4grayandClaude Opus 5
270350c2e1
* chore(release): author release notes in .changes instead of reconstructing them CHANGELOG.md has been frozen at 0.12.0 since 2023 while the app shipped 0.23.0, semantic-release sat in devDependencies with no config, and the real user-facing notes were a 280-line MDX post written from memory at release time. The gap was never version math — it was authored notes captured while the context is still fresh. Add a `.changes/*.md` note format (type, area, issues, screenshot; no version field, since the release version is chosen deliberately) plus a generator that composes the GitHub release body, the CHANGELOG.md section and a blog-post scaffold from the accumulated notes. Changesets was considered and rejected: it versions multiple published packages, and this repo has exactly one private package. Its `version` step would also rewrite CHANGELOG.md into a flatter format than the blog post and fight the deliberate, updater-constrained version choice. - hand-rolled frontmatter parser over a YAML engine: the schema is closed, so it can reject unknown keys, which is what catches typos - PR numbers are resolved from the commit that added the note, never written by the author - MDX-significant characters in note bodies are escaped so a stray `<` cannot break the website build - blog scaffold ships `draft: true` with explicit TODO headings; the prose is editorial work, only the inventory is mechanical - revive CHANGELOG.md with an honest pointer for 0.13.0-0.23.0 rather than fabricating the missing history - drop the five unused semantic-release/conventional-changelog packages Docs: `.changes/README.md`, plus a "Release Notes For User-Visible Changes" section mirrored in CLAUDE.md and AGENTS.md, and a PR template checkbox for contributors who never read either. Tests: 26 unit tests in tools/release/release-notes.test.mjs covering parsing, validation, grouping and all three renderers. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com> * fix(release): default the notes version to package.json and harden alt escaping Review follow-ups on the release-notes generator. - `--version` now defaults to the root package.json version, so the `release🎶*` package scripts run bare instead of failing on a missing argument. Bumping package.json is the deliberate act that starts a release, which makes it the right single source of truth; `--version` remains as an override for dry runs before the bump. The notice goes to stderr so `--format github` keeps a pipeable stdout. - Escape backslashes before apostrophes when building the MDX `alt` string literal. A note body ending in a backslash previously produced an unterminated string and would have broken the website build. - Document that release posts are one per minor version, in the slug helper, the overwrite error, and `.changes/README.md` — a patch release edits the existing post rather than creating a second one. Tests: +1 regression test for the alt escaping, verified to fail without the fix (27 total, all passing). Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com> * feat(ci): put authored notes into the tag release body, fail-closed Wires the .changes pipeline into the release workflow (Codex review P1 on #1256). Calling the generator from the tag build cannot work — --consume deletes .changes/ before the tag exists — so the tag build reads what the generator already wrote: release-meta now fills BODY from the CHANGELOG.md section matching the tag's version via tools/release/extract-changelog-section.mjs. generate_release_notes stays on, so GitHub's commit list renders below the authored notes; the existing draft-metadata repair step already concatenates RELEASE_BODY with the generated notes, so the rare duplicate-draft path keeps the same layering unchanged. The extractor exits non-zero when the section is missing or empty, failing the release instead of silently shipping PR-title-only notes. A hotfix tag cut without running release:notes:changelog therefore fails at create-release by design; the error message names the exact commands to run. Tests: 5 new extractor tests (32 total in release-tools, all passing); packaging suite (247) re-run green since build-and-make.yaml is one of its inputs. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com> * fix(release): escape all regex metacharacters in the changelog extractor CodeQL flagged the version-to-RegExp interpolation in extract-changelog-section.mjs (regex injection + incomplete escaping): only dots were escaped, and while the CLI validates its argument as bare semver before calling, the exported extractSection() carries no such guarantee on its own. Escape the full metacharacter set so no caller can inject pattern syntax, with tests covering wildcard dots, alternation, `.*` and backslashes. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com> * fix(release): make changelog generation idempotent per version Codex review P2 on #1256: rerunning `release:notes:changelog` for the same version — the normal move after correcting a note before --consume — prepended a second section instead of replacing the first, leaving duplicate release entries. Extract the marker insertion into upsertChangelogSection(): it removes any existing section for the version, then rebuilds around the marker rather than string-replacing into it, so the blank-line count on both sides stays exact on both the fresh-insert and replace paths. The CLI reports when a section was replaced. Tests: 4 new cases (insert, replace-not-duplicate, neighbours untouched, missing marker); 37 total passing. End-to-end rerun verified: one heading, latest date wins, extractor output unchanged. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com> --------- Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
IPTVnator - IPTV Player Application
🌐 Website | Telegram channel for discussions | Buy me a coffee | GitHub Sponsors
IPTVnator is a video player application that provides support for IPTV playlist playback (m3u, m3u8). The application allows users to import playlists using remote URLs or by uploading files from the local file system. Additionally, it supports EPG information in XMLTV format which can be provided via URL.
