diff --git a/server/src/nest/maps/maps.controller.ts b/server/src/nest/maps/maps.controller.ts
index 770f3c9c5..888d8d2c6 100644
--- a/server/src/nest/maps/maps.controller.ts
+++ b/server/src/nest/maps/maps.controller.ts
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ export class MapsController {
 
   @Get('place-photo/:placeId/bytes')
   async placePhotoBytes(@Param('placeId') placeId: string, @Res() res: Response): Promise<void> {
-    const key = this.maps.photoBytesKey(placeId);
+    const key = await this.maps.photoBytesKey(placeId);
     if (!key) {
       // Same reasoning as the JSON endpoint above, and the bigger half of #1727:
       // places keep this URL in image_url, so a trip render asks for one photo per
diff --git a/server/src/nest/maps/maps.service.ts b/server/src/nest/maps/maps.service.ts
index 057a08160..ecf6dc06b 100644
--- a/server/src/nest/maps/maps.service.ts
+++ b/server/src/nest/maps/maps.service.ts
@@ -529,7 +529,7 @@ export class MapsService {
     return this.getPlacePhoto(userId, placeId, lat, lng, name) as Promise<MapsPlacePhotoResult>;
   }
 
-  photoBytesKey(placeId: string): string | null {
+  photoBytesKey(placeId: string): Promise<string | null> {
     return this.photoCache.serveKey(placeId);
   }
 
@@ -1802,7 +1802,7 @@ export class MapsService {
     name?: string,
   ): Promise<{ photoUrl: string | null; attribution: string | null }> {
     // Disk cache hit — serve immediately, no Google call
-    const diskHit = this.photoCache.get(placeId);
+    const diskHit = await this.photoCache.get(placeId);
     if (diskHit) return { photoUrl: diskHit.photoUrl, attribution: diskHit.attribution };
 
     // "No photo for this place" is an empty result, not a missing resource: a trip
@@ -1828,7 +1828,7 @@ export class MapsService {
     // or timed out only for a few minutes.
     let providerFailed = false;
 
-    const fetchPromise = (async (): Promise<{ filePath: string; attribution: string | null } | null> => {
+    const fetchPromise = (async (): Promise<{ attribution: string | null } | null> => {
       await acquirePhotoFetchSlot();
       try {
         const apiKey = this.getMapsKey(userId);
@@ -1837,7 +1837,7 @@ export class MapsService {
         // (right-click) places and as a fallback when a Google place yields no photo,
         // so a place added via search still gets a marker image when Google returns
         // nothing. Returns null (without marking an error) so the caller decides.
-        const fetchWikimediaFallback = async (): Promise<{ filePath: string; attribution: string | null } | null> => {
+        const fetchWikimediaFallback = async (): Promise<{ attribution: string | null } | null> => {
           if (isNaN(lat) || isNaN(lng)) return null;
           try {
             const wiki = await this.fetchWikimediaPhoto(lat, lng, name);
@@ -1851,7 +1851,7 @@ export class MapsService {
             }
             const bytes = Buffer.from(await imgRes.arrayBuffer());
             const cached = await this.photoCache.put(placeId, bytes, wiki.attribution);
-            return { filePath: cached.filePath, attribution: cached.attribution };
+            return { attribution: cached.attribution };
           } catch {
             providerFailed = true;
             return null;
@@ -1862,7 +1862,7 @@ export class MapsService {
         // key, request rejected, no photos, or a failed media download — so the
         // caller can fall back to Wikimedia; the misses that were Google's fault
         // flag providerFailed on the way out.
-        const fetchGooglePhoto = async (): Promise<{ filePath: string; attribution: string | null } | null> => {
+        const fetchGooglePhoto = async (): Promise<{ attribution: string | null } | null> => {
           if (!apiKey) return null;
 
           // Fetch details to get the photo name
@@ -1926,7 +1926,7 @@ export class MapsService {
             console.error('Failed to persist photo URL to database:', dbErr);
           }
 
-          return { filePath: cached.filePath, attribution };
+          return { attribution };
         };
 
         // Prefer the Google photo (higher quality); if Google yields nothing, fall
diff --git a/server/src/nest/place-enrichment/place-enrichment.controller.ts b/server/src/nest/place-enrichment/place-enrichment.controller.ts
index 0e6f7bf76..aeb39e30b 100644
--- a/server/src/nest/place-enrichment/place-enrichment.controller.ts
+++ b/server/src/nest/place-enrichment/place-enrichment.controller.ts
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ export class PlaceEnrichmentController {
    * local — no provider is contacted, so it needs no rate limit.
    */
   @Get('credit/:key')
-  credit(@Param('key') key: string): { credit: string | null } {
+  credit(@Param('key') key: string): Promise<{ credit: string | null }> {
     return this.enrichment.credit(key);
   }
 }
diff --git a/server/src/nest/place-enrichment/place-enrichment.service.ts b/server/src/nest/place-enrichment/place-enrichment.service.ts
index 4f916679e..7633064f2 100644
--- a/server/src/nest/place-enrichment/place-enrichment.service.ts
+++ b/server/src/nest/place-enrichment/place-enrichment.service.ts
@@ -269,7 +269,7 @@ export class PlaceEnrichmentService {
     const placeId = req.placeId?.trim() || `coords:${req.lat}:${req.lng}`;
     const lang = req.lang;
 
-    const cached = this.readCache(placeId, lang);
+    const cached = await this.readCache(placeId, lang);
     if (cached) return cached;
 
     // One details lookup feeds all three halves: the pictures need its Commons
@@ -318,8 +318,8 @@ export class PlaceEnrichmentService {
    * obligation does not end there — the place inspector reads this so a picture
    * that was chosen weeks ago still names whoever made it.
    */
-  credit(key: string): { credit: string | null } {
-    return { credit: this.photoCache.get(key)?.attribution ?? null };
+  async credit(key: string): Promise<{ credit: string | null }> {
+    return { credit: (await this.photoCache.get(key))?.attribution ?? null };
   }
 
   /**
@@ -492,7 +492,7 @@ export class PlaceEnrichmentService {
     credit: string | null,
     fetchBytes: () => Promise<Buffer | null>,
   ): Promise<string | null> {
-    const hit = this.photoCache.get(key);
+    const hit = await this.photoCache.get(key);
     if (hit) return hit.photoUrl;
 
     const bytes = await withPhotoFetchSlot(fetchBytes);
@@ -662,7 +662,7 @@ export class PlaceEnrichmentService {
 
   // ── Result cache ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
-  private readCache(placeId: string, lang: string | undefined): CachedEnrichment | null {
+  private async readCache(placeId: string, lang: string | undefined): Promise<CachedEnrichment | null> {
     try {
       const row = this.database.get<{ payload_json: string; fetched_at: number }>(
         'SELECT payload_json, fetched_at FROM place_details_cache WHERE place_id = ? AND lang = ? AND expanded = ?',
@@ -679,7 +679,8 @@ export class PlaceEnrichmentService {
       // them. Treat any loss as a stale entry and rebuild, rather than serving
       // the survivors: filtering alone would leave the column empty for the rest
       // of the week for a place that has pictures perfectly available.
-      const photos = parsed.photos.filter((photo) => this.photoCache.get(photo.key));
+      const checks = await Promise.all(parsed.photos.map((photo) => this.photoCache.get(photo.key)));
+      const photos = parsed.photos.filter((_, i) => checks[i]);
       if (photos.length !== parsed.photos.length) return null;
 
       const value: CachedEnrichment = {
diff --git a/server/src/nest/place-photos/place-photo-cache.job.ts b/server/src/nest/place-photos/place-photo-cache.job.ts
index 483691068..b15d5123d 100644
--- a/server/src/nest/place-photos/place-photo-cache.job.ts
+++ b/server/src/nest/place-photos/place-photo-cache.job.ts
@@ -20,13 +20,15 @@ export class PlacePhotoCacheJob implements OnApplicationBootstrap {
   onApplicationBootstrap(): void {
     if (!this.registrar.isEnabled()) return;
     // Run once on startup to reclaim orphans left over from before this sweeper existed.
-    this.sweep();
-    this.registrar.register('place-photo-cache', '30 3 * * *', () => this.sweep());
+    void this.sweep();
+    this.registrar.register('place-photo-cache', '30 3 * * *', () => {
+      void this.sweep();
+    });
   }
 
-  sweep(): void {
+  async sweep(): Promise<void> {
     try {
-      const removed = this.cache.sweepOrphans();
+      const removed = await this.cache.sweepOrphans();
       if (removed > 0) logInfo(`Place-photo cache cleanup: removed ${removed} orphaned file(s)/row(s)`);
     } catch (err: unknown) {
       logError(`Place-photo cache cleanup: ${err instanceof Error ? err.message : err}`);
diff --git a/server/src/nest/place-photos/place-photo-cache.service.ts b/server/src/nest/place-photos/place-photo-cache.service.ts
index de2139489..c228b8f7a 100644
--- a/server/src/nest/place-photos/place-photo-cache.service.ts
+++ b/server/src/nest/place-photos/place-photo-cache.service.ts
@@ -1,11 +1,9 @@
-import { Injectable, OnModuleInit } from '@nestjs/common';
+import { Injectable } from '@nestjs/common';
 import { Jimp, JimpMime } from 'jimp';
 import crypto from 'node:crypto';
-import fs from 'node:fs';
-import fsPromises from 'node:fs/promises';
-import path from 'node:path';
+import { Readable } from 'node:stream';
 import { DatabaseService } from '../database/database.service';
-import { RuntimeEnvService } from '../app-config/runtime-env.service';
+import { StorageService } from '../storage/storage.service';
 
 // How long a "no photo for this place" answer stays remembered. Nothing about it
 // changes until a photo appears upstream, so it is worth keeping: without it every
@@ -31,7 +29,6 @@ const JPEG_QUALITY = 80;
 
 interface CachedPhoto {
   photoUrl: string;
-  filePath: string;
   attribution: string | null;
 }
 
@@ -44,39 +41,26 @@ interface CachedPhoto {
  * simultaneous requests for the same uncached place would both call the
  * provider. That is the reason the nightly sweep (PlacePhotoCacheJob) injects
  * this container singleton rather than constructing its own.
+ *
+ * Bytes live in the 'photos-google' storage category as '<sha1>.jpg' names.
+ * The registry's mode-aware prefix reproduces both TREK_PLACE_PHOTO_DIR
+ * layouts (unset: uploads/photos/google; set: that dir, bare keys), so the
+ * cache itself is mode-agnostic.
  */
 @Injectable()
-export class PlacePhotoCacheService implements OnModuleInit {
+export class PlacePhotoCacheService {
   /** Provider calls that failed recently — in memory only, so a restart retries. */
   private readonly recentFailures = new Map<string, number>();
   /** In-flight dedup: stops a stampede when several requests miss the same placeId at once. */
-  private readonly inFlight = new Map<string, Promise<{ filePath: string; attribution: string | null } | null>>();
-  /** placeIds whose file was confirmed on disk this session — saves an existsSync per hit. */
+  private readonly inFlight = new Map<string, Promise<{ attribution: string | null } | null>>();
+  /** placeIds whose object was confirmed in storage this session — saves a stat per hit. */
   private readonly knownOnDisk = new Set<string>();
 
   constructor(
     private readonly db: DatabaseService,
-    private readonly env: RuntimeEnvService,
+    private readonly storage: StorageService,
   ) {}
 
