gander/README.md

Team 11 - Gander - Live Streaming Platform

Overview and Purpose

Gander is a live streaming platform created as a 3rd year team software project as part of UCC's Computer Science degree. It provides a source of entertainment and a community for users with similar interests. Users can watch live streams from other users, whether gaming or IRL, or broadcast their own content. By clicking the "Go Live" button, a logged-in user is presented with a dashboard where they can set their stream's title, category, and thumbnail. Users watching a live stream can interact with other viewers and the streamer through a live chat. Users can also subscribe to their favourite streamers via the Stripe API on a monthly basis.

Access Control Levels

The platform implements three-tier access control:

1. No Access (Non-authenticated Users)

   • View live streams
   • Browse available content

2. Regular Access (Authenticated Users)

   • All features available to non-authenticated users
   • Donate to streamers through Stripe integration
   • Interact with streams through comments
   • Follow other users
   • Become a content creator and start streaming

3. Admin Access

   • Full platform management capabilities
   • Content moderation tools
   • User account management
   • System configuration controls

Technical Stack

Frontend

• React with TypeScript for type safety
• Tailwind CSS for styling
• Video.js for stream playback
• Stripe integration for payment processing

Backend

• Python with Flask web framework
• SQLite database for data persistence
• Flask-Session for user session management
• Nginx RTMP module for stream handling

Infrastructure

• Docker for containerization and deployment
• Docker Compose for multi-container orchestration
• Nginx for reverse proxy and RTMP streaming server
• Microservices architecture

Development

This project was maintained on GitHub, with all team members contributing through version control. The team followed collaborative development practices including regular code reviews and feature branches.

Future Development

Development on Gander has concluded. Potential extensions that were not implemented include:

• User Profiles: Customizable profiles showcasing streaming history, followers, and personal information.
• Enhanced Chat Features: Emojis, chat moderation tools, and the ability to pin messages during live streams.
• Mobile Application: A mobile app built with React Native to allow users to watch and stream on the go.
• Monetization Options: Additional revenue streams for content creators, such as merchandise sales or one-time donations.
• Analytics Dashboard: A dashboard for streamers to track viewership, engagement metrics, and revenue over time.

Running the Project

Pre-requisites:

• Docker (includes Docker Compose)
• Node.js & npm (optional, for local frontend development)

Steps:

1. Rename the following .env.example files to .env and fill in the required values:

   • frontend/.env.example — React frontend variables
   • web_server/.env.example — Flask backend variables

2. Start all services with Docker Compose:

   docker compose up --build
   

   Note: Older versions of Docker use docker-compose (with a hyphen) instead of docker compose (with a space).

3. Access the frontend at localhost:8080 in your browser. Note that the terminal output from Vite will show localhost:5173 — this is the internal container port. Nginx exposes the application on port 8080.