diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index a0203cb7..e45a2f1e 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -155,6 +155,13 @@ name = "bench_thumbnails_mem"
 path = "examples/bench_thumbnails_mem.rs"
 required-features = ["bench"]
 
+# Video thumbnail benchmark — Option B (server-side ffmpeg frame → WebP). Needs
+# `ffmpeg` on PATH (libx264/libx265/libvpx-vp9 to synthesize the test corpus).
+[[example]]
+name = "bench_video_thumbnails"
+path = "examples/bench_video_thumbnails.rs"
+required-features = ["bench"]
+
 # DB connection-pool tail-latency benchmark (needs the dev Postgres up).
 [[example]]
 name = "bench_db_pool"
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 347f01cb..e05fcd3e 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -67,9 +67,11 @@ LABEL org.opencontainers.image.title="OxiCloud" \
 
 # Install only necessary runtime dependencies and update packages
 # su-exec is needed by the entrypoint to drop privileges after fixing volume permissions.
+# ffmpeg powers server-side video thumbnail extraction (one frame → WebP pipeline);
+# without it videos simply have no thumbnail (OXICLOUD_ENABLE_VIDEO_THUMBNAILS).
 # No libpq: the pure-Rust sqlx postgres driver never links it.
 RUN apk --no-cache upgrade && \
-    apk add --no-cache libgcc ca-certificates tzdata su-exec && \
+    apk add --no-cache libgcc ca-certificates tzdata su-exec ffmpeg && \
     addgroup -g 1001 -S oxicloud && \
     adduser -u 1001 -S oxicloud -G oxicloud
 
