[github/Chocobozzz/PeerTube.git] / ARCHITECTURE.md

# Architecture

## Vocabulary

  - **Fediverse:** several servers following each others.
  - **Instance:** a server which runs PeerTube in the fediverse.
  - **Origin instance:** the instance on which the video was uploaded and which
    is seeding (through the WebSeed protocol) the video.
  - **Following:** the action of a PeerTube instance which will follow another
    instance (subscribe to its videos).

## Base

### Communications
  * All the communication between the instances are signed with [Linked Data
    Signatures](https://w3c-dvcg.github.io/ld-signatures/) with the private key
    of the account that authored the action.
  * We use the [ActivityPub](https://www.w3.org/TR/activitypub/) protocol (only
    server-server for now). Object models could be found in
    [shared/models/activitypub
    directory](/shared/models/activitypub).
  * All the requests are retried several times if they fail.

### Instance
  * An instance has a websocket tracker which is responsible for all the video
    uploaded in it.
  * An instance has an administrator that can follow other instances.
  * An instance can be configured to follow back automatically.
  * An instance can blacklist other instances (only used in "follow back"
    mode).
  * An instance cannot choose which other instances follow it, but it can
    decide to **reject all** followers.
  * After having uploaded a video, the instance seeds it (WebSeed protocol).
  * If a user wants to watch a video, they ask its instance the magnet URI and
    the frontend adds the torrent (with WebTorrent), creates the HTML5 video
    player and streams the file into it.
  * A user watching a video seeds it too (BitTorrent). Thus another user who is
    watching the same video can get the data from the origin server and other
    users watching it.
Commit	Line	Data
fcaf1e0a	1	# Architecture
8c308c2b C	2
	3	## Vocabulary
	4
e755a63a BB	5	- Fediverse: several servers following each others.
	6	- Instance: a server which runs PeerTube in the fediverse.
	7	- Origin instance: the instance on which the video was uploaded and which
	8	is seeding (through the WebSeed protocol) the video.
	9	- Following: the action of a PeerTube instance which will follow another
	10	instance (subscribe to its videos).
8c308c2b C	11
	12	## Base
	13
8c308c2b	14	### Communications
e755a63a BB	15	* All the communication between the instances are signed with [Linked Data
	16	Signatures](https://w3c-dvcg.github.io/ld-signatures/) with the private key
	17	of the account that authored the action.
	18	* We use the [ActivityPub](https://www.w3.org/TR/activitypub/) protocol (only
	19	server-server for now). Object models could be found in
	20	[shared/models/activitypub
63bfad7e	21	directory](/shared/models/activitypub).
e755a63a	22	* All the requests are retried several times if they fail.
55e0591c	23
fcaf1e0a	24	### Instance
e755a63a BB	25	* An instance has a websocket tracker which is responsible for all the video
	26	uploaded in it.
	27	* An instance has an administrator that can follow other instances.
	28	* An instance can be configured to follow back automatically.
	29	* An instance can blacklist other instances (only used in "follow back"
	30	mode).
	31	* An instance cannot choose which other instances follow it, but it can
	32	decide to reject all followers.
	33	* After having uploaded a video, the instance seeds it (WebSeed protocol).
	34	* If a user wants to watch a video, they ask its instance the magnet URI and
	35	the frontend adds the torrent (with WebTorrent), creates the HTML5 video
	36	player and streams the file into it.
	37	* A user watching a video seeds it too (BitTorrent). Thus another user who is
	38	watching the same video can get the data from the origin server and other
	39	users watching it.