diff --git a/public_html/dispatch.php b/public_html/dispatch.php
index 4971299d..ee6e2045 100644
--- a/public_html/dispatch.php
+++ b/public_html/dispatch.php
@@ -89,6 +89,8 @@ $postValidation =
 \Chibi\Router::register(['PostController', 'upvotedView'], 'GET', '/upvoted/{page}', $postValidation);
 
 \Chibi\Router::register(['PostController', 'genericView'], 'GET', '/post/{id}', $postValidation);
+\Chibi\Router::register(['PostController', 'fileView'], 'GET', '/post/{name}/retrieve', $postValidation);
+\Chibi\Router::register(['PostController', 'thumbView'], 'GET', '/post/{name}/thumb', $postValidation);
 
 \Chibi\Router::register(['PostController', 'toggleTagAction'], 'POST', '/post/{id}/toggle-tag/{tag}/{enable}', $postValidation);
 \Chibi\Router::register(['PostController', 'flagAction'], 'POST', '/post/{id}/flag', $postValidation);
@@ -114,9 +116,6 @@ $commentValidation =
 
 foreach (['GET', 'POST'] as $method)
 {
-	\Chibi\Router::register(['PostController', 'retrieveAction'], $method, '/post/{name}/retrieve', $postValidation);
-	\Chibi\Router::register(['PostController', 'thumbAction'], $method, '/post/{name}/thumb', $postValidation);
-
 	$tagValidation =
 	[
 		'page' => '\d*',
diff --git a/src/Api.php b/src/Api.php
index caa1baf2..26555d8a 100644
--- a/src/Api.php
+++ b/src/Api.php
@@ -40,12 +40,4 @@ class Api
 		});
 		return $statuses;
 	}
-
-	public static function serializeFile($filePath, $fileName)
-	{
-		$x = new StdClass;
-		$x->filePath = $filePath;
-		$x->fileName = $fileName;
-		return $x;
-	}
 }
diff --git a/src/ApiFileInput.php b/src/ApiFileInput.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e2fe7fd0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/ApiFileInput.php
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+<?php
+/**
+* Used for serializing files passed in POST requests to job arguments
+*/
+class ApiFileInput
+{
+	public $filePath;
+	public $fileName;
+
+	public function __construct($filePath, $fileName)
+	{
+		//todo: move_uploaded_file here
+		//concerns post thumbs and post content
+		$this->filePath = $filePath;
+		$this->fileName = $fileName;
+	}
+}
diff --git a/src/ApiFileOutput.php b/src/ApiFileOutput.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9b2547db
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/ApiFileOutput.php
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+<?php
+/**
+* Used for serializing files output from jobs
+*/
+class ApiFileOutput
+{
+	public $fileContent;
+	public $fileName;
+
+	public function __construct($filePath, $fileName)
+	{
+		$this->fileContent = file_get_contents($filePath);
+		$this->fileName = $fileName;
+		$this->lastModified = filemtime($filePath);
+		$this->mimeType = mime_content_type($filePath);
+	}
+}
diff --git a/src/Controllers/PostController.php b/src/Controllers/PostController.php
index ef4631bd..cdea2a36 100644
--- a/src/Controllers/PostController.php
+++ b/src/Controllers/PostController.php
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ class PostController
 			$file = $_FILES['file'];
 			TransferHelper::handleUploadErrors($file);
 
-			$jobArgs[EditPostContentJob::POST_CONTENT] = Api::serializeFile(
+			$jobArgs[EditPostContentJob::POST_CONTENT] = new ApiFileInput(
 				$file['tmp_name'],
 				$file['name']);
 		}
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ class PostController
 			$file = $_FILES['file'];
 			TransferHelper::handleUploadErrors($file);
 
-			$jobArgs[EditPostContentJob::POST_CONTENT] = Api::serializeFile(
+			$jobArgs[EditPostContentJob::POST_CONTENT] = new ApiFileInput(
 				$file['tmp_name'],
 				$file['name']);
 		}
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ class PostController
 			$file = $_FILES['thumb'];
 			TransferHelper::handleUploadErrors($file);
 