-  /**
-   * Overridable for tests (mirrors the TREK_DB_FILE seam) so the suite never
-   * touches the real uploads tree. Read per call rather than frozen at import:
-   * the tests that set TREK_PLACE_PHOTO_DIR do so after this module loads.
-   */
-  private get photoDir(): string {
-    return this.env.env().paths.placePhotoDir || path.join(__dirname, '../../../uploads/photos/google');
-  }
-
-  /** Ensure the upload dir exists once at startup, so put() never needs a sync FS call. */
-  onModuleInit(): void {
-    try {
-      fs.mkdirSync(this.photoDir, { recursive: true });
-    } catch {
-      /* already exists */
-    }
-  }
-
   private fileName(placeId: string): string {
     // Hash to avoid filename collisions — coords:lat:lng pseudo-IDs contain characters that
     // collapse identically under sanitization (e.g. ':' and '.' both → '_')
@@ -84,15 +68,11 @@ export class PlacePhotoCacheService implements OnModuleInit {
     return `${hash}.jpg`;
   }
 
-  private filePath(placeId: string): string {
-    return path.join(this.photoDir, this.fileName(placeId));
-  }
-
   private proxyUrl(placeId: string): string {
     return `/api/maps/place-photo/${encodeURIComponent(placeId)}/bytes`;
   }
 
-  get(placeId: string): CachedPhoto | null {
+  async get(placeId: string): Promise<CachedPhoto | null> {
     const row = this.db.get<{ attribution: string | null }>(
       'SELECT attribution FROM google_place_photo_meta WHERE place_id = ? AND error_at IS NULL',
       placeId,
@@ -100,19 +80,17 @@ export class PlacePhotoCacheService implements OnModuleInit {
 
     if (!row) return null;
 
-    const fp = this.filePath(placeId);
-
     if (!this.knownOnDisk.has(placeId)) {
-      // First time this placeId is checked this session — verify the file exists on disk.
+      // First time this placeId is checked this session — verify the object exists.
       // (Guards against volume wipes or manual deletion between server restarts.)
-      if (!fs.existsSync(fp)) {
+      if (!(await this.storage.exists('photos-google', this.fileName(placeId)))) {
         this.db.run('DELETE FROM google_place_photo_meta WHERE place_id = ?', placeId);
         return null;
       }
       this.knownOnDisk.add(placeId);
     }
 
-    return { photoUrl: this.proxyUrl(placeId), filePath: fp, attribution: row.attribution };
+    return { photoUrl: this.proxyUrl(placeId), attribution: row.attribution };
   }
 
   getErrored(placeId: string): boolean {
@@ -174,12 +152,8 @@ export class PlacePhotoCacheService implements OnModuleInit {
   }
 
   async put(placeId: string, bytes: Buffer, attribution: string | null): Promise<CachedPhoto> {
-    const fp = this.filePath(placeId);
-    const tmp = fp + '.tmp';
-
     const resized = await this.downscale(bytes);
-    await fsPromises.writeFile(tmp, resized);
-    await fsPromises.rename(tmp, fp);
+    await this.storage.put('photos-google', this.fileName(placeId), Readable.from(resized));
 
     this.knownOnDisk.add(placeId);
     this.recentFailures.delete(placeId);
@@ -189,19 +163,14 @@ export class PlacePhotoCacheService implements OnModuleInit {
       placeId, attribution, Date.now(),
     );
 
-    return { photoUrl: this.proxyUrl(placeId), filePath: fp, attribution };
+    return { photoUrl: this.proxyUrl(placeId), attribution };
   }
 
-  getInFlight(
-    placeId: string,
-  ): Promise<{ filePath: string; attribution: string | null } | null> | undefined {
+  getInFlight(placeId: string): Promise<{ attribution: string | null } | null> | undefined {
     return this.inFlight.get(placeId);
   }
 
-  setInFlight(
-    placeId: string,
-    promise: Promise<{ filePath: string; attribution: string | null } | null>,
-  ): void {
+  setInFlight(placeId: string, promise: Promise<{ attribution: string | null } | null>): void {
     this.inFlight.set(placeId, promise);
     promise
       .finally(() => this.inFlight.delete(placeId))
@@ -210,22 +179,16 @@ export class PlacePhotoCacheService implements OnModuleInit {
       });
   }
 
-  serveFilePath(placeId: string): string | null {
-    if (this.knownOnDisk.has(placeId)) return this.filePath(placeId);
-    const fp = this.filePath(placeId);
-    if (!fs.existsSync(fp)) return null;
-    this.knownOnDisk.add(placeId);
-    return fp;
-  }
-
   /**
    * Storage name (category 'photos-google') for a cached photo, or null when
-   * not on disk. The registry's mode-aware prefix reproduces photoDir in both
-   * TREK_PLACE_PHOTO_DIR modes; the cache's own disk internals move onto
-   * storage in slice 4.
+   * the object is missing.
    */
-  serveKey(placeId: string): string | null {
-    return this.serveFilePath(placeId) ? this.fileName(placeId) : null;
+  async serveKey(placeId: string): Promise<string | null> {
+    const name = this.fileName(placeId);
+    if (this.knownOnDisk.has(placeId)) return name;
+    if (!(await this.storage.exists('photos-google', name))) return null;
+    this.knownOnDisk.add(placeId);
+    return name;
   }
 
   /**
@@ -249,12 +212,10 @@ export class PlacePhotoCacheService implements OnModuleInit {
     return !!row;
   }
 
-  private deleteEntry(placeId: string): void {
-    try {
-      fs.unlinkSync(this.filePath(placeId));
-    } catch {
+  private async deleteEntry(placeId: string): Promise<void> {
+    await this.storage.delete('photos-google', this.fileName(placeId)).catch(() => {
       /* already gone */
-    }
+    });
     this.db.run('DELETE FROM google_place_photo_meta WHERE place_id = ?', placeId);
     this.knownOnDisk.delete(placeId);
   }
@@ -263,41 +224,37 @@ export class PlacePhotoCacheService implements OnModuleInit {
    * Drop a cache entry if no place references it anymore. Called after a place delete
    * for prompt reclamation; the nightly sweep is the catch-all for every other path.
    */
-  removeIfUnreferenced(placeId: string): void {
+  async removeIfUnreferenced(placeId: string): Promise<void> {
     if (this.isReferenced(placeId)) return;
-    this.deleteEntry(placeId);
+    await this.deleteEntry(placeId);
   }
 
   /**
    * Reclaim orphaned cache files + meta rows. Runs on startup and nightly (scheduler).
-   * Two passes: (1) meta rows no place references; (2) stray .jpg files with no meta row.
+   * Two passes: (1) meta rows no place references; (2) stray .jpg objects with no meta row.
    */
-  sweepOrphans(): number {
+  async sweepOrphans(): Promise<number> {
     let removed = 0;
 
     const rows = this.db.all<{ place_id: string }>('SELECT place_id FROM google_place_photo_meta');
     const keepFiles = new Set<string>();
     for (const { place_id } of rows) {
       if (this.isReferenced(place_id)) {
-        keepFiles.add(`${crypto.createHash('sha1').update(place_id).digest('hex')}.jpg`);
+        keepFiles.add(this.fileName(place_id));
       } else {
-        this.deleteEntry(place_id);
+        await this.deleteEntry(place_id);
         removed++;
       }
     }
 
-    // Pass 2: files on disk that no surviving meta row maps to (e.g. left over from a
-    // crash between writeFile and the DB upsert, or a meta row deleted out-of-band).
-    let entries: string[];
-    try {
-      entries = fs.readdirSync(this.photoDir);
-    } catch {
-      entries = [];
-    }
-    for (const entry of entries) {
-      if (!entry.endsWith('.jpg') || keepFiles.has(entry)) continue;
+    // Pass 2: objects that no surviving meta row maps to (e.g. left over from a
+    // crash between the object write and the DB upsert, or a meta row deleted
+    // out-of-band). list() recurses where the old readdirSync didn't — skip
+    // nested keys so a subdirectory of a relocated cache dir is never swept.
+    for await (const stat of this.storage.list('photos-google')) {
+      if (stat.key.includes('/') || !stat.key.endsWith('.jpg') || keepFiles.has(stat.key)) continue;
       try {
-        fs.unlinkSync(path.join(this.photoDir, entry));
+        await this.storage.delete('photos-google', stat.key);
         removed++;
       } catch {
         /* race */
diff --git a/server/src/nest/place-photos/place-photos.module.ts b/server/src/nest/place-photos/place-photos.module.ts
index 90c7385b3..b5a289621 100644
--- a/server/src/nest/place-photos/place-photos.module.ts
+++ b/server/src/nest/place-photos/place-photos.module.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import { PlacePhotoCacheService } from './place-photo-cache.service';
 import { PlacePhotoCacheJob } from './place-photo-cache.job';
 import { AppConfigModule } from '../app-config/app-config.module';
 import { SchedulingModule } from '../scheduling/scheduling.module';
+import { StorageModule } from '../storage/storage.module';
 
 /** The marker-photo cache. No controller of its own — maps serves the bytes,
  *  places and share read through it, and PlacePhotoCacheJob sweeps it nightly.
@@ -11,7 +12,7 @@ import { SchedulingModule } from '../scheduling/scheduling.module';
  *  imported explicitly because @Global only reaches modules that are in the
  *  graph — which a single-domain e2e TestingModule is not. */
 @Module({
-  imports: [AppConfigModule, SchedulingModule],
+  imports: [AppConfigModule, SchedulingModule, StorageModule],
   providers: [PlacePhotoCacheService, PlacePhotoCacheJob],
   exports: [PlacePhotoCacheService],
 })
diff --git a/server/src/nest/places/places.controller.ts b/server/src/nest/places/places.controller.ts
index 1d97f3c22..09bef3148 100644
--- a/server/src/nest/places/places.controller.ts
+++ b/server/src/nest/places/places.controller.ts
@@ -272,7 +272,7 @@ export class PlacesController {
 
