diff --git a/engine.py b/engine.py
index c963aad..603cc66 100644
--- a/engine.py
+++ b/engine.py
@@ -1,10 +1,7 @@
 import os
 import shutil
 import sqlite3
-import threading
-import hashlib
 from contextlib import contextmanager
-from functools import lru_cache
 from PIL import Image
 from io import BytesIO
 from typing import Dict, List, Optional, Tuple
@@ -285,33 +282,12 @@ class SorterEngine:
                 return fid
 
     # ==========================================
-    # IMAGE COMPRESSION (OPTIMIZED WITH CACHING)
+    # IMAGE COMPRESSION
     # ==========================================
-    
-    # Simple in-memory cache for thumbnails
-    _thumbnail_cache: Dict[str, bytes] = {}
-    _cache_max_items = 500
-    _cache_lock = threading.Lock()
-
-    @classmethod
-    def _get_cache_key(cls, path: str, quality: int, target_size: Optional[int]) -> str:
-        """Generate cache key including file modification time."""
-        try:
-            mtime = os.path.getmtime(path)
-        except OSError:
-            mtime = 0
-        return hashlib.md5(f"{path}:{quality}:{target_size}:{mtime}".encode()).hexdigest()
 
     @classmethod
     def compress_for_web(cls, path: str, quality: int, target_size: Optional[int] = None) -> Optional[bytes]:
-        """Loads image, resizes smart, and saves as WebP with caching."""
-        cache_key = cls._get_cache_key(path, quality, target_size)
-        
-        # Check cache first
-        with cls._cache_lock:
-            if cache_key in cls._thumbnail_cache:
-                return cls._thumbnail_cache[cache_key]
-        
+        """Loads image, resizes smart, and saves as WebP."""
         try:
             with Image.open(path) as img:
                 # Keep RGBA for WebP support, only convert unusual modes
@@ -326,19 +302,8 @@ class SorterEngine:
                 
                 # Save as WebP
                 buf = BytesIO()
-                img.save(buf, format="WEBP", quality=quality, method=4)  # method=4 is faster
-                result = buf.getvalue()
-                
-                # Cache the result
-                with cls._cache_lock:
-                    if len(cls._thumbnail_cache) >= cls._cache_max_items:
-                        # Simple eviction: remove oldest 20%
-                        keys_to_remove = list(cls._thumbnail_cache.keys())[:cls._cache_max_items // 5]
-                        for k in keys_to_remove:
-                            del cls._thumbnail_cache[k]
-                    cls._thumbnail_cache[cache_key] = result
-                
-                return result
+                img.save(buf, format="WEBP", quality=quality)
+                return buf.getvalue()
         except Exception:
             return None
 
@@ -350,7 +315,8 @@ class SorterEngine:
         def process_one(path):
             return path, SorterEngine.compress_for_web(path, quality)
 
-        with concurrent.futures.ThreadPoolExecutor(max_workers=8) as executor:
+        # Reduced from 8 to 2 workers to prevent memory issues
+        with concurrent.futures.ThreadPoolExecutor(max_workers=2) as executor:
             future_to_path = {executor.submit(process_one, p): p for p in image_paths}
             for future in concurrent.futures.as_completed(future_to_path):
                 try: