Tolerate Gemini image expansion drift

TODO.md

@@ -268,6 +268,20 @@
   - backend debug broadcasts
 
 ## Recent Change Log
+- Date: `2026-03-24`
+- What changed:
+  - Relaxed Gemini image-query expansion parsing so loose plain-text numbered lists can still be accepted when the model prepends explanatory text instead of returning a clean JSON object.
+  - Removed the GIPHY image-mode search meta box from the frontend so the image UI stays visually simpler.
+  - Stopped surfacing the Gemini image-expansion fallback warning directly in the image-search UI when the backend can still continue with usable fallback queries.
+- Why it changed:
+  - Real log review showed Gemini image expansion sometimes returned text like `Here is the JSON requested`, which triggered fallback even though the model output still contained useful query candidates, and the extra meta box was not adding enough value to justify the space it consumed.
+- How it was verified:
+  - log review of `ai-media-hub-2026-03-24T07-25-42-827Z.log`
+  - `node --check frontend/app.js`
+- What is still risky or incomplete:
+  - This improves tolerance for one common Gemini formatting deviation, but fully free-form model output can still fall back if it does not contain recoverable query lines.
+  - Go tests still could not be rerun in this environment because `go` is currently unavailable here.
+
 - Date: `2026-03-24`
 - What changed:
   - Removed the redundant `GIPHY Download Dir` variable field from the Unraid template and kept the dedicated `GIPHY Downloads` path mapping as the single user-facing download-path control.

backend/services/gemini.go

@@ -147,6 +147,11 @@ func (g *GeminiService) ExpandImageQueries(query string) ([]string, error) {
 	}
 	jsonText, err := extractJSONObject(rawText)
 	if err != nil {
+		if looseQueries := parseLooseImageExpansionLines(rawText); len(looseQueries) == 5 {
+			g.setCachedExpansion(cacheKey, looseQueries, 15*time.Minute)
+			g.debug("gemini:image_expand_success", map[string]any{"query": trimmed, "queries": looseQueries, "mode": "loose_text"})
+			return looseQueries, nil
+		}
 		g.debug("gemini:image_expand_parse_error", map[string]any{"query": trimmed, "error": err.Error()})
 		g.setCachedExpansion(cacheKey, fallback, 15*time.Minute)
 		return fallback, err
@@ -801,6 +806,34 @@ func truncateForError(text string, limit int) string {
 	return trimmed[:limit] + "..."
 }
 
+func parseLooseImageExpansionLines(text string) []string {
+	candidates := make([]string, 0, 8)
+	for _, line := range strings.Split(text, "\n") {
+		trimmed := strings.TrimSpace(line)
+		if trimmed == "" {
+			continue
+		}
+		trimmed = strings.TrimPrefix(trimmed, "- ")
+		trimmed = strings.TrimPrefix(trimmed, "* ")
+		trimmed = strings.TrimPrefix(trimmed, "1. ")
+		trimmed = strings.TrimPrefix(trimmed, "2. ")
+		trimmed = strings.TrimPrefix(trimmed, "3. ")
+		trimmed = strings.TrimPrefix(trimmed, "4. ")
+		trimmed = strings.TrimPrefix(trimmed, "5. ")
+		trimmed = strings.TrimSpace(strings.Trim(trimmed, "\"'`"))
+		lower := strings.ToLower(trimmed)
+		if strings.HasPrefix(lower, "here is") || strings.HasPrefix(lower, "json") || strings.HasPrefix(lower, "output") {
+			continue
+		}
+		candidates = append(candidates, trimmed)
+	}
+	queries := normalizeImageExpansionQueries(candidates)
+	if len(queries) < 5 {
+		return nil
+	}
+	return queries[:5]
+}
+
 func normalizeKoreanReason(reason string) string {
 	trimmed := strings.TrimSpace(reason)
 	if trimmed == "" {

backend/services/gemini_test.go

@@ -145,6 +145,26 @@ func TestExpandImageQueriesFallsBackWhenGeminiFails(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestExpandImageQueriesAcceptsLoosePlainTextList(t *testing.T) {
+	server := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
+		_, _ = w.Write([]byte(`{"candidates":[{"content":{"parts":[{"text":"Here is the JSON requested\n1. cute cat\n2. cute cat gif\n3. cat reaction gif\n4. cat meme gif\n5. animated cat sticker"}]}}]}`))
+	}))
+	defer server.Close()
+
+	service := NewGeminiService("dummy-key", "gemini-2.5-flash")
+	service.Client = &http.Client{Timeout: 2 * time.Second}
+	service.GenerateEndpoint = server.URL
+
+	queries, err := service.ExpandImageQueries("고양이")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("expected loose plain-text list to be accepted, got %v", err)
+	}
+	if len(queries) != 5 || queries[0] != "cute cat" || queries[4] != "animated cat sticker" {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected loose parsed queries: %#v", queries)
+	}
+}
+
 func TestSelectUnevaluatedCandidatesSkipsReviewedLinks(t *testing.T) {
 	ranked := []SearchResult{
 		{Link: "https://a.example"},

backend/services/giphy.go

@@ -168,7 +168,6 @@ func (s *GiphyService) SearchImages(query string, requestedMax int) (GiphySearch
 	expandedQueries, expansionErr := s.expandQueries(response.OriginalQuery)
 	response.ExpandedQueries = expandedQueries
 	if expansionErr != nil {
-		response.Warning = "Query expansion failed, using fallback search terms."
 		s.debug("giphy:query_expansion_fallback", map[string]any{
 			"query":   response.OriginalQuery,
 			"queries": expandedQueries,

