Gap's campaign teams pushed brand files to multiple servers through a slow, manual desktop Electron workflow, a bottleneck that ate developer time and blocked producers from moving on their own.
02The Solution
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I built a Node REST API that reverse-engineered the SMB2 file-handling logic so campaign files could be generated from templates and deployed across brand servers automatically. A simple React form let 20+ producers and developers self-serve, cutting campaign setup time roughly sixfold.
03Features
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Replaced a slow, manual desktop Electron workflow with a self-serve REST API.
Reverse-engineered the SMB2 protocol to read and write files programmatically.
Deploys campaign files across multiple brand servers from one request.
Generates brand-specific campaign files from evergreen templates.
Producers create placements and upload assets by submitting a form, no server access needed.
Accelerated campaign setup roughly sixfold and cut developer workload across teams.
04System Architecture
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User
Producer
UI
React Form
API
Node REST API
SMB2
Brand Servers
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User
Producer
UI
React Form
API
Node REST API
SMB2
Brand Servers
05Technology Stack
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Node.js · Express · SMB2
React
Azure · Windows Server
06Key Learnings
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01Reverse-engineering the SMB2 file-handling logic was the unlock that let a web API drive what used to be a desktop-only workflow.
02A simple form-to-API interface meant producers could self-serve without touching servers.
03Centralizing multi-brand deploys behind one endpoint removed a major bottleneck for 20+ developers.
Internal Tools / API Integration
Node.js, Express, SMB2, React, Azure, Windows Server
nahom endale