Media Trust Tools

This project now centers on three related macOS tools:

• MHL Verify: load an existing MHL and verify whether media files still match it.
• Drop Verify: drag one folder in and generate a media MHL, contact sheet PDF, and EXIF metadata CSV.
• CopyTrust: offload one or more camera cards/folders to multiple destinations with receipts and MHL support.

Current release: v2.1.2 (build 1).

Tools

MHL Verify

• Verify any existing .mhl file against a media set
• Useful for re-checking copies, archive restores, and handoff deliveries
• Works alongside MHLs created by Drop Verify, CopyTrust, and other MHL-capable tools

Drop Verify

• Single-folder drag-and-drop workflow
• Media-only recursive scan
• Hidden files excluded by default
• Configurable exclusion patterns
• Generates:
  • MHL (Media Hash List)
  • Contact sheet PDF
  • EXIF camera metadata CSV
• Can write artifacts into the dropped folder and/or mirror them to an extra export folder
• Uses Drop Verify_Receipts/ for local output packaging

CopyTrust

• Source card detection (DCIM, camera folder signatures, volume-name hints)
• Volume browser for discovering mounted external drives, camera cards, SMB/NFS/AFP network shares, and FUSE volumes (e.g. LucidLink)
• CopyTrust-only Volume Pool setup area for fast pre-copy staging:
  • camera cards, drives, and network volumes in one grid
  • quick add buttons and drag-drop into Sources/Destinations
  • hidden after first copy starts
• Source volumes auto-hidden from the destination picker (can't offload to the same card)
• Finder folder pickers used by Add Source and Add Destination now allow creating a new folder directly from the picker when needed
• Multiple destinations per ingest
• Destination preset groups (save/load/rename/delete) for one-click destination set restore
• Preflight checks per destination:
  • free space
  • write permissions
  • reachability (network volumes)
• Per-destination progress with four-phase tracking (scanning → copying → verifying → complete)
• Re-openable copy progress window during active copy:
  • opens automatically when copy starts
  • Close hides it without stopping copy
  • Open Progress restores it from the main action bar
• Main action bar Cancel Copy control during active copy
• Activity Log auto-expands when copy starts, remains user-collapsible, and supports inline height resize
• Main action bar live speed badge after Auto:
  • fixed-width speedometer chip
  • shows aggregate throughput across all active destinations
• Subfolder naming token {increment} for multi-card incremental folder names ({card_index} still supported for older templates)
• Post-copy verification with xxHash64 (None / Quick / Full)
• MHL v1.1 hash list generation (compatible with OffShoot, Silverstack, ShotPut Pro, YoYotta)
• MHL import verification — drag-and-drop any .mhl file to re-verify destination files
• Verify panel actions for operational recovery:
  • Retry MHL Export (without recopy)
  • Deep Compare Files (verified-file, path-agnostic integrity compare across all copied source/destination pairs)
  • Open Compare Browser (full source-vs-destination file table)
  • Copy Missing (repair missing copied files directly from the compare browser, then re-run file checks)
• Failed/unreadable MHL handling in the Verify panel:
  • explicit failed file list with path + reason
  • Reveal / Reveal All
  • Copy Paths
  • Rename Bad MHL (renames unreadable manifests so they are no longer scanned)
• Inline Bad MHL Recovery checklist plus first-detection alert with the recommended order:
  • Deep Compare Files
  • Rename Bad MHL
  • Re-Verify Destinations
• Retry MHL Export writes a fresh timestamped MHL filename, so regenerated manifests are clearly newer than archived/stale ones
• Direct Reset Session action-bar button, disabled until a copy session has started
• Ghost placeholder slots hinting multi-source and multi-destination support
• Non-destructive Review & Verify flow while work remains, then a clear End & Keep Destinations… primary action when the ingest queue is complete
• Auto-advance multi-source copy — queue cards and walk away; next source starts automatically using its generated per-card subfolder
• Contact sheet PDF generated after each ingest — dark-themed, one clip per row with rich metadata (codec, FPS, frame count, resolution, bitrate, audio channels) and thumbnail frames (configurable in CopyTrust Settings → Post-Copy)
• Optional Open contact sheet automatically after creation setting in CopyTrust Settings → Post-Copy
• CopyTrust Settings now includes dedicated tabs for Card Copy, Camera Card Exclusions, and Post-Copy
• Per-ingest trust artifacts:
  • JSON receipt
  • TXT receipt
  • per-ingest LOG
  • contact sheet PDF (when enabled)
• Session-close receipt (JSON + TXT) with aggregated verification metadata
• Session Summary now includes both per-source totals and aggregated per-destination totals
• First-run and anytime Help workflow:
  • First Steps & Recovery sheet opens once for onboarding
  • Help > CopyTrust Help reopens it at any time
  • includes copy-failure and MHL-recovery step-by-step guidance
• Safe-to-eject flow after successful transfer

