ersatztv/CLAUDE.md

ErsatzTV Fork

Custom IPTV channel server for Jellyfin. Forked from ErsatzTV/ErsatzTV after upstream archival (Feb 2026, v26.3.0). Our fork lives on Gitea.

Architecture

• Language: C# / .NET 10
• UI: ChicoryTV React SPA (web/, Vite, served at /app) over the REST API — the ONLY UI. The legacy Blazor Server UI (MudBlazor) was removed in #91 phase (b); root / and every legacy route now 302 to /app, either via an explicit redirect in ErsatzTV/LegacyUiRedirects.cs or the Startup catch-all fallback (any unmatched non-/api//artwork//docs//openapi path → /app). Historical parity work: media detail pages + image folder browser landed via #141 (PR #183); scheduling parity #144/#162, #141/#158/#161/#180, #145, #151/#152/#153/#155, and the media-source write API/SPA #202 are all DONE.
• Pattern: CQRS via MediatR — queries/commands in ErsatzTV.Application/
• Database: EF Core (SQLite default, MySQL optional) — context in ErsatzTV.Infrastructure/Data/TvContext.cs
• Media: FFmpeg via CliWrap, SkiaSharp for logo generation
• Functional C#: Language Ext (Option, Either monads throughout)

Project Layout

Project	Role
ErsatzTV/	ASP.NET Core host, API controllers, SPA static hosting, DI setup
web/	ChicoryTV React SPA (Vite + TypeScript; builds into ErsatzTV/wwwroot/app)
ErsatzTV.Application/	MediatR handlers (business logic)
ErsatzTV.Core/	Domain entities, interfaces, no infrastructure deps
ErsatzTV.Infrastructure/	EF Core repos, data access
ErsatzTV.Infrastructure.Sqlite/	SQLite-specific implementations
ErsatzTV.FFmpeg/	FFmpeg process wrapper
ErsatzTV.Scanner/	Media library scanning

Key Files

• M3U generation: ErsatzTV.Core/Iptv/ChannelPlaylist.cs → ToM3U()
• XMLTV generation: ErsatzTV.Application/Channels/Queries/GetChannelGuideHandler.cs
• IPTV controller: ErsatzTV/Controllers/IptvController.cs — /iptv/* routes
• Logo generation: ErsatzTV.Core/Images/ChannelLogoGenerator.cs
• Channel entities: ErsatzTV.Core/Domain/Channel.cs
• DB context: ErsatzTV.Infrastructure/Data/TvContext.cs

Deployment

• Docker host: jazz (192.168.1.29), container ersatztv, port 8409. Media transcoders (Jellyfin, ersatztv, ersatztv-test) moved here from bumblebee on 2026-07-20 (server-management#633); bumblebee (192.168.1.99) still hosts the CI runners and the rest of the stacks. Name-reuse trap: jazz was an earlier name for the .99 host, so pre-2026-07-20 docs/commits saying "jazz" mean today's bumblebee — go by the IP, not the name.
• Config volume: ~/downloadswarm/ersatztv/ on jazz → /config in container
• SQLite DB: /config/ersatztv.sqlite3 (WAL mode, root-owned)
• Images (our fork, built by .gitea/workflows/docker-build.yml → 192.168.1.95:3000/timothy/ersatztv): push to main → :latest + :<sha> (test image); push v* tag → :prod + :<version> + :<sha>. Prod's Komodo GitOps stack — named jazz-media (the compose project is still media-servers; a dead media-servers stack lingers on bumblebee) — follows floating :prod; after the immutable :<version> candidate passes the release scans, manually DeployStack jazz-media. There is no auto-update fallback (auto_update: false) — promotion is manual. Both paths run the fail-closed pre-deploy backup and prod-copy migration smoke before recreation. Test tracks :latest. Pipeline details: docs/ci-cd.md.

