Date: 2026-04-03
Upload failing on prod
Video uploads worked locally but failed silently on the production server. The Go backend was already configured to accept up to 100MB multipart forms and allowed .mp4/.webm MIME types — so the backend wasn't the problem.
The culprit: Nginx's default client_max_body_size is 1MB. Nginx was rejecting the upload before the request ever reached the Go handler. Added client_max_body_size 100m; to the /v1/ proxy location in docker/nginx.conf, along with proxy_read_timeout 300s and proxy_send_timeout 300s for slow connections.
Also extended the Dio sendTimeout and receiveTimeout for uploadFile() to 5 minutes — the global 30-second timeout was too tight for large video files on slower connections.
Playback not working at all
The video case in both PostCard and PostDetailScreen was a static Container with a play icon and no tap handler. Nothing happened when you clicked it.
Added the video_player package and created VideoPlayerWidget — a stateful widget that:
- Initializes
VideoPlayerController.networkUrlfrom the post's media URL - Shows a loading spinner while the video initializes
- Renders the video at its native aspect ratio (defaults to 16:9 while loading)
- Shows a play/pause overlay that fades out when playing
- Provides a scrubbable
VideoProgressIndicatorat the bottom
The player is used in PostDetailScreen. The post card in the feed still shows a static play icon — tapping it navigates to the detail screen where playback happens.
Go server write timeout
The Go HTTP server had WriteTimeout: 30s. For a video file being streamed over a slow connection, 30 seconds isn't enough to complete the response. Extended to 5 minutes. The nginx /uploads/ proxy location got the same treatment.
http.FileServer (used to serve /uploads/) handles Range requests natively, so seeking in the video player works without any additional backend changes.