diff --git a/benches/VIDEO-THUMB.md b/benches/VIDEO-THUMB.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9aae02e5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benches/VIDEO-THUMB.md
@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+# Video thumbnails — server-side ffmpeg (Option B)
+
+Video thumbnails are now generated **server-side on upload**: a lifecycle hook
+streams the (decrypted) blob to a temp file, `ffmpeg` extracts one representative
+frame, and that frame goes through the **same WebP pipeline as photos** — so
+video thumbnails are WebP, blob-hash keyed (dedup'd), and content-negotiated,
+exactly like images.
+
+This replaces the old browser path, which only generated a thumbnail when the
+Photos grid first rendered a video tile, the `<img>` 404'd, and the browser
+**re-downloaded the video** to seek a frame and PUT 3 JPEGs back.
+
+## What it buys
+
+1. **Coverage incl. HEVC/iPhone.** The browser `<video>` element cannot decode
+   HEVC/H.265 (`.mov` from iPhones), ProRes, many mkv/avi — so the old path
+   produced **no** thumbnail for them. ffmpeg decodes all of them.
+2. **No client re-download.** The frame is taken server-side from the blob the
+   server already has — the browser never pulls the video back.
+3. **Eager.** Thumbnails are ready before the gallery asks; tiles paint
+   immediately instead of waiting on a failed `<img>` + re-download cascade.
+
+## Reproduce
+
+```bash
+cargo run --release --features bench --example bench_video_thumbnails
+```
+
+Requires `ffmpeg` on PATH (with libx264/libx265/libvpx-vp9 to synthesize the
+test corpus — written to `benches/corpus/`, git-ignored). The corpus is a
+`testsrc` pattern at several codecs/resolutions, incl. an HEVC `.mov`.
+
+## Results (14 cores, ffmpeg 8.1)
+
+| case            | video KB | extract ms | frame KB | icon | preview | large (WebP B) | ok |
+|-----------------|---------:|-----------:|---------:|-----:|--------:|---------------:|----|
+| h264 720p       |     46.9 |       49.2 |     44.1 | 1818 |    3836 |           6844 | ✅ |
+| h264 1080p      |     76.1 |       64.9 |     37.9 | 1844 |    3888 |           6870 | ✅ |
+| HEVC 1080p .mov |     38.6 |       69.5 |     51.9 | 1858 |    3928 |           6976 | ✅ |
+| VP9 720p .webm  |    187.8 |       67.8 |     14.6 | 1824 |    3814 |           6650 | ✅ |
+
+- **Coverage: 4/4 codecs, including HEVC/.mov** — the browser path produced 0 for
+  HEVC. Going from "no thumbnail" to "a thumbnail" is the real headline for
+  iPhone footage.
+- **Extraction: ~50–70 ms/frame** for 720p–1080p. Paid once, in a background task,
+  per unique blob — never on the request path. Bounded by a per-process timeout
+  and a dedicated concurrency semaphore.
+- **Served bytes per tile: ~3.8 KB (preview WebP)** — same compact WebP as photos.
+
+### Transfer per first view (the bandwidth win)
+
+```
+OLD (browser re-downloads the video, worst case): 349 KB for 4 tiles  +  3 JPEG PUTs/video
+NEW (fetch the server WebP preview):               15.1 KB             +  0 client decode
+→ ~23× less data on this corpus.
+```
+
+> ⚠️ The test clips are tiny (3 s `testsrc`, 38–188 KB), which **understates** the
+> win enormously. Real phone videos are 10–100+ MB; the old path re-downloaded a
+> large fraction of that per first view, vs ~4 KB now — i.e. thousands-fold less
+> for a 50 MB clip, plus it works for HEVC at all.
+
+## How it's wired
+
+- `application/ports/video_frame_ports.rs` — `VideoFramePort` (extract one PNG
+  frame from a video file).
+- `infrastructure/services/ffmpeg_video_frame_service.rs` — shells out to the
+  system `ffmpeg` (no compile-time libav dep); `NoopVideoFrameService` when
+  ffmpeg is absent/disabled, so videos degrade to "no thumbnail" gracefully.
+- `ThumbnailRefreshHook::on_file_created` routes `video/*` to
+  `generate_video_thumbnails_background`, which streams the blob to a temp file
+  (capped, decrypting), extracts a frame, and reuses `render_and_persist_all_webp`.
+- GET `/api/files/{id}/thumbnail/{size}` serves the blob-hash WebP for videos
+  too; a miss returns 204 (generation in flight / unavailable).
+
+## Config
+
+| Env | Default | Meaning |
+|---|---|---|
+| `OXICLOUD_ENABLE_VIDEO_THUMBNAILS` | `true` | Master switch (also needs ffmpeg present). |
+| `OXICLOUD_FFMPEG_PATH` | `ffmpeg` | Path to the ffmpeg binary. |
+| `OXICLOUD_VIDEO_THUMBNAIL_CONCURRENCY` | `cpus/2` | Max concurrent ffmpeg processes. |
+| `OXICLOUD_VIDEO_THUMBNAIL_TIMEOUT_SECS` | `30` | Per-extraction wall-clock cap. |
+| `OXICLOUD_VIDEO_THUMBNAIL_MAX_MB` | `2048` | Skip videos larger than this (no temp materialise). |
+
+The Docker runtime image installs `ffmpeg`. Existing videos uploaded before this
+change get a thumbnail the next time their blob is (re)created; a backfill task
+is a possible follow-up.
diff --git a/examples/bench_video_thumbnails.rs b/examples/bench_video_thumbnails.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b1a542e7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/bench_video_thumbnails.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,232 @@
+//! Video thumbnail benchmark — Option B (server-side ffmpeg frame → WebP).
+//!
+//! Measures the "after" of moving video thumbnail generation off the browser
+//! and onto the server:
+//!   * extraction time per codec/resolution (the new server cost),
+//!   * the WebP thumbnail bytes actually served per tile (the new transfer),
+//!   * codec coverage incl. HEVC/MOV — the iPhone case a browser `<video>`
+//!     cannot decode, so the old client-side path produced *no* thumbnail.
+//!
+//! vs the OLD client-side path, whose first view of each video tile re-downloaded
+//! the video from the server (metadata + byte-ranges, up to the whole file) and
+//! PUT 3 JPEGs back.
+//!
+//! Requires `ffmpeg` on PATH (with libx264/libx265/libvpx-vp9 to generate the
+//! corpus). Run: `cargo run --release --features bench --example bench_video_thumbnails`.
+
+use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
+use std::time::{Duration, Instant};
+
+use oxicloud::application::ports::thumbnail_ports::ThumbnailFormat;
+use oxicloud::application::ports::video_frame_ports::VideoFramePort;
+use oxicloud::infrastructure::services::ffmpeg_video_frame_service::FfmpegVideoFrameService;
+use oxicloud::infrastructure::services::thumbnail_service::{ThumbnailService, ThumbnailSize};
+
+/// One synthetic test video: a label, output filename, and the ffmpeg encode
+/// args (a `testsrc` pattern keeps it license-free and deterministic enough).
+struct VideoSpec {
+    name: &'static str,
+    filename: &'static str,
+    encode_args: &'static [&'static str],
+}
+
+const SPECS: &[VideoSpec] = &[
+    VideoSpec {
+        name: "h264 720p",
+        filename: "video_h264_720p.mp4",
+        encode_args: &[
+            "-f",
+            "lavfi",
+            "-i",
+            "testsrc=duration=3:size=1280x720:rate=30",
+            "-c:v",
+            "libx264",
+            "-pix_fmt",
+            "yuv420p",
+        ],
+    },
+    VideoSpec {
+        name: "h264 1080p",
+        filename: "video_h264_1080p.mp4",
+        encode_args: &[
+            "-f",
+            "lavfi",
+            "-i",
+            "testsrc=duration=3:size=1920x1080:rate=30",
+            "-c:v",
+            "libx264",
+            "-pix_fmt",
+            "yuv420p",
+        ],
+    },
+    VideoSpec {
+        // The iPhone case: HEVC/H.265 in a QuickTime .mov — undecodable by a
+        // browser <video>, so the old client path produced nothing for these.
+        name: "HEVC 1080p .mov",
+        filename: "video_hevc_1080p.mov",
+        encode_args: &[
+            "-f",
+            "lavfi",
+            "-i",
+            "testsrc=duration=3:size=1920x1080:rate=30",
+            "-c:v",
+            "libx265",
+            "-tag:v",
+            "hvc1",
+            "-pix_fmt",
+            "yuv420p",
+        ],
+    },
+    VideoSpec {
+        name: "VP9 720p .webm",
+        filename: "video_vp9_720p.webm",
+        encode_args: &[
+            "-f",
+            "lavfi",
+            "-i",
+            "testsrc=duration=3:size=1280x720:rate=30",
+            "-c:v",
+            "libvpx-vp9",
+            "-b:v",
+            "1M",
+        ],
+    },
+];
+
+fn corpus_dir() -> PathBuf {
+    PathBuf::from(env!("CARGO_MANIFEST_DIR"))
+        .join("benches")
+        .join("corpus")
+}
+
+/// Generate a test video with ffmpeg if it isn't already on disk.
+fn ensure_video(ffmpeg: &str, spec: &VideoSpec, path: &Path) {
+    if path.exists() {
+        return;
+    }
+    let mut cmd = std::process::Command::new(ffmpeg);
+    cmd.arg("-y")
+        .arg("-hide_banner")
+        .arg("-loglevel")
+        .arg("error");
+    cmd.args(spec.encode_args);
+    cmd.arg(path);
+    match cmd.status() {
+        Ok(s) if s.success() => {}
+        Ok(s) => eprintln!("ffmpeg gen {} exited {s}", spec.name),
+        Err(e) => eprintln!("ffmpeg gen {} failed: {e}", spec.name),
+    }
+}
+
+#[tokio::main]
+async fn main() {
+    let ffmpeg = std::env::var("OXICLOUD_FFMPEG_PATH").unwrap_or_else(|_| "ffmpeg".to_string());
+    if !FfmpegVideoFrameService::is_available(&ffmpeg) {
+        eprintln!("ffmpeg not found (set OXICLOUD_FFMPEG_PATH) — cannot run video bench");
+        std::process::exit(1);
+    }
+
+    let dir = corpus_dir();
+    let _ = std::fs::create_dir_all(&dir);
+    for spec in SPECS {
+        ensure_video(&ffmpeg, spec, &dir.join(spec.filename));
+    }
+
+    let svc = FfmpegVideoFrameService::new(ffmpeg.clone(), 4, Duration::from_secs(60));
+
+    println!("== Video thumbnails: server-side ffmpeg frame → WebP pipeline (Option B) ==");
+    println!(
+        "| {:<16} | {:>9} | {:>10} | {:>9} | {:>6} | {:>8} | {:>7} | {:<4} |",
+        "case", "video KB", "extract ms", "frame KB", "icon B", "prev B", "large B", "ok"
+    );
+    println!(
+        "|{:-<18}|{:-<11}|{:-<12}|{:-<11}|{:-<8}|{:-<10}|{:-<9}|{:-<6}|",
+        "", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""
+    );
+
+    let mut old_transfer_kb = 0f64; // re-download the video on first view (worst case)
+    let mut new_transfer_b = 0u64; // fetch the preview WebP thumbnail
+    let mut covered = 0usize;
+
+    for spec in SPECS {
+        let path = dir.join(spec.filename);
+        let video_kb = std::fs::metadata(&path).map(|m| m.len()).unwrap_or(0) as f64 / 1024.0;
+
+        // Best-of-3 extraction time.
+        let mut best = Duration::MAX;
+        let mut frame = bytes::Bytes::new();
+        let mut ok = true;
+        for _ in 0..3 {
+            let t = Instant::now();
+            match svc.extract_frame(&path).await {
+                Ok(f) => {
+                    best = best.min(t.elapsed());
+                    frame = f;
+                }
+                Err(e) => {
+                    println!("| {:<16} | extract failed: {e}", spec.name);
+                    ok = false;
+                    break;
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        if !ok || frame.is_empty() {
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        let thumbs = match ThumbnailService::bench_render_all_fmt(&frame, ThumbnailFormat::Webp) {
+            Ok(t) => t,
+            Err(e) => {
+                println!("| {:<16} | webp render failed: {e}", spec.name);
+                continue;
+            }
+        };
+        let sz = |want: ThumbnailSize| {
+            thumbs
+                .iter()
+                .find(|(s, _)| *s == want)
+                .map(|(_, b)| *b)
+                .unwrap_or(0)
+        };
+        let (icon, preview, large) = (
+            sz(ThumbnailSize::Icon),
+            sz(ThumbnailSize::Preview),
+            sz(ThumbnailSize::Large),
+        );
+
+        covered += 1;
+        old_transfer_kb += video_kb;
+        new_transfer_b += preview as u64;
+
+        println!(
+            "| {:<16} | {:>9.1} | {:>10.1} | {:>9.1} | {:>6} | {:>8} | {:>7} | {:<4} |",
+            spec.name,
+            video_kb,
+            best.as_secs_f64() * 1000.0,
+            frame.len() as f64 / 1024.0,
+            icon,
+            preview,
+            large,
+            "yes"
+        );
+    }
+
+    println!(
+        "\n  Coverage: {}/{} codecs produced a thumbnail server-side (incl. HEVC/.mov — the \
+         browser <video> path produced 0 for HEVC).",
+        covered,
+        SPECS.len()
+    );
+    let new_kb = new_transfer_b as f64 / 1024.0;
+    println!(
+        "  Per-first-view transfer to show {} video tiles:\n    OLD (client re-downloads the video, worst case): {:.0} KB  +  3 JPEG PUTs/video\n    NEW (fetch the server WebP preview):              {:.1} KB  +  0 client decode\n    → up to {:.0}× less data, and it is eager (ready before the gallery asks).",
+        covered,
+        old_transfer_kb,
+        new_kb,
+        if new_kb > 0.0 {
+            old_transfer_kb / new_kb
+        } else {
+            0.0
+        }
+    );
+}
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/api/endpoints/photos.ts b/frontend/src/lib/api/endpoints/photos.ts
index 72ac8ba5..dfa4a0b9 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/api/endpoints/photos.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/api/endpoints/photos.ts
@@ -114,21 +114,3 @@ export async function batchTrash(fileIds: string[]): Promise<Set<string>> {
 	}
 	return trashed;
 }
-
-/**
- * Upload a generated thumbnail blob for a file at a given size. Used by the
- * photos grid to persist client-generated video frames server-side.
- */
-export async function uploadThumbnail(
-	fileId: string,
-	size: 'icon' | 'preview' | 'large',
-	blob: Blob,
-	contentType = 'image/jpeg'
-): Promise<void> {
-	await apiFetch(`/api/files/${fileId}/thumbnail/${size}`, {
-		method: 'PUT',
-		credentials: 'same-origin',
-		headers: { ...getCsrfHeaders(), 'Content-Type': contentType },
-		body: blob
-	});
-}
diff --git a/frontend/src/routes/photos/+page.svelte b/frontend/src/routes/photos/+page.svelte
index 96ac53bf..2a8042ed 100644
--- a/frontend/src/routes/photos/+page.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/routes/photos/+page.svelte
@@ -6,12 +6,7 @@
 	import { useSelection } from '$lib/composables/useSelection.svelte';
 	import { errorToast } from '$lib/utils/errors';
 	import { onMount } from 'svelte';
-	import {
-		batchTrash,
-		fetchPhotos,
-		uploadThumbnail,
-		type PhotoItem
-	} from '$lib/api/endpoints/photos';
+	import { batchTrash, fetchPhotos, type PhotoItem } from '$lib/api/endpoints/photos';
 	import { peopleEnabled } from '$lib/api/endpoints/people';
 	import { fileDownloadUrl, fileThumbnailUrl } from '$lib/api/endpoints/files';
 	import Icon from '$lib/icons/Icon.svelte';
@@ -55,9 +50,6 @@
 		else if (tab === 'people') void peopleView.load();
 	});
 