Development

# Build
dotnet build ErsatzTV.sln

# Run locally (needs FFmpeg in PATH)
dotnet run --project ErsatzTV

# Docker build
docker build -f docker/Dockerfile -t ersatztv:dev .

Conventions

• Read docs/contributing.md before non-trivial changes — it documents the established patterns (layering, CQRS handlers, LanguageExt, the ChicoryTV SPA, EF Core + dual-provider migrations, the FFmpeg pipeline, analyzers, testing) and the deviation policy: match the established style; diverge only with a concrete, stated reason.

• Docs-first is a HARD RULE — read before you explore: before ANY API / SPA / E2E / parity / scheduling work, read docs/README.md (index) → the convention docs (api-conventions, spa-conventions, e2e-local, domain-model, blazor-route-parity, decisions). Do NOT reverse-engineer conventions from source (Grep/Read) before reading these — they exist precisely so you don't. Only recon the task-specific delta the docs deliberately don't freeze (a merged endpoint's exact DTO, a Blazor page's field list). This applies to delegated subagents too: tell each agent which doc section to read; never let one re-derive conventions from code.

• Docs-update is part of "done" — same PR, never a follow-up: any PR that changes a convention, adds/migrates/redirects a route, adds/changes a /api/* endpoint, or reverses a decision MUST update the relevant doc in that same PR:

  Change	Update in the same PR
  Migrate / add / redirect a route (new web/src/screens/*.tsx, LegacyUiRedirects.cs)	docs/blazor-route-parity.md + docs/domain-model.md
  Add / change a /api/* endpoint	docs/api-conventions.md checklist, then regenerate v1.json + endpoint-index.md via ./scripts/update-openapi.sh
  Change a SPA screen convention	docs/spa-conventions.md
  Establish / reverse a convention or decision	docs/decisions.md (lifecycle: add record, relocate predecessor to archive/) + the affected doc
  Add / remove / retitle a doc	docs/README.md index

  The docs-reminder CI job flags a screen/route change that skips blazor-route-parity.md, but it's a non-blocking nudge — the rule is on you, not the check.

• Follow existing MediatR CQRS pattern for new features

• Domain logic in ErsatzTV.Core, infrastructure in ErsatzTV.Infrastructure

• Keep UI thin: the SPA talks to /api/* only; controllers delegate to MediatR handlers. All UI is in the SPA (web/)

• Test with NUnit + Shouldly + NSubstitute (the existing *.Tests projects); xUnit is not used here

• Dependencies use Central Package Management: versions live in the repo-root Directory.Packages.props; csproj reference packages by name only. Add/upgrade by editing the central <PackageVersion> — never put Version= back on a <PackageReference> (trips NU1008). See docs/ci-cd.md → Dependency management.

• DB migrations target BOTH providers: a TvContext model change needs a migration in ErsatzTV.Infrastructure.Sqlite and ErsatzTV.Infrastructure.MySql — run scripts/add-migration.sh <Name> (does both). CI's migrations job enforces model-drift + apply-to-fresh-DB per provider. See docs/ci-cd.md → Migration integrity.

• Renovate is live (.gitea/workflows/renovate.yml, weekly + workflow_dispatch): opens dependency-update + OSV vuln-fix PRs and a Dependency Dashboard issue; patch bumps to test/dev-only packages auto-merge once Build & test passes, the rest are manual. Cross-repo rollout: server-management#484. See docs/ci-cd.md → Dependency management.

• Versioning: release tags are vYY.<release-seq>.<patch> (year · sequential release-within-year · patch) — inherited from upstream, not year.month. v26.3.1 = our infra rebuild of upstream 26.3.0 (no app changes); v26.4.0 is reserved for the first release with app changes. Never [skip ci] a commit you'll tag (it suppresses the release build). Full policy: docs/ci-cd.md → Versioning & releases.

• Backlog tracked via Gitea Issues

Task Completion Protocol

Every task that closes a Gitea issue MUST complete ALL of these before it is considered done. Use /done <issue> to run through this automatically.

