# IPTVnator Website

The website is an Astro static site deployed to GitHub Pages at `https://4gray.github.io/iptvnator/`.

## Blog Comments

Blog posts render Giscus comments from `apps/website/src/components/GiscusComments.astro`.
Giscus stores comments in GitHub Discussions for `4gray/iptvnator` and maps each page to a discussion by `pathname`, including the GitHub Pages base path such as `/iptvnator/blog/why-external-players-help/`.

The embed is wired to the dedicated `Blog comments` discussion category:

- Repository id: `MDEwOlJlcG9zaXRvcnkyMTMxOTQ3Mzg=`
- Category id: `DIC_kwDODLUX8s4C9eBJ`
- Mapping: `pathname`
- Theme: `transparent_dark`

If the category is recreated, query the new category id:

```bash
gh api graphql \
  -f owner=4gray \
  -f name=iptvnator \
  -f query='query($owner:String!, $name:String!) { repository(owner:$owner, name:$name) { discussionCategories(first:25) { nodes { id name slug isAnswerable } } } }'
```

Then update `data-category-id` in `GiscusComments.astro`.

Moderation happens in GitHub Discussions. Maintainers can hide, delete, lock, or move discussions and comments from the repository Discussions UI.

## Download Pages

`/download/` plus `/download/windows/`, `/download/macos/`, `/download/linux/`
and `/download/docker/` (the self-hosted browser version: quick start, variables,
tags, FAQ, with `docker/README.md` as the reference behind it) are landing pages (`apps/website/src/pages/download/`). They exist for
search visibility on "IPTVnator <OS> download" style queries and to spare users
the 27-asset GitHub release page; each carries OS-specific install steps,
requirements, an FAQ and `SoftwareApplication` / `FAQPage` / `BreadcrumbList`
structured data. Shared pieces live in `src/components/download/` and reuse the
blog components (`StepRail`, `Alert`, `FaqAccordion`, `CopyCommand`).

### Latest-release resolution

Direct asset links need the release version, so `src/lib/downloads.ts`
resolves it at build time:

1. `GET https://api.github.com/repos/4gray/iptvnator/releases/latest` (8 s
   timeout). The asset list from the *published* release is authoritative:
   options whose file is missing are dropped, sizes and the publish date come
   from the API. `deploy-website.yml` passes `GITHUB_TOKEN` to the build so
   the call is authenticated.
2. Fallback: the root `package.json` version with the asset naming pattern
   from `electron-builder.json`. This is deterministic but cannot prove the
   files exist yet (a version bump lands on `master` before the release is
   published), so a warning is printed. Set `WEBSITE_SKIP_RELEASE_FETCH=1` to
   force it for offline or reproducible builds.

Both paths produce the same page structure. Adding an artifact means adding a
`DownloadOption` (matcher + fallback name) in `downloads.ts`; the pages and the
hub pick it up. The homepage `SoftwareApplication` schema reads the same
resolved version.

`pnpm nx test website` builds the site and runs
`tools/testing/website-download-pages.test.mjs`, which checks titles,
canonicals, direct asset links, JSON-LD, cross-links and sitemap entries
without depending on a specific version.

Two of the suites drive the built site in a real browser:
`tools/testing/website-screenshot-showcase.test.mjs` (the home page channel
switcher: autoplay, hover/focus pausing, keyboard navigation, deferred frame
sources) and `tools/testing/website-home-sections.test.mjs` (the hero and
download panel following the visitor's OS, the copy buttons). They share
`tools/testing/website-browser-support.mjs`, which serves `dist/apps/website`
on a loopback port and launches Chromium from the Playwright download or,
failing that, the system Chrome/Chromium channel. Without any Chromium the
browser half is **skipped locally** (the structural checks still run) and
**fails in CI**, so a green local run only proves the interactions when a
browser was found — run `pnpm exec playwright install chromium` once if the
skip shows up in your output.

