diff --git a/pinakes.toml.example b/pinakes.toml.example
index fb6885d..de4bf18 100644
--- a/pinakes.toml.example
+++ b/pinakes.toml.example
@@ -1,46 +1,351 @@
-# Pinakes Configuration
+# Pinakes Configuration Example
 # Copy this file to pinakes.toml and adjust values as needed.
+# Most settings have sensible defaults and can be omitted.
 
+## Storage Backend Configuration
 [storage]
 # Storage backend: "sqlite" or "postgres"
+# SQLite is recommended for single-user or small deployments (< 10k items)
+# PostgreSQL is recommended for larger libraries or multi-user setups
 backend = "sqlite"
 
 [storage.sqlite]
-# Path to the SQLite database file
+# Path to the SQLite database file (relative to data directory or absolute)
+# Default: <data_dir>/pinakes.db
 path = "pinakes.db"
 
-# Uncomment and configure for PostgreSQL backend:
+# PostgreSQL configuration (uncomment if using PostgreSQL backend)
 # [storage.postgres]
 # host = "localhost"
 # port = 5432
 # database = "pinakes"
 # username = "pinakes"
-# password = "secret"
+# password = "your_secure_password_here"
+# # Maximum number of database connections in the pool
 # max_connections = 10
+# # Enable TLS/SSL for database connections
+# # tls = { mode = "require", ca_cert = "/path/to/ca.pem" }
 
+## Directory Configuration
 [directories]
 # Root directories to scan for media files
+# Supports environment variable expansion: ${HOME}, $HOME
+# Paths can be absolute or relative to the working directory.
+# Add more directories as needed.
+
 roots = [
-    "/home/user/Music",
-    "/home/user/Documents",
-    "/home/user/Videos",
+    "${HOME}/Music",
+    "${HOME}/Documents",
+    "${HOME}/Videos",
+    "${HOME}/Pictures",
+    # ...
 ]
 
+## File Scanning Configuration
 [scanning]
-# Watch directories for changes
+# Watch directories for changes using filesystem events
+# When enabled, Pinakes will automatically detect new/modified/deleted files
+# Default: true
 watch = true
+
 # Polling interval in seconds (used as fallback when native fs events unavailable)
+# Only used on systems without inotify/FSEvents support
+# Default: 300 (5 minutes)
 poll_interval_secs = 300
-# File patterns to ignore during scanning
+
+# File patterns to ignore during scanning (glob patterns)
+# Default: Hidden files and common build/cache directories
 ignore_patterns = [
-    ".*",
-    "node_modules",
-    "target",
-    ".git",
+    ".*",              # Hidden files (starting with .)
+    "node_modules",    # JavaScript dependencies
+    "target",          # Rust build artifacts
+    ".git",            # Git repository data
+    "__pycache__",     # Python cache
+    "venv",            # Python virtual environments
+    "*.tmp",           # Temporary files
+    "*.swp",           # Vim swap files
+    "Thumbs.db",       # Windows thumbnail cache
+    ".DS_Store",       # macOS metadata
 ]
 