-	/** Client-generated video frame thumbnails (file id → data/URL). */
-	let videoThumbs = $state<Record<string, string>>({});
-
 	/** EXIF-aware timestamp (seconds → ms), matching the OLD grouping logic. */
 	function bucketKey(d: Date): string {
 		const y = d.getFullYear();
@@ -290,95 +282,17 @@
 	}
 
 	/**
-	 * A tile thumbnail failed to load (no server thumbnail — e.g. SVGs, which the
-	 * backend can't rasterise — or a transient error). Hide the broken <img> so
-	 * the always-present placeholder shows through, and for videos kick off
-	 * client-side frame extraction (which, on success, re-renders the tile from
-	 * `videoThumbs`).
+	 * A tile thumbnail failed to load — no server thumbnail yet (SVGs the backend
+	 * can't rasterise; a video whose server-side frame extraction is still running
+	 * or unavailable) or a transient error. Hide the broken <img> so the
+	 * always-present placeholder (and, for videos, the play badge) shows through.
+	 *
+	 * Video thumbnails are now produced server-side (ffmpeg) on upload through the
+	 * same WebP pipeline as photos — the browser no longer re-downloads the video
+	 * to extract a frame.
 	 */
-	function onThumbError(e: Event, photo: PhotoItem) {
+	function onThumbError(e: Event) {
 		(e.currentTarget as HTMLImageElement).style.display = 'none';
-		if (isVideo(photo)) void generateVideoThumb(photo);
-	}
-
-	// ── Client-side video thumbnail generation ──────────────────────────────
-	// When the server has no thumbnail for a video tile the <img> errors; we
-	// then extract a frame with the browser's native decoder and upload it.
-
-	async function generateVideoThumb(file: PhotoItem) {
-		if (videoThumbs[file.id]) return;
-		try {
-			const bitmap = await frameFromVideo(`/api/files/${file.id}?inline=true`);
-			const SIZES: Array<['icon' | 'preview' | 'large', number, number]> = [
-				['icon', 150, 150],
-				['preview', 400, 400],
-				['large', 800, 800]
-			];
-			let previewData = '';
-			// Render the blobs and push all three sizes in parallel; `previewData`
-			// is captured before its upload so the local preview shows even if that
-			// upload fails (allSettled swallows per-size failures, as before).
-			await Promise.allSettled(
-				SIZES.map(async ([size, w, h]) => {
-					const blob = await bitmapToBlob(bitmap, w, h);
-					if (size === 'preview') previewData = await blobToDataUrl(blob);
-					await uploadThumbnail(file.id, size, blob);
-				})
-			);
-			if (previewData) videoThumbs = { ...videoThumbs, [file.id]: previewData };
-		} catch {
-			// Keep the generic play badge on failure.
-		}
-	}
-
-	function frameFromVideo(src: string): Promise<ImageBitmap> {
-		return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
-			const video = document.createElement('video');
-			video.src = src;
-			video.muted = true;
-			video.preload = 'metadata';
-			video.onloadedmetadata = () => {
-				video.currentTime = (video.duration || 3) / 3;
-			};
-			video.onseeked = async () => {
-				try {
-					const bitmap = await createImageBitmap(video);
-					video.removeAttribute('src');
-					video.load();
-					resolve(bitmap);
-				} catch (e) {
-					reject(e instanceof Error ? e : new Error(String(e)));
-				}
-			};
-			video.onerror = () => reject(new Error('video frame extraction failed'));
-		});
-	}
-
-	async function bitmapToBlob(bitmap: ImageBitmap, tw: number, th: number): Promise<Blob> {
-		const ratio = bitmap.width / bitmap.height;
-		const target = tw / th;
-		const w = ratio > target ? tw : Math.round(th * ratio);
-		const h = ratio > target ? Math.round(tw / ratio) : th;
-		const canvas = document.createElement('canvas');
-		canvas.width = w;
-		canvas.height = h;
-		canvas.getContext('2d')?.drawImage(bitmap, 0, 0, w, h);
-		return new Promise<Blob>((resolve, reject) => {
-			canvas.toBlob(
-				(b) => (b ? resolve(b) : reject(new Error('canvas toBlob failed'))),
-				'image/jpeg',
-				0.8
-			);
-		});
-	}
-
-	function blobToDataUrl(blob: Blob): Promise<string> {
-		return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
-			const reader = new FileReader();
-			reader.onload = () => resolve(String(reader.result));
-			reader.onerror = () => reject(new Error('blob read failed'));
-			reader.readAsDataURL(blob);
-		});
 	}
 
