Foxy Artistry

A microservice for image and video generation used by Foxy

What is this?

Originally launched in 2021 to create images with text for Foxy, this service has evolved to modify images and videos for Foxy’s commands.

Why Separate the Image Rendering Service from Foxy?

1. Scalability:

   • We can spin up multiple instances of the image generator and spread them across different machines or containers, making it much easier to handle a large number of requests simultaneously.

2. Security:

   • By separating the rendering process, even if a faulty image crashes the service, it won’t affect the rest of Foxy. Other features can continue running smoothly.

3. Better Resource Management:

   • With the rendering as a dedicated service, we can fine-tune CPU and memory usage, ensuring that rendering tasks don’t impact the rest of the application.

4. Easier Maintenance:

   • It's much simpler to update and maintain the rendering service independently, allowing us to make improvements without disrupting the entire Foxy setup.

5. Tech Flexibility:

   • We have the freedom to use the best tools and libraries for image and video rendering without worrying about compatibility with the rest of the app.

6. Simplified Monitoring:

   • A standalone service makes it easier to track performance and health. We can set up specific monitoring and logging for rendering tasks.

7. Smoother User Experience:

   • Running services independently ensures that users don’t experience slowdowns or crashes caused by rendering issues, delivering a better overall experience.

Prerequisite: Install FFmpeg

To host this service, make sure FFmpeg is installed on your machine. It's required for processing videos. You can download and install it from the official FFmpeg website. Ensure the ffmpeg binary is accessible from the command line to allow the service to function correctly.