   @Post('bulk-delete')
   @HttpCode(200) // Express answers bulk-delete with res.json (200), unlike the 201 imports.
-  bulkDelete(
+  async bulkDelete(
     @CurrentUser() user: User,
     @Param('tripId') tripId: string,
     @Body() body: PlaceBulkDeleteDto,
@@ -293,7 +293,7 @@ export class PlacesController {
     for (const id of scoped) this.places.onDeleted(id);
     // Read the linked expenses before the delete — afterwards the link is gone (#1298).
     const expenseIds = this.places.linkedExpenseIds(tripId, scoped);
-    const deleted = this.places.removeMany(tripId, ids);
+    const deleted = await this.places.removeMany(tripId, ids);
     for (const id of deleted) {
       this.places.broadcast(tripId, 'place:deleted', { placeId: id }, socketId);
     }
@@ -452,7 +452,7 @@ export class PlacesController {
   @Delete(':id')
   @UseGuards(TripAccessGuard)
   @RequirePermission('place_edit')
-  remove(@CurrentUser() user: User, @Param('tripId') tripId: string, @Param('id') id: string, @Headers('x-socket-id') socketId?: string) {
+  async remove(@CurrentUser() user: User, @Param('tripId') tripId: string, @Param('id') id: string, @Headers('x-socket-id') socketId?: string) {
     // Scope the id to the trip before the hook (see bulkDelete), then sync the
     // journey ahead of the actual delete.
     if (!this.places.get(tripId, id)) {
@@ -460,7 +460,7 @@ export class PlacesController {
     }
     this.places.onDeleted(Number(id));
     const expenseIds = this.places.linkedExpenseIds(tripId, [id]);
-    if (!this.places.remove(tripId, id)) {
+    if (!(await this.places.remove(tripId, id))) {
       throw new HttpException({ error: 'Place not found' }, 404);
     }
     this.places.broadcast(tripId, 'place:deleted', { placeId: Number(id) }, socketId);
diff --git a/server/src/nest/places/places.helpers.ts b/server/src/nest/places/places.helpers.ts
index e55f66124..47ed4bf98 100644
--- a/server/src/nest/places/places.helpers.ts
+++ b/server/src/nest/places/places.helpers.ts
@@ -101,13 +101,13 @@ export interface KmlImportOptions {
 // Reclaim a deleted place's cached marker photo if nothing else references it.
 // The cache key is the Google place_id, or — for coordinate-only places — the
 // pseudo-id embedded in the stored proxy URL (/api/maps/place-photo/{id}/bytes).
-export function reclaimPhotoCache(cache: PlacePhotoCacheService, googlePlaceId: string | null, imageUrl: string | null): void {
+export async function reclaimPhotoCache(cache: PlacePhotoCacheService, googlePlaceId: string | null, imageUrl: string | null): Promise<void> {
   const candidates = new Set<string>();
   if (googlePlaceId) candidates.add(googlePlaceId);
   const m = imageUrl?.match(/^\/api\/maps\/place-photo\/(.+)\/bytes$/);
   if (m) { try { candidates.add(decodeURIComponent(m[1])); } catch { /* malformed url */ } }
   for (const id of candidates) {
-    try { cache.removeIfUnreferenced(id); } catch { /* best-effort */ }
+    try { await cache.removeIfUnreferenced(id); } catch { /* best-effort */ }
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/server/src/nest/places/places.mcp.ts b/server/src/nest/places/places.mcp.ts
index 39c88127f..2de67b9a5 100644
--- a/server/src/nest/places/places.mcp.ts
+++ b/server/src/nest/places/places.mcp.ts
@@ -234,7 +234,7 @@ export class PlacesMcp {
     try { this.journey.onPlaceDeleted(placeId); } catch { /* non-fatal */ } // sync journeys before the row is gone
     // The link is gone once the place is, so read it first (#1298).
     const expenseIds = this.places.linkedExpenseIds(tripId, [placeId]);
-    const deleted = this.places.remove(String(tripId), String(placeId));
+    const deleted = await this.places.remove(String(tripId), String(placeId));
     if (!deleted) return { content: [{ type: 'text' as const, text: 'Place not found.' }], isError: true };
     this.guards.safeBroadcast(tripId, 'place:deleted', { placeId });
     for (const itemId of expenseIds) this.guards.safeBroadcast(tripId, 'budget:deleted', { itemId });
@@ -346,7 +346,7 @@ export class PlacesMcp {
     }
     // The link is gone once the places are, so read it first (#1298).
     const expenseIds = this.places.linkedExpenseIds(tripId, scoped);
-    const deleted = this.places.removeMany(String(tripId), placeIds);
+    const deleted = await this.places.removeMany(String(tripId), placeIds);
     for (const id of deleted) this.guards.safeBroadcast(tripId, 'place:deleted', { placeId: id });
     for (const itemId of expenseIds) this.guards.safeBroadcast(tripId, 'budget:deleted', { itemId });
     return ok({ deleted, count: deleted.length });
diff --git a/server/src/nest/places/places.service.ts b/server/src/nest/places/places.service.ts
index ceef2576d..0e06d6869 100644
--- a/server/src/nest/places/places.service.ts
+++ b/server/src/nest/places/places.service.ts
@@ -357,7 +357,7 @@ export class PlacesService {
     return rows.map(r => r.id);
   }
 
-  remove(tripId: string, placeId: string): boolean {
+  async remove(tripId: string, placeId: string): Promise<boolean> {
     const place = this.dbs.get<{ google_place_id: string | null; image_url: string | null }>(
       'SELECT google_place_id, image_url FROM places WHERE id = ? AND trip_id = ?', placeId, tripId,
     );
@@ -369,12 +369,12 @@ export class PlacesService {
       this.dbs.run('DELETE FROM budget_items WHERE trip_id = ? AND place_id = ?', tripId, placeId);
       this.dbs.run('DELETE FROM places WHERE id = ?', placeId);
     });
-    reclaimPhotoCache(this.photoCache, place.google_place_id, place.image_url);
+    await reclaimPhotoCache(this.photoCache, place.google_place_id, place.image_url);
     reclaimPlaceImage(place.image_url);
     return true;
   }
 
-  removeMany(tripId: string, ids: number[]): number[] {
+  async removeMany(tripId: string, ids: number[]): Promise<number[]> {
     if (ids.length === 0) return [];
     const selectStmt = this.dbs.prepare('SELECT google_place_id, image_url FROM places WHERE id = ? AND trip_id = ?');
     const deleteStmt = this.dbs.prepare('DELETE FROM places WHERE id = ?');
@@ -393,7 +393,7 @@ export class PlacesService {
     });
     // Reclaim after the transaction commits so isReferenced() sees the final place set.
     for (const row of reclaimable) {
-      reclaimPhotoCache(this.photoCache, row.google_place_id, row.image_url);
+      await reclaimPhotoCache(this.photoCache, row.google_place_id, row.image_url);
       reclaimPlaceImage(row.image_url);
     }
     return deleted;
diff --git a/server/src/nest/share/share.controller.ts b/server/src/nest/share/share.controller.ts
index dd5ad41c6..842482ef5 100644
--- a/server/src/nest/share/share.controller.ts
+++ b/server/src/nest/share/share.controller.ts
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ export class SharedController {
    */
   @Get(':token/place-photo/:placeId/bytes')
   async placePhotoBytes(@Param('token') token: string, @Param('placeId') placeId: string, @Res() res: Response): Promise<void> {
-    const key = this.share.getSharedPlacePhotoKey(token, placeId);
+    const key = await this.share.getSharedPlacePhotoKey(token, placeId);
     if (!key) {
       this.emptyPhoto(res);
       return;
diff --git a/server/src/nest/share/share.service.ts b/server/src/nest/share/share.service.ts
index c6cb641bd..e975164a7 100644
--- a/server/src/nest/share/share.service.ts
+++ b/server/src/nest/share/share.service.ts
@@ -305,7 +305,7 @@ export class ShareService {
    * Returns null — never throws — so the caller answers a plain miss,
    * mirroring the authenticated bytes endpoint.
    */
-  getSharedPlacePhotoKey(token: string, placeId: string): string | null {
+  async getSharedPlacePhotoKey(token: string, placeId: string): Promise<string | null> {
     const shareRow = this.dbs.get<{ trip_id: string; share_map: number }>(
       "SELECT trip_id, share_map FROM share_tokens WHERE token = ? AND (expires_at IS NULL OR expires_at > datetime('now'))",
       token,
diff --git a/server/tests/e2e/place-enrichment.e2e.test.ts b/server/tests/e2e/place-enrichment.e2e.test.ts
index c88dd2f9d..a23305f44 100644
--- a/server/tests/e2e/place-enrichment.e2e.test.ts
+++ b/server/tests/e2e/place-enrichment.e2e.test.ts
@@ -190,8 +190,8 @@ describe('Place enrichment e2e (real auth guard + real validation pipe)', () =>
 
   it('200 with the stored credit for a cached picture', async () => {
     const photoCache = app.get(PlacePhotoCacheService);
-    vi.spyOn(photoCache, 'get').mockReturnValueOnce({
-      photoUrl: '/x', filePath: '/tmp/x', attribution: 'Alice · CC BY-SA 4.0',
+    vi.spyOn(photoCache, 'get').mockResolvedValueOnce({
+      photoUrl: '/x', attribution: 'Alice · CC BY-SA 4.0',
     });
 
     const res = await request(server)
diff --git a/server/tests/helpers/mcp-test-controllers.ts b/server/tests/helpers/mcp-test-controllers.ts
index 77a1de006..71eabecba 100644
--- a/server/tests/helpers/mcp-test-controllers.ts
+++ b/server/tests/helpers/mcp-test-controllers.ts
@@ -75,6 +75,7 @@ import { AddonsService } from '../../src/nest/addons/addons.service';
 import { notificationsStub } from './notifications';
 import { EphemeralTokenService } from '../../src/nest/auth/ephemeral-token.service';
 import { AllowedFileTypesService } from '../../src/nest/files/allowed-file-types.service';
+import { makeStorageFixture } from './storage-fixture';
 
 /**
  * Hand-wired counterpart of the boot-time discovery in McpRegistryService,
@@ -112,7 +113,7 @@ export function createMcpTestRegistry(): McpRegistry {
   const collabService = new CollabService(dbService, permissionsService, realtimeService, notificationsStub());
   // Exactly one instance, shared by maps, places and share: its stampede guard
   // and its on-disk set only work if all three readers see the same maps.
-  const placePhotoCache = new PlacePhotoCacheService(dbService, new RuntimeEnvService());
+  const placePhotoCache = new PlacePhotoCacheService(dbService, makeStorageFixture('photos/google/').storage);
   const mapsService = new MapsService(dbService, placePhotoCache);
   const journeyDomain = new JourneyDomainService(dbService, realtimeService, new TrekPhotosRepository(dbService));
   // The last three were previously omitted, which left them `undefined` at
diff --git a/server/tests/helpers/plugin-host.ts b/server/tests/helpers/plugin-host.ts
index 9cd78c18a..bb11449d8 100644
--- a/server/tests/helpers/plugin-host.ts
+++ b/server/tests/helpers/plugin-host.ts
@@ -70,6 +70,7 @@ import { UnsplashService } from '../../src/nest/unsplash/unsplash.service';
 import { PlacePhotoCacheService } from '../../src/nest/place-photos/place-photo-cache.service';
 import { TrekPhotosRepository } from '../../src/nest/photos/trek-photos.repository';
 import { RuntimeEnvService } from '../../src/nest/app-config/runtime-env.service';
+import { makeStorageFixture } from './storage-fixture';
 
