Not a refactor. Not a rewrite. A rethink.

And the security improvement was not something I planned. It was a consequence of thinking about the problem correctly.

The Mess That Grew in Silence

Our platform handles media for everything.

User profile pictures. Maintenance job photos. Lease agreements. Inspection reports. Tenancy documents. Contract files. Management agreements. Entry condition reports. Exit condition reports.

Each one slightly different. Some allow multiple files. Some allow only one. Some need a featured image. Some need ordering. Some go to FTP. Some display as a gallery. Some render inline as a PDF. Some generate secure download links.

Over ten years, every developer who touched a new media requirement wrote new code for it.…