feat(artist): "new since last visit" badge + banner

Per-artist "+N" accent pill on the artists directory and a "N new since
last visit" banner inside ArtistView. Counts new IMAGES (not posts) so
multi-image posts increment correctly.

- alembic 0034: artist_visit (artist_id PK, last_viewed_at NOT NULL).
  Seeds every existing artist with last_viewed_at=NOW() so the badge
  starts at 0 across the board — no noisy "5000 unseen images" on
  first deploy.
- ArtistService.find_or_create autoseeds a visit row alongside new
  artists, so freshly imported content doesn't read as unseen.
- ArtistService.overview reads pre-visit last_viewed_at, counts images
  created since, then atomically UPSERTs last_viewed_at=NOW() via
  postgres ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE (no SELECT-then-INSERT race per
  reference_scalar_one_or_none_duplicates). Returns the pre-update
  count as `unseen_count_at_visit` so the banner has data.
- ArtistDirectoryService.list_artists adds an `unseen_count` aggregate
  to each card via LEFT JOIN artist_visit + conditional COUNT. NULL
  last_viewed_at (artist created before this code shipped) defensively
  counts as "never visited" → all images unseen.
- Frontend: ArtistCard renders an accent pill in the preview-strip
  corner when unseen_count > 0 (capped at 99+); ArtistView shows a
  closable v-alert banner on initial load when
  unseen_count_at_visit > 0, re-arms on slug change.

Single-row-per-artist (no user_id) — rule #47 multi-user ACL is
aspirational; widens to (user_id, artist_id) PK when User lands, per
rule #22.

Scribe plan #597.

backend/app/models/__init__.py

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 from .app_setting import AppSetting
 from .artist import Artist
+from .artist_visit import ArtistVisit
 from .backup_run import BackupRun
 from .base import Base
 from .credential import Credential
@@ -28,6 +29,7 @@ __all__ = [
     "Base",
     "AppSetting",
     "Artist",
+    "ArtistVisit",
     "BackupRun",
     "Source",
     "Credential",

backend/app/models/artist_visit.py

@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+"""ArtistVisit — per-artist 'last viewed' timestamp.
+
+Powers the "+N new since last visit" badge on the artists directory and
+the matching banner on `ArtistView`. One row per artist, single global
+operator. When the multi-user model lands, the PK widens to
+`(user_id, artist_id)` — currently aspirational only (no User model,
+no services/access.py); operator approved skipping `user_id` for now
+under rule #22 (breaking changes welcome).
+
+Seed at migration time: every existing artist gets `last_viewed_at = NOW()`
+so the badge starts at 0 across the board (no noisy "5000 unseen" on
+first deploy). New artists also auto-get a row via
+`ArtistService.find_or_create`.
+"""
+
+from datetime import datetime
+
+from sqlalchemy import DateTime, ForeignKey, Integer, func
+from sqlalchemy.orm import Mapped, mapped_column
+
+from .base import Base
+
+
+class ArtistVisit(Base):
+    __tablename__ = "artist_visit"
+
+    artist_id: Mapped[int] = mapped_column(
+        Integer,
+        ForeignKey("artist.id", ondelete="CASCADE"),
+        primary_key=True,
+    )
+    last_viewed_at: Mapped[datetime] = mapped_column(
+        DateTime(timezone=True),
+        nullable=False,
+        server_default=func.now(),
+    )

backend/app/services/artist_directory_service.py

@@ -13,10 +13,10 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 import base64
 from dataclasses import dataclass
 
-from sqlalchemy import and_, exists, func, or_, select
+from sqlalchemy import and_, case, exists, func, or_, select
 from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
 
-from ..models import Artist, ImageRecord, Source
+from ..models import Artist, ArtistVisit, ImageRecord, Source
 from .gallery_service import thumbnail_url
 
 _SEP = "|"
@@ -58,9 +58,27 @@ class ArtistDirectoryService:
             raise ValueError("limit must be between 1 and 200")
 
         count_col = func.count(ImageRecord.id).label("image_count")
+        # Unseen = images imported since the artist's last_viewed_at.
+        # NULL last_viewed_at (artist created before alembic 0034 seed
+        # or before find_or_create autoseed) defensively counts as
+        # "never visited" → all images unseen. Single grouped query, no
+        # N+1.
+        unseen_col = func.count(
+            case(
+                (
+                    or_(
+                        ArtistVisit.last_viewed_at.is_(None),
+                        ImageRecord.created_at > ArtistVisit.last_viewed_at,
+                    ),
+                    ImageRecord.id,
+                ),
+                else_=None,
+            )
+        ).label("unseen_count")
         stmt = (
-            select(Artist, count_col)
+            select(Artist, count_col, unseen_col)
             .outerjoin(ImageRecord, ImageRecord.artist_id == Artist.id)
+            .outerjoin(ArtistVisit, ArtistVisit.artist_id == Artist.id)
             .group_by(Artist.id)
         )
         if q:
@@ -94,7 +112,7 @@ class ArtistDirectoryService:
             next_cursor = _encode(last_artist.name, last_artist.id)
             rows = rows[:limit]
 
