From 2026bf53052210ebdbff118a1036db52ab0b7372 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Leopere <colin@nixc.us>
Date: Sun, 15 Feb 2026 11:49:37 -0500
Subject: [PATCH] Move startup camera test to background thread

Server starts accepting requests immediately instead of blocking on
the camera test. If the camera lock is held by a previous process,
the server is still reachable and will attempt live camera access
on each request independently.

Co-authored-by: Cursor <cursoragent@cursor.com>
---
 src/main.rs | 64 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-------------------------
 1 file changed, 34 insertions(+), 30 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index e38be6f..5a3dfe4 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -53,39 +53,43 @@ async fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
         .unwrap_or(DEFAULT_PORT);
     let config = CameraConfig::from_env();
 
-    // Test camera access at startup (informational only).
-    println!("Testing camera access...");
-    match test_camera(&config) {
-        Ok((actual_w, actual_h, frame_size)) => {
-            let conditioned_per_frame = (frame_size / CHUNK_SIZE) * 32;
-            let throughput_30fps = conditioned_per_frame * 30;
-            let raw_mbps = (frame_size as f64 * 30.0 * 8.0) / 1_000_000.0;
-            let conditioned_kbs = throughput_30fps / 1_000;
-            println!(
-                "Camera OK: {}x{}, {} KB/frame ({} bytes)",
-                actual_w, actual_h, frame_size / 1024, frame_size
-            );
-            if raw_mbps >= 1000.0 {
-                println!("Throughput: {:.1} Gbps raw, ~{} MB/s conditioned @ 30fps",
-                    raw_mbps / 1000.0, throughput_30fps / 1_000_000);
-            } else {
-                println!("Throughput: {:.0} Mbps raw, ~{} KB/s conditioned @ 30fps",
-                    raw_mbps, conditioned_kbs);
-            }
-            println!("Ensure lens is covered for optimal quantum noise capture");
-        }
-        Err(e) => {
-            eprintln!(
-                "Camera error: {}. Requests will fail until camera is available.",
-                e
-            );
-            if e.contains("Lock Rejected") || e.contains("lock") {
-                eprintln!(
-                    "  → To release camera: ./scripts/release-camera.sh  then restart."
+    // Test camera access at startup (informational only, non-blocking).
+    // Server starts immediately; the camera test runs in the background.
+    let startup_config = config.clone();
+    std::thread::spawn(move || {
+        println!("Testing camera access...");
+        match test_camera(&startup_config) {
+            Ok((actual_w, actual_h, frame_size)) => {
+                let conditioned_per_frame = (frame_size / CHUNK_SIZE) * 32;
+                let throughput_30fps = conditioned_per_frame * 30;
+                let raw_mbps = (frame_size as f64 * 30.0 * 8.0) / 1_000_000.0;
+                let conditioned_kbs = throughput_30fps / 1_000;
+                println!(
+                    "Camera OK: {}x{}, {} KB/frame ({} bytes)",
+                    actual_w, actual_h, frame_size / 1024, frame_size
                 );
+                if raw_mbps >= 1000.0 {
+                    println!("Throughput: {:.1} Gbps raw, ~{} MB/s conditioned @ 30fps",
+                        raw_mbps / 1000.0, throughput_30fps / 1_000_000);
+                } else {
+                    println!("Throughput: {:.0} Mbps raw, ~{} KB/s conditioned @ 30fps",
+                        raw_mbps, conditioned_kbs);
+                }
+                println!("Ensure lens is covered for optimal quantum noise capture");
+            }
+            Err(e) => {
+                eprintln!(
+                    "Camera warning: {}. Requests will fail until camera is available.",
+                    e
+                );
+                if e.contains("Lock Rejected") || e.contains("lock") {
+                    eprintln!(
+                        "  → To release camera: ./scripts/release-camera.sh  then restart."
+                    );
+                }
             }
         }
-    }
+    });
 
     let app = Router::new()
         .route("/", get(index))