Streamix - Netflix-like Streaming Platform

A full-stack web application built with Node.js, Express, and MongoDB that simulates a streaming platform with user authentication, profiles, video catalog, recommendations, and analytics.

📋 Table of Contents

• Features
• Prerequisites
• Installation
• Configuration
• Running the Application
• Testing Credentials
• Project Structure
• Additional Information

Features

User Management

• Secure user registration and login with bcrypt password hashing
• Session management with MongoDB session store
• Role-based access control (admin/user)
• Multiple profiles per user account (up to 5)

Content Catalog

• Browse movies and TV series
• Dynamic genre-based navigation
• Search functionality across all content
• Advanced sorting (by name, popularity, rating)
• "Continue Watching" section with progress tracking
• "Most Popular" section based on likes
• Episode-level tracking for series

Personalization

• Intelligent recommendation system based on:
  • Liked content genres
  • Watch history
  • Content ratings
• Like/unlike content functionality
• Personalized recommendations per profile

Admin Features

• Add new content (movies/series) with OMDb API integration
• View analytics dashboard with charts
• User and content management

Video Playback

• Custom HTML5 video player
• Resume playback from last position
• Episode navigation for series
• Progress tracking

Prerequisites

Before running this application, ensure you have the following installed:

• Node.js (v14 or higher)
• MongoDB (v4.4 or higher)
• npm (comes with Node.js)

Installation

1. Clone the repository

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd IntroToWebDevColman

2. Navigate to the project directory

   cd finalProject

3. Install dependencies

   npm install

4. Set up environment variables

   # Copy the example environment file
   cp .env.example .env
   
   # Edit .env and configure your settings (see Configuration section below)

Configuration

Create a .env file in the finalProject directory with the following variables:

# MongoDB Connection (required)
MONGODB_URI=mongodb://127.0.0.1:27017/streamix

# Session Secret (required) - Generate a secure random string
SESSION_SECRET=your-secure-secret-here-please-change-this

# Server Configuration
PORT=5555
NODE_ENV=development

# Content Pagination
ITEMS_PER_PAGE=10

# OMDb API Key (for fetching IMDb ratings)
OMDB_API_KEY=

Important:

• Change SESSION_SECRET to a secure random string
• You can generate one with: node -e "console.log(require('crypto').randomBytes(32).toString('hex'))"

Running the Application

Step 1: Start MongoDB

Ensure MongoDB is running on your system:

Windows:

# If MongoDB is installed as a service, it should start automatically
# Or manually start it:
mongod

macOS/Linux:

# If installed via homebrew:
brew services start mongodb-community

# Or manually:
mongod --config /usr/local/etc/mongod.conf

Step 2: Seed the Database

Populate the database with sample data (users, profiles, movies, series):

npm run seed

This creates:

• 1 admin user: admin@streamix.local / admin123
• 3 regular users with multiple profiles
• ~20 series with multiple episodes each
• ~15 movies
• Sample likes and ratings

Note: Run npm run seed:reset to clear existing data first.

Step 3: Start the Application

npm start

The server will start at http://localhost:5555

Testing Credentials

After seeding the database, use these credentials to log in:

Admin Account

• Email: admin@streamix.local
• Password: admin123
• Features: Full access including analytics and content management

Regular Users

• Email: alice@example.com / Password: alice123
• Email: bob@example.com / Password: bob123
• Email: charlie@example.com / Password: charlie123

Each user has multiple profiles to test the multi-profile feature.

Project Structure

finalProject/
├── application.js              # Main Express server
├── package.json               # Dependencies and scripts
├── .env.example              # Environment variables template
├── src/
│   ├── controllers/          # Request handlers
│   │   ├── authController.js
│   │   ├── catalogController.js
│   │   ├── profileController.js
│   │   ├── likeController.js
│   │   ├── recommendationController.js
│   │   └── ...
│   ├── models/              # Mongoose schemas
│   │   ├── userModel.js
│   │   ├── profileModel.js
│   │   ├── catalogModel.js
│   │   ├── viewingSessionModel.js
│   │   └── ...
│   ├── routes/              # Express routes
│   │   ├── authRoutes.js
│   │   ├── catalogRoutes.js
│   │   ├── analyticsRoutes.js
│   │   └── ...
│   ├── middleware/          # Custom middleware
│   │   ├── authMiddleware.js
│   │   └── logger.js
│   ├── views/              # EJS templates
│   │   ├── catalog.ejs
│   │   ├── login.ejs
│   │   ├── item.ejs
│   │   ├── analytics.ejs
│   │   └── ...
│   ├── public/            # Static assets
│   │   ├── catalog/
│   │   │   ├── app.js
│   │   │   └── styles.css
│   │   └── images/
│   └── utils/            # Utility scripts
│       ├── populateDB.js
│       ├── validators.js
│       └── ...
└── storage/             # Video storage directory

Additional Information

Database Scripts

Seed Database:

npm run seed              # Populate with sample data
npm run seed:reset        # Clear and repopulate

Migration Scripts:

node src/utils/migratePasswords.js    # Migrate plain passwords to bcrypt
node src/utils/migrateRoles.js        # Set user roles
node src/utils/migrateRatings.js      # Calculate ratings from likes

Development

npm run dev               # Start development server
npm start                 # Start production server

📝 Credits

• Background Image: Unsplash
• Icons: Bootstrap Icons
• Placeholder Images: Picsum Photos

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