Common Issues — Images Showing as 'Image Expired'

What "Image Expired" means

If you see a placeholder labeled "IMAGE EXPIRED" in the Image Gallery or Media Studio, the file referenced by that database row is no longer accessible from disk or storage backend.

Why this happens

Three known causes:

1. Storage migration — files were originally stored on an S3 bucket that's been decommissioned. Pre-April 2026 generations may show this if the legacy bucket is unreachable.
2. Files removed at deploy time — earlier in launch, a deploy hook briefly wiped untracked files from the uploads directory. This was patched on 2026-05-11; new uploads since then persist correctly.
3. Manual file deletion — if files were manually removed from the storage layer outside of the dashboard.

What still works

Even when the underlying file is missing:

• The database row remains intact
• The original AI prompt is preserved (visible in the "Image Expired" overlay)
• You can re-generate from that prompt with one click

How to recover an image

1. Open Image Gallery
2. Click an "Image Expired" tile
3. View the original prompt in the modal
4. Click Re-Generate
5. A new image is created from the same prompt and saved

Preventing it going forward

After the 2026-05-11 storage fix, new uploads persist correctly. If you're seeing fresh missing-image cards on images generated after that date, please report to support with the image ID and approximate generation time.