The application is a cross-platform, open-source project built with Electron and Angular.
⚠️ Note: IPTVnator does not provide any playlists or other digital content. The channels and pictures in the screenshots are for demonstration purposes only.
Important
Official sources only. IPTVnator is a free, open-source player — it never sells IPTV subscriptions, channels, or playlists. Websites offering "IPTVnator subscriptions/channels/premium/activated" builds are not affiliated with this project. Get the app only from the official website or GitHub Releases. See Beware of unofficial IPTVnator websites and IPTV services for details.
Features
Playlists & sources
- M3U / M3U8 playlists from local files or remote URLs 📂, with automatic updates on startup
- Xtream Codes (XC) and Stalker / Ministra (STB) portal support
- Custom "User-Agent" header per playlist
Playback
- Built-in HTML5 player (HLS.js or Video.js) with a resizable, resumable inline view
- Optional unified IPTVnator controls for HTML5, Video.js, and ArtPlayer, enabled in Settings → Playback (experimental)
- External players — MPV, VLC, and IINA on macOS (
mpv.app/VLC.appbundle paths supported) (desktop) - Embedded MPV — native mpv rendered inside the app window on macOS, Windows & Linux 🖥️ (experimental · desktop)
- Dedicated radio player for
radio="true"streams 📻
Live TV & EPG
- EPG / XMLTV TV guide with a live timeline ribbon and multi-channel grid (desktop)
- TV archive / catch-up / timeshift (desktop)
- Group-based channel list, channel-number selection, and search 🔍
Movies & series (VOD)
- Redesigned two-state detail pages (browse ↔ watch) with season tabs and resume positions
- Download manager for offline movies & episodes ⬇️ (desktop)
- "Recently added" feeds and category grids with sorting & pagination
Discovery & metadata
- Global search across live TV, movies, and series (desktop)
- TMDB enrichment (opt-in) — plots, cast & crew, trailers, ratings, artwork, a "Similar" rail, clickable actor pages, and a trending dashboard rail (trending rail: desktop)
- Dashboard with recently watched & continue-watching
Organization
- Per-playlist and global favorites, aggregated across all playlists ⭐
- Recently viewed / watch history
- Command palette (
Ctrl/Cmd+K)
Platform
- Cross-platform desktop (Electron) and installable PWA
- Desktop auto-updater and mobile remote control (desktop)
- Docker self-hosting for the PWA + web backend
- 19 languages (translation files), light & dark themes, and keyboard shortcuts
Keyboard shortcuts
Press ? or Shift+/ in the workspace to open the in-app shortcuts list.