+## Server Configuration
 [server]
 # Server bind address
+# Use "0.0.0.0" to listen on all interfaces (required for network access)
+# Use "127.0.0.1" for localhost-only access (slightly more secure)
+# Default: "127.0.0.1"
 host = "127.0.0.1"
+
 # Server port
+# Default: 3000
 port = 3000
+
+# Disable authentication (NOT RECOMMENDED for production)
+# When true, all requests are treated as admin with full access
+# Default: false
+# authentication_disabled = false
+
+# JWT secret for session tokens (auto-generated if not specified)
+# IMPORTANT: Set this to a strong random value in production
+# Generate with: openssl rand -base64 32
+# jwt_secret = "your-secret-key-here"
+
+# Session timeout in seconds
+# Default: 86400 (24 hours)
+# session_timeout_secs = 86400
+
+# Enable CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing)
+# Default: false
+# cors_enabled = true
+
+# Allowed CORS origins (if CORS is enabled)
+# cors_origins = ["http://localhost:5173", "https://app.example.com"]
+
+# Enable TLS/HTTPS
+# tls_enabled = false
+# tls_cert_path = "/path/to/cert.pem"
+# tls_key_path = "/path/to/key.pem"
+
+## Photo Management Configuration
+# These settings control CPU-intensive photo processing features
+[photos]
+# Generate perceptual hashes for image duplicate detection
+# Uses DCT (Discrete Cosine Transform) algorithm
+# CPU-intensive but enables finding visually similar images
+# Default: true
+generate_perceptual_hash = true
+
+# Automatically create tags from EXIF keywords
+# Extracts keywords from photo metadata and creates hierarchical tags
+# Example: IPTC keyword "Nature/Wildlife/Birds" creates nested tags
+# Default: false (can create many tags quickly)
+auto_tag_from_exif = false
+
+# Generate multi-resolution thumbnails (tiny, grid, preview)
+# Creates 3 sizes: 64x64, 320x320, 1024x1024
+# Increases storage usage but improves UI performance
+# Default: false (single thumbnail generated)
+multi_resolution_thumbnails = false
+
+# Enable automatic event/album detection
+# Groups photos by time and location proximity
+# Default: false
+enable_event_detection = false
+
+# Minimum number of photos to form an event
+# Only applies if event detection is enabled
+# Default: 5
+min_event_photos = 5
+
+# Maximum time gap between photos in the same event (in seconds)
+# Photos taken further apart are considered separate events
+# Default: 7200 (2 hours)
+event_time_gap_secs = 7200
+
+# Maximum distance between photos in the same event (in kilometers)
+# Photos taken further apart geographically are considered separate events
+# Requires GPS coordinates in photo EXIF data
+# Default: 1.0 km
+event_max_distance_km = 1.0
+
+## Thumbnail Configuration
+[thumbnails]
+# Default thumbnail size in pixels (width = height for square thumbnails)
+# Default: 320
+size = 320
+
+# JPEG quality for thumbnails (1-100, higher = better quality but larger files)
+# Default: 80
+quality = 80
+
+# Path to ffmpeg binary for video thumbnails (auto-detected if not specified)
+# ffmpeg_path = "/usr/bin/ffmpeg"
+
+# Video thumbnail seek position in seconds
+# Extracts frame at this timestamp for video thumbnails
+# Default: 2
+video_seek_secs = 2
+
+## User Interface Configuration
+[ui]
+# UI theme: "dark" or "light"
+# Default: "dark"
+theme = "dark"
+
+# Default view: "library", "search", "collections", etc.
+# Default: "library"
+default_view = "library"
+
+# Default number of items per page
+# Default: 50
+default_page_size = 50
+
+# Default view mode: "grid" or "table"
+# Default: "grid"
+default_view_mode = "grid"
+
+# Auto-play media when selected
+# Default: false
+auto_play_media = false
+
+# Show thumbnails in views (disable for faster loading with large libraries)
+# Default: true
+show_thumbnails = true
+
+# Start with sidebar collapsed
+# Default: false
+sidebar_collapsed = false
+
+## User Accounts & Authentication
+[accounts]
