Source: https://ai-creator.top/resources/open-media-library-inside-browser-video-editor/

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EXECUTED FIELD NOTE · SEPTEMBER 7, 2026

# Follow One Wikimedia Image Into a Saved Video Project

A source record can be visible in search and still disappear before a project is saved. In a local experiment with Timeline Studio commit 68980d1, we followed one real Wikimedia image through two tracks, exported the project and reopened its archive. The main visual retained five source fields; the overlay retained none. This tests the pinned source snapshot; the current hosted editor was not verified.

BY [Martin Delophy](https://ai-creator.top/about/) · PUBLISHED Jul 27, 2026 · REVIEWED Sep 7, 2026 · **EXECUTED SOURCE CASE** · [TESTING METHOD](https://ai-creator.top/about/#testing-method) ·

![The actual Wikimedia Earth-at-night JPEG used in the import case](https://ai-creator.top/resources/evidence/2026-09-07/media-library/inputs/earth-city-lights-1280.jpg)

The downloaded 1280 × 640 input, not a screenshot of the editor. Historical DMSP composite, 1994–1995; NASA GSFC and NOAA NGDC contributors. [Source and named creators](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Earth%27s_City_Lights_by_DMSP,_1994-1995_\(large\).jpg) · [Complete credit](https://ai-creator.top/resources/evidence/2026-09-07/media-library/results/credits.txt)

## Choose an image with a source that can be traced

The editing brief is small: place an Earth-at-night image in a four-second visual, then use the same image as an overlay. A search for `Earth NASA` returned a useful historical composite, “Earth’s City Lights by DMSP, 1994–1995.” Its date matters: using it to illustrate present-day city growth would require a different source. We selected Commons page 233702 and saved the [complete search response](https://ai-creator.top/resources/evidence/2026-09-07/media-library/inputs/commons-search-response.json) before working with its media URL.

The [individual source page](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Earth%27s_City_Lights_by_DMSP,_1994-1995_\(large\).jpg) names the data and image contributors and marks the image public domain in the United States. Its API record supplies the creator and the same label, but no separate `LicenseUrl`. The production mapper therefore uses the description page as the license link. Our [companion source ledger](https://ai-creator.top/resources/evidence/2026-09-07/media-library/results/source-ledger.json) retains the title, creator, page, label, access date and exact downloaded-file hash, rather than inventing a missing license address.

This is a check of one known source. It does not establish a blanket permission for every item returned by an open catalog. For this case, retaining a credit also makes it possible to distinguish the historical data from a current image or a new AI-generated illustration.

Keep the source attached

## Inspect the bytes before using the catalog dimensions

The API offered both a 4800 × 2400 original and a 1280 × 640 thumbnail. The [reviewed image mapper](https://github.com/MartinDelophy/ai-video-editor/blob/68980d142cce421eab86cd4ef26a4475a6affd56/src/hooks/useEditorCatalog.js#L58) chooses `thumburl` for the editing source but sets width and height from the original image information. That produces a catalog asset labelled 4800 × 2400 whose selected URL returns only 1280 × 640 pixels.

Recorded values for the selected image
| Record | Dimensions | What it describes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Commons original | 4800 × 2400 | The full source image, which this case did not download. |
| Mapped editing asset | 4800 × 2400 | Metadata inherited from that original. |
| Downloaded JPEG | 1280 × 640 | The actual 125,060-byte thumbnail supplied to both tracks. |

The offline verifier reads the JPEG’s frame header; an independent [ffprobe result](https://ai-creator.top/resources/evidence/2026-09-07/media-library/inputs/ffprobe-image.json) agrees. The aspect ratio is unchanged, so a preview could still look correctly shaped while hiding the resolution mismatch. Before planning a tight crop or a large export, inspect the actual file dimensions. A larger number in a catalog does not add detail to the downloaded thumbnail.

## Compare a main-track import with an overlay import

We passed the same mapped image into the production drop action twice: first to the main visual track, then to an overlay. The offline transport returned the already downloaded JPEG. The first call created a preparing segment, resolved the remote bytes and updated that segment. The second call reused the cached Blob, so the two successful drops required one fetch in the replay.

Five named source fields after each production path
| Checkpoint | Main visual | Overlay |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Provider, creator and source page | All retained | All absent |
| License label and license URL | Both retained | Both absent |
| Saved and reopened archive | Five fields still present | Five fields still absent |
| Embedded JPEG bytes | Identical to input | Identical to input |

The difference has a specific cause. The main remote-drop path calls [`updateVisualAssetInTimeline`](https://github.com/MartinDelophy/ai-video-editor/blob/68980d142cce421eab86cd4ef26a4475a6affd56/src/lib/visualTimelineActions.js#L131), which spreads the resolved asset’s extra metadata onto the segment. The [overlay constructor](https://github.com/MartinDelophy/ai-video-editor/blob/68980d142cce421eab86cd4ef26a4475a6affd56/src/lib/visualOverlayTimeline.js#L72) selects its own fields and omits the five source fields. Our result is limited to these two remote-image paths; it should not be extended to every insertion method.