 	onMount(() => {
@@ -540,19 +454,15 @@
 			     it can't load (no server thumbnail, e.g. SVG), hides itself to reveal
 			     this default rather than the browser's broken-image glyph. -->
 			<span class="photo-tile__placeholder" aria-hidden="true"><Icon name="file-image" /></span>
-			{#if videoThumbs[photo.id]}
-				<img src={videoThumbs[photo.id]} alt={photo.name} loading="lazy" decoding="async" />
-			{:else}
-				<img
-					src={fileThumbnailUrl(photo.id, 'preview')}
-					srcset={`${fileThumbnailUrl(photo.id, 'icon')} 150w, ${fileThumbnailUrl(photo.id, 'preview')} 400w, ${fileThumbnailUrl(photo.id, 'large')} 800w`}
-					sizes="(max-width: 768px) 33vw, 200px"
-					alt={photo.name}
-					loading="lazy"
-					decoding="async"
-					onerror={(e) => onThumbError(e, photo)}
-				/>
-			{/if}
+			<img
+				src={fileThumbnailUrl(photo.id, 'preview')}
+				srcset={`${fileThumbnailUrl(photo.id, 'icon')} 150w, ${fileThumbnailUrl(photo.id, 'preview')} 400w, ${fileThumbnailUrl(photo.id, 'large')} 800w`}
+				sizes="(max-width: 768px) 33vw, 200px"
+				alt={photo.name}
+				loading="lazy"
+				decoding="async"
+				onerror={onThumbError}
+			/>
 			{#if isVideo(photo)}
 				<span class="photo-tile__video-badge" aria-hidden="true"><Icon name="play" /></span>
 			{/if}
diff --git a/src/application/ports/mod.rs b/src/application/ports/mod.rs
index 352ed8f4..ba8fd2b3 100644
--- a/src/application/ports/mod.rs
+++ b/src/application/ports/mod.rs
@@ -26,4 +26,5 @@ pub mod thumbnail_ports;
 pub mod transcode_ports;
 pub mod trash_ports;
 pub mod user_lifecycle;
+pub mod video_frame_ports;
 pub mod zip_ports;
diff --git a/src/application/ports/video_frame_ports.rs b/src/application/ports/video_frame_ports.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ab6107ca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/application/ports/video_frame_ports.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+//! Video frame extraction port.
+//!
+//! Pulls a single representative still frame out of a video so the existing
+//! image thumbnail pipeline (shrink-on-load → SIMD resize → WebP → blob-hash
+//! storage → HTTP content negotiation) can treat videos exactly like photos —
+//! eagerly, server-side, on upload. Keeping this behind a port lets the
+//! composition root swap in a no-op when `ffmpeg` is absent or the feature is
+//! off, so video uploads degrade gracefully (no thumbnail) instead of erroring.
+
+use crate::common::errors::DomainError;
+use async_trait::async_trait;
+use bytes::Bytes;
+use std::path::Path;
+
+/// Extracts a representative still frame from a video file.
+///
+/// Implementations:
+/// - `FfmpegVideoFrameService` — shells out to the system `ffmpeg`, covering
+///   every container/codec (incl. HEVC/MOV, which a browser `<video>` cannot
+///   decode). Bounds its own process concurrency and per-call timeout.
+/// - `NoopVideoFrameService` — registered when `ffmpeg` is unavailable or the
+///   feature is disabled; `is_supported_video` returns false so the lifecycle
+///   hook never attempts video thumbnails.
+#[async_trait]
+pub trait VideoFramePort: Send + Sync + 'static {
+    /// Whether `mime_type` is a video this extractor will attempt to thumbnail.
+    /// The no-op implementation always returns false.
+    fn is_supported_video(&self, mime_type: &str) -> bool;
+
+    /// Extract one representative frame from the video file at `path`, returning
+    /// encoded **PNG** bytes ready to feed into the image thumbnail renderer.
+    /// `path` must point at the decoded (decrypted, reassembled) video on disk.
+    async fn extract_frame(&self, path: &Path) -> Result<Bytes, DomainError>;
+}
diff --git a/src/common/config.rs b/src/common/config.rs
index 43f92339..7549927f 100644
--- a/src/common/config.rs
+++ b/src/common/config.rs
@@ -901,6 +901,11 @@ pub struct FeaturesConfig {
     /// Expose other OxiCloud users as a read-only "system" address book
     /// at GET /api/address-books. Set to false to hide the user directory.
     pub expose_system_users: bool,
+    /// Generate video thumbnails server-side via `ffmpeg` on upload. When true
+    /// (and ffmpeg is detected at startup) videos get a representative-frame
+    /// thumbnail through the same WebP pipeline as photos; otherwise videos have
+    /// no thumbnail. Env: `OXICLOUD_ENABLE_VIDEO_THUMBNAILS`.
+    pub enable_video_thumbnails: bool,
 }
 
 impl Default for FeaturesConfig {
@@ -908,13 +913,14 @@ impl Default for FeaturesConfig {
         Self {
             enable_auth: true, // Enable authentication by default
             enable_user_storage_quotas: false,
-            enable_file_sharing: true, // Enable file sharing by default
-            enable_trash: true,        // Enable trash feature
-            enable_search: true,       // Enable search feature
-            enable_music: true,        // Enable music feature
-            enable_places: true,       // Photo map (GET /api/photos/geo + Places tab)
-            enable_faces: false,       // People/faces (biometric) — opt-in, off by default
-            expose_system_users: true, // Expose OxiCloud users as address book by default
+            enable_file_sharing: true,     // Enable file sharing by default
+            enable_trash: true,            // Enable trash feature
+            enable_search: true,           // Enable search feature
+            enable_music: true,            // Enable music feature
+            enable_places: true,           // Photo map (GET /api/photos/geo + Places tab)
+            enable_faces: false,           // People/faces (biometric) — opt-in, off by default
+            expose_system_users: true,     // Expose OxiCloud users as address book by default
+            enable_video_thumbnails: true, // Video thumbs via ffmpeg (if detected)
         }
     }
 }
@@ -1469,6 +1475,13 @@ impl AppConfig {
             config.features.enable_places = val;
         }
 