## Guides

Evergreen how-to posts live in the blog collection next to release notes
(`xtream-codes-setup-guide.mdx`, `stalker-portal-setup-guide.mdx` and
`m3u-playlist-epg-setup-guide.mdx` in `apps/website/src/content/blog/`).
Two conventions set them apart:

- **`faq` frontmatter.** An optional list of `{ q, a }` entries. `BlogPost.astro`
  renders it as an accordion after the body and emits a `FAQPage` JSON-LD block
  next to the `BlogPosting` one, so the answers can surface as rich results.
- **Screenshots from the capture script.** Guide frames are captured by
  `pnpm release:screenshots --group guides` into
  `apps/website/public/blog/guides/screenshots/<slug>-<theme>.png`; the shots are
  declared in `tools/release/screenshots.manifest.json` with `"group": "guides"`
  and never appear in a release run.

`tools/testing/website-guides.test.mjs` (part of `pnpm nx test website`) checks
each guide for the FAQPage schema, a link to the download hub and the presence
of every referenced screenshot in the build output.

## Blog Tags

Blog tags are a closed vocabulary in `apps/website/src/lib/blog-tags.ts`
(`release`, `guide`, `troubleshooting`, `playback`, `m3u`, `xtream-codes`,
`stalker-portal`, `epg`, `macos`, `security`). The content collection schema
only accepts those slugs, so a typo in a post's `tags:` fails the build. Every
tag with at least one published post gets a hub page at `/blog/tag/<tag>/`
(`src/pages/blog/tag/[tag].astro`, `CollectionPage` + `BreadcrumbList` JSON-LD),
the blog index and the hubs show a "Topics" rail with post counts
(`BlogTagRail.astro`), and every chip on a card or a post header links to its
hub (`BlogTagChip.astro`). The cards are `<article>` elements with the title
link stretched over the whole card, because a card that is one big `<a>` cannot
hold chip links.

Add a tag only when it will hold more than one post for good: each tag is an
indexable page, and a hub with a single post is a thin page. Add the slug to the
registry with a label and a one-sentence description; nothing else needs to
change. `tools/testing/website-blog-tags.test.mjs` checks the rail, every hub,
the chip targets, the sitemap and the absence of nested anchors.

## Feature Pages

`/features/` plus one page per feature (`m3u-player`, `xtream-codes-player`,
`stalker-portal-player`, `epg`, `remote-control`) live in
`apps/website/src/pages/features/`. They target "<feature> player" style
searches, reuse the download-page sections, and each carries
`SoftwareApplication` (with `featureList`) / `FAQPage` / `BreadcrumbList`
structured data. The registry in `src/lib/features.ts` drives the hub, the
per-page switcher, the homepage feature cards and
`tools/testing/website-feature-pages.test.mjs`; adding a page means adding one
registry entry and one `.astro` file. Screenshots come only from the
mock-backed guide and release captures, never from the older homepage
screenshots that show real channel names.

## Comparison Pages

`/compare/` plus one page per decision the app asks users to make
(`m3u-vs-xtream-vs-stalker`, `playback-engines`, `desktop-vs-browser`) live in
`apps/website/src/pages/compare/`. They compare IPTVnator's own options against
each other, never other products, so every claim is checkable against this
repository; the registry is `src/lib/comparisons.ts`.

Each page opens with a one-paragraph verdict (`CompareHero`), carries at least
one `ComparisonTable` (cells are `true`, `false` or a qualifying string) and
emits `WebPage` / `FAQPage` / `BreadcrumbList` JSON-LD from
`src/lib/comparison-schema.ts` — deliberately not `SoftwareApplication`, since
these pages are guidance rather than a product listing, and
`tools/testing/website-compare-pages.test.mjs` asserts that.

Naming a competitor on these pages is a product decision, not a technical one.
Phase 3 of `.plans/2026-09-03-marketing-landing-pages.md` covers that and is
still open.