Merge-consent is derived from state, not asserted (## Done-when convention — ersatztv#303 H6 + H10). Any issue whose PR will merge to main should carry a ## Done-when section in its issue body — a checklist of completion criteria (always include an "adversarial review passed" box; add per-issue criteria like tests-green, docs-updated, live-E2E). Two hooks derive merge-consent from it so a premature merge is blocked by construction, not by memory:

• pretooluse-merge-consent.sh (Claude PreToolUse on the Gitea merge tool) — auto-grants a merge (emits permissionDecision: allow, so no redundant mechanical prompt fires) only when the PR's CI is green and every ## Done-when box on the linked issue (fixes #N) is ticked and a Review-verdict: comment references the PR's current head sha (H10); denies on an unticked box, red CI, or a stale/negative review verdict; asks (falls back to a human prompt) when it can't derive state (no linked issue, no ## Done-when section, no Review-verdict: comment yet, no creds, Gitea down). On the auto-grant (satisfied) path the derived state is the consent — do not also ask conversationally to merge; a separate human confirmation is warranted only when the gate asks (ersatztv#314). The H10 review-verdict convention: after an adversarial/Codex review of a PR (or its latest fix commit), post a PR comment with a line Review-verdict: <MERGEABLE|APPROVED|BLOCKED> @ <head-sha> — this proves the latest commit was reviewed, not a stale earlier diff (ersatztv#242).
• .husky/pre-push → prepush-donewhen.sh — a fail-open backstop that blocks a direct git push origin main whose commits fix #N an issue with unticked boxes.

Both need Gitea read creds in the env to enforce (ETV_GITEA_BASICAUTH=user:pass or ETV_GITEA_TOKEN; ETV_GITEA_URL overrides the base). Without them the merge hook asks and the push backstop is a no-op — the gate degrades to today's manual confirmation, never a silent pass. Docs-only PRs/pushes are exempt.

1. Root cause (bug fixes / incidents only): Document WHY the problem existed, not just what was changed. If root cause is unknown, say so explicitly and open a follow-up investigation issue. Fixing symptoms without understanding causes creates recurring problems.
2. Comment on issues as you work — what you found, what approach you're taking, any deviations from the suggested fix.
3. Push changes: git push all commits before closing. Use fixes #N in commit messages to auto-close where appropriate.
4. Close comment: Add a structured closing comment on the issue covering: what was done, root cause (if applicable), files changed, anything deferred, follow-up issues created, and which docs were updated.
5. Close the issue via API or fixes #N commit. Leave open with a comment only if partially addressed.
6. Update docs: If the change affects operational behavior, update the relevant Obsidian docs (~/homelab-docs/), MEMORY.md, or CLAUDE.md inline — not as a follow-up.
7. Reply to reviewer (if from adversarial review): Summary of done/deferred/questions. This triggers the next review cycle.

Project Boundaries

ersatztv OWNS: ErsatzTV fork code (C#/.NET), channel/collection/schedule management, M3U/XMLTV generation, the ErsatzTV skill in server-management.

ersatztv does NOT own:

• Docker compose configs → server-management (~/downloadswarm/stacks/ersatztv/)
• NFS mounts, Ansible, DNS, networking → server-management
• Content sourcing (yt-dlp downloads, Sonarr/Radarr libraries) → media-management (planned)
• Jellyfin skill → server-management (symlinked)

For infrastructure changes (Docker, NFS, ports, Authelia): open an issue in timothy/server-management.

For content/media sourcing questions (what goes into channels, yt-dlp pipelines): open an issue in timothy/media-management once it exists; for now, timothy/server-management.

For plan/audit reviews: open ~/adversarial-reviewer before significant architecture changes.

Full cross-project rules: ~/homelab-docs/Operations/Project Boundaries.md (https://docs.tblindustries.be). ErsatzTV docs: ~/homelab-docs/Docker/ErsatzTV.md + project-local docs/ (fork strategy, channels, M3U/XMLTV).