+        if let Ok(enable_video_thumbnails) =
+            env::var("OXICLOUD_ENABLE_VIDEO_THUMBNAILS").map(|v| v.parse::<bool>())
+            && let Ok(val) = enable_video_thumbnails
+        {
+            config.features.enable_video_thumbnails = val;
+        }
+
         if let Ok(enable_faces) = env::var("OXICLOUD_ENABLE_FACES").map(|v| v.parse::<bool>())
             && let Ok(val) = enable_faces
         {
diff --git a/src/common/di.rs b/src/common/di.rs
index 98c366ee..97f1c790 100644
--- a/src/common/di.rs
+++ b/src/common/di.rs
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ use crate::infrastructure::services::search_index::content_index_worker::Content
 use crate::infrastructure::services::search_index::tantivy_content_index::TantivyContentIndex;
 use crate::infrastructure::services::trash_cleanup_service::TrashCleanupService;
 
+use crate::application::ports::video_frame_ports::VideoFramePort;
 use crate::application::services::app_password_service::AppPasswordService;
 use crate::application::services::blob_lifecycle_service::BlobLifecycleService;
 use crate::application::services::calendar_service::CalendarService;
@@ -66,6 +67,9 @@ use crate::infrastructure::repositories::pg::{
 use crate::infrastructure::services::audio_metadata_service::AudioMetadataService;
 use crate::infrastructure::services::chunked_upload_service::ChunkedUploadService;
 use crate::infrastructure::services::dedup_service::DedupService;
+use crate::infrastructure::services::ffmpeg_video_frame_service::{
+    FfmpegVideoFrameService, NoopVideoFrameService,
+};
 use crate::infrastructure::services::image_transcode_service::ImageTranscodeService;
 use crate::infrastructure::services::jwt_service::JwtTokenService;
 use crate::infrastructure::services::media_metadata_service::MediaMetadataService;
@@ -350,9 +354,64 @@ impl AppServiceFactory {
         // ThumbnailRefreshHook: handles FileLifecycleHook events (create/update/delete).
         // Implemented on ThumbnailRefreshHook (not ThumbnailService) to avoid circular Arc:
         //   DedupService → BlobLifecycleService → ThumbnailRefreshHook → DedupService.
+        // Video frame extractor for thumbnails. Detect ffmpeg once at startup so
+        // the choice (real extractor vs. no-op) is logged here instead of failing
+        // per upload.
+        let video_frame: Arc<dyn VideoFramePort> = {
+            let ffmpeg_path =
+                std::env::var("OXICLOUD_FFMPEG_PATH").unwrap_or_else(|_| "ffmpeg".to_string());
+            if self.config.features.enable_video_thumbnails
+                && FfmpegVideoFrameService::is_available(&ffmpeg_path)
+            {
+                let cpus = std::thread::available_parallelism()
+                    .map(|n| n.get())
+                    .unwrap_or(4);
+                let concurrency = std::env::var("OXICLOUD_VIDEO_THUMBNAIL_CONCURRENCY")
+                    .ok()
+                    .and_then(|v| v.parse::<usize>().ok())
+                    .unwrap_or((cpus / 2).max(1));
+                let timeout = std::time::Duration::from_secs(
+                    std::env::var("OXICLOUD_VIDEO_THUMBNAIL_TIMEOUT_SECS")
+                        .ok()
+                        .and_then(|v| v.parse().ok())
+                        .unwrap_or(30),
+                );
+                tracing::info!(
+                    "🎬 Video thumbnails enabled (ffmpeg '{}', concurrency {})",
+                    ffmpeg_path,
+                    concurrency
+                );
+                Arc::new(FfmpegVideoFrameService::new(
+                    ffmpeg_path,
+                    concurrency,
+                    timeout,
+                ))
+            } else {
+                if self.config.features.enable_video_thumbnails {
+                    tracing::warn!(
+                        "🎬 Video thumbnails enabled but ffmpeg not found at '{}' \
+                         (set OXICLOUD_FFMPEG_PATH) — videos will have no thumbnail",
+                        ffmpeg_path
+                    );
+                } else {
+                    tracing::info!("🎬 Video thumbnails disabled");
+                }
+                Arc::new(NoopVideoFrameService)
+            }
+        };
+        // Cap on bytes streamed to a temp file for frame extraction (default 2 GB).
+        // saturating_mul so an absurd MB value can't silently wrap to a tiny cap.
+        let video_max_bytes: u64 = std::env::var("OXICLOUD_VIDEO_THUMBNAIL_MAX_MB")
+            .ok()
+            .and_then(|v| v.parse::<u64>().ok())
+            .unwrap_or(2048)
+            .saturating_mul(1024 * 1024);
+
         let thumbnail_refresh_hook = Arc::new(ThumbnailRefreshHook::new(
             thumbnail_service.clone(),
             dedup_service.clone(),
+            video_frame,
+            video_max_bytes,
         ));
 