-			$jobArgs[EditPostThumbJob::THUMB_CONTENT] = Api::serializeFile(
+			$jobArgs[EditPostThumbJob::THUMB_CONTENT] = new ApiFileInput(
 				$file['tmp_name'],
 				$file['name']);
 		}
@@ -256,67 +256,34 @@ class PostController
 		$context->transport->nextPostId = $nextPostId ? $nextPostId : null;
 	}
 
-	public function thumbAction($name, $width = null, $height = null)
+	public function fileView($name)
 	{
+		$ret = Api::run(new GetPostContentJob(), [GetPostContentJob::POST_NAME => $name]);
+
 		$context = getContext();
-		$path = PostModel::getThumbCustomPath($name, $width, $height);
-		if (!file_exists($path))
-		{
-			$path = PostModel::getThumbDefaultPath($name, $width, $height);
-			if (!file_exists($path))
-			{
-				$post = PostModel::findByIdOrName($name);
-				Access::assert(Privilege::ListPosts);
-				Access::assert(Privilege::ListPosts, PostSafety::toString($post->safety));
-				$post->generateThumb($width, $height);
-				if (!file_exists($path))
-				{
-					$path = getConfig()->main->mediaPath . DS . 'img' . DS . 'thumb.jpg';
-					$path = TextHelper::absolutePath($path);
-				}
-			}
-		}
-
-		if (!is_readable($path))
-			throw new SimpleException('Thumbnail file is not readable');
-
+		$context->transport->cacheDaysToLive = 14;
+		$context->transport->customFileName = $ret->fileName;
+		$context->transport->mimeType = $ret->mimeType;
+		$context->transport->fileHash = 'post' . md5(substr($ret->fileContent, 0, 4096));
+		$context->transport->fileContent = $ret->fileContent;
+		$context->transport->lastModified = $ret->lastModified;
 		$context->layoutName = 'layout-file';
-		$context->transport->cacheDaysToLive = 365;
-		$context->transport->mimeType = 'image/jpeg';
-		$context->transport->fileHash = 'thumb' . md5($name . filemtime($path));
-		$context->transport->filePath = $path;
 	}
 