| Area | Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Global | Ctrl/Cmd+K |
Open command palette |
| Global | Ctrl/Cmd+F |
Open global search in the desktop app |
| Global | Ctrl/Cmd+R |
Open recently viewed in the desktop app |
| Global | Enter in workspace search |
Submit the current search |
| Navigation | Ctrl/Cmd+B |
Toggle the live sidebar |
| Navigation | 0-9 |
Select an M3U channel by number |
| Playback | Space / K |
Play or pause embedded MPV playback in the desktop app |
| Playback | F |
Toggle embedded MPV fullscreen in the desktop app |
| Playback | ArrowLeft / ArrowRight |
Seek embedded MPV playback by 5 seconds in the desktop app |
| Playback | ArrowUp / ArrowDown |
Adjust volume by 5% |
| Playback | M |
Mute audio |
| Dialogs and lists | ArrowUp / ArrowDown |
Move command palette selection |
| Dialogs and lists | Enter |
Run the selected command or open a focused item |
| Dialogs and lists | Escape |
Close dialogs and dismiss overlays |
Screenshots:
| Dashboard with recently watched content | Live channels with inline player and EPG |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Add playlist dialog for M3U, Xtream, and Stalker | Live category channel list |
 |
 |
| Global search across live TV, movies, and series | Manage visible live categories |
 |
 |
| Movie category grid with sorting and pagination | Recently added movies and series |
 |
 |
| VOD details with playback and download actions | Download manager |
 |
 |
| Multi-channel EPG grid | External MPV player support |
 |
 |
| Radio playback with dedicated audio player | Light theme |
 |
 |
| Application settings | |
 |
Note: First version of the application which was developed as a PWA is available in an extra git branch.
Self-hosted PWA
The Docker setup builds the Angular PWA and the monorepo web backend into one
image. The backend handles remote M3U parsing plus Xtream and Stalker proxy
requests under /api, so a separate 4gray/iptvnator-backend container is not
required for the default self-hosted flow.
docker compose -f docker/docker-compose.yml up --build -d
The application is available at http://localhost:4333. See
docker/docker-compose.yml for the ready-to-run
compose file and docker/README.md for environment
variables, reverse proxy notes, PWA limitations, and build details.
The self-hosted image runs the browser PWA rather than the Electron desktop app: EPG/XMLTV panels, Embedded MPV, managed MPV/VLC launching, the download manager, and Electron remote-control features are not available there. If browser playback fails, copy the stream URL and open it manually in an external player such as MPV, VLC, or IINA.
Download
Download the latest version of the application for macOS, Windows, and Linux from the release page.
Alternatively, you can install the application using one of the following package managers:
Homebrew
$ brew install iptvnator
Snap
$ sudo snap install iptvnator
Arch
Also available as an Arch PKG, iptvnator-bin, in the AUR (using your favourite AUR-helper, .e.g. yay)
$ yay -S iptvnator-bin
Gentoo
You can install IPTVnator from the gentoo-zh overlay
sudo eselect repository enable gentoo-zh
sudo emerge --sync gentoo-zh
sudo emerge iptvnator-bin
Linux Embedded MPV Support
Embedded MPV on Linux is experimental and currently supports x64 desktop
sessions where IPTVnator runs under X11 or Xwayland. Native Wayland embedding
is not supported yet. Linux package launchers request X11 with
--ozone-platform=x11, so Wayland desktops still need Xwayland available.
The Linux backend starts a system mpv executable with --wid, so mpv must
be installed and available on PATH. CI validates the Linux native addon and
standard packages on Ubuntu 22.04, with Flatpak packaging built on Ubuntu 24.04.
Expected user targets are Ubuntu/Debian .deb, Arch/Manjaro pacman, RPM
distributions, and AppImage on x64 systems with X11/Xwayland plus mpv
installed. Flatpak and Snap builds remain available, but embedded MPV is not
announced as supported there yet because those sandboxed formats do not expose
the host mpv executable to the embedded backend by default.
Troubleshooting
macOS: "App is damaged and can't be opened"
Older unsigned macOS builds may require removing the quarantine flag from the downloaded application:
xattr -c /Applications/IPTVnator.app
Alternatively, if the app is located in a different directory:
xattr -c ~/Downloads/IPTVnator.app
Linux: chrome-sandbox Issues
If you encounter the following error when launching IPTVnator:
The SUID sandbox helper binary was found, but is not configured correctly.
Rather than run without sandboxing I'm aborting now.
You need to make sure that chrome-sandbox is owned by root and has mode 4755.