Logs and Receipts

Card mode runtime log

• Sandboxed app location (default):
  • ~/Library/Containers/com.copytrust.app/Data/Library/Application Support/CopyTrust/logs/<SESSION>/session_<SESSION>.log
• App menu shortcut: Help → Reveal Session Log
• Log file is now scoped to the active ingest session, not one shared rolling file.

Session receipts

• Destination copy: <destination>/CopyTrust_Receipts/
• Local app copy: ~/Library/Application Support/CopyTrust/receipts/
• Each ingest action now writes its own named receipt set in CopyTrust_Receipts/.
• Ending the session still writes the aggregate session-close receipt.

Contact sheet PDF (Card mode, when enabled)

• Written to: <destination>/CopyTrust_Receipts/contactsheet_{sourceAlias}_{date}.pdf
• Dark-themed US Letter PDF, one clip per row: metadata left, thumbnail frames right
• Videos: 3 frames + file type, frame count, duration, resolution, aspect ratio, codec, bitrate, FPS, audio channels
• Photos: single thumbnail + camera make/model, lens, exposure, ISO, resolution
• Header: source alias title, operator, date, session ID, source/destination paths, camera summary, and a summary line (total clips, frames, duration, file size)
• Useful as a quick visual check of the transferred media after copy and verification; integrity proof still comes from verification, receipts, and MHLs
• Supports RAW (CR3, ARW, NEF), HEIF/HEIC, JPEG, and all common video formats natively
• Best-effort: failure does not block receipts or MHL generation

CopyTrust Settings

• Card Copy
  • operator name
  • subfolder naming template ({increment} and legacy {card_index})
  • auto-advance and auto-eject behavior
  • verification level
• Camera Card Exclusions
  • enable/disable default camera-card exclusion patterns
  • add or remove custom camera-card patterns
• Post-Copy
  • generate contact sheet PDF
  • open contact sheet automatically after creation
  • export session receipts, per-copy logs, MHL files, and contact sheets to a separate chosen folder

CopyTrust Menus

• CopyTrust > Settings… opens the dedicated CopyTrust settings sheet
• Help > CopyTrust Help opens the operator help / first-steps guide
• Help > Reveal Session Log opens the active session log in Finder
• Help > Reveal Export Folder opens the configured export folder when one is set
• About CopyTrust includes the code.matx.ca link

MHL hash lists (Card mode, Full verification)

• Written to the destination root alongside copied files
• Filename: CopyTrust - {date} at {time} - {sourceName}.mhl
• Industry-standard MHL v1.1 XML with xxHash64 digests
• Re-importable: drag an MHL onto the Post-Copy Verification section to re-check destination files at any time
• If an MHL becomes unreadable, CopyTrust can now list it and archive it in place as .mhl.unreadable* so future re-verify runs ignore it
• Archiving uses the destination folder's existing access grant, so the rename works without requiring a separate manual cleanup step

Keyboard Shortcuts

• Toggle mode: ⌘⇧C
• Compare folders (Folder mode): ⌘K
• Refresh comparison (Folder mode): ⌘R
• Reset folders (Folder mode): ⌘⇧N