 /**
  * Hand-wired counterpart of the PluginsModule DI graph for no-Nest tests
@@ -95,7 +96,7 @@ export function createPluginRpcHostFactory(dbs: DatabaseService): PluginRpcHostF
   const collab = new CollabService(dbs, permissions, realtime, notificationsStub());
   const vacay = new VacayService(dbs, realtime, notificationsStub());
   const days = new DaysService(dbs, permissions, realtime, queryHelpers);
-  const photoCache = new PlacePhotoCacheService(dbs, new RuntimeEnvService());
+  const photoCache = new PlacePhotoCacheService(dbs, makeStorageFixture('photos/google/').storage);
   const unsplash = new UnsplashService(dbs, new RuntimeEnvService());
   const journey = new JourneyDomainService(dbs, realtime, new TrekPhotosRepository(dbs));
   const places = new PlacesService(dbs, permissions, realtime, new MapsService(dbs, photoCache), queryHelpers, unsplash, photoCache, journey);
diff --git a/server/tests/helpers/storage-fixture.ts b/server/tests/helpers/storage-fixture.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..7123b4fe7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/tests/helpers/storage-fixture.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+import fs from 'node:fs';
+import os from 'node:os';
+import path from 'node:path';
+import { LocalDriver } from '../../src/nest/storage/drivers/local.driver';
+import type { StorageRegistryService, ResolvedCategory } from '../../src/nest/storage/storage-registry.service';
+import { StorageService } from '../../src/nest/storage/storage.service';
+
+/**
+ * A real StorageService facade over a stub registry + a REAL LocalDriver
+ * rooted in a throwaway mkdtemp dir (the storage.service.test.ts makeFixture
+ * pattern, shared). Every category resolves to the same driver + keyPrefix —
+ * exactly what a single-category service test needs, and the two
+ * TREK_PLACE_PHOTO_DIR modes are just two prefixes ('photos/google/' vs '').
+ * The real mode flip lives in the registry and is pinned by its own tests.
+ */
+export interface StorageFixture {
+  storage: StorageService;
+  /** Driver root — objects land at root/<keyPrefix><name>. */
+  root: string;
+  cleanup(): void;
+}
+
+export function makeStorageFixture(keyPrefix: string): StorageFixture {
+  const root = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'trek-storage-fx-'));
+  const tempDir = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'trek-storage-fx-tmp-'));
+  const driver = new LocalDriver({ id: 'fixture-local', root });
+  driver.init({ cleanSpool: true });
+  const registry = {
+    resolve: (): ResolvedCategory => ({ driver, keyPrefix, backendName: 'fixture-local' }),
+    tempDir: () => tempDir,
+    replicaFailures: () => [],
+  } as unknown as StorageRegistryService;
+  return {
+    storage: new StorageService(registry),
+    root,
+    cleanup: () => {
+      fs.rmSync(root, { recursive: true, force: true });
+      fs.rmSync(tempDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    },
+  };
+}
diff --git a/server/tests/integration/share.test.ts b/server/tests/integration/share.test.ts
index 69a993214..6cccb1eb6 100644
--- a/server/tests/integration/share.test.ts
+++ b/server/tests/integration/share.test.ts
@@ -51,13 +51,27 @@ import { createUser, createTrip, addTripMember, createDay, createPlace, createDa
 import { authCookie } from '../helpers/auth';
 import { PlacePhotoCacheService } from '../../src/nest/place-photos/place-photo-cache.service';
 import { DatabaseService } from '../../src/nest/database/database.service';
-import { RuntimeEnvService } from '../../src/nest/app-config/runtime-env.service';
 import { db as sharedDb } from '../../src/db/database';
+import { LocalDriver } from '../../src/nest/storage/drivers/local.driver';
+import { StorageService } from '../../src/nest/storage/storage.service';
+import type { StorageRegistryService, ResolvedCategory } from '../../src/nest/storage/storage-registry.service';
+import { DEFAULT_UPLOADS_ROOT, GLOBAL_TEMP_DIR } from '../../src/nest/storage/storage-paths';
 
 // A real instance over the same connection the app uses — these cases write a
-// cache entry and then read it back through the HTTP route.
-const placePhotoCache = new PlacePhotoCacheService(new DatabaseService(sharedDb), new RuntimeEnvService());
+// cache entry and then read it back through the HTTP route, so the stub
+// storage must be rooted where the app's registry serves 'photos-google'
+// from (mode A: uploads/photos/google).
+const uploadsDriver = new LocalDriver({ id: 'share-test-local', root: DEFAULT_UPLOADS_ROOT });
+uploadsDriver.init({ ensurePrefixes: ['photos/google/'], cleanSpool: false });
+const testStorage = new StorageService({
+  resolve: (): ResolvedCategory => ({ driver: uploadsDriver, keyPrefix: 'photos/google/', backendName: 'share-test-local' }),
+  tempDir: () => GLOBAL_TEMP_DIR,
+  replicaFailures: () => [],
+} as unknown as StorageRegistryService);
+const placePhotoCache = new PlacePhotoCacheService(new DatabaseService(sharedDb), testStorage);
 import fs from 'node:fs';
+import path from 'node:path';
+import crypto from 'node:crypto';
 
 let nestApp: INestApplication;
 let app: Application;
@@ -561,8 +575,8 @@ describe('Shared trip — place photos in shared links (issue #1100)', () => {
 
   it('SHARE-018 — public proxy streams cached bytes for a valid token + place (no cookie)', async () => {
     const { token } = await setupSharedPlaceWithPhoto();
-    const cached = await placePhotoCache.put(PLACE_ID, photoBytes, null);
-    cachedFilePath = cached.filePath;
+    await placePhotoCache.put(PLACE_ID, photoBytes, null);
+    cachedFilePath = path.join(DEFAULT_UPLOADS_ROOT, 'photos/google', `${crypto.createHash('sha1').update(PLACE_ID).digest('hex')}.jpg`);
 
     const res = await request(app).get(`/api/shared/${token}/place-photo/${encodeURIComponent(PLACE_ID)}/bytes`);
     expect(res.status).toBe(200);
@@ -602,8 +616,8 @@ describe('Shared trip — place photos in shared links (issue #1100)', () => {
       .post(`/api/trips/${trip.id}/share-link`)
       .set('Cookie', authCookie(user.id))
       .send({ share_map: false });
-    const cached = await placePhotoCache.put(PLACE_ID, photoBytes, null);
-    cachedFilePath = cached.filePath;
+    await placePhotoCache.put(PLACE_ID, photoBytes, null);
+    cachedFilePath = path.join(DEFAULT_UPLOADS_ROOT, 'photos/google', `${crypto.createHash('sha1').update(PLACE_ID).digest('hex')}.jpg`);
 
     const res = await request(app).get(`/api/shared/${token}/place-photo/${encodeURIComponent(PLACE_ID)}/bytes`);
     expect(res.status).toBe(204);
diff --git a/server/tests/unit/nest/cache-sweep-jobs.test.ts b/server/tests/unit/nest/cache-sweep-jobs.test.ts
index 00aacfb32..99a3e1b37 100644
--- a/server/tests/unit/nest/cache-sweep-jobs.test.ts
+++ b/server/tests/unit/nest/cache-sweep-jobs.test.ts
@@ -80,10 +80,10 @@ describe('PlacePhotoCacheJob', () => {
     expect(registrar.register).toHaveBeenCalledWith('place-photo-cache', '30 3 * * *', expect.any(Function));
   });
 
-  it('CSJOB-006 — logs only when something was removed', () => {
-    make(0).job.sweep();
+  it('CSJOB-006 — logs only when something was removed', async () => {
+    await make(0).job.sweep();
     expect(logMock.logInfo).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
-    make(3).job.sweep();
+    await make(3).job.sweep();
     expect(logMock.logInfo).toHaveBeenCalledWith('Place-photo cache cleanup: removed 3 orphaned file(s)/row(s)');
   });
 
diff --git a/server/tests/unit/nest/collections.service.test.ts b/server/tests/unit/nest/collections.service.test.ts
index 06d5b17f6..c9be4f58a 100644
--- a/server/tests/unit/nest/collections.service.test.ts
+++ b/server/tests/unit/nest/collections.service.test.ts
@@ -53,14 +53,14 @@ import { PermissionsService } from '../../../src/nest/permissions/permissions.se
 import { RealtimeService } from '../../../src/nest/realtime/realtime.service';
 import { CollectionsService } from '../../../src/nest/collections/collections.service';
 import { PlacePhotoCacheService } from '../../../src/nest/place-photos/place-photo-cache.service';
-import { RuntimeEnvService } from '../../../src/nest/app-config/runtime-env.service';
+import { makeStorageFixture } from '../../helpers/storage-fixture';
 import { PLACE_IMAGES_DIR } from '../../../src/nest/places/place-image';
 import { notificationsStub } from '../../helpers/notifications';
 
 const svc = new CollectionsService(new DatabaseService(testDb), new PermissionsService(new DatabaseService(testDb)), new RealtimeService(), notificationsStub(notifSend));
 // The real cache: these cases assert what removeIfUnreferenced actually does
 // about collection_places (#1081), so a stub would assert nothing.
-const photoCache = new PlacePhotoCacheService(new DatabaseService(testDb), new RuntimeEnvService());
+const photoCache = new PlacePhotoCacheService(new DatabaseService(testDb), makeStorageFixture('photos/google/').storage);
 const removeIfUnreferenced = (id: string) => photoCache.removeIfUnreferenced(id);
 
 function clearCollections() {
@@ -501,22 +501,22 @@ describe('owner_id semantics', () => {
 // ── Photo-cache guard ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 describe('photo-cache widening', () => {
-  it('COLLECTIONS-SVC-042: a collection_places row keeps a photo no places row references', () => {
+  it('COLLECTIONS-SVC-042: a collection_places row keeps a photo no places row references', async () => {
     const u = createUser(testDb).user;
     const col = svc.createCollection(u.id, { name: 'Photos' });
     // cache meta for place_id 'gp-x', referenced ONLY by a collection_places row.
     testDb.prepare('INSERT INTO google_place_photo_meta (place_id, attribution, fetched_at) VALUES (?, ?, ?)').run('gp-x', null, Date.now());
     svc.savePlace(u.id, { collection_id: col.id, name: 'Cached', google_place_id: 'gp-x' });
 
