).toBe("file-42");
+    });
+
+    it("cuts a title over 255 bytes short, keeping its extension", () => {
+        expect(defaultFileName(`${"t".repeat(296)}.jpg`, 42)).toBe(
+            `${"t".repeat(251)}.jpg`,
+        );
+        expect(defaultFileName(`b.${"e".repeat(300)}`, 42)).toBe(
+            `b.${"e".repeat(253)}`,
+        );
+    });
+
+    it("puts `prefix` before the title and leaves room for it", () => {
+        expect(defaultFileName("beach.jpg", 42, { prefix: "thumb_" })).toBe(
+            "thumb_beach.jpg",
+        );
+        expect(
+            defaultFileName(`${"t".repeat(296)}.jpg`, 42, { prefix: "thumb_" }),
+        ).toBe(`thumb_${"t".repeat(245)}.jpg`);
+    });
+
+    // A live photo's image and video are each named with their own
+    // extension, and the name is cut short once that extension is in it.
+    it("puts `ext` in place of the title's extension before cutting the name short", () => {
+        expect(defaultFileName("IMG_0001.HEIC", 42, { ext: ".mov" })).toBe(
+            "IMG_0001.mov",
+        );
+        expect(defaultFileName("", 42, { ext: ".mov" })).toBe("file-42.mov");
+        expect(
+            defaultFileName(`${"t".repeat(251)}.jpg`, 42, { ext: ".heic" }),
+        ).toBe(`${"t".repeat(250)}.heic`);
+        expect(defaultFileName("t".repeat(300), 42, { ext: ".heic" })).toBe(
+            `${"t".repeat(250)}.heic`,
+        );
     });
 });

test/library/fresh.test.ts

@@ -14,6 +14,9 @@
  *     three.
  *  3. A refresh that fails rejects the fresh read (currency was unavailable),
  *     while the default reads stay silent and keep serving the last good copy.
+ *  4. `freshCollections()` reads the collection list alone, with one request
+ *     and no collection's files, and stores nothing, so the next refresh still
+ *     fetches the files of every collection (issue #210).
  *
  * The client is the same metadata-only mock the background-refresh tests use:
  * no crypto, no network, scripted pages, and a record of each call. A long
@@ -270,3 +273,70 @@ describe("Library.fresh", () => {
         }
     });
 });
+
+describe("Library.freshCollections", () => {
+    let dir: string;
+    let cacheDirectory: string;
+
+    beforeEach(() => {
+        dir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "quak-fresh-collections-"));
+        cacheDirectory = join(dir, "cache");
+    });
+
+    afterEach(() => {
+        rmSync(dir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    });
+
+    // A refresh fetches a collection's files only when the collection is new
+    // or its updationTime has advanced past the stored copy's. Had the
+    // collection list been stored, the next refresh would take every
+    // collection for one it already holds the files of, and fetch none.
+    it("asks for the collection list alone and stores nothing", async () => {
+        const client = new MockClient();
+        const page = {
+            collections: [collection(2, 100), collection(1, 110)],
+            deleted: [],
+            cursor: 110,
+        };
+        client.collectionsQueue.push(page, page);
+        client.filesFor(1, {
+            files: [file(1001, 1, 90)],
+            deleted: [],
+            cursor: 90,
+        });
+        client.filesFor(2, {
+            files: [file(2001, 2, 95)],
+            deleted: [],
+            cursor: 95,
+        });
+
+        const lib = await Library.open({
+            client,
+            cacheDirectory,
+            refreshOnOpen: false,
+            refreshIntervalSeconds: SLOW_INTERVAL,
+        });
+        try {
+            // One request, the whole list in the server's order, and no
+            // collection's files.
+            const collections = await lib.freshCollections();
+            expect(collections.map((c) => c.id)).toEqual([2, 1]);
+            expect(collections.map((c) => c.name)).toEqual([
+                "album-2",
+                "album-1",
+            ]);
+            expect(client.collectionsSinceTimes).toEqual([0]);
+            expect(client.filesCalls).toEqual([]);
+            expect(lib.listCollections()).toEqual([]);
+
+            // The next refresh still asks from the beginning and fetches the
+            // files of both collections.
+            const reads = await lib.fresh();
+            expect(client.collectionsSinceTimes).toEqual([0, 0]);
+            expect(reads.photos.byID({ fileID: 1001 })?.fileID).toBe(1001);
+            expect(reads.photos.byID({ fileID: 2001 })?.fileID).toBe(2001);
+        } finally {
+            await lib.close();
+        }
+    });
+});

