Refactor web build process and update documentation

- Removed Node.js build artifacts from .gitignore and adjusted Makefile to reflect changes in web UI build process, now using server-rendered Go templates instead of React.
- Updated README to clarify the new web UI architecture and output formats, emphasizing the removal of the Node.js build step.
- Added a command to set the number of frames per render task in manager configuration, enhancing user control over rendering settings.
- Improved Gitea workflow by removing unnecessary npm install step, streamlining the CI process.

README.md

@@ -12,20 +12,20 @@ Both manager and runner are part of a single binary (`jiggablend`) with subcomma
 ## Features
 
 - **Authentication**: OAuth (Google and Discord) and local authentication with user management
-- **Web UI**: Modern React-based interface for job submission and monitoring
+- **Web UI**: Server-rendered Go templates with HTMX fragments for job submission and monitoring
 - **Distributed Rendering**: Scale across multiple runners with automatic job distribution
-- **Real-time Updates**: WebSocket-based progress tracking and job status updates
-- **Video Encoding**: Automatic video encoding from EXR/PNG sequences with multiple codec support:
-  - H.264 (MP4) - SDR and HDR support
-  - AV1 (MP4) - With alpha channel support
-  - VP9 (WebM) - With alpha channel and HDR support
-- **Output Formats**: PNG, JPEG, EXR, and video formats (MP4, WebM)
+- **Real-time Updates**: Polling-based UI updates with lightweight HTMX refreshes
+- **Video Encoding**: Automatic video encoding from EXR sequences only. EXR→video always uses HDR (HLG, 10-bit); no option to disable. Codecs:
+  - H.264 (MP4) - HDR (HLG)
+  - AV1 (MP4) - Alpha channel support, HDR
+  - VP9 (WebM) - Alpha channel and HDR
+- **Output Formats**: EXR frame sequence only, or EXR + video (H.264, AV1, VP9). Blender always renders EXR.
 - **Blender Version Management**: Support for multiple Blender versions with automatic detection
 - **Metadata Extraction**: Automatic extraction of scene metadata from Blender files
 - **Admin Panel**: User and runner management interface
 - **Runner Management**: API key-based authentication for runners with health monitoring
-- **HDR Support**: Preserve HDR range in video encoding with HLG transfer function
-- **Alpha Channel**: Preserve alpha channel in video encoding (AV1 and VP9)
+- **HDR**: EXR→video is always encoded as HDR (HLG, 10-bit). There is no option to turn it off; for SDR-only output, download the EXR frames and encode locally.
+- **Alpha**: Alpha is always preserved in EXR frames. In video, alpha is preserved when present in the EXR for AV1 and VP9; H.264 MP4 does not support alpha.
 
 ## Prerequisites
 
@@ -158,6 +158,15 @@ bin/jiggablend runner --manager http://localhost:8080 --name my-runner --api-key
 JIGGABLEND_MANAGER=http://localhost:8080 JIGGABLEND_API_KEY=<key> bin/jiggablend runner
 ```
 
+### Render Chunk Size Note
+
+For one heavy production scene/profile, chunked rendering (`frames 800-804` in one Blender process) was much slower than one-frame tasks:
+
+- Chunked task (`800-804`): `27m49s` end-to-end (`Task assigned` -> last `Saved`)
+- Single-frame tasks (`800`, `801`, `802`, `803`, `804`): `15m04s` wall clock total
+
+In that test, any chunk size greater than `1` caused a major slowdown after the first frame. Fresh installs should already have it set to `1`, but if you see similar performance degradation, try forcing one frame per task (hard reset Blender each frame): `jiggablend manager config set frames-per-render-task 1`. If `1` is worse on your scene/hardware, benchmark and use a higher chunk size instead.
+
 ### Running Both (for Testing)
 
 ```bash
@@ -217,9 +226,9 @@ jiggablend/
 │   ├── executils/        # Execution utilities
 │   ├── scripts/          # Python scripts for Blender
 │   └── types/             # Shared types and models
-├── web/                   # React web UI
-│   ├── src/              # Source files
-│   └── dist/             # Built files (embedded in binary)
+├── web/                   # Embedded templates + static assets
+│   ├── templates/        # Go HTML templates and partials
+│   └── static/           # CSS/JS assets
 ├── go.mod
 └── Makefile
 ```
@@ -266,29 +275,25 @@ jiggablend/
 - `GET /api/admin/stats` - System statistics
 
 ### WebSocket
-- `WS /api/ws` - WebSocket connection for real-time updates
-  - Subscribe to job channels: `job:{jobId}`
-  - Receive job status updates, progress, and logs
+- `WS /api/jobs/ws` - Optional API channel for advanced clients
+- The default web UI uses polling + HTMX for status updates and task views.
 
 ## Output Formats
 
-The system supports the following output formats:
+The system supports the following output formats. Blender always renders EXR (linear); the chosen format is the deliverable (frames only or frames + video).
 
-### Image Formats
-- **PNG** - Standard PNG output
-- **JPEG** - JPEG output
-- **EXR** - OpenEXR format (HDR)
+### Deliverable Formats
+- **EXR** - EXR frame sequence only (no video)
+- **EXR_264_MP4** - EXR frames + H.264 MP4 (always HDR, HLG)
+- **EXR_AV1_MP4** - EXR frames + AV1 MP4 (alpha support, always HDR)
+- **EXR_VP9_WEBM** - EXR frames + VP9 WebM (alpha and HDR)
 
-### Video Formats
-- **EXR_264_MP4** - H.264 encoded MP4 from EXR sequence (SDR or HDR)
-- **EXR_AV1_MP4** - AV1 encoded MP4 from EXR sequence (with alpha channel support)
-- **EXR_VP9_WEBM** - VP9 encoded WebM from EXR sequence (with alpha channel and HDR support)
+Video encoding (EXR→video) is always HDR (HLG, 10-bit); there is no option to output SDR video. For SDR-only, download the EXR frames and encode locally.
 
 Video encoding features:
 - 2-pass encoding for optimal quality
-- HDR preservation using HLG transfer function
+- EXR→video only (no PNG source); always HLG (HDR), 10-bit, full range
 - Alpha channel preservation (AV1 and VP9 only)
-- Automatic detection of source format (EXR or PNG)
 - Software encoding (libx264, libaom-av1, libvpx-vp9)
 
 ## Storage Structure
@@ -320,16 +325,8 @@ go test ./... -timeout 30s
 
 ### Web UI Development
 
-The web UI is built with React and Vite. To develop the UI:
-
-```bash
-cd web
-npm install
-npm run dev  # Development server
-npm run build  # Build for production
-```
-
-The built files are embedded in the Go binary using `embed.FS`.
+The web UI is server-rendered from embedded templates and static assets in `web/templates` and `web/static`.
+No Node/Vite build step is required.
 
 ## License