FrameVault

Shipped FrameVault publicly a few weeks ago.

It’s a desktop-first backup system built for photographers who care about real recovery — not just dumping files in the cloud.

Version numbers are boring, but here’s what v1.0.3 actually represents:

• Fixed verification cycle inconsistencies
• Improved queue handling after interrupted uploads
• Better logging visibility in edge cases
• Improved macOS stability after notarization quirks

None of these are “launch announcement” features.

They’re the unsexy things that make a backup product trustworthy.

The hardest part of building this hasn’t been uploads or cloud storage.

It’s trust.

Backup software only matters when something goes wrong.

So every minor release now is about predictability, integrity, and reducing edge cases.

Still early. Still small.

But shipping consistently.

Would love feedback from other builders working on reliability-first products.

Just shipped FrameVault v1.0.1.

macOS (Apple Silicon) is now fully supported alongside Windows.

FrameVault is a desktop-first photo backup app built specifically for photographers who want:

• Automated backup of selected folders
• Restore limits enforced per subscription
• Real cloud storage (Backblaze B2)
• No “trust us” black box syncing

The Mac release required full hardened runtime signing, entitlements for a bundled backend, notarization, and stapling — but it’s now properly signed and approved by Apple.

Download:
https://cameratrician.com/framevault

Would appreciate feedback from other indie builders, especially around onboarding and first-run UX.

Shipped FrameVault v1.0.0 today.

FrameVault is a desktop-first disaster-recovery system for photographers. The core idea is simple: backups that aren’t tested for restore don’t count.

Key points:

• Desktop app (runs locally, not browser-based)

• Preserves real directory structures

• Explicit storage, restore, and device limits

• Built around restore workflows, not just uploads

Windows version is live now.
macOS version is next.

This was built and tested against real upload/restore scenarios, not demos.

Website + download:
https://www.cameratrician.com/framevault/

Happy to answer technical questions.

I’m a photographer and engineer, and after losing trust in cloud backup tools over the years, I ended up building my own system.

The problem wasn’t “storage” — it was reliability at scale.

Once you get into multi-TB photo libraries, a lot of things quietly fall apart:

- background uploaders stall or silently skip files

- restores are slow, incomplete, or painful

- billing and quotas get weird

- you don’t actually know what’s backed up vs what isn’t

Most tools are great demos until you really stress them.

So instead of another web app, I’ve been building a desktop-first system:

- local file watching

- resumable background uploads

- integrity checks

- predictable restores

- boring, visible behavior (logs, queues, limits you can actually see)

It’s taken far longer than expected — especially getting restore flows and subscriptions right — and there were multiple points where I seriously questioned whether it was worth continuing.

Right now it’s close to release, and I’m finally at the stage where I trust it with my own archive.

I’m curious:

If you’ve built or used backup, sync, or infrastructure-style products — what were the hardest problems you didn’t expect going in?

And if you’re a founder who kept rebuilding something “boring” because existing tools weren’t good enough — how did you know when it was ready to put in front of people?