Hosting Custom Artwork

Codafy needs a URL it can request whenever an image or Motion Artwork file is not available in the device cache. You can use a server on your local network or an HTTPS static-file host that you manage.

Choose local or internet hosting

Local network

A local server is useful when your artwork should remain inside your home network. A URL can look like:

http://192.168.0.25:8000/artwork/album-motion.mp4

The iPhone must be connected to a network that can reach the server during the initial download and whenever Codafy needs to rebuild its cache.

Internet-accessible hosting

An HTTPS server allows Codafy to reach the artwork away from home and makes restoration on another device easier. Use a stable URL and a host whose bandwidth and terms are appropriate for your files.

Minimal Docker example

The following example serves the contents of a local artwork folder on port 8000 using the official python:3.11-slim container image.

services:
artwork:
  image: python:3.11-slim
  command: python -m http.server 8000 --directory /media
  volumes:
    - ./artwork:/media:ro
  ports:
    - "8000:8000"
  restart: unless-stopped

Place files in this structure:

artwork-server/
├── docker-compose.yml
└── artwork/
  ├── album-cover.webp
  └── album-motion.mp4

Start the container from the artwork-server directory:

docker compose up -d

If the computer’s local address is 192.168.0.25, the resulting URLs are:

• http://192.168.0.25:8000/album-cover.webp
• http://192.168.0.25:8000/album-motion.mp4

Verify the URL

Before saving it in Codafy:

1. Open the URL on the same iPhone that runs Codafy.
2. Confirm that only the image or video opens—not an HTML sharing page.
3. Verify that the file loads without signing in.
4. Keep the filename and path unchanged after adding it to Codafy.

Understand caching and backups

With Cache Artwork & Motion enabled, Codafy stores a downloaded copy on the device. That copy may continue working when a local server is temporarily offline, but iOS can remove cached files when storage is needed.

iCloud synchronization and .codafy exports preserve the artwork URL, not the image or video. The server must be reachable again whenever Codafy needs to download the original media.

Review artwork formats and recommended file sizes →