         // Build the unified FileLifecycleService dispatcher.
diff --git a/src/infrastructure/services/ffmpeg_video_frame_service.rs b/src/infrastructure/services/ffmpeg_video_frame_service.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ba2b34c2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/infrastructure/services/ffmpeg_video_frame_service.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,150 @@
+//! ffmpeg-backed video frame extractor (and a no-op fallback).
+//!
+//! Shells out to the system `ffmpeg` binary rather than linking libav*: no
+//! compile-time dependency, no binary bloat, and it decodes every container the
+//! browser `<video>` element cannot (HEVC/MOV, ProRes, mkv/avi/wmv…). The
+//! extracted still frame is handed to the existing image thumbnail pipeline, so
+//! video thumbnails become first-class: WebP, blob-hash keyed (dedup'd), and
+//! served through the same content negotiation as photos.
+
+use async_trait::async_trait;
+use bytes::Bytes;
+use std::path::Path;
+use std::process::Stdio;
+use std::sync::Arc;
+use std::time::Duration;
+use tokio::process::Command;
+use tokio::sync::Semaphore;
+use tokio::time::timeout;
+
+use crate::application::ports::video_frame_ports::VideoFramePort;
+use crate::common::errors::DomainError;
+
+/// PNG file signature — guards against feeding a non-image (or empty) ffmpeg
+/// output into the renderer.
+const PNG_MAGIC: &[u8; 8] = b"\x89PNG\r\n\x1a\n";
+
+/// Extracts a representative frame by invoking `ffmpeg`.
+pub struct FfmpegVideoFrameService {
+    ffmpeg_path: String,
+    /// Bounds concurrent ffmpeg processes — video decode is CPU-heavy and runs
+    /// outside the async runtime, so it gets its own (smaller) limit rather than
+    /// sharing the image decode semaphore.
+    semaphore: Arc<Semaphore>,
+    /// Per-extraction wall-clock cap; the child is killed on overrun.
+    timeout: Duration,
+}
+
+impl FfmpegVideoFrameService {
+    pub fn new(ffmpeg_path: String, concurrency: usize, timeout: Duration) -> Self {
+        Self {
+            ffmpeg_path,
+            semaphore: Arc::new(Semaphore::new(concurrency.max(1))),
+            timeout,
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Best-effort startup probe: true if `<ffmpeg_path> -version` runs and exits
+    /// 0. Synchronous so the composition root can decide — register the real
+    /// extractor or fall back to [`NoopVideoFrameService`] — without an async
+    /// context, and so a misconfigured path is logged once at boot instead of
+    /// failing per upload.
+    pub fn is_available(ffmpeg_path: &str) -> bool {
+        std::process::Command::new(ffmpeg_path)
+            .arg("-version")
+            .stdin(Stdio::null())
+            .stdout(Stdio::null())
+            .stderr(Stdio::null())
+            .status()
+            .map(|s| s.success())
+            .unwrap_or(false)
+    }
+}
+
+#[async_trait]
+impl VideoFramePort for FfmpegVideoFrameService {
+    fn is_supported_video(&self, mime_type: &str) -> bool {
+        // ffmpeg is the arbiter of what actually decodes; gate broadly on video/*
+        // and let extraction fail gracefully for the rare unsupported container.
+        mime_type.starts_with("video/")
+    }
+
+    async fn extract_frame(&self, path: &Path) -> Result<Bytes, DomainError> {
+        let _permit =
+            self.semaphore.acquire().await.map_err(|_| {
+                DomainError::internal_error("VideoFrame", "extractor semaphore closed")
+            })?;
+
+        // One representative still → PNG on stdout. The `thumbnail` filter scans a
+        // window of frames and picks the most representative one (skipping black
+        // intros) without needing a separate duration probe. Fit within a
+        // 1024×1024 box (preserving aspect) — enough for the 800px `large`
+        // thumbnail, and bounding BOTH dimensions caps the emitted PNG size so a
+        // hostile/extreme geometry can't balloon the buffered output. Arguments
+        // are passed individually (never through a shell), so a hostile file name
+        // cannot inject anything.
+        let run = Command::new(&self.ffmpeg_path)
+            .arg("-nostdin")
+            .arg("-loglevel")
+            .arg("error")
+            .arg("-i")
+            .arg(path)
+            .arg("-vf")
+            .arg("thumbnail,scale=w='min(1024,iw)':h='min(1024,ih)':force_original_aspect_ratio=decrease")
+            .arg("-frames:v")
+            .arg("1")
+            .arg("-f")
+            .arg("image2pipe")
+            .arg("-vcodec")
+            .arg("png")
+            .arg("pipe:1")
+            .stdin(Stdio::null())
+            .stdout(Stdio::piped())
+            .stderr(Stdio::piped())
+            .kill_on_drop(true)
+            .output();
+
+        let output = timeout(self.timeout, run)
+            .await
+            .map_err(|_| DomainError::internal_error("VideoFrame", "ffmpeg timed out"))?
+            .map_err(|e| {
+                DomainError::internal_error("VideoFrame", format!("ffmpeg spawn failed: {e}"))
+            })?;
+
+        if !output.status.success() {
+            let stderr = String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stderr);
+            return Err(DomainError::internal_error(
+                "VideoFrame",
+                format!("ffmpeg exited {}: {}", output.status, stderr.trim()),
+            ));
+        }
+
+        let png = output.stdout;
+        if png.len() < PNG_MAGIC.len() || &png[..PNG_MAGIC.len()] != PNG_MAGIC {
+            return Err(DomainError::internal_error(
+                "VideoFrame",
+                "ffmpeg produced no decodable frame",
+            ));
+        }
+        Ok(Bytes::from(png))
+    }
+}
+
+/// No-op extractor used when `ffmpeg` is unavailable or video thumbnails are
+/// disabled. `is_supported_video` returns false so the lifecycle hook never
+/// attempts generation; videos simply have no thumbnail (the prior behaviour).
+pub struct NoopVideoFrameService;
+
+#[async_trait]
+impl VideoFramePort for NoopVideoFrameService {
+    fn is_supported_video(&self, _mime_type: &str) -> bool {
+        false
+    }
+
+    async fn extract_frame(&self, _path: &Path) -> Result<Bytes, DomainError> {
+        Err(DomainError::internal_error(
+            "VideoFrame",
+            "video thumbnail extraction is disabled (no ffmpeg)",
+        ))
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/infrastructure/services/mod.rs b/src/infrastructure/services/mod.rs
index 854ffa9c..cbdf0a9c 100644
--- a/src/infrastructure/services/mod.rs
+++ b/src/infrastructure/services/mod.rs
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ pub mod encrypted_blob_backend;
 pub mod exif_service;
 pub mod face_geometry;
 pub mod face_indexing_service;
+pub mod ffmpeg_video_frame_service;
 pub mod file_content_cache;
 pub mod file_system_i18n_service;
 pub mod image_transcode_service;
diff --git a/src/infrastructure/services/thumbnail_service.rs b/src/infrastructure/services/thumbnail_service.rs
index d6a6f2a7..cbcd2b2a 100644
--- a/src/infrastructure/services/thumbnail_service.rs
+++ b/src/infrastructure/services/thumbnail_service.rs
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ use tokio::time::timeout;
 use crate::application::ports::thumbnail_ports::{
     ThumbnailFormat, ThumbnailPort, ThumbnailSize as PortThumbnailSize, ThumbnailStatsDto,
 };
+use crate::application::ports::video_frame_ports::VideoFramePort;
 use crate::domain::errors::{DomainError, ErrorKind};
 use crate::infrastructure::services::dedup_service::DedupService;
 
@@ -94,6 +95,11 @@ const WEBP_QUALITY: f32 = 82.0;
 /// Environment override for the decode-concurrency cap (ops tuning).
 const DECODE_CONCURRENCY_ENV: &str = "OXICLOUD_THUMBNAIL_DECODE_CONCURRENCY";
 
+/// Wall-clock cap for streaming a video blob to a temp file before frame
+/// extraction. Bounds a stalled remote object-store read so the background task
+/// (and its temp file) can't hang forever.
+const STREAM_TO_TEMP_TIMEOUT: Duration = Duration::from_secs(120);
+
 /// Compute max concurrent thumbnail decode operations at runtime.
 ///
 /// Uses all available CPUs (min 2). Before shrink-on-load each decode
@@ -1094,45 +1100,195 @@ impl ThumbnailService {
                 }
             };
 
