ClipBucket V5

ClipBucket V5 is a PHP‑based media streaming platform that emulates the core functionality of large video services while remaining lightweight enough for a single‑server deployment. From a developer’s standpoint, the application is engineered around an MVC architecture that separates presentation, business logic, and data access. The core engine is written in PHP 8.0‑8.4+ and leverages the PDO extension for database interactions, ensuring compatibility with MySQL 9+ in strict mode. All user‑generated content—videos, photos, subtitles—is stored in a relational schema that is fully migratable via an internal update engine, simplifying upgrades across production clusters.

Architecture & Technical Stack

• Language & Runtime: PHP 8.x, with a strong emphasis on type declarations and modern language features (match expressions, nullsafe operators).
• Framework: A custom lightweight MVC framework rather than a full‑blown stack, providing fine‑grained control over routing (routes.php) and templating (Twig‑like syntax).
• Database: MySQL 9+ with strict mode; optional support for MariaDB. The schema is split into modules—videos, photos, users, social, and settings.
• Media Processing: Uses FFmpeg (via command‑line wrappers) for MP4/HLS conversion, 4K/8K transcoding, and subtitle extraction.
• Caching: Optional Redis integration for session storage and query caching; falls back to file‑based cache when unavailable.
• Search & Indexing: ElasticSearch is not required; instead, MySQL full‑text indexes and a lightweight in‑memory cache provide search capabilities.

Core Capabilities & APIs

• Video & Photo Management: CRUD operations exposed through REST‑like endpoints (/api/videos, /api/photos) that accept multipart uploads, metadata, and tags.
• Social Features: Friend requests, private messaging, comments, likes, and group management are all available via AJAX endpoints.
• Playlist & Collection APIs: Developers can programmatically create nested collections and playlists, with recursive traversal support.
• External Integrations: Built‑in TMDB API wrapper for movie metadata, Chromecast support via the official Google Cast SDK, and optional Webhooks for event notifications.
• Localization: The admin panel exposes a language editor; translation files are JSON‑based and can be loaded at runtime.

Deployment & Infrastructure

ClipBucket is intentionally lightweight, requiring only a standard LAMP stack (Apache/Nginx + PHP + MySQL). Docker images are published on Docker Hub (oxygenz/clipbucket-v5), simplifying CI/CD pipelines. The container runs as a non‑root user, mounts a /data volume for media storage, and exposes configurable environment variables (DB_HOST, REDIS_URL). For scalability, the application can be paired with a CDN for media delivery and a reverse proxy (e.g., Nginx) to serve static assets, while the PHP process can be horizontally scaled using PHP‑FPM pools.

Integration & Extensibility

• Plugin System: A modular plugin architecture allows developers to hook into lifecycle events (onVideoUpload, onUserRegister) via PHP classes located in /plugins.
• Webhooks: External services can subscribe to events such as video.published or user.banned.
• Custom Themes: The templating engine supports theme overrides; developers can create their own Blade‑style templates without touching core code.
• SDKs & SDK Generation: While no official SDK exists, the API follows JSON‑REST conventions, enabling rapid client generation with tools like Swagger or Postman.

Developer Experience

• Documentation: The README and wiki provide a solid starting point, but deeper architectural docs are sparse; developers often rely on the source code and community Discord for guidance.
• Configuration: A single config.php file holds database credentials, site settings, and feature toggles.
• Community: An active Discord server offers real‑time support, and GitHub issues are used for feature requests and bug tracking.
• Testing: The repo includes PHPUnit tests covering core modules, but end‑to‑end testing is left to the developer.

Use Cases

1. Custom Video Portals: Start a niche video community (e.g., indie films, educational content) with full social features out of the box.
2. Educational Platforms: Host lecture recordings and allow students to comment, message, and create study playlists.
3. Corporate Intranet: Deploy an internal video hub for training, with age restrictions and role‑based access.
4. Photo + Video Galleries: Run a mixed media site for photographers who also wish to showcase short videos.

Advantages Over Alternatives

• Performance: Lightweight core and optional Redis caching keep memory footprints low compared to monolithic CMS solutions.
• Flexibility: Full access to the database schema and plugin hooks means developers can tailor every aspect of media handling.
• Licensing: Completely open source under the MIT license, allowing commercial use without royalties.
• Modern Tech Stack: PHP 8 compatibility ensures future‑proofness and access to performance improvements.
• Community & Support: A dedicated Discord channel and active GitHub