-	public function retrieveAction($name)
+	public function thumbView($name, $width = null, $height = null)
 	{
-		$post = PostModel::findByName($name, true);
-		$config = getConfig();
+		$ret = Api::run(new GetPostThumbJob(), [
+			GetPostThumbJob::POST_NAME => $name,
+			GetPostThumbJob::WIDTH => $width,
+			GetPostThumbJob::HEIGHT => $height]);
+
 		$context = getContext();
-
-		Access::assert(Privilege::RetrievePost);
-		Access::assert(Privilege::RetrievePost, PostSafety::toString($post->safety));
-
-		$path = $config->main->filesPath . DS . $post->name;
-		$path = TextHelper::absolutePath($path);
-		if (!file_exists($path))
-			throw new SimpleNotFoundException('Post file does not exist');
-		if (!is_readable($path))
-			throw new SimpleException('Post file is not readable');
-
-		$fn = sprintf('%s_%s_%s.%s',
-			$config->main->title,
-			$post->id,
-			join(',', array_map(function($tag) { return $tag->name; }, $post->getTags())),
-			TextHelper::resolveMimeType($post->mimeType) ?: 'dat');
-		$fn = preg_replace('/[[:^print:]]/', '', $fn);
-
-		$ttl = 60 * 60 * 24 * 14;
-
+		$context->transport->cacheDaysToLive = 365;
+		$context->transport->customFileName = $ret->fileName;
+		$context->transport->mimeType = 'image/jpeg';
+		$context->transport->fileHash = 'thumb' . md5(substr($ret->fileContent, 0, 4096));
+		$context->transport->fileContent = $ret->fileContent;
+		$context->transport->lastModified = $ret->lastModified;
 		$context->layoutName = 'layout-file';
-		$context->transport->cacheDaysToLive = 14;
-		$context->transport->customFileName = $fn;
-		$context->transport->mimeType = $post->mimeType;
-		$context->transport->fileHash = 'post' . $post->fileHash;
-		$context->transport->filePath = $path;
 	}
 }
diff --git a/src/Jobs/Abstraction/AbstractJob.php b/src/Jobs/Abstraction/AbstractJob.php
index a17a7768..32139658 100644
--- a/src/Jobs/Abstraction/AbstractJob.php
+++ b/src/Jobs/Abstraction/AbstractJob.php
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ abstract class AbstractJob
 {
 	const COMMENT_ID = 'comment-id';
 	const POST_ID = 'post-id';
+	const POST_NAME = 'post-name';
 	const TAG_NAME = 'tag-name';
 	const TAG_NAMES = 'tags';
 	const TEXT = 'text';
diff --git a/src/Jobs/GetPostContentJob.php b/src/Jobs/GetPostContentJob.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2c556da7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Jobs/GetPostContentJob.php
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+<?php
+class GetPostContentJob extends AbstractJob
+{
+	public function execute()
+	{
+		$post = PostModel::findByName($this->getArgument(self::POST_NAME));
+
+		//todo: refactor this so that requiresPrivilege can accept multiple privileges
+		if ($post->hidden)
+			Access::assert(Privilege::RetrievePost, 'hidden');
+		Access::assert(Privilege::RetrievePost);
+		Access::assert(Privilege::RetrievePost, PostSafety::toString($post->safety));
+
+		$config = getConfig();
+
+		$path = $config->main->filesPath . DS . $post->name;
+		$path = TextHelper::absolutePath($path);
+		if (!file_exists($path))
+			throw new SimpleNotFoundException('Post file does not exist');
+		if (!is_readable($path))
+			throw new SimpleException('Post file is not readable');
+
+		$fileName = sprintf('%s_%s_%s.%s',
+			$config->main->title,
+			$post->id,
+			join(',', array_map(function($tag) { return $tag->name; }, $post->getTags())),
+			TextHelper::resolveMimeType($post->mimeType) ?: 'dat');
+		$fileName = preg_replace('/[[:^print:]]/', '', $fileName);
+
+		return new ApiFileOutput($path, $fileName);
+	}
+
+	public function requiresPrivilege()
+	{
+		//temporarily enforced in execute
+		return false;
+	}
+
+	public function requiresAuthentication()
+	{
+		return false;
+	}
+
+	public function requiresConfirmedEmail()
+	{
+		return false;
+	}
+}
diff --git a/src/Jobs/GetPostJob.php b/src/Jobs/GetPostJob.php
index 410f2088..cd0c945e 100644
--- a/src/Jobs/GetPostJob.php
+++ b/src/Jobs/GetPostJob.php
@@ -6,10 +6,10 @@ class GetPostJob extends AbstractPostEditJob
 		$post = $this->post;
 
 		//todo: refactor this so that requiresPrivilege can accept multiple privileges
-		if ($this->post->hidden)
+		if ($post->hidden)
 			Access::assert(Privilege::ViewPost, 'hidden');
 		Access::assert(Privilege::ViewPost);
-		Access::assert(Privilege::ViewPost, PostSafety::toString($this->post->safety));
+		Access::assert(Privilege::ViewPost, PostSafety::toString($post->safety));
 
 		CommentModel::preloadCommenters($post->getComments());
 