Solution 1: Fix chrome-sandbox permissions (Recommended for .deb/.rpm installations)
Navigate to the IPTVnator installation directory and run:
sudo chown root:root chrome-sandbox
sudo chmod 4755 chrome-sandbox
Solution 2: Launch with --no-sandbox flag
Edit the desktop launcher file to add the --no-sandbox flag:
-
Find your desktop file location:
- Ubuntu/Debian:
~/.local/share/applications/iptvnator.desktop - System-wide:
/usr/share/applications/iptvnator.desktop
- Ubuntu/Debian:
-
Edit the file and modify the
Execline:Exec=iptvnator --no-sandbox %U -
Save the file and relaunch the application from your application menu.
Alternatively, you can launch IPTVnator from the terminal with the flag:
iptvnator --no-sandbox
GNU/Linux: Wayland startup failure
If IPTVnator exits on GNU/Linux with errors about failing to connect to Wayland or initialize the Ozone platform, force X11/XWayland instead:
iptvnator --ozone-platform=x11
This workaround is mainly for older or problematic Linux graphics stacks. The Snap package already includes this X11 override by default. For AppImage, direct binaries, and other Linux package formats, pass the flag manually when needed.
How to Build and Develop
Requirements:
- Node.js with pnpm (via Corepack)
-
Clone this repository and install project dependencies:
$ corepack enable $ pnpm install -
Start the application:
$ pnpm run serve:backend
This will open the Electron app in a separate window, while the Angular dev server will run at http://localhost:4200.
The equivalent Nx command is:
$ nx serve electron-backend
To start Electron with an empty, isolated data directory instead of your normal
~/.iptvnator folder, set IPTVNATOR_E2E_DATA_DIR for that run:
$ rm -rf .tmp/iptvnator-empty && mkdir -p .tmp/iptvnator-empty
$ IPTVNATOR_E2E_DATA_DIR="$PWD/.tmp/iptvnator-empty" pnpm run serve:backend
This redirects the SQLite database, Electron user data, and local config under the given directory. Delete that directory whenever you want a fresh empty state.
If you need startup diagnostics for a white screen or a frozen route, you can also turn on opt-in Electron tracing. These logs are written to the Electron terminal output so they still help when the renderer DevTools never open:
$ IPTVNATOR_TRACE_STARTUP=1 pnpm run serve:backend
Nx equivalent:
$ IPTVNATOR_TRACE_STARTUP=1 nx serve electron-backend
Useful narrower flags:
IPTVNATOR_TRACE_IPC=1logs rendererwindow.electron.*calls reaching the Electron bridgeIPTVNATOR_TRACE_DB=1logs DB worker requests and request-scoped DB eventsIPTVNATOR_TRACE_SQL=1logs SQLite statements in both the main connection and DB worker connectionIPTVNATOR_TRACE_WINDOW=1logs BrowserWindow load, navigation, and unresponsive eventsIPTVNATOR_TRACE_RENDERER_CONSOLE=1mirrors renderer console messages into the Electron terminal output
Security-sensitive network compatibility flags are opt-in:
IPTVNATOR_ALLOW_PRIVATE_NETWORK_URLS=1permits strict EPG fetches from playlist metadata (x-tvg-url,url-tvg, ortvg-url) to resolve to localhost, LAN, or other private addresses. Directly configured Xtream/Stalker portals and private playlist servers remain supported without this flag. Prefer the in-app source-scoped “Allow source” action for a trusted EPG URL.IPTVNATOR_ALLOW_INSECURE_TLS=1disables certificate validation for remote playlist imports and refreshes for the whole Electron process. Prefer the in-app host-scoped trust action for a trusted provider with a self-signed or otherwise invalid certificate.
If the local Nx daemon gets into a bad state before rerunning Electron, reset it:
$ pnpm nx reset
To run only the Angular app without Electron, use:
$ pnpm run serve:frontend
Disclaimer
IPTVnator doesn't provide any playlists or other digital content.
Trademark
The name "IPTVnator" and the IPTVnator logo are unregistered trademarks of the project owner. The MIT license covers the source code only — it does not grant rights to the name or logo. Forks and redistributions (including app-store submissions) must use a different name and their own icon. See TRADEMARK.md for details.
