Navigation Guide - roto31/EXStreamTV GitHub Wiki

EXStreamTV Navigation Guide

A complete reference guide for navigating the EXStreamTV platform. This guide covers every menu item and feature available in the web interface.

The EXStreamTV dashboard with the reorganized sidebar navigation

Getting Started
Interface Overview
Top-Level Navigation
Channels Group
Content Group
Scheduling Group
Integrations Group
System Group
Help Group
Diagnostics Group
Developer Section
Quick Access Menu

Getting Started

When you first access EXStreamTV, you'll be greeted by the Dashboard - your central hub for monitoring channels, streams, and system status.

First Login Checklist

Connect a Media Source - Go to Integrations > Media Sources to connect Plex, Jellyfin, or local folders
Create Your First Channel - Use Channels > Manage Channels or try AI Create Channel for guided setup
Configure Streaming - Set up FFmpeg and HDHomeRun settings in the System section
Test Your Setup - Use Diagnostics > Test Stream to verify everything works

Interface Overview

The EXStreamTV interface consists of three main areas:

1. Header Bar

Located at the top of every page:

Menu Button (hamburger icon) - Toggle the sidebar on mobile devices
Quick Launch - Fast access to common actions and channels
Theme Toggle - Switch between light and dark modes

2. Sidebar Navigation

The left sidebar contains all navigation organized into logical groups. Each group has a header title and expandable content.

The complete sidebar showing all navigation groups

3. Main Content Area

The central area where page content is displayed. This changes based on your current location in the app.

Top-Level Navigation

These items appear at the very top of the sidebar and provide quick access to the most commonly used features.

Dashboard

Icon: 📊 | Path: /

Your home base in EXStreamTV. The dashboard displays:

Quick Stats - Channel count, media items, active streams, schedule items
Active Streams - Currently playing channels with viewer counts
Quick Actions - Fast links to common tasks
Library Breakdown - Overview of your media sources
Activity Feed - Recent system events and changes
System Monitor - CPU, memory, and disk usage

Player

Icon: ▶️ | Path: /player

The built-in video player for previewing channels:

Live channel playback
Channel switching via dropdown or quick launch
Playback controls (play, pause, volume)
Full-screen mode support

Channels Group

Everything related to creating and managing your TV channels.

The channels management page with Add Channel and AI Create buttons

Manage Channels

Icon: 📺 | Path: /channels

The main channel management interface:

View all channels - See channel number, name, logo, group, and status
Create channels - Click "Add Channel" for manual creation
Edit channels - Modify name, number, logo, group assignment
Enable/Disable - Toggle channels on or off
Delete channels - Remove channels you no longer need
Preview - Quick preview of channel playback

Toolbar Options:

Add Channel - Create a new channel manually
AI Create - Use AI-powered guided channel creation
Show Disabled - Toggle visibility of disabled channels

AI Create Channel

Icon: 🤖 | Path: /api/ai/channel

The AI-powered channel creation wizard. Chat with "Max Sterling," a virtual TV programming executive who helps you:

The AI Channel Creator interface with Max Sterling

Define your channel concept through natural conversation
Set up scheduling (primetime, daytime, special blocks)
Configure commercial breaks and filler content
Choose content from your media libraries
Generate complex schedules automatically

Best for: Complex channels with scheduling, themed programming, or when you want guidance on best practices.

Import Channels

Icon: ⬆️ | Path: /import

Import channels from other platforms:

ErsatzTV - Migrate existing ErsatzTV configurations
Other StreamTV instances - Import from backup files
Configuration files - Load JSON/YAML channel definitions

Import M3U

Icon: 📋 | Path: /import/m3u

Import channels from M3U playlists:

Paste M3U playlist URLs or content
Map imported channels to local media
Configure channel properties during import
Support for IPTV playlist formats

Content Group

Manage your media content, playlists, and collections.

Media Items

Icon: 📹 | Path: /media

Browse and manage all media in your connected libraries:

Filter by type - Movies, TV Shows, Episodes, Music Videos
Search - Find specific titles across all sources
View details - Duration, resolution, codec information
Manual refresh - Update metadata for specific items

Playlists

Icon: 📋 | Path: /playlists

Create and manage playlists of media:

Create playlists - Manually curated content lists
Reorder items - Drag and drop to arrange playback order
Assign to channels - Use playlists as channel content sources
Smart playlists - Auto-updating based on criteria

Collections

Icon: 🗂️ | Path: /collections

Organize media into logical collections:

Smart Collections - Auto-populate based on filters (genre, year, etc.)
Manual Collections - Hand-picked content groupings
Use in scheduling - Assign collections to schedule blocks

Libraries

Icon: 📚 | Path: /libraries

Manage connections to your media libraries:

View connected libraries - See all sources and their status
Refresh libraries - Trigger a rescan of media
Library statistics - Item counts, last scan time
Configure mappings - Map remote paths to local paths

Scheduling Group

Control when and how content plays on your channels.