diff --git a/src/Jobs/GetPostThumbJob.php b/src/Jobs/GetPostThumbJob.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e44810d9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Jobs/GetPostThumbJob.php
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+<?php
+class GetPostThumbJob extends AbstractJob
+{
+	const WIDTH = 'width';
+	const HEIGHT = 'height';
+
+	public function execute()
+	{
+		$name = $this->getArgument(self::POST_NAME);
+		$width = $this->hasArgument(self::WIDTH) ? $this->getArgument(self::WIDTH) : null;
+		$height = $this->hasArgument(self::HEIGHT) ? $this->getArgument(self::HEIGHT) : null;
+
+		$path = PostModel::getThumbCustomPath($name, $width, $height);
+		if (!file_exists($path))
+		{
+			$path = PostModel::getThumbDefaultPath($name, $width, $height);
+			if (!file_exists($path))
+			{
+				$post = PostModel::findByIdOrName($name);
+
+				if ($post->hidden)
+					Access::assert(Privilege::ListPosts, 'hidden');
+				Access::assert(Privilege::ListPosts);
+				Access::assert(Privilege::ListPosts, PostSafety::toString($post->safety));
+
+				$post->generateThumb($width, $height);
+
+				if (!file_exists($path))
+				{
+					$path = getConfig()->main->mediaPath . DS . 'img' . DS . 'thumb.jpg';
+					$path = TextHelper::absolutePath($path);
+				}
+			}
+		}
+
+		if (!is_readable($path))
+			throw new SimpleException('Thumbnail file is not readable');
+
+		return new ApiFileOutput($path, 'thumbnail.jpg');
+	}
+
+	public function requiresPrivilege()
+	{
+		//manually enforced in execute when post is retrieved
+		return false;
+	}
+
+	public function requiresAuthentication()
+	{
+		return false;
+	}
+
+	public function requiresConfirmedEmail()
+	{
+		return false;
+	}
+}
diff --git a/src/Views/layout-file.phtml b/src/Views/layout-file.phtml
index 05363f3c..70d8400f 100644
--- a/src/Views/layout-file.phtml
+++ b/src/Views/layout-file.phtml
@@ -1,47 +1,38 @@
 <?php
-if (!empty($this->context->transport->errorMessage))
+$lastModified = $this->context->transport->lastModified;
+$eTag = $this->context->transport->fileHash;
+$ttl = $this->context->transport->cacheDaysToLive * 24 * 3600;
+
+$ifModifiedSince = isset($_SERVER['HTTP_IF_MODIFIED_SINCE'])
+	? $_SERVER['HTTP_IF_MODIFIED_SINCE']
+	: false;
+
+$eTagHeader = isset($_SERVER['HTTP_IF_NONE_MATCH'])
+	? trim(trim($_SERVER['HTTP_IF_NONE_MATCH']), '"')
+	: false;
+
+\Chibi\Util\Headers::set('ETag', '"' . $eTag . '"');
+\Chibi\Util\Headers::set('Last-Modified', gmdate('D, d M Y H:i:s \G\M\T', $lastModified));
+\Chibi\Util\Headers::set('Pragma', 'public');
+\Chibi\Util\Headers::set('Cache-Control', 'public, max-age=' . $ttl);
+\Chibi\Util\Headers::set('Expires', gmdate('D, d M Y H:i:s \G\M\T', time() + $ttl));
+
+if (isset($this->context->transport->customFileName))
 {
-	\Chibi\Util\Headers::set('Content-Type', 'text/plain; charset=utf-8');
-	echo $this->context->transport->errorMessage;
-}
-else
-{
-	$lastModified = filemtime($this->context->transport->filePath);
-	$eTag = $this->context->transport->fileHash;
-	$ttl = $this->context->transport->cacheDaysToLive * 24 * 3600;
-
-	$ifModifiedSince = isset($_SERVER['HTTP_IF_MODIFIED_SINCE'])
-		? $_SERVER['HTTP_IF_MODIFIED_SINCE']
-		: false;
-
-	$eTagHeader = isset($_SERVER['HTTP_IF_NONE_MATCH'])
-		? trim(trim($_SERVER['HTTP_IF_NONE_MATCH']), '"')
-		: false;
-
-	\Chibi\Util\Headers::set('ETag', '"' . $eTag . '"');
-	\Chibi\Util\Headers::set('Last-Modified', gmdate('D, d M Y H:i:s \G\M\T', $lastModified));
-	\Chibi\Util\Headers::set('Pragma', 'public');
-	\Chibi\Util\Headers::set('Cache-Control', 'public, max-age=' . $ttl);
-	\Chibi\Util\Headers::set('Expires', gmdate('D, d M Y H:i:s \G\M\T', time() + $ttl));
-
-	if (isset($this->context->transport->customFileName))
-	{
-		\Chibi\Util\Headers::set(
-			'Content-Disposition',
-			'inline; filename="' . $this->context->transport->customFileName . '"');
-	}
-
 	\Chibi\Util\Headers::set(
-		'Content-Type',
-		$this->context->transport->mimeType);
-
-
-	if (strtotime($ifModifiedSince) == $lastModified or $eTagHeader == $eTag)
-	{
-		header('HTTP/1.1 304 Not Modified');
-		exit;
-	}
-
-	readfile($this->context->transport->filePath);
-	flush();
+		'Content-Disposition',
+		'inline; filename="' . $this->context->transport->customFileName . '"');
 }
+
+\Chibi\Util\Headers::set(
+	'Content-Type',
+	$this->context->transport->mimeType);
+
+if (strtotime($ifModifiedSince) == $lastModified or $eTagHeader == $eTag)
+{
+	\Chibi\Util\Headers::setCode('304');
+	exit;
+}
+
+echo $this->context->transport->fileContent;
+flush();
diff --git a/src/Views/post-file-render.phtml b/src/Views/post-file-render.phtml
index 4a743f68..17aa4a3c 100644
--- a/src/Views/post-file-render.phtml
+++ b/src/Views/post-file-render.phtml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 <?php
 Assets::setPageThumb(\Chibi\Router::linkTo(
-	['PostController', 'thumbAction'],
+	['PostController', 'thumbView'],
 	['name' => $this->context->transport->post->name]));
 $post = $this->context->transport->post;
 ?>
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ $post = $this->context->transport->post;
 
