[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](https://github.com/Chocobozzz/PeerTube/tree/develop/shared/models/activitypub).
  * All the requests are retried several times if they fail.
  * The maximum of points would be defined.

### 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
	1	# Architecture
	2
	3	## Vocabulary
	4
	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).
	11
	12	## Base
	13
	14	### Communications
	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
	21	directory](https://github.com/Chocobozzz/PeerTube/tree/develop/shared/models/activitypub).
	22	* All the requests are retried several times if they fail.
	23	* The maximum of points would be defined.
	24
	25	### Instance
	26	* An instance has a websocket tracker which is responsible for all the video
	27	uploaded in it.
	28	* An instance has an administrator that can follow other instances.
	29	* An instance can be configured to follow back automatically.
	30	* An instance can blacklist other instances (only used in "follow back"
	31	mode).
	32	* An instance cannot choose which other instances follow it, but it can
	33	decide to reject all followers.
	34	* After having uploaded a video, the instance seeds it (WebSeed protocol).
	35	* If a user wants to watch a video, they ask its instance the magnet URI and
	36	the frontend adds the torrent (with WebTorrent), creates the HTML5 video
	37	player and streams the file into it.
	38	* A user watching a video seeds it too (BitTorrent). Thus another user who is
	39	watching the same video can get the data from the origin server and other
	40	users watching it.