feat(backend): import server-folder files oldest-first by mtime

os.ReadDir returns entries in name order; sort them by ascending mtime
before importing so each Upload's created_at reflects the files'
chronological order. mtimes are cached once for the sort and reused as the
content_datetime fallback, dropping the redundant per-file Info() call.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>

backend/internal/integration/server_test.go

@@ -1295,6 +1295,50 @@ func TestImportFromFolder(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.True(t, ct.Equal(mtime), "content_datetime %v should equal mtime %v", ct, mtime)
 }
 
+// TestImportOrdersByMtime verifies that a folder import processes files in
+// ascending mtime order, regardless of filename order. The three files are named
+// so that alphabetical order (ReadDir's default) is the reverse of mtime order;
+// the progress-event indices must follow mtime, oldest first.
+func TestImportOrdersByMtime(t *testing.T) {
+	if testing.Short() {
+		t.Skip("skipping integration test in short mode")
+	}
+	h := setupSuite(t)
+	adminToken := h.login("admin", "admin")
+
+	// name → mtime; alphabetical order (a,b,c) is the reverse of chronological.
+	files := []struct {
+		name  string
+		mtime time.Time
+	}{
+		{"a_newest.jpg", time.Date(2022, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)},
+		{"b_middle.jpg", time.Date(2021, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)},
+		{"c_oldest.jpg", time.Date(2019, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)},
+	}
+	for _, f := range files {
+		p := filepath.Join(h.importDir, f.name)
+		require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(p, minimalJPEG(), 0o644))
+		require.NoError(t, os.Chtimes(p, f.mtime, f.mtime))
+	}
+
+	resp := h.doJSON("POST", "/files/import", map[string]any{}, adminToken)
+	require.Equal(t, http.StatusOK, resp.StatusCode, resp.String())
+
+	events := parseImportEvents(t, resp)
+	idx := map[string]int{}
+	for _, ev := range events {
+		if ev.Type == "file" {
+			require.Equal(t, "imported", ev.Status, "%s: %s", ev.Filename, ev.Reason)
+			idx[ev.Filename] = ev.Index
+		}
+	}
+	require.Len(t, idx, 3, resp.String())
+
+	// Oldest first: c (2019) → b (2021) → a (2022).
+	assert.Less(t, idx["c_oldest.jpg"], idx["b_middle.jpg"], "oldest should be processed before middle")
+	assert.Less(t, idx["b_middle.jpg"], idx["a_newest.jpg"], "middle should be processed before newest")
+}
+
 // TestContentRangeRequests verifies the original-content endpoint answers a
 // byte-range request with 206 Partial Content (so the browser can seek within
 // audio/video) rather than streaming the whole body.

backend/internal/service/file_service.go

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import (
 	"io"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"sort"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
@@ -589,6 +590,23 @@ func (s *FileService) Import(ctx context.Context, path string, onProgress func(I
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("FileService.Import: read dir %q: %w", dir, err)
 	}
 
+	// Import oldest-first: process entries in ascending mtime order so the
+	// resulting records' creation order matches the files' chronological order.
+	// mtimes are cached once (re-stat'ing per comparison would be wasteful) and
+	// reused below as the content_datetime fallback. Entries whose info can't be
+	// read get a zero time (sort first); they surface their error in the loop.
+	modTimes := make(map[string]time.Time, len(entries))
+	for _, e := range entries {
+		if info, infoErr := e.Info(); infoErr == nil {
+			modTimes[e.Name()] = info.ModTime()
+		}
+	}
+	// SliceStable preserves ReadDir's name order as a deterministic tiebreak for
+	// entries sharing an mtime.
+	sort.SliceStable(entries, func(a, b int) bool {
+		return modTimes[entries[a].Name()].Before(modTimes[entries[b].Name()])
+	})
+
 	emit := func(ev ImportEvent) {
 		if onProgress != nil {
 			onProgress(ev)
@@ -646,10 +664,9 @@ func (s *FileService) Import(ctx context.Context, path string, onProgress func(I
 
 		// Preserve the file's mtime as a content_datetime fallback (used only when
 		// the file has no EXIF date) — once the source is removed below it's the
-		// only date left for non-photo files.
+		// only date left for non-photo files. Reuses the mtime cached for sorting.
 		var mtime *time.Time
-		if info, statErr := entry.Info(); statErr == nil {
+		if t, ok := modTimes[name]; ok {
-			t := info.ModTime()
 			mtime = &t
 		}