-    removeIfUnreferenced('gp-x'); // would evict if isReferenced ignored collection_places
+    await removeIfUnreferenced('gp-x'); // would evict if isReferenced ignored collection_places
 
     const meta = testDb.prepare('SELECT 1 FROM google_place_photo_meta WHERE place_id = ?').get('gp-x');
     expect(meta).toBeDefined();
   });
 
-  it('COLLECTIONS-SVC-043: an unreferenced photo is still reclaimable', () => {
+  it('COLLECTIONS-SVC-043: an unreferenced photo is still reclaimable', async () => {
     testDb.prepare('INSERT INTO google_place_photo_meta (place_id, attribution, fetched_at) VALUES (?, ?, ?)').run('gp-orphan', null, Date.now());
-    removeIfUnreferenced('gp-orphan');
+    await removeIfUnreferenced('gp-orphan');
     const meta = testDb.prepare('SELECT 1 FROM google_place_photo_meta WHERE place_id = ?').get('gp-orphan');
     expect(meta).toBeUndefined();
   });
diff --git a/server/tests/unit/nest/maps.controller.test.ts b/server/tests/unit/nest/maps.controller.test.ts
index 0de4f5996..f5f90535d 100644
--- a/server/tests/unit/nest/maps.controller.test.ts
+++ b/server/tests/unit/nest/maps.controller.test.ts
@@ -263,7 +263,7 @@ describe('MapsController (parity with the legacy /api/maps route)', () => {
     // from #1727 — an uncached photo answers 204 with an empty body instead.
     it('204 without a body when the photo is not cached', async () => {
       const res = makeRes();
-      await makeController({ photoBytesKey: () => null }).placePhotoBytes('p1', res);
+      await makeController({ photoBytesKey: async () => null }).placePhotoBytes('p1', res);
       expect(res.status).toHaveBeenCalledWith(204);
       expect(res.end).toHaveBeenCalled();
       expect(res.json).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
@@ -274,7 +274,7 @@ describe('MapsController (parity with the legacy /api/maps route)', () => {
       const stream = makeStream();
       getStream.mockResolvedValue({ stream, stat: { key: 'photos/google/abc.jpg', size: 5, mtimeMs: 0 } });
       const res = makeRes();
-      await makeController({ photoBytesKey: () => 'abc.jpg' }).placePhotoBytes('p1', res);
+      await makeController({ photoBytesKey: async () => 'abc.jpg' }).placePhotoBytes('p1', res);
       expect(res.set).toHaveBeenCalledWith('Cache-Control', 'public, max-age=2592000, immutable');
       expect(res.type).toHaveBeenCalledWith('image/jpeg');
       expect(getStream).toHaveBeenCalledWith('photos-google', 'abc.jpg');
@@ -284,7 +284,7 @@ describe('MapsController (parity with the legacy /api/maps route)', () => {
     it('falls back to an empty 204 when the stream cannot be opened (cache-delete race)', async () => {
       getStream.mockRejectedValue(new Error('storage object not found'));
       const res = makeRes();
-      await makeController({ photoBytesKey: () => 'abc.jpg' }).placePhotoBytes('p1', res);
+      await makeController({ photoBytesKey: async () => 'abc.jpg' }).placePhotoBytes('p1', res);
       expect(res.status).toHaveBeenCalledWith(204);
       expect(res.end).toHaveBeenCalled();
       // The hit path already asked for a month of immutable caching — that header
@@ -298,7 +298,7 @@ describe('MapsController (parity with the legacy /api/maps route)', () => {
       const stream = { on: vi.fn((ev: string, cb: () => void) => { if (ev === 'error') onError = cb; return stream; }), pipe: vi.fn() };
       getStream.mockResolvedValue({ stream, stat: { key: 'photos/google/abc.jpg', size: 5, mtimeMs: 0 } });
       const res = makeRes();
-      await makeController({ photoBytesKey: () => 'abc.jpg' }).placePhotoBytes('p1', res);
+      await makeController({ photoBytesKey: async () => 'abc.jpg' }).placePhotoBytes('p1', res);
       onError();
       expect(res.status).toHaveBeenCalledWith(204);
       expect(res.end).toHaveBeenCalled();
@@ -311,7 +311,7 @@ describe('MapsController (parity with the legacy /api/maps route)', () => {
       getStream.mockResolvedValue({ stream, stat: { key: 'photos/google/abc.jpg', size: 5, mtimeMs: 0 } });
       const res = makeRes();
       (res as { headersSent: boolean }).headersSent = true;
-      await makeController({ photoBytesKey: () => 'abc.jpg' }).placePhotoBytes('p1', res);
+      await makeController({ photoBytesKey: async () => 'abc.jpg' }).placePhotoBytes('p1', res);
       onError();
       expect(res.status).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
       expect(res.end).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
diff --git a/server/tests/unit/nest/maps.service.test.ts b/server/tests/unit/nest/maps.service.test.ts
index 533a3cf61..1142f9444 100644
--- a/server/tests/unit/nest/maps.service.test.ts
+++ b/server/tests/unit/nest/maps.service.test.ts
@@ -1887,9 +1887,8 @@ describe('getPlacePhoto (fetch stubbed)', () => {
   it('MAPS-043b: returns cached photo when disk cache returns a hit', async () => {
     const placeId = `coords:cache-test-${Date.now()}`;
     const cachedUrl = `/api/maps/place-photo/${encodeURIComponent(placeId)}/bytes`;
-    mockCacheGet.mockReturnValue({
+    mockCacheGet.mockResolvedValue({
       photoUrl: cachedUrl,
-      filePath: `/tmp/${placeId}.jpg`,
       attribution: null,
     });
     const fetchMock = vi.fn();
diff --git a/server/tests/unit/nest/place-photos/place-photo-cache.service.test.ts b/server/tests/unit/nest/place-photos/place-photo-cache.service.test.ts
index bc65ad5c9..9414b21a0 100644
--- a/server/tests/unit/nest/place-photos/place-photo-cache.service.test.ts
+++ b/server/tests/unit/nest/place-photos/place-photo-cache.service.test.ts
@@ -1,31 +1,28 @@
 /**
- * Unit tests for placePhotoCache — PPC-001 through PPC-012.
+ * Unit tests for PlacePhotoCacheService — PPC-001 through PPC-014.
  * Covers the downscale guard in put(), removeIfUnreferenced(), sweepOrphans(),
- * and the two negative-cache windows.
- * Uses a real in-memory SQLite DB and a throwaway temp upload dir
- * (TREK_PLACE_PHOTO_DIR) so the real uploads tree is never touched.
+ * the two negative-cache windows, and the serveKey/get miss handling.
+ *
+ * Slice 4: the cache is fully async and addresses storage as
+ * ('photos-google', '<sha1>.jpg'). The whole suite runs in BOTH registry
+ * modes — mode A (TREK_PLACE_PHOTO_DIR unset: uploads-local backend,
+ * 'photos/google/' prefix) and mode B (dir set: place-photos-local backend,
+ * bare keys) — via the shared stub-registry fixture. The real mode flip is
+ * pinned by the storage-registry tests; here the two prefixes prove the cache
+ * itself is mode-agnostic.
  */
 import { describe, it, expect, beforeAll, beforeEach, afterAll, vi } from 'vitest';
 import path from 'node:path';
 import fs from 'node:fs';
-import os from 'node:os';
 import crypto from 'node:crypto';
 import { Jimp, JimpMime } from 'jimp';
-import Database from 'better-sqlite3';
 
-// Throwaway upload dir, hoisted with the DB below: the service is a static
-// import now, so vi.mock's factory runs before any top-level statement.
-const { TMP_DIR, testDb } = vi.hoisted(() => {
-  const nodeFs = require('node:fs');
-  const nodePath = require('node:path');
-  const nodeOs = require('node:os');
+const { testDb } = vi.hoisted(() => {
   const Db = require('better-sqlite3');
-  const dir = nodeFs.mkdtempSync(nodePath.join(nodeOs.tmpdir(), 'ppc-'));
-  process.env.TREK_PLACE_PHOTO_DIR = dir;
-  return { TMP_DIR: dir, testDb: new Db(':memory:') };
+  return { testDb: new Db(':memory:') };
 });
 
-// Minimal real DB with just the tables the cache touches. isReferenced now
+// Minimal real DB with just the tables the cache touches. isReferenced
 // UNIONs collection_places (#1081 photo-cache fix), so the bare fixture must
 // declare it too or the reference check would throw "no such table".
 testDb.exec(`
@@ -49,190 +46,238 @@ testDb.exec(`
 
 vi.mock('../../../../src/db/database', () => ({ db: testDb }));
 
-function filePathFor(placeId: string): string {
-  const hash = crypto.createHash('sha1').update(placeId).digest('hex');
-  return path.join(TMP_DIR, `${hash}.jpg`);
-}
+import { PlacePhotoCacheService } from '../../../../src/nest/place-photos/place-photo-cache.service';
+import { DatabaseService } from '../../../../src/nest/database/database.service';
+import { makeStorageFixture, type StorageFixture } from '../../../helpers/storage-fixture';
 
 async function makeJpeg(width: number, height: number): Promise<Buffer> {
   const img = new Jimp({ width, height, color: 0xff0000ff });
   return img.getBuffer(JimpMime.jpeg, { quality: 80 });
 }
 
-import { PlacePhotoCacheService } from '../../../../src/nest/place-photos/place-photo-cache.service';
-import { DatabaseService } from '../../../../src/nest/database/database.service';
-import { RuntimeEnvService } from '../../../../src/nest/app-config/runtime-env.service';
+function nameFor(placeId: string): string {
+  return `${crypto.createHash('sha1').update(placeId).digest('hex')}.jpg`;
+}
 
-let cache: PlacePhotoCacheService;
+describe.each([
+  ['mode A (photos/google/ prefix)', 'photos/google/'],
+  ['mode B (bare keys)', ''],
+])('PlacePhotoCacheService — %s', (_label, keyPrefix) => {
+  let fx: StorageFixture;
+  let cache: PlacePhotoCacheService;
 
-beforeAll(() => {
-  // onModuleInit does what the module-scope mkdirSync used to do on import.
-  cache = new PlacePhotoCacheService(new DatabaseService(testDb as never), new RuntimeEnvService());
-  cache.onModuleInit();
-});
+  const prefixDir = () => path.join(fx.root, ...keyPrefix.split('/').filter(Boolean));
+  const filePathFor = (placeId: string) => path.join(prefixDir(), nameFor(placeId));
+  const writeObject = (placeId: string, bytes: Buffer | string) => {
+    fs.mkdirSync(prefixDir(), { recursive: true });
+    fs.writeFileSync(filePathFor(placeId), bytes);
+  };
 