frontend/app.js

@@ -13,10 +13,6 @@ const mediaTypeToggles = Array.from(document.querySelectorAll("[data-media-type-
 const platformToggles = Array.from(document.querySelectorAll("[data-platform-toggle]"));
 const imageSearchSandbox = document.getElementById("imageSearchSandbox");
 const imagePromptChips = Array.from(document.querySelectorAll("[data-image-prompt]"));
-const giphyMetaPanel = document.getElementById("giphyMetaPanel");
-const giphyOriginalQuery = document.getElementById("giphyOriginalQuery");
-const giphyResultCount = document.getElementById("giphyResultCount");
-const giphyExpandedQueries = document.getElementById("giphyExpandedQueries");
 const dropzone = document.getElementById("dropzone");
 const fileInput = document.getElementById("fileInput");
 const uploadResult = document.getElementById("uploadResult");
@@ -103,7 +99,6 @@ const resultPreviewInflight = new Map();
 let cardSummaryObserver = null;
 let activeMediaType = "video";
 const PREVIEW_PLACEHOLDER = "https://placehold.co/1280x720/0a0a0a/ffffff?text=Preview";
-let activeImageSearchResponse = null;
 
 function proxiedPreviewURL(src) {
   if (!src) {
@@ -310,31 +305,6 @@ function renderImageEmptyState(message) {
   searchResults.innerHTML = `<div class="rounded-3xl border border-white/10 bg-black/30 p-5 text-sm text-zinc-400">${message}</div>`;
 }
 
-function renderExpandedQueries(queries = []) {
-  giphyExpandedQueries.innerHTML = "";
-  for (const item of queries) {
-    const chip = document.createElement("span");
-    chip.className = "rounded-full border border-white/10 bg-white/[0.04] px-3 py-1 text-[11px] uppercase tracking-[0.18em] text-zinc-300";
-    chip.textContent = item;
-    giphyExpandedQueries.appendChild(chip);
-  }
-}
-
-function updateImageSearchMeta(data = null) {
-  activeImageSearchResponse = data;
-  const visible = Boolean(data);
-  setHidden(giphyMetaPanel, !visible, "block");
-  if (!visible) {
-    giphyOriginalQuery.textContent = "Original query: -";
-    giphyResultCount.textContent = "0 results";
-    giphyExpandedQueries.innerHTML = "";
-    return;
-  }
-  giphyOriginalQuery.textContent = `Original query: ${data.originalQuery || "-"}`;
-  giphyResultCount.textContent = `${Number(data.total || 0)} results`;
-  renderExpandedQueries(data.expandedQueries || []);
-}
-
 function renderImageResults(items = []) {
   searchResults.innerHTML = "";
   searchResults.classList.remove("xl:grid-cols-3");
@@ -362,7 +332,6 @@ function applyMediaTypeUI() {
   const isImageMode = activeMediaType === "image";
   syncMediaTypeButtons();
   setHidden(imageSearchSandbox, !isImageMode, "block");
-  setHidden(giphyMetaPanel, true, "block");
   setHidden(queryVariants, true, "");
   showWarning("");
   searchResultsViewport.classList.toggle("image-results-scroll", isImageMode);
@@ -376,7 +345,6 @@ function applyMediaTypeUI() {
     button.classList.toggle("hidden", isImageMode);
   }
   if (isImageMode) {
-    updateImageSearchMeta(null);
     setStatus("giphy image mode", 0);
     renderImageEmptyState("GIPHY 검색어를 입력하면 여기에 최대 100개의 이미지/GIF 결과가 표시됩니다.");
   } else {
@@ -930,13 +898,11 @@ searchForm.addEventListener("submit", async (event) => {
         headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
         body: JSON.stringify({ query: searchQuery.value, maxResults: 100 }),
       });
-      updateImageSearchMeta(data);
       renderImageResults(data.items || []);
-      showWarning(data.warning || "");
+      showWarning("");
       logEvent("image-search:completed", { query: data.originalQuery || searchQuery.value, total: data.total || 0, expandedQueries: data.expandedQueries || [] });
       setStatus("giphy search complete", 100);
     } catch (error) {
-      updateImageSearchMeta(null);
       renderImageEmptyState("GIPHY 검색 결과를 불러오지 못했습니다.");
       showWarning(error.message);
       setStatus("giphy search failed", 100);

frontend/index.html

@@ -69,19 +69,6 @@
                 <button type="button" class="image-prompt-chip rounded-full border border-white/10 px-3 py-2 text-xs uppercase tracking-[0.2em] text-zinc-200" data-image-prompt="minimal product mockup">Product Mockup</button>
               </div>
             </div>
-            <div id="giphyMetaPanel" class="mt-4 hidden rounded-2xl border border-white/10 bg-black/30 p-4">
-              <div class="grid gap-3 lg:grid-cols-[1.4fr_1fr]">
-                <div class="space-y-2">
-                  <p class="text-xs uppercase tracking-[0.22em] text-zinc-500">Search Meta</p>
-                  <p id="giphyOriginalQuery" class="text-sm text-zinc-200">Original query: -</p>
-                  <p id="giphyResultCount" class="text-sm text-zinc-400">0 results</p>
-                </div>
-                <div class="space-y-2">
-                  <p class="text-xs uppercase tracking-[0.22em] text-zinc-500">Expanded Queries</p>
-                  <div id="giphyExpandedQueries" class="flex flex-wrap gap-2"></div>
-                </div>
-              </div>
-            </div>
           </div>
           <div id="searchWarning" class="mt-3 hidden rounded-2xl border border-amber-500/30 bg-amber-500/10 px-4 py-3 text-sm text-amber-200"></div>
           <div id="queryVariants" class="hidden"></div>