-            let results = tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || {
-                Self::render_all_thumbnails_from_data(original_data.as_ref(), ThumbnailFormat::Webp)
-            })
-            .await;
+            self.render_and_persist_all_webp(&file_id, &blob_hash, original_data)
+                .await;
 
-            let thumbnails = match results {
+            tracing::info!("✅ Background thumbnail generation complete: {}", file_id);
+        });
+    }
+
+    /// Render every size as WebP from a decoded source image and persist them by
+    /// blob_hash (disk `{hash}.webp` + moka). Shared by the image upload path and
+    /// the video path (which passes the extracted frame as the source), so both
+    /// produce identical, dedup-able, content-negotiable thumbnails.
+    async fn render_and_persist_all_webp(&self, file_id: &str, blob_hash: &str, source: Bytes) {
+        let results = tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || {
+            Self::render_all_thumbnails_from_data(source.as_ref(), ThumbnailFormat::Webp)
+        })
+        .await;
+
+        let thumbnails = match results {
+            Ok(Ok(t)) => t,
+            Ok(Err(e)) => {
+                tracing::warn!("Thumbnail generation failed for {}: {}", file_id, e);
+                return;
+            }
+            Err(e) => {
+                tracing::warn!("Thumbnail task panicked for {}: {}", file_id, e);
+                return;
+            }
+        };
+
+        for (size, bytes) in thumbnails {
+            let thumb_path = self.get_thumbnail_path(blob_hash, size, ThumbnailFormat::Webp);
+            if let Some(parent) = thumb_path.parent() {
+                let _ = fs::create_dir_all(parent).await;
+            }
+            if let Err(e) = fs::write(&thumb_path, &bytes).await {
+                tracing::warn!("Failed to save thumbnail {} {:?}: {}", file_id, size, e);
+            } else {
+                let cache_key = ThumbnailCacheKey {
+                    file_id: file_id.to_string(),
+                    size,
+                    format: ThumbnailFormat::Webp,
+                };
+                self.cache.insert(cache_key, bytes).await;
+                tracing::debug!("✅ Generated thumbnail: {} {:?}", file_id, size);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Eagerly generate WebP thumbnails for a freshly-uploaded video.
+    ///
+    /// Streams the (decrypted, reassembled) blob to a temp file — bounded by
+    /// `max_bytes` so a giant upload never materialises in full — extracts one
+    /// representative frame via `video_frame`, then runs it through the same
+    /// WebP/blob-hash pipeline as photos. Any miss or failure leaves the video
+    /// without a thumbnail (the prior behaviour), never an error to the user.
+    pub fn generate_video_thumbnails_background(
+        self: Arc<Self>,
+        file_id: String,
+        blob_hash: String,
+        dedup: Arc<DedupService>,
+        video_frame: Arc<dyn VideoFramePort>,
+        max_bytes: u64,
+    ) {
+        tokio::spawn(async move {
+            // Blob deleted before this task ran → nothing to do.
+            if !dedup.blob_exists(&blob_hash).await {
+                return;
+            }
+
+            // Dedup hit: thumbnails for this content already exist on disk — just
+            // warm the moka cache (zero CPU), mirroring the image path.
+            let all_exist = {
+                let mut ok = true;
+                for size in ThumbnailSize::all() {
+                    let p = self.get_thumbnail_path(&blob_hash, *size, ThumbnailFormat::Webp);
+                    if fs::metadata(&p).await.is_err() {
+                        ok = false;
+                        break;
+                    }
+                }
+                ok
+            };
+            if all_exist {
+                for size in ThumbnailSize::all() {
+                    let p = self.get_thumbnail_path(&blob_hash, *size, ThumbnailFormat::Webp);
+                    if let Ok(data) = fs::read(&p).await {
+                        let key = ThumbnailCacheKey {
+                            file_id: file_id.clone(),
+                            size: *size,
+                            format: ThumbnailFormat::Webp,
+                        };
+                        self.cache.insert(key, Bytes::from(data)).await;
+                    }
+                }
+                return;
+            }
+
+            // ffmpeg needs a seekable file, and the blob may be encrypted/chunked
+            // on disk — stream through the normal decrypting read path into a
+            // bounded temp file (on the data volume) rather than reading the raw
+            // blob path. Bounded by size (max_bytes) AND time, so a stalled remote
+            // backend can't hang the task or leak its temp file forever.
+            let tmp = match tokio::time::timeout(
+                STREAM_TO_TEMP_TIMEOUT,
+                Self::stream_blob_to_temp(&dedup, &blob_hash, max_bytes, &self.thumbnails_root),
+            )
+            .await
+            {
                 Ok(Ok(t)) => t,
                 Ok(Err(e)) => {
-                    tracing::warn!("Thumbnail generation failed for {}: {}", file_id, e);
+                    tracing::warn!("🎬 video thumb: stream {} failed: {}", file_id, e);
                     return;
                 }
-                Err(e) => {
-                    tracing::warn!("Thumbnail task panicked for {}: {}", file_id, e);
+                Err(_) => {
+                    tracing::warn!("🎬 video thumb: stream {} timed out", file_id);
                     return;
                 }
             };
 
-            for (size, bytes) in thumbnails {
-                let thumb_path = self.get_thumbnail_path(&blob_hash, size, ThumbnailFormat::Webp);
-                if let Some(parent) = thumb_path.parent() {
-                    let _ = fs::create_dir_all(parent).await;
+            let frame = match video_frame.extract_frame(tmp.path()).await {
+                Ok(f) => f,
+                Err(e) => {
+                    tracing::info!("🎬 video thumb: extract {} skipped: {}", file_id, e);
+                    return;
                 }
-                if let Err(e) = fs::write(&thumb_path, &bytes).await {
-                    tracing::warn!("Failed to save thumbnail {} {:?}: {}", file_id, size, e);
-                } else {
-                    let cache_key = ThumbnailCacheKey {
-                        file_id: file_id.clone(),
-                        size,
-                        format: ThumbnailFormat::Webp,
-                    };
-                    self.cache.insert(cache_key, bytes).await;
-                    tracing::debug!("✅ Generated thumbnail: {} {:?}", file_id, size);
-                }
-            }
+            };
+            drop(tmp); // remove the temp video promptly; we have the frame bytes
 
-            tracing::info!("✅ Background thumbnail generation complete: {}", file_id);
+            // Bound the CPU-bound decode+resize with the same decode_semaphore the
+            // image path uses (the ffmpeg extractor's own permit covered only
+            // extraction and is already released), so concurrent video uploads
+            // can't spawn unbounded render jobs.
+            let _permit = match self.decode_semaphore.acquire().await {
+                Ok(p) => p,
+                Err(_) => return,
+            };
+            self.render_and_persist_all_webp(&file_id, &blob_hash, frame)
+                .await;
+            tracing::info!("✅ Video thumbnail generation complete: {}", file_id);
         });
     }
 