test/library/library.test.ts

@@ -26,6 +26,9 @@
  *    opening.
  * 8. A save failure that leaves RAM ahead of disk keeps `status().lastError`
  *    set and keeps retrying the write; a later empty refresh does not clear it.
+ * 9. With `refreshOnOpen: false`, `open()` starts no refresh at all, and a
+ *    refresh reports through `onProgress` each collection whose files it
+ *    fetched.
  *
  * The client is a mock: no crypto, no network. It serves scripted pages and
  * records the `sinceTime` each call carried so cursor threading is provable.
@@ -581,6 +584,107 @@ describe("Library.open and background refresh", () => {
         }
     });
 
+    // A caller that asks for each refresh it needs, as the CLI's read commands
+    // do, opens without one: on an empty cache the refresh `open()` would
+    // await fetches the files of every collection, which `quak collections`
+    // never needs (issue #210).
+    it("starts no refresh as it opens when refreshOnOpen is false", async () => {
+        const client = new MockClient();
+        client.collectionsQueue.push({
+            collections: [collection(1, 100)],
+            deleted: [],
+            cursor: 100,
+        });
+
+        const lib = await Library.open({
+            client,
+            cacheDirectory,
+            refreshOnOpen: false,
+            refreshIntervalSeconds: Infinity,
+        });
+        try {
+            expect(client.collectionsSinceTimes).toEqual([]);
+            expect(lib.listCollections()).toEqual([]);
+            expect(lib.status().lastRefreshAt).toBeUndefined();
+
+            // The refresh comes when the caller asks for it.
+            await lib.fresh();
+            expect(client.collectionsSinceTimes).toEqual([0]);
+            expect(lib.listCollections().map((c) => c.id)).toEqual([1]);
+        } finally {
+            await lib.close();
+        }
+    });
+
+    // A refresh fetches the files of each collection that changed, one
+    // collection after another, and stores nothing until it has them all. On
+    // a large account that takes a while, so it reports each collection whose
+    // files it has fetched, and how many it will fetch in all (issue #210).
+    it("reports each collection whose files a refresh fetched", async () => {
+        const events: RefreshEvent[] = [];
+        const client = new MockClient();
+        client.collectionsQueue.push({
+            collections: [
+                collection(1, 100),
+                collection(2, 100),
+                collection(3, 100),
+            ],
+            deleted: [],
+            cursor: 100,
+        });
+
+        const lib = await Library.open({
+            client,
+            cacheDirectory,
+            refreshIntervalSeconds: Infinity,
+            onProgress: (e) => events.push(e),
+        });
+        try {
+            expect(events).toEqual([
+                { operation: "refresh", status: "started" },
+                {
+                    operation: "refresh",
+                    status: "progress",
+                    fetched: 1,
+                    total: 3,
+                },
+                {
+                    operation: "refresh",
+                    status: "progress",
+                    fetched: 2,
+                    total: 3,
+                },
+                {
+                    operation: "refresh",
+                    status: "progress",
+                    fetched: 3,
+                    total: 3,
+                },
+                { operation: "refresh", status: "done" },
+            ]);
+
+            // Only collection 2 changed since, so the next refresh fetches
+            // its files alone and counts one.
+            events.length = 0;
+            client.collectionsQueue.push({
+                collections: [collection(2, 200)],
+                deleted: [],
+                cursor: 200,
+            });
+            await lib.fresh();
+            expect(events.filter((e) => e.status === "progress")).toEqual([
+                {
+                    operation: "refresh",
+                    status: "progress",
+                    fetched: 1,
+                    total: 1,
+                },
+            ]);
+        } finally {
+            await lib.close();
+        }
+    });
+
     it("keeps a save failure visible until a save actually succeeds", async () => {
         const saveSpy = vi
             .spyOn(MetadataStore.prototype, "save")