+# Require email verification for new accounts
+# Default: false
+# require_email_verification = false
+
+# Allow user self-registration
+# Default: true
+# allow_registration = true
+
+# Default role for new users: "viewer", "editor", "admin"
+# Default: "viewer"
+# default_role = "viewer"
+
+# Password minimum length
+# Default: 8
+# password_min_length = 8
+
+# Maximum failed login attempts before temporary lockout
+# Default: 5
+# max_failed_logins = 5
+
+# Lockout duration in seconds after max failed logins
+# Default: 900 (15 minutes)
+# lockout_duration_secs = 900
+
+## Background Jobs Configuration
+[jobs]
+# Number of concurrent background job workers
+# Default: 2
+worker_count = 2
+
+# Job result cache TTL in seconds
+# Default: 60
+cache_ttl_secs = 60
+
+## Metadata Enrichment Configuration
+[enrichment]
+# Enable automatic metadata enrichment from online sources
+# Default: false
+enabled = false
+
+# Automatically enrich new books with ISBN lookups
+# Default: false
+# auto_enrich_new_books = false
+
+# Automatically enrich music with MusicBrainz/Last.fm
+# Default: false
+# auto_enrich_new_music = false
+
+# [enrichment.sources]
+# # OpenLibrary (books) - No API key required
+# [enrichment.sources.openlibrary]
+# enabled = true
+#
+# # Google Books API (books) - Optional API key for higher rate limits
+# [enrichment.sources.googlebooks]
+# enabled = true
+# api_key = "your-google-books-api-key"
+#
+# # TMDb (movies/TV) - Requires API key from themoviedb.org
+# [enrichment.sources.tmdb]
+# enabled = false
+# api_key = "${TMDB_API_KEY}"  # Or hardcode: "your-tmdb-api-key"
+#
+# # Last.fm (music) - Requires API key from last.fm/api
+# [enrichment.sources.lastfm]
+# enabled = false
+# api_key = "${LASTFM_API_KEY}"
+
+## Plugin Configuration
+[plugins]
+# Directory containing WASM plugin files
+# Default: <data_dir>/plugins
+# directory = "~/.local/share/pinakes/plugins"
+
+# Enable plugin system (experimental)
+# Default: false
+# enabled = false
+
+## Transcoding Configuration
+[transcoding]
+# Enable on-the-fly media transcoding for streaming
+# Default: false
+# enabled = false
+
+# Path to ffmpeg binary
+# ffmpeg_path = "/usr/bin/ffmpeg"
+
+# Default video codec: "h264", "h265", "vp9", "av1"
+# video_codec = "h264"
+
+# Default audio codec: "aac", "opus", "vorbis", "mp3"
+# audio_codec = "aac"
+
+# Video bitrate in kbps
+# video_bitrate_kbps = 2000
+
+# Audio bitrate in kbps
+# audio_bitrate_kbps = 128
+
+## Cloud Sync Configuration
+[cloud]
+# Enable cloud storage sync
+# Default: false
+enabled = false
+
+# Automatic sync interval in minutes
+# Default: 60
+# auto_sync_interval_mins = 60
+
+# Cloud storage accounts
+# [[cloud.accounts]]
+# provider = "s3"  # "s3", "gcs", "azure", "webdav"
+# name = "My S3 Bucket"
+# bucket = "my-media-bucket"
+# region = "us-east-1"
+# access_key = "${AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID}"
+# secret_key = "${AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY}"
+
+## Analytics Configuration
+[analytics]
+# Enable usage analytics and statistics tracking
+# Default: false
+enabled = false
+
+# Track individual media view/play events
+# Default: true (if analytics enabled)
+# track_usage = true
+
+# How long to retain analytics data (in days)
+# Default: 90
+# retention_days = 90
+
+## Webhook Configuration
+# Send HTTP notifications for events
+# [[webhooks]]
+# url = "https://example.com/webhook"
+# events = ["media.imported", "media.deleted", "tag.created"]
+# secret = "webhook-secret-for-signature"  # Optional HMAC secret
+
+## Scheduled Tasks
+# Configure periodic background tasks
+# [[scheduled_tasks]]
+# id = "nightly_vacuum"
+# enabled = true
+# # Cron-style schedule (minute hour day month weekday)
+# schedule = "0 3 * * *"  # Run at 3 AM daily
+
+# [[scheduled_tasks]]
+# id = "weekly_integrity_check"
+# enabled = false
+# schedule = "0 4 * * 0"  # Run at 4 AM every Sunday