 	<img alt="<?= $post->name ?>"
 		src="<?= \Chibi\Router::linkTo(
-			['PostController', 'retrieveAction'],
+			['PostController', 'fileView'],
 			['name' => $post->name]) ?>"/>
 
 	<?php if (!empty($this->context->imageLink)): ?>
@@ -27,12 +27,12 @@ $post = $this->context->transport->post;
 		width="<?= $post->imageWidth ?>"
 		height="<?= $post->imageHeight ?>"
 		data="<?= \Chibi\Router::linkTo(
-			['PostController', 'retrieveAction'],
+			['PostController', 'fileView'],
 			['name' => $post->name]) ?>">
 
 		<param name="wmode" value="opaque"/>
 		<param name="movie" value="<?= \Chibi\Router::linkTo(
-			['PostController', 'retrieveAction'],
+			['PostController', 'fileView'],
 			['name' => $post->name]) ?>"/>
 
 	</object>
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ $post = $this->context->transport->post;
 		<source
 			type="<?= $post->mimeType ?>"
 			src="<?= \Chibi\Router::linkTo(
-				['PostController', 'retrieveAction'],
+				['PostController', 'fileView'],
 				['name' => $post->name]) ?>">
 
 		Your browser doesn't support HTML5 &lt;video&gt; tag.
diff --git a/src/Views/post-small.phtml b/src/Views/post-small.phtml
index 5ac83ce2..013915cd 100644
--- a/src/Views/post-small.phtml
+++ b/src/Views/post-small.phtml
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ if ($masstag)
 
 		<img
 			class="thumb"
-			src="<?= \Chibi\Router::linkTo(['PostController', 'thumbAction'], ['name' => $this->context->post->name]) ?>"
+			src="<?= \Chibi\Router::linkTo(['PostController', 'thumbView'], ['name' => $this->context->post->name]) ?>"
 			alt="@<?= $this->context->post->id ?>"/>
 
 		<?php
diff --git a/src/Views/post-view.phtml b/src/Views/post-view.phtml
index e39104b4..52e6bceb 100644
--- a/src/Views/post-view.phtml
+++ b/src/Views/post-view.phtml
@@ -187,7 +187,7 @@ $canEditAnything = count(array_filter($editPostPrivileges)) > 0;
 		<?php if ($this->context->transport->post->type != PostType::Youtube): ?>
 			<div class="hl-option">
 				<a title="Download" href="<?= \Chibi\Router::linkTo(
-					['PostController', 'retrieveAction'],
+					['PostController', 'fileView'],
 					['name' => $this->context->transport->post->name]) ?>">
 					<i class="icon-dl"></i>
 					<span>