The production project-export callback wrote [an actual two-track .timeline archive](https://ai-creator.top/resources/evidence/2026-09-07/media-library/results/media-provenance-case.timeline), and the production reader reopened it. Both embedded images have the input hash. We then exported an [overlay-only project](https://ai-creator.top/resources/evidence/2026-09-07/media-library/results/overlay-only.timeline): none of the five named source fields appear anywhere in its payload. The file remains packaged with its media, but the export step cannot reconstruct information lost earlier. The [parsed overlay-only metadata](https://ai-creator.top/resources/evidence/2026-09-07/media-library/results/overlay-only-project.json) makes that omission inspectable.

## Keep a companion record before the source information is lost

For this snapshot, save the source record while the catalog still has it. Use the [completed JSON ledger](https://ai-creator.top/resources/evidence/2026-09-07/media-library/results/source-ledger.json) and [plain-text credit](https://ai-creator.top/resources/evidence/2026-09-07/media-library/results/credits.txt) as concrete examples. They name the work, its contributors, the source page, its stated status, the date checked and the exact file used. The ledger also records both placements and distinguishes the original dimensions from the downloaded dimensions.

These files were prepared by this experiment. They are separate from the editor’s exported archive and do not demonstrate an automatic credits feature. Keep them beside the project, and review them when replacing a clip or removing the main visual. Otherwise, an overlay may remain in the edit after the only surviving source record has been deleted with another track.

For the image in this case, the saved credit names NASA GSFC and NOAA NGDC data contributors and the two NASA GSFC image creators, and links back to Commons. For another asset, copy the applicable source information from that asset’s own page. A useful handoff includes the selected bytes and their source record; a successfully packaged project alone does not establish that both survived.

Keep the source attached

## Repeat the case and read its limits

Download the [complete offline reproduction kit](https://ai-creator.top/resources/evidence/2026-09-07/media-library/media-library-case-kit.zip), extract it and run `node reproduce.mjs` with Node.js 22 or later. It requires no account, API key, installation step or network. The runner checks 21 source and vendor fingerprints, reads the real JPEG dimensions, executes the two drops, writes both archives and compares the retained bytes and fields. The [recorded report](https://ai-creator.top/resources/evidence/2026-09-07/media-library/results/verification-report.json) includes state, requests, notifications and assertion results; [the method notes](https://ai-creator.top/resources/evidence/2026-09-07/media-library/README.md) identify every substitute.

A separate negative case makes the replayed media request return HTTP 503. The production action removes its temporary main-track segment and preserves the earlier clip. This is an injected failure, not an observed Wikimedia outage. It gives evidence for this cleanup branch without turning a source review into a claim about every network failure.

The reviewed version is commit [`68980d1`](https://github.com/MartinDelophy/ai-video-editor/blob/68980d142cce421eab86cd4ef26a4475a6affd56/src/lib/assetDropActions.js). Public search and image download used curl; the subsequent execution used Node, immediate hook callbacks and in-memory state setters. The chosen creator string is plain text, and unused media-decoding boundaries throw if reached. We did not test the hosted editor, React scheduling, browser CORS, video/audio decoding, Pexels, Openverse or a final video render. Those checks remain separate from the concrete finding here: this source version preserves the selected image’s bytes across both tracks while handling their provenance differently.

[Public request and input fingerprints](https://ai-creator.top/resources/evidence/2026-09-07/media-library/acquisition.json) · [Pinned production source](https://ai-creator.top/resources/evidence/2026-09-07/media-library/source-manifest.json) · [Execution log](https://ai-creator.top/resources/evidence/2026-09-07/media-library/results/execution-log.txt) · [Download size and SHA-256](https://ai-creator.top/resources/evidence/2026-09-07/media-library/download-manifest.json)

## Questions this case can answer

Was this tested in the live browser editor?

No. The search response and JPEG came from real public requests. The pinned production functions then ran locally with disclosed host and transport substitutes. Browser interaction, CORS and a final video render were not tested.

Does saving the project preserve every source field?

Not in this case. The main remote-image path preserved provider, creator, sourceUrl, license and licenseUrl. The overlay omitted them, and the overlay-only archive contained none of those five fields. Its image bytes were preserved.

Was the downloaded image 4800 by 2400 pixels?

No. That was the original image size retained by the catalog mapper. The selected thumbnail actually contained a 1280 by 640 JPEG, verified from its bytes and independently with ffprobe.

Is the downloadable source ledger produced by Timeline Studio?

No. The ledger and credits file are companion records prepared for this experiment. Keep them beside the project; this source version did not automatically create or embed them.

CONTINUE THROUGH THE EVIDENCE

## Related field notes

[**A Generation Plugin Should Return Media**Keep provider adapters outside timeline ownership.](https://ai-creator.top/resources/browser-video-editor-generation-plugin-media-boundary/)[**From a Creative Brief to a Checked Timing Change**Check a one-second audio move against its linked label and source.](https://ai-creator.top/resources/from-creative-brief-to-editable-video-timeline-skill/)[**Browser AI Privacy: Source Review and Checks**Trace the reviewed file path and use the network inspection worksheet.](https://ai-creator.top/resources/browser-ai-privacy-explained/)

AUTHOR

## Martin Delophy

Independent full-stack and algorithm engineer in China with 10 years of frontend, AI and audio/video development experience, including 5 years focused on AI. His open-source work covers browser AI, ONNX, WebGPU, Transformers, Stable Diffusion and local-first creative tools.

[About the author →](https://ai-creator.top/about/)

Explore the system in practice

[Browse the Timeline Studio media library →](https://video-editor.ai-creator.top/)

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