-beforeEach(() => {
-  testDb.exec('DELETE FROM places; DELETE FROM google_place_photo_meta;');
-  for (const f of fs.readdirSync(TMP_DIR)) fs.rmSync(path.join(TMP_DIR, f), { force: true });
-});
-
-afterAll(() => {
-  testDb.close();
-  fs.rmSync(TMP_DIR, { recursive: true, force: true });
-});
-
-describe('placePhotoCache.put() downscale guard', () => {
-  it('PPC-001: downscales an oversized image to <= 800px', async () => {
-    const big = await makeJpeg(1600, 1200);
-    await cache.put('big-place', big, 'Alice');
-
-    const written = fs.readFileSync(filePathFor('big-place'));
-    const decoded = await Jimp.read(written);
-    expect(Math.max(decoded.bitmap.width, decoded.bitmap.height)).toBeLessThanOrEqual(800);
-    expect(written.length).toBeLessThan(big.length);
+  beforeAll(() => {
+    fx = makeStorageFixture(keyPrefix);
+    cache = new PlacePhotoCacheService(new DatabaseService(testDb as never), fx.storage);
   });
 
-  it('PPC-002: passes a small image through unchanged', async () => {
-    const small = await makeJpeg(100, 100);
-    await cache.put('small-place', small, null);
-
-    const written = fs.readFileSync(filePathFor('small-place'));
-    expect(written.equals(small)).toBe(true);
-  });
-
-  it('PPC-003: falls back to original bytes when the input is not a decodable image', async () => {
-    const garbage = Buffer.from('definitely not an image');
-    await cache.put('garbage-place', garbage, null);
-
-    const written = fs.readFileSync(filePathFor('garbage-place'));
-    expect(written.equals(garbage)).toBe(true);
-  });
-});
-
-describe('placePhotoCache.serveKey()', () => {
-  it('returns the bare <sha1>.jpg storage name when the photo is on disk', async () => {
-    fs.writeFileSync(filePathFor('p-key'), await makeJpeg(10, 10));
-    const hash = crypto.createHash('sha1').update('p-key').digest('hex');
-    expect(cache.serveKey('p-key')).toBe(`${hash}.jpg`);
-  });
-
-  it('returns null when nothing is cached', () => {
-    expect(cache.serveKey('p-missing')).toBeNull();
-  });
-});
-
-describe('placePhotoCache.removeIfUnreferenced()', () => {
-  it('PPC-004: removes a cache entry that no place references', async () => {
-    await cache.put('orphan', await makeJpeg(50, 50), null);
-    expect(fs.existsSync(filePathFor('orphan'))).toBe(true);
-
-    cache.removeIfUnreferenced('orphan');
-
-    expect(fs.existsSync(filePathFor('orphan'))).toBe(false);
-    expect(testDb.prepare('SELECT 1 FROM google_place_photo_meta WHERE place_id = ?').get('orphan')).toBeUndefined();
-  });
-
-  it('PPC-005: keeps an entry still referenced by google_place_id', async () => {
-    await cache.put('gid-1', await makeJpeg(50, 50), null);
-    testDb.prepare('INSERT INTO places (google_place_id) VALUES (?)').run('gid-1');
-
-    cache.removeIfUnreferenced('gid-1');
-
-    expect(fs.existsSync(filePathFor('gid-1'))).toBe(true);
-  });
-
-  it('PPC-006: keeps an entry referenced by a coords proxy URL in image_url', async () => {
-    const id = 'coords:48.8:2.3';
-    await cache.put(id, await makeJpeg(50, 50), null);
-    const proxy = `/api/maps/place-photo/${encodeURIComponent(id)}/bytes`;
-    testDb.prepare('INSERT INTO places (image_url) VALUES (?)').run(proxy);
-
-    cache.removeIfUnreferenced(id);
-
-    expect(fs.existsSync(filePathFor(id))).toBe(true);
-  });
-});
-
-describe('placePhotoCache.sweepOrphans()', () => {
-  it('PPC-007: removes orphaned meta rows + files, keeps referenced ones, deletes stray files', async () => {
-    await cache.put('keep-gid', await makeJpeg(50, 50), null);
-    await cache.put('drop-me', await makeJpeg(50, 50), null);
-    testDb.prepare('INSERT INTO places (google_place_id) VALUES (?)').run('keep-gid');
-
-    // A stray .jpg on disk with no meta row (e.g. a crash between write and upsert).
-    const strayPath = path.join(TMP_DIR, 'deadbeef'.padEnd(40, '0') + '.jpg');
-    fs.writeFileSync(strayPath, 'stray');
-
-    const removed = cache.sweepOrphans();
-
-    expect(fs.existsSync(filePathFor('keep-gid'))).toBe(true);
-    expect(fs.existsSync(filePathFor('drop-me'))).toBe(false);
-    expect(fs.existsSync(strayPath)).toBe(false);
-    expect(testDb.prepare('SELECT 1 FROM google_place_photo_meta WHERE place_id = ?').get('drop-me')).toBeUndefined();
-    expect(testDb.prepare('SELECT 1 FROM google_place_photo_meta WHERE place_id = ?').get('keep-gid')).toBeDefined();
-    expect(removed).toBe(2); // drop-me (orphan meta+file) + stray file
-  });
-
-  it('PPC-008: returns 0 when every entry is referenced', async () => {
-    await cache.put('ref-a', await makeJpeg(50, 50), null);
-    testDb.prepare('INSERT INTO places (google_place_id) VALUES (?)').run('ref-a');
-
-    expect(cache.sweepOrphans()).toBe(0);
-    expect(fs.existsSync(filePathFor('ref-a'))).toBe(true);
-  });
-});
-
-describe('placePhotoCache negative cache', () => {
-  function ageError(placeId: string, ms: number): void {
-    testDb
-      .prepare('UPDATE google_place_photo_meta SET error_at = ? WHERE place_id = ?')
-      .run(Date.now() - ms, placeId);
-  }
-
-  it('PPC-009: a place with no photo stays remembered well past the old five-minute window', () => {
-    cache.markError('photo-less');
-
-    ageError('photo-less', 30 * 60 * 1000);
-    expect(cache.getErrored('photo-less')).toBe(true);
-
-    ageError('photo-less', 5 * 60 * 60 * 1000);
-    expect(cache.getErrored('photo-less')).toBe(true);
-  });
-
-  it('PPC-010: the miss expires once it is a day old', () => {
-    cache.markError('stale-miss');
-    ageError('stale-miss', 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000);
-
-    expect(cache.getErrored('stale-miss')).toBe(false);
-  });
-
-  // A failed provider call says nothing about the place, so it must not inherit the
-  // long window a real "this place has no photo" answer gets.
-  it('PPC-011: a failed provider call is forgotten after minutes and never persisted', () => {
-    vi.useFakeTimers();
-    try {
-      cache.markError('flaky', 'provider-error');
-      expect(cache.getErrored('flaky')).toBe(true);
-      // Nothing on disk — a restart retries instead of inheriting someone's outage.
-      expect(testDb.prepare('SELECT 1 FROM google_place_photo_meta WHERE place_id = ?').get('flaky')).toBeUndefined();
-
-      vi.advanceTimersByTime(5 * 60 * 1000);
-      expect(cache.getErrored('flaky')).toBe(false);
-
-      // The long window belongs to the other case: same age, still remembered.
-      cache.markError('photo-less-too');
-      ageError('photo-less-too', 5 * 60 * 1000);
-      expect(cache.getErrored('photo-less-too')).toBe(true);
-    } finally {
-      vi.useRealTimers();
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    testDb.exec('DELETE FROM places; DELETE FROM collection_places; DELETE FROM google_place_photo_meta;');
+    for (const f of fs.readdirSync(fx.root)) {
+      if (f === '.tmp') continue;
+      fs.rmSync(path.join(fx.root, f), { recursive: true, force: true });
     }
   });
 
-  it('PPC-012: a cached photo clears an earlier failed attempt', async () => {
-    cache.markError('recovered', 'provider-error');
-    expect(cache.getErrored('recovered')).toBe(true);
+  afterAll(() => {
+    fx.cleanup();
+  });
 