Playouts

Icon: ⏯️ | Path: /playouts

Active playback configurations connecting channels to schedules:

View active playouts - See what's currently playing
Create playouts - Link a channel to a schedule
Playout modes - Continuous, scheduled, or looping
Anchor points - Control episode progression

Schedules

Icon: ⏰ | Path: /schedules

Time-based programming schedules:

Create schedules - Define when content plays
Schedule items - Add content to specific time slots
Recurring patterns - Set up daily, weekly schedules
Preview timeline - Visual schedule representation

Blocks

Icon: 📊 | Path: /blocks

Programming blocks for schedule templates:

Create blocks - Define themed content groupings (e.g., "Saturday Morning Cartoons")
Set duration - Define block length
Content rules - What types of content to include
Shuffle options - Randomize within blocks

Templates

Icon: 📄 | Path: /templates

Reusable schedule templates:

Create templates - Design standard day layouts
Apply to schedules - Use templates as starting points
Clone and modify - Create variations easily

Filler Presets

Icon: 🎬 | Path: /filler-presets

Configure commercial breaks and filler content:

Create presets - Define filler content rules
Duration settings - How long between content
Source selection - Which content to use as filler
Period-appropriate options - Match content era

Deco

Icon: ✨ | Path: /deco

Channel branding and overlays:

Watermarks - Add channel logos
Bumpers - Intro/outro content
Overlays - On-screen graphics
Positioning - Control placement of elements

Integrations Group

Connect external services and media sources.

Plex API

Icon: 🔗 | Path: /settings/plex

Configure Plex Media Server connection:

Server URL - Your Plex server address
Authentication - Plex token configuration
Library selection - Choose which libraries to use
Path mapping - Map Plex paths to local paths

Media Sources

Icon: 🖼️ | Path: /settings/media-sources

Manage all media source connections:

Add sources - Connect Plex, Jellyfin, Emby, or local folders
Test connections - Verify sources are accessible
Configure priorities - Set source preferences
Manage credentials - Update authentication

Archive.org

Icon: 📦 | Path: /api/auth/archive-org

Connect to Internet Archive:

Authentication - Log in with Archive.org account
Access public domain content - Classic TV, movies, commercials
Prelinger Collection - Vintage commercials and films

YouTube

Icon: 📺 | Path: /api/auth/youtube

Connect YouTube for additional content:

OAuth authentication - Secure login
Playlist access - Use YouTube playlists in channels
Search integration - Find content by query

System Group

Core system configuration and settings.

FFmpeg

Icon: ⚙️ | Path: /settings/ffmpeg

Video transcoding settings:

FFmpeg path - Location of FFmpeg binary
Hardware acceleration - Enable GPU encoding (VideoToolbox, NVENC, etc.)
Default profiles - Output quality presets
Advanced options - Custom encoding parameters

HDHomeRun

Icon: 📡 | Path: /settings/hdhr

Virtual HDHomeRun tuner configuration:

Enable/disable - Toggle virtual tuner
Tuner count - Number of simultaneous streams
Device ID - Virtual device identifier
Network settings - Broadcast address configuration

Playout Settings

Icon: 🎛️ | Path: /settings/playout

Global playback settings:

Buffer settings - Stream buffering configuration
Error handling - What to do on playback errors
Transition options - Content transition behavior
Default behaviors - System-wide playout defaults

Quick Launch

Icon: 📱 | Path: /settings/quick-launch

Customize the Quick Launch menu:

Enable/disable items - Choose what appears
Reorder items - Set your preferred order
Channel shortcuts - Add favorite channels
Reset to defaults - Restore original configuration

Help Group

Documentation and system health.

Documentation

Icon: 📚 | Dropdown menu

Access to all guides and documentation:

Quick Start - Get up and running fast
Beginner Guide - Comprehensive introduction
Navigation Guide - This document
Channel Creation - How to create channels
Installation Guide - Setup instructions
Troubleshooting - Common issues and solutions

Health Check

Icon: 🏥 | Path: /health-check

System diagnostics and status:

Service status - Check all components
Configuration validation - Verify settings
Resource usage - Memory, CPU, disk
Connectivity tests - Verify external connections

Diagnostics Group

Troubleshooting and testing tools.

Streaming Logs

Icon: 💻 | Path: /logs

Real-time streaming activity logs:

Live log stream - See events as they happen
Filter by level - Error, warning, info, debug
Search logs - Find specific events
Export logs - Download for analysis

Plex Server Logs

Icon: 📺 | Path: /plex-logs

View Plex Media Server logs:

Plex activity - Transcoding, playback events
Error tracking - Identify Plex issues
Filter and search - Find relevant entries

AI Troubleshooting

Icon: 🧠 | Path: /ollama

AI-powered error analysis:

Automatic analysis - AI interprets error messages
Fix suggestions - Recommended solutions
Learn from patterns - Improves over time
Requires Ollama - Local AI model installation

Test Stream

Icon: 📹 | Path: /test-stream

Test channel playback:

Select channel - Choose what to test
View output - See actual stream
Debug information - Detailed playback data
Error reporting - Identify issues

Developer Section

Advanced tools for developers (hidden by default).

Enabling Developer Tools

Developer tools are hidden by default. To enable:

Open browser console (F12 or Cmd+Option+I)
Run: toggleDevTools(true)
The Developer section will appear in the sidebar

Or enable permanently:

localStorage.setItem('showDevTools', 'true')

API Documentation

Icon: 🔌 | Path: /docs | Opens in new tab

Interactive Swagger UI for the API:

Explore endpoints - See all available APIs
Try requests - Test API calls directly
View schemas - Request/response formats
Authentication info - How to authenticate

ReDoc

Icon: 📰 | Path: /redoc | Opens in new tab

Alternative API documentation view:

Clean layout - Easy-to-read format
Search - Find endpoints quickly
Code examples - Sample requests

Quick Access Menu

The Quick Access menu provides fast access to common features without navigating through the sidebar.

Accessing Quick Access

Click the