F
Internal Tools / API
File Automation API
Campaign automation at Gap Inc.
6x
Faster campaign setup
20+
Developers unblocked
SMB2
Reverse-engineered protocol
Node
REST API replacement
The Challenge
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.
The Solution
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.
Features
Workflow replacement
Replaced a slow, manual desktop Electron workflow with a self-serve REST API.
SMB2 file handling
Reverse-engineered the SMB2 protocol to read and write files programmatically.
Multi-brand deploy
Deploys campaign files across multiple brand servers from one request.
Template generation
Generates brand-specific campaign files from evergreen templates.
Self-serve forms
Producers create placements and upload assets by submitting a form, no server access needed.
6x faster setup
Accelerated campaign setup roughly sixfold and cut developer workload across teams.
System Architecture
User
Producer
UI
React Form
API
Node REST API
SMB2
Brand Servers
Technology Stack
Backend
Node.jsExpressSMB2Frontend
ReactInfrastructure
AzureWindows Server
Key Learnings
- •Reverse-engineering the SMB2 file-handling logic was the unlock that let a web API drive what used to be a desktop-only workflow.
- •A simple form-to-API interface meant producers could self-serve without touching servers.
- •Centralizing multi-brand deploys behind one endpoint removed a major bottleneck for 20+ developers.