-        artist_ids = [a.id for a, _ in rows]
+        artist_ids = [a.id for a, _, _ in rows]
         previews = await self._previews(artist_ids)
 
         cards = [
@@ -104,9 +122,10 @@ class ArtistDirectoryService:
                 "slug": artist.slug,
                 "is_subscription": bool(artist.is_subscription),
                 "image_count": int(image_count),
+                "unseen_count": int(unseen_count),
                 "preview_thumbnails": previews.get(artist.id, []),
             }
-            for artist, image_count in rows
+            for artist, image_count, unseen_count in rows
         ]
         return DirectoryPage(cards=cards, next_cursor=next_cursor)
 

backend/app/services/artist_service.py

@@ -9,11 +9,13 @@ Dates come from Post.post_date via ImageProvenance.post_id.
 from dataclasses import dataclass
 
 from sqlalchemy import and_, case, func, or_, select
+from sqlalchemy.dialects.postgresql import insert as pg_insert
 from sqlalchemy.exc import IntegrityError
 from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
 
 from ..models import (
     Artist,
+    ArtistVisit,
     ImageProvenance,
     ImageRecord,
     Post,
@@ -122,6 +124,12 @@ class ArtistService:
             )
         ).scalar_one()
 
+        # Mark this artist as "visited now"; the returned count is what
+        # the operator should see in the banner ("N new since last
+        # visit"). Done LAST so the read aggregates above all see the
+        # pre-visit state (cosmetic — none depend on visit data).
+        unseen_at_visit = await self._mark_visited_returning_unseen(aid)
+
         return {
             "id": artist.id,
             "name": artist.name,
@@ -129,6 +137,7 @@ class ArtistService:
             "is_subscription": bool(artist.is_subscription),
             "image_count": int(image_count),
             "post_count": int(post_count),
+            "unseen_count_at_visit": unseen_at_visit,
             "date_range": {
                 "min": dmin.isoformat() if dmin else None,
                 "max": dmax.isoformat() if dmax else None,
@@ -157,6 +166,39 @@ class ArtistService:
             ],
         }
 
+    async def _mark_visited_returning_unseen(self, artist_id: int) -> int:
+        """Read pre-visit `last_viewed_at`, count images added since,
+        then upsert `last_viewed_at = NOW()`. Returns the count BEFORE
+        the upsert so the banner has data to render.
+
+        Postgres UPSERT (`ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE`) keeps the write
+        atomic — no SELECT-then-INSERT race per
+        `reference_scalar_one_or_none_duplicates`.
+        """
+        prev = (
+            await self.session.execute(
+                select(ArtistVisit.last_viewed_at).where(
+                    ArtistVisit.artist_id == artist_id
+                )
+            )
+        ).scalar_one_or_none()
+
+        count_stmt = select(func.count(ImageRecord.id)).where(
+            ImageRecord.artist_id == artist_id
+        )
+        if prev is not None:
+            count_stmt = count_stmt.where(ImageRecord.created_at > prev)
+        unseen = (await self.session.execute(count_stmt)).scalar_one()
+
+        upsert = pg_insert(ArtistVisit.__table__).values(artist_id=artist_id)
+        upsert = upsert.on_conflict_do_update(
+            index_elements=["artist_id"],
+            set_={"last_viewed_at": func.now()},
+        )
+        await self.session.execute(upsert)
+        await self.session.commit()
+        return int(unseen)
+
     async def images(
         self, slug: str, cursor: str | None, limit: int = 60
     ) -> ArtistImagesPage | None:
@@ -230,6 +272,13 @@ class ArtistService:
             artist = Artist(name=cleaned, slug=slug)
             self.session.add(artist)
             await self.session.flush()
+            # New artist starts "caught up" — seed ArtistVisit so the
+            # directory's `+N new` badge stays at 0 until real new
+            # content arrives. Without this, the unseen-count query
+            # treats NULL last_viewed_at as "never visited" and would
+            # count every image imported in the same session.
+            self.session.add(ArtistVisit(artist_id=artist.id))
+            await self.session.flush()
             await sp.commit()
         except IntegrityError:
             await sp.rollback()