-    await cache.put('recovered', await makeJpeg(40, 40), null);
-    expect(cache.getErrored('recovered')).toBe(false);
+  describe('put() downscale guard', () => {
+    it('PPC-001: downscales an oversized image to <= 800px', async () => {
+      const big = await makeJpeg(1600, 1200);
+      await cache.put('big-place', big, 'Alice');
+
+      const written = fs.readFileSync(filePathFor('big-place'));
+      const decoded = await Jimp.read(written);
+      expect(Math.max(decoded.bitmap.width, decoded.bitmap.height)).toBeLessThanOrEqual(800);
+      expect(written.length).toBeLessThan(big.length);
+    });
+
+    it('PPC-002: passes a small image through unchanged', async () => {
+      const small = await makeJpeg(100, 100);
+      await cache.put('small-place', small, null);
+
+      const written = fs.readFileSync(filePathFor('small-place'));
+      expect(written.equals(small)).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('PPC-003: falls back to original bytes when the input is not a decodable image', async () => {
+      const garbage = Buffer.from('definitely not an image');
+      await cache.put('garbage-place', garbage, null);
+
+      const written = fs.readFileSync(filePathFor('garbage-place'));
+      expect(written.equals(garbage)).toBe(true);
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('serveKey()', () => {
+    it('returns the bare <sha1>.jpg storage name when the photo object exists', async () => {
+      writeObject('p-key', await makeJpeg(10, 10));
+      expect(await cache.serveKey('p-key')).toBe(nameFor('p-key'));
+    });
+
+    it('returns null when nothing is cached', async () => {
+      expect(await cache.serveKey('p-missing')).toBeNull();
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('get()', () => {
+    it('PPC-013: purges the meta row and returns null when the object vanished', async () => {
+      testDb
+        .prepare('INSERT INTO google_place_photo_meta (place_id, attribution, fetched_at) VALUES (?, ?, ?)')
+        .run('gone-place', 'Bob', Date.now());
+
+      expect(await cache.get('gone-place')).toBeNull();
+      expect(testDb.prepare('SELECT 1 FROM google_place_photo_meta WHERE place_id = ?').get('gone-place')).toBeUndefined();
+    });
+
+    it('PPC-014: returns the proxy URL + attribution for a cached photo', async () => {
+      await cache.put('hit-place', await makeJpeg(20, 20), 'Carol');
+
+      const hit = await cache.get('hit-place');
+      expect(hit).toEqual({
+        photoUrl: `/api/maps/place-photo/${encodeURIComponent('hit-place')}/bytes`,
+        attribution: 'Carol',
+      });
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('removeIfUnreferenced()', () => {
+    it('PPC-004: removes a cache entry that no place references', async () => {
+      await cache.put('orphan', await makeJpeg(50, 50), null);
+      expect(fs.existsSync(filePathFor('orphan'))).toBe(true);
+
+      await cache.removeIfUnreferenced('orphan');
+
+      expect(fs.existsSync(filePathFor('orphan'))).toBe(false);
+      expect(testDb.prepare('SELECT 1 FROM google_place_photo_meta WHERE place_id = ?').get('orphan')).toBeUndefined();
+    });
+
+    it('PPC-005: keeps an entry still referenced by google_place_id', async () => {
+      await cache.put('gid-1', await makeJpeg(50, 50), null);
+      testDb.prepare('INSERT INTO places (google_place_id) VALUES (?)').run('gid-1');
+
+      await cache.removeIfUnreferenced('gid-1');
+
+      expect(fs.existsSync(filePathFor('gid-1'))).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('PPC-006: keeps an entry referenced by a coords proxy URL in image_url', async () => {
+      const id = 'coords:48.8:2.3';
+      await cache.put(id, await makeJpeg(50, 50), null);
+      const proxy = `/api/maps/place-photo/${encodeURIComponent(id)}/bytes`;
+      testDb.prepare('INSERT INTO places (image_url) VALUES (?)').run(proxy);
+
+      await cache.removeIfUnreferenced(id);
+
+      expect(fs.existsSync(filePathFor(id))).toBe(true);
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('sweepOrphans()', () => {
+    it('PPC-007: removes orphaned meta rows + files, keeps referenced ones, deletes stray files', async () => {
+      await cache.put('keep-gid', await makeJpeg(50, 50), null);
+      await cache.put('drop-me', await makeJpeg(50, 50), null);
+      testDb.prepare('INSERT INTO places (google_place_id) VALUES (?)').run('keep-gid');
+
+      // A stray .jpg on disk with no meta row (e.g. a crash between write and upsert).
+      const strayPath = path.join(prefixDir(), 'deadbeef'.padEnd(40, '0') + '.jpg');
+      fs.writeFileSync(strayPath, 'stray');
+
+      const removed = await cache.sweepOrphans();
+
+      expect(fs.existsSync(filePathFor('keep-gid'))).toBe(true);
+      expect(fs.existsSync(filePathFor('drop-me'))).toBe(false);
+      expect(fs.existsSync(strayPath)).toBe(false);
+      expect(testDb.prepare('SELECT 1 FROM google_place_photo_meta WHERE place_id = ?').get('drop-me')).toBeUndefined();
+      expect(testDb.prepare('SELECT 1 FROM google_place_photo_meta WHERE place_id = ?').get('keep-gid')).toBeDefined();
+      expect(removed).toBe(2); // drop-me (orphan meta+file) + stray file
+    });
+
+    it('PPC-008: returns 0 when every entry is referenced', async () => {
+      await cache.put('ref-a', await makeJpeg(50, 50), null);
+      testDb.prepare('INSERT INTO places (google_place_id) VALUES (?)').run('ref-a');
+
+      expect(await cache.sweepOrphans()).toBe(0);
+      expect(fs.existsSync(filePathFor('ref-a'))).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('PPC-015: never touches nested entries or non-jpg files (readdir parity — list() recurses)', async () => {
+      const nestedDir = path.join(prefixDir(), 'sub');
+      fs.mkdirSync(nestedDir, { recursive: true });
+      const nested = path.join(nestedDir, 'nested.jpg');
+      fs.writeFileSync(nested, 'nested');
+      const note = path.join(prefixDir(), 'note.txt');
+      fs.writeFileSync(note, 'not a photo');
+
+      const removed = await cache.sweepOrphans();
+
+      expect(fs.existsSync(nested)).toBe(true);
+      expect(fs.existsSync(note)).toBe(true);
+      expect(removed).toBe(0);
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('negative cache', () => {
+    function ageError(placeId: string, ms: number): void {
+      testDb
+        .prepare('UPDATE google_place_photo_meta SET error_at = ? WHERE place_id = ?')
+        .run(Date.now() - ms, placeId);
+    }
+
+    it('PPC-009: a place with no photo stays remembered well past the old five-minute window', () => {
+      cache.markError('photo-less');
+
+      ageError('photo-less', 30 * 60 * 1000);
+      expect(cache.getErrored('photo-less')).toBe(true);
+
+      ageError('photo-less', 5 * 60 * 60 * 1000);
+      expect(cache.getErrored('photo-less')).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('PPC-010: the miss expires once it is a day old', () => {
+      cache.markError('stale-miss');
+      ageError('stale-miss', 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000);
+
+      expect(cache.getErrored('stale-miss')).toBe(false);
+    });
+
+    // A failed provider call says nothing about the place, so it must not inherit the
+    // long window a real "this place has no photo" answer gets.
+    it('PPC-011: a failed provider call is forgotten after minutes and never persisted', () => {
+      vi.useFakeTimers();
+      try {
+        cache.markError('flaky', 'provider-error');
+        expect(cache.getErrored('flaky')).toBe(true);
+        // Nothing on disk — a restart retries instead of inheriting someone's outage.
+        expect(testDb.prepare('SELECT 1 FROM google_place_photo_meta WHERE place_id = ?').get('flaky')).toBeUndefined();
+
+        vi.advanceTimersByTime(5 * 60 * 1000);
+        expect(cache.getErrored('flaky')).toBe(false);
+
+        // The long window belongs to the other case: same age, still remembered.
+        cache.markError('photo-less-too');
+        ageError('photo-less-too', 5 * 60 * 1000);
+        expect(cache.getErrored('photo-less-too')).toBe(true);
+      } finally {
+        vi.useRealTimers();
+      }
+    });
+
+    it('PPC-012: a cached photo clears an earlier failed attempt', async () => {
+      cache.markError('recovered', 'provider-error');
+      expect(cache.getErrored('recovered')).toBe(true);
+
+      await cache.put('recovered', await makeJpeg(40, 40), null);
+      expect(cache.getErrored('recovered')).toBe(false);
+    });
   });
 });
diff --git a/server/tests/unit/nest/places.service.test.ts b/server/tests/unit/nest/places.service.test.ts
index e98decef5..ec0e493eb 100644
--- a/server/tests/unit/nest/places.service.test.ts
+++ b/server/tests/unit/nest/places.service.test.ts
@@ -368,32 +368,32 @@ describe('updateMany', () => {
 // ── remove ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 describe('remove', () => {
-  it('PLACE-SVC-017 — deletes a place and returns true', () => {
+  it('PLACE-SVC-017 — deletes a place and returns true', async () => {
     const { user } = createUser(testDb);
     const trip = createTrip(testDb, user.id);
     const place = createPlace(testDb, trip.id, { name: 'To Delete' }) as any;
-    expect(svc.remove(String(trip.id), String(place.id))).toBe(true);
+    expect(await svc.remove(String(trip.id), String(place.id))).toBe(true);
     expect(svc.get(String(trip.id), String(place.id))).toBeNull();
   });
 
-  it('PLACE-SVC-018 — returns false for non-existent place', () => {
+  it('PLACE-SVC-018 — returns false for non-existent place', async () => {
     const { user } = createUser(testDb);
     const trip = createTrip(testDb, user.id);
-    expect(svc.remove(String(trip.id), '99999')).toBe(false);
+    expect(await svc.remove(String(trip.id), '99999')).toBe(false);
   });
 
-  it('PLACE-SVC-019 — deleting one place does not remove others', () => {
+  it('PLACE-SVC-019 — deleting one place does not remove others', async () => {
     const { user } = createUser(testDb);
     const trip = createTrip(testDb, user.id);
     const p1 = createPlace(testDb, trip.id, { name: 'Keep' }) as any;
     const p2 = createPlace(testDb, trip.id, { name: 'Remove' }) as any;
-    svc.remove(String(trip.id), String(p2.id));
+    await svc.remove(String(trip.id), String(p2.id));
     const remaining = svc.list(String(trip.id), {}) as any[];
     expect(remaining).toHaveLength(1);
     expect(remaining[0].id).toBe(p1.id);
   });
 
-  it('PLACE-SVC-019c — the linked expense goes with the place (#1298)', () => {
+  it('PLACE-SVC-019c — the linked expense goes with the place (#1298)', async () => {
     const { user } = createUser(testDb);
     const trip = createTrip(testDb, user.id);
     const place = createPlace(testDb, trip.id, { name: 'Louvre' }) as any;
@@ -404,13 +404,13 @@ describe('remove', () => {
 
     // Read the link before the delete — that is what the controller broadcasts.
     expect(svc.linkedExpenseIds(trip.id, [place.id])).toEqual([linked]);
-    expect(svc.remove(String(trip.id), String(place.id))).toBe(true);
+    expect(await svc.remove(String(trip.id), String(place.id))).toBe(true);
 
     const rows = testDb.prepare('SELECT id FROM budget_items ORDER BY id').all() as { id: number }[];
     expect(rows.map(r => r.id)).toEqual([untouched, standalone]);
   });
 
-  it('PLACE-SVC-019d — removeMany takes the expense of every deleted place with it', () => {
+  it('PLACE-SVC-019d — removeMany takes the expense of every deleted place with it', async () => {
     const { user } = createUser(testDb);
     const trip = createTrip(testDb, user.id);
     const a = createPlace(testDb, trip.id, { name: 'A' }) as any;
@@ -421,7 +421,7 @@ describe('remove', () => {
     }
 
     expect(svc.linkedExpenseIds(trip.id, [a.id, b.id])).toHaveLength(2);
-    svc.removeMany(String(trip.id), [a.id, b.id]);
+    await svc.removeMany(String(trip.id), [a.id, b.id]);
 
     const rows = testDb.prepare('SELECT place_id FROM budget_items').all() as { place_id: number }[];
     expect(rows.map(r => r.place_id)).toEqual([keep.id]);
@@ -438,14 +438,14 @@ describe('remove', () => {
     expect(svc.linkedExpenseIds(trip.id, [])).toEqual([]);
   });
 
-  it('PLACE-SVC-019b — reclaims the photo cache for the deleted place', () => {
+  it('PLACE-SVC-019b — reclaims the photo cache for the deleted place', async () => {
     removeIfUnreferencedSpy.mockClear();
     const { user } = createUser(testDb);
     const trip = createTrip(testDb, user.id);
     const place = createPlace(testDb, trip.id, { name: 'With Photo' }) as any;
     testDb.prepare('UPDATE places SET google_place_id = ? WHERE id = ?').run('ChIJgid', place.id);
 
-    svc.remove(String(trip.id), String(place.id));
+    await svc.remove(String(trip.id), String(place.id));
 
     expect(removeIfUnreferencedSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith('ChIJgid');
   });
@@ -454,7 +454,7 @@ describe('remove', () => {
 // ── removeMany ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 describe('removeMany', () => {
-  it('PLACE-SVC-056 — deletes the trip-scoped ids in one transaction and reports them', () => {
+  it('PLACE-SVC-056 — deletes the trip-scoped ids in one transaction and reports them', async () => {
     const { user } = createUser(testDb);
     const trip = createTrip(testDb, user.id);
     const other = createTrip(testDb, user.id);
@@ -462,16 +462,16 @@ describe('removeMany', () => {
     const b = createPlace(testDb, trip.id, { name: 'B' }) as any;
     const foreign = createPlace(testDb, other.id, { name: 'Foreign' }) as any;
 
