Frontend crashes with "TypeError: Failed to construct 'URL'" when asset thumbnail_url is null during processing

[gimphub-tech]

Describe the bug

After uploading any asset (video, image, or audio), the entire dashboard crashes immediately with the following error:

TypeError: Failed to construct 'URL': Invalid URL
at n (layout-f89cd1e259d41ed4.js:1:32330)
at layout-f89cd1e259d41ed4.js:1:33798

This happens because the layout component tries to construct a URL from thumbnail_url while it is still null (asset is in "processing" state).
The crash renders the entire dashboard unusable until processing completes and one refreshes the browser.

Steps to reproduce

1. Log in to FreeFrame
2. Open any project
3. Upload any asset (video, image, or audio)
4. Observe: dashboard immediately shows "Application error" crash screen
5. Wait for processing to complete (varies: seconds for images, minutes for video)
6. Reload the page — dashboard works again

Expected behavior

The dashboard should remain functional while an asset is processing.
A loading placeholder or spinner should be shown instead of attempting to render a null thumbnail_url. The upload flow should not be interrupted.

Screenshots

During Upload:

After refreshing the browser:

Area

Frontend (Next.js)

Version / Commit

latest main

[ravirajsinh45]

Thanks for the detailed report and the upload-flow repro steps @gimphub-tech.

Quick heads-up on the root cause — turned out to be slightly different from the thumbnail_url path you suspected, but the symptom you observed (crash kicked off by the upload) is exactly right.

Actual cause: apps/web/hooks/use-sse.ts calls new URL(\${API_URL}/events/${projectId}`)without a base. WhenNEXT_PUBLIC_API_URLis set to a relative path like/api(typical for nginx-proxied deployments),new URL("/api/events/...")throwsTypeError: Failed to construct 'URL': Invalid URL. UploadSSEBridge` opens its first SSE connection the moment any asset starts processing after an upload — which lines up with "crashes immediately after upload" and "reload fixes it once processing is done" (no processing items → no SSE listener → no crash).

The reason the minified stack pointed at layout-XXX.js is that Next.js bundles useSSE (via UploadSSEBridge → dashboard layout) into the layout chunk, so the trace looked layout-local even though the throw was in the hook.

Fix is up in #49 — passes window.location.origin as the base URL so relative NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL values resolve correctly. Includes a regression test that stubs NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL='/api' and asserts the hook mounts without throwing.

[gimphub-tech]

Thanks for the detailed explanation! 👊The actual root cause makes total sense in hindsight — the minified stack trace was misleading but the symptom description led you right to it.

Confirmed fixed on my self-hosted instance. 🙌