+    /// Stream a blob through the decrypting/CDC-aware read path into a temp file,
+    /// aborting if it exceeds `max_bytes`. The returned handle deletes the file
+    /// on drop. Bounded memory: chunks are written straight to disk, never
+    /// buffered whole.
+    async fn stream_blob_to_temp(
+        dedup: &DedupService,
+        blob_hash: &str,
+        max_bytes: u64,
+        temp_dir: &Path,
+    ) -> Result<tempfile::NamedTempFile, DomainError> {
+        use futures::StreamExt;
+        use tokio::io::AsyncWriteExt;
+
+        let mut stream = dedup.read_blob_stream(blob_hash).await?;
+        // Colocate the temp video with the data volume (sized for blobs) instead
+        // of the OS temp dir, which can be small or a tmpfs in containers.
+        let tmp = tempfile::Builder::new()
+            .prefix("oxithumb-")
+            .tempfile_in(temp_dir)
+            .map_err(|e| DomainError::internal_error("VideoFrame", format!("temp file: {e}")))?;
+        let mut out = tokio::fs::File::create(tmp.path())
+            .await
+            .map_err(|e| DomainError::internal_error("VideoFrame", format!("temp open: {e}")))?;
+
+        let mut written: u64 = 0;
+        while let Some(chunk) = stream.next().await {
+            let chunk = chunk.map_err(|e| {
+                DomainError::internal_error("VideoFrame", format!("blob read: {e}"))
+            })?;
+            written += chunk.len() as u64;
+            if written > max_bytes {
+                return Err(DomainError::internal_error(
+                    "VideoFrame",
+                    format!("video exceeds {max_bytes}-byte thumbnail cap"),
+                ));
+            }
+            out.write_all(&chunk).await.map_err(|e| {
+                DomainError::internal_error("VideoFrame", format!("temp write: {e}"))
+            })?;
+        }
+        out.flush()
+            .await
+            .map_err(|e| DomainError::internal_error("VideoFrame", format!("temp flush: {e}")))?;
+        drop(out); // close our write handle before ffmpeg opens the path
+        Ok(tmp)
+    }
+
     /// Delete thumbnails for a file.
     ///
     /// Only invalidates the in-memory moka cache (keyed by file_id).
@@ -1205,11 +1361,26 @@ impl ThumbnailService {
 pub struct ThumbnailRefreshHook {
     thumbnail: Arc<ThumbnailService>,
     dedup: Arc<DedupService>,
+    /// Video frame extractor (ffmpeg, or a no-op when unavailable/disabled).
+    video_frame: Arc<dyn VideoFramePort>,
+    /// Max bytes streamed to a temp file for video frame extraction; larger
+    /// videos are skipped (no thumbnail) rather than materialised in full.
+    video_max_bytes: u64,
 }
 
 impl ThumbnailRefreshHook {
-    pub fn new(thumbnail: Arc<ThumbnailService>, dedup: Arc<DedupService>) -> Self {
-        Self { thumbnail, dedup }
+    pub fn new(
+        thumbnail: Arc<ThumbnailService>,
+        dedup: Arc<DedupService>,
+        video_frame: Arc<dyn VideoFramePort>,
+        video_max_bytes: u64,
+    ) -> Self {
+        Self {
+            thumbnail,
+            dedup,
+            video_frame,
+            video_max_bytes,
+        }
     }
 }
 
@@ -1222,16 +1393,28 @@ impl crate::application::ports::file_lifecycle::FileLifecycleHook for ThumbnailR
         is_new_blob: bool,
     ) {
         // Blob-hash thumbnail already exists on disk when is_new_blob=false — skip.
-        if !is_new_blob || !ThumbnailService::is_supported_image(content_type) {
+        if !is_new_blob {
             return;
         }
-        self.thumbnail
-            .clone()
-            .generate_all_sizes_background_from_blob(
+        if ThumbnailService::is_supported_image(content_type) {
+            self.thumbnail
+                .clone()
+                .generate_all_sizes_background_from_blob(
+                    file_id.to_string(),
+                    blob_hash.to_string(),
+                    self.dedup.clone(),
+                );
+        } else if self.video_frame.is_supported_video(content_type) {
+            // Videos: extract a frame server-side (ffmpeg) and run it through the
+            // same WebP/blob-hash pipeline — eager, off the request path.
+            self.thumbnail.clone().generate_video_thumbnails_background(
                 file_id.to_string(),
                 blob_hash.to_string(),
                 self.dedup.clone(),
+                self.video_frame.clone(),
+                self.video_max_bytes,
             );
+        }
     }
 
     fn on_file_copied(
diff --git a/src/interfaces/api/handlers/file_handler.rs b/src/interfaces/api/handlers/file_handler.rs
index 46344690..f27e6124 100644
--- a/src/interfaces/api/handlers/file_handler.rs
+++ b/src/interfaces/api/handlers/file_handler.rs
@@ -429,8 +429,11 @@ impl FileHandler {
             }
         };
 
-        // Non-image (video, etc.) with no cached thumbnail → 204
-        if !thumbnail_service.is_supported_image(&file.mime_type) {
+        // Images and videos both store blob-hash thumbnails (videos via an
+        // eagerly-extracted frame); anything else has nothing to thumbnail → 204.
+        let is_image = thumbnail_service.is_supported_image(&file.mime_type);
+        let is_video = file.mime_type.starts_with("video/");
+        if !is_image && !is_video {
             return Response::builder()
                 .status(StatusCode::NO_CONTENT)
                 .header(header::CACHE_CONTROL, "no-store")
@@ -470,6 +473,44 @@ impl FileHandler {
                 .into_response();
         }
 
+        // Videos: thumbnails are produced eagerly server-side (ffmpeg) on upload,
+        // and persisted WebP-only. Serve that WebP regardless of the negotiated
+        // format — a JPEG/`*/*`/no-Accept client still gets it, correctly labelled
+        // via byte-sniffing — otherwise non-WebP clients would 204 forever despite
+        // a valid thumbnail on disk. We never image-decode a video, so a genuine
+        // miss (generation in flight or unavailable) returns 204.
+        if is_video {
+            if let Some(data) = thumbnail_service
+                .get_cached_thumbnail(
+                    &id,
+                    Some(&blob_hash),
+                    thumb_size.into(),
+                    ThumbnailFormat::Webp,
+                )
+                .await
+            {
+                return Response::builder()
+                    .status(StatusCode::OK)
+                    .header(
+                        header::CONTENT_TYPE,
+                        crate::common::mime_detect::thumbnail_content_type(&data),
+                    )
+                    .header(header::CONTENT_LENGTH, data.len())
+                    .header(header::CACHE_CONTROL, "public, max-age=31536000, immutable")
+                    .header(header::ETAG, &etag)
+                    .header(header::VARY, header::ACCEPT.as_str())
+                    .body(Body::from(data))
+                    .unwrap()
+                    .into_response();
+            }
+            return Response::builder()
+                .status(StatusCode::NO_CONTENT)
+                .header(header::CACHE_CONTROL, "no-store")
+                .body(Body::empty())
+                .unwrap()
+                .into_response();
+        }
+
         match thumbnail_service
             .get_thumbnail_from_blob(
                 &id,