Update README and server code to support external media hosting via MEDIA_BASE_URL

README.md

@@ -30,7 +30,8 @@ data/<POST_ID>/<FILENAME>.mp4
 - Base filenames must match. Extra sidecars (`.raw.txt`, `.mp4.json`, images) are ignored.
 - The JSON structure is tolerant but expects keys: `meta`, `items`, `quiz`, `ui_hints` (additional fields are ignored).
 - `entry_id` is the path from `data/` to the mp4 **without** the `.mp4` extension (e.g., `C1abc/12345`). It is URL-encoded in routes/query params.
-- Videos are served statically at `/data/...` by the backend; JSON is only accessible through the API.
+- Videos are served statically at `/data/...` by the backend by default; JSON is only accessible through the API.
+- To host media elsewhere (e.g., a CDN), set `MEDIA_BASE_URL` to the base URL of your `data` directory (e.g., `https://www.victorgiers.com/japanischvideos/data`). Video links will point there; JSON files still need to be present locally for scanning.
 
 ## API
 - `GET /api/entries` → list of entries `{ id, title, mode, type, counts, video_url }`, sorted by title.

server/src/index.ts

@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@ import { z } from 'zod';
 
 const DEFAULT_DATA_ROOT = path.resolve(__dirname, '..', '..', 'data');
 const DATA_ROOT = process.env.DATA_ROOT ? path.resolve(process.env.DATA_ROOT) : DEFAULT_DATA_ROOT;
+const MEDIA_BASE_URL = process.env.MEDIA_BASE_URL || '/data';
+const CLIENT_DIST = path.resolve(__dirname, '..', '..', 'client', 'dist');
 
 const metaSchema = z
   .object({
@@ -127,7 +129,8 @@ function buildVideoUrl(id: string) {
     .filter(Boolean)
     .map((segment) => encodeURIComponent(segment))
     .join('/');
-  return `/data/${encoded}.mp4`;
+  const base = MEDIA_BASE_URL.replace(/\/+$/, '');
+  return `${base}/${encoded}.mp4`;
 }
 
 function computeCounts(items: EntryData['items'], quiz: EntryData['quiz']) {
@@ -185,27 +188,23 @@ async function loadEntries() {
     return;
   }
 
-  const mp4Paths = await glob('**/*.mp4', { cwd: DATA_ROOT, absolute: true });
+  const jsonPaths = await glob('**/*.json', { cwd: DATA_ROOT, absolute: true });
-  for (const mp4Path of mp4Paths) {
+  for (const quizJsonPath of jsonPaths) {
-    const resolvedMp4 = path.resolve(mp4Path);
+    if (quizJsonPath.endsWith('.mp4.json')) {
-    if (!ensureWithinDataRoot(resolvedMp4)) {
+      // skip instagram metadata files
       continue;
     }
 
-    const dir = path.dirname(resolvedMp4);
+    const resolvedJson = path.resolve(quizJsonPath);
-    const baseName = path.basename(resolvedMp4, '.mp4');
-    const jsonPath = path.join(dir, `${baseName}.json`);
-    const mp4MetaPath = path.join(dir, `${baseName}.mp4.json`);
-
-    if (!(await fileExists(jsonPath))) {
-      continue;
-    }
-
-    const resolvedJson = path.resolve(jsonPath);
     if (!ensureWithinDataRoot(resolvedJson)) {
       continue;
     }
 
+    const dir = path.dirname(resolvedJson);
+    const baseName = path.basename(resolvedJson, '.json');
+    const resolvedMp4 = path.join(dir, `${baseName}.mp4`);
+    const mp4MetaPath = path.join(dir, `${baseName}.mp4.json`);
+
     let igMeta: EntryRecord['igMeta'];
     const resolvedMp4Meta = path.resolve(mp4MetaPath);
     if (await fileExists(resolvedMp4Meta)) {
@@ -234,8 +233,8 @@ async function loadEntries() {
       parsed = entrySchema.parse({});
     }
 
-    const relative = path.relative(DATA_ROOT, resolvedMp4);
+    const relative = path.relative(DATA_ROOT, resolvedJson);
-    const id = toPosixId(relative.replace(/\.mp4$/i, ''));
+    const id = toPosixId(relative.replace(/\.json$/i, ''));
     const title = parsed.meta?.title_en?.trim() || baseName;
     const video_url = buildVideoUrl(id);
     const counts = computeCounts(parsed.items || { grammar: [], vocab: [], conversation: [], key_phrases: [] }, parsed.quiz || []);
@@ -280,11 +279,10 @@ async function main() {
 
   app.disable('x-powered-by');
 
+  // Serve local data only when MEDIA_BASE_URL points to the local /data path
+  if (MEDIA_BASE_URL === '/data') {
     app.use('/data', express.static(DATA_ROOT));
-
+  }
-  app.get('/', (_req, res) => {
-    res.type('text/plain').send('IG Japanese Quizzer backend is running. See /api/entries.');
-  });
 
   app.get('/api/entries', (_req, res) => {
     const entries = Array.from(entryIndex.values())
@@ -366,6 +364,17 @@ async function main() {
     }
   });
 
+  const hasClient = await fileExists(path.join(CLIENT_DIST, 'index.html'));
+  if (hasClient) {
+    app.use(express.static(CLIENT_DIST));
+    app.get('*', (req, res, next) => {
+      if (req.path.startsWith('/api')) return next();
+      res.sendFile(path.join(CLIENT_DIST, 'index.html'));
+    });
+  } else {
+    console.warn('Client dist not found; only API will be served.');
+  }
+
   app.listen(port, () => {
     console.log(`Server listening on http://localhost:${port}`);
     console.log(`Data root: ${DATA_ROOT}`);