-    const deleted = svc.removeMany(String(trip.id), [a.id, b.id, foreign.id, 99999]);
+    const deleted = await svc.removeMany(String(trip.id), [a.id, b.id, foreign.id, 99999]);
 
     expect(deleted.sort()).toEqual([a.id, b.id].sort());
     expect(svc.get(String(other.id), String(foreign.id))).not.toBeNull();
   });
 
-  it('PLACE-SVC-057 — returns [] for an empty id list', () => {
+  it('PLACE-SVC-057 — returns [] for an empty id list', async () => {
     const { user } = createUser(testDb);
     const trip = createTrip(testDb, user.id);
-    expect(svc.removeMany(String(trip.id), [])).toEqual([]);
+    expect(await svc.removeMany(String(trip.id), [])).toEqual([]);
   });
 });
 
@@ -942,7 +942,7 @@ describe('custom place image reclaim', () => {
     expect(fs.existsSync(fileA)).toBe(false);
   });
 
-  it('PLACE-SVC-048 — remove unlinks the uploaded image', () => {
+  it('PLACE-SVC-048 — remove unlinks the uploaded image', async () => {
     const { user } = createUser(testDb);
     const trip = createTrip(testDb, user.id);
     const place = createPlace(testDb, trip.id, { name: 'Photo' }) as any;
@@ -950,11 +950,11 @@ describe('custom place image reclaim', () => {
     testDb.prepare('UPDATE places SET image_url = ? WHERE id = ?').run('/uploads/places/svc-delete.jpg', place.id);
     expect(fs.existsSync(fileA)).toBe(true);
 
-    svc.remove(String(trip.id), String(place.id));
+    await svc.remove(String(trip.id), String(place.id));
     expect(fs.existsSync(fileA)).toBe(false);
   });
 
-  it('PLACE-SVC-049 — a collection_places reference keeps the file when the trip place is deleted', () => {
+  it('PLACE-SVC-049 — a collection_places reference keeps the file when the trip place is deleted', async () => {
     const { user } = createUser(testDb);
     const trip = createTrip(testDb, user.id);
     const place = createPlace(testDb, trip.id, { name: 'Shared Photo' }) as any;
@@ -966,7 +966,7 @@ describe('custom place image reclaim', () => {
       .run(col.lastInsertRowid, user.id, 'Shared Photo', '/uploads/places/svc-shared.jpg');
     expect(fs.existsSync(fileA)).toBe(true);
 
-    svc.remove(String(trip.id), String(place.id));
+    await svc.remove(String(trip.id), String(place.id));
     expect(fs.existsSync(fileA)).toBe(true);
 
     // resetTestDb does not clear collections; drop what this test inserted and its file.
diff --git a/server/tests/unit/nest/share.service.test.ts b/server/tests/unit/nest/share.service.test.ts
index e1e5fee64..168e4e371 100644
--- a/server/tests/unit/nest/share.service.test.ts
+++ b/server/tests/unit/nest/share.service.test.ts
@@ -380,29 +380,29 @@ describe('getSharedTripData', () => {
 // ── getSharedPlacePhotoKey ───────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 describe('getSharedPlacePhotoKey', () => {
-  it('SHARE-SVC-022: returns null for an unknown or expired token', () => {
-    expect(svc.getSharedPlacePhotoKey('nope', 'ChIJabc')).toBeNull();
+  it('SHARE-SVC-022: returns null for an unknown or expired token', async () => {
+    expect(await svc.getSharedPlacePhotoKey('nope', 'ChIJabc')).toBeNull();
     const { trip, token } = seedSharedTrip();
     testDb.prepare('UPDATE share_tokens SET expires_at = ? WHERE trip_id = ?').run('2020-01-01T00:00:00.000Z', trip.id);
-    expect(svc.getSharedPlacePhotoKey(token, 'ChIJabc')).toBeNull();
+    expect(await svc.getSharedPlacePhotoKey(token, 'ChIJabc')).toBeNull();
     expect(serveKey).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
 
-  it('SHARE-SVC-023: returns null when the owner disabled the map section', () => {
+  it('SHARE-SVC-023: returns null when the owner disabled the map section', async () => {
     const { trip, token } = seedSharedTrip({ share_map: false });
     const place = createPlace(testDb, trip.id);
     testDb.prepare('UPDATE places SET image_url = ? WHERE id = ?').run('/api/maps/place-photo/ChIJabc/bytes', place.id);
-    expect(svc.getSharedPlacePhotoKey(token, 'ChIJabc')).toBeNull();
+    expect(await svc.getSharedPlacePhotoKey(token, 'ChIJabc')).toBeNull();
     expect(serveKey).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
 
-  it('SHARE-SVC-024: returns null when no place in the trip carries the proxy URL', () => {
+  it('SHARE-SVC-024: returns null when no place in the trip carries the proxy URL', async () => {
     const { token } = seedSharedTrip();
-    expect(svc.getSharedPlacePhotoKey(token, 'ChIJabc')).toBeNull();
+    expect(await svc.getSharedPlacePhotoKey(token, 'ChIJabc')).toBeNull();
     expect(serveKey).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
 
-  it('SHARE-SVC-025: resolves via serveKey when the encoded placeId matches the stored URL', () => {
+  it('SHARE-SVC-025: resolves via serveKey when the encoded placeId matches the stored URL', async () => {
     const { trip, token } = seedSharedTrip();
     const place = createPlace(testDb, trip.id);
     // Wikimedia pseudo-IDs contain characters that must round-trip encoded.
@@ -410,7 +410,7 @@ describe('getSharedPlacePhotoKey', () => {
     testDb.prepare('UPDATE places SET image_url = ? WHERE id = ?')
       .run(`/api/maps/place-photo/${encodeURIComponent(placeId)}/bytes`, place.id);
     serveKey.mockReturnValue('abc.jpg');
-    expect(svc.getSharedPlacePhotoKey(token, placeId)).toBe('abc.jpg');
+    expect(await svc.getSharedPlacePhotoKey(token, placeId)).toBe('abc.jpg');
     expect(serveKey).toHaveBeenCalledWith(placeId);
   });
 });
diff --git a/server/tests/unit/nest/trip-read-model.service.test.ts b/server/tests/unit/nest/trip-read-model.service.test.ts
index 54ea00bdf..30a84171a 100644
--- a/server/tests/unit/nest/trip-read-model.service.test.ts
+++ b/server/tests/unit/nest/trip-read-model.service.test.ts
@@ -72,6 +72,7 @@ import { EphemeralTokenService } from '../../../src/nest/auth/ephemeral-token.se
 import { UnsplashService } from '../../../src/nest/unsplash/unsplash.service';
 import { PlacePhotoCacheService } from '../../../src/nest/place-photos/place-photo-cache.service';
 import { RuntimeEnvService } from '../../../src/nest/app-config/runtime-env.service';
+import { makeStorageFixture } from '../../helpers/storage-fixture';
 import { JourneyDomainService } from '../../../src/nest/journey/journey-domain.service';
 import { TrekPhotosRepository } from '../../../src/nest/photos/trek-photos.repository';
 
@@ -83,7 +84,7 @@ const budgetSvc = new BudgetService(dbs(), new PermissionsService(dbs()), new Ex
 const daysSvc = new DaysService(dbs(), new PermissionsService(dbs()), new RealtimeService(), new QueryHelpersService(dbs()));
 // One shared cache instance (the PlacePhotoCacheService rule): the in-flight dedup in
 // PlacePhotoCacheService only works while both consumers hold the same object.
-const photoCache = new PlacePhotoCacheService(dbs(), new RuntimeEnvService());
+const photoCache = new PlacePhotoCacheService(dbs(), makeStorageFixture('photos/google/').storage);
 const placesSvc = new PlacesService(
   dbs(), new PermissionsService(dbs()), new RealtimeService(),
   new MapsService(dbs(), photoCache), new QueryHelpersService(dbs()),
diff --git a/server/tests/unit/nest/trips.service.test.ts b/server/tests/unit/nest/trips.service.test.ts
index d872b6d4e..41ba48993 100644
--- a/server/tests/unit/nest/trips.service.test.ts
+++ b/server/tests/unit/nest/trips.service.test.ts
@@ -79,6 +79,7 @@ import { PlacePhotoCacheService } from '../../../src/nest/place-photos/place-pho
 import { JourneyDomainService } from '../../../src/nest/journey/journey-domain.service';
 import { TrekPhotosRepository } from '../../../src/nest/photos/trek-photos.repository';
 import { RuntimeEnvService } from '../../../src/nest/app-config/runtime-env.service';
+import { makeStorageFixture } from '../../helpers/storage-fixture';
 import { QueryHelpersService } from '../../../src/nest/query-helpers/query-helpers.service';
 import fs from 'fs';
 import { notificationsStub } from '../../helpers/notifications';
@@ -96,7 +97,7 @@ const daysSvc = new DaysService(dbs(), new PermissionsService(dbs()), new Realti
 // missing collaborator would look like a pass while swallowing a TypeError.
 // One PlacePhotoCacheService for both PlacesService and MapsService, matching
 // production, where the in-flight dedup only works on a shared instance.
-const photoCache = new PlacePhotoCacheService(dbs(), new RuntimeEnvService());
+const photoCache = new PlacePhotoCacheService(dbs(), makeStorageFixture('photos/google/').storage);
 const placesSvc = new PlacesService(
   dbs(),
   new PermissionsService(dbs()),
diff --git a/server/tests/unit/services/conflictUpdate.test.ts b/server/tests/unit/services/conflictUpdate.test.ts
index c318c8975..800124662 100644
--- a/server/tests/unit/services/conflictUpdate.test.ts
+++ b/server/tests/unit/services/conflictUpdate.test.ts
@@ -52,13 +52,14 @@ import { JourneyDomainService } from '../../../src/nest/journey/journey-domain.s
 import { TrekPhotosRepository } from '../../../src/nest/photos/trek-photos.repository';
 import { RuntimeEnvService } from '../../../src/nest/app-config/runtime-env.service';
 import { notificationsStub } from '../../helpers/notifications';
+import { makeStorageFixture } from '../../helpers/storage-fixture';
 
 const dbs = new DatabaseService(testDb);
 const realtime = new RealtimeService();
 const runtimeEnv = new RuntimeEnvService();
 // One cache instance shared by maps and places, the way the container wires it:
 // the service's stampede guard only works if there is exactly one of them.
-const photoCache = new PlacePhotoCacheService(dbs, runtimeEnv);
+const photoCache = new PlacePhotoCacheService(dbs, makeStorageFixture('photos/google/').storage);
 
 const packing = new PackingService(dbs, new PermissionsService(dbs), realtime, notificationsStub());
 const places = new PlacesService(