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Metadata Storage

Flowinator stores project metadata as readable JSON. Asset and shot version histories are intentionally split into small files so a normal save updates only the selected work item.

Layout

00_Pipeline/
  Metadata/
    Assets/
      Characters/
        Duck/
          asset.json
          Default/
            Rig/
              Default.json
          Red/
            Rig/
              Front.json
    Shots/
      EP01/
        SQ010/
          SH010/
            shot.json
            Animation/
              Default.json

Assets/*/index.json and Shots/index.json are lightweight indexes for fast list loading. asset.json and shot.json contain identity and selectable hierarchy. A work item JSON stores its work versions, publish versions, Live publish record, commit history, and preview path.

Why it is split

  • Saving Duck / Red / Rig / Front changes only its work item JSON.
  • Other variants and shots do not need their version history rewritten.
  • The UI can load lists from lightweight manifests and load detailed version data only for the selected work item.
  • Small writes are better suited to shared drives and reduce the time window for metadata conflicts.

This does not permit two users to safely edit the same work item at once. Teams should assign one active user per work item until a checkout/lock workflow is added.

Existing projects

When a project created with an earlier Flowinator version is first opened, legacy assets.json and shots.json data is migrated into the split structure. The original JSON files are kept in place and are not deleted.

Back up 00_Pipeline/Metadata before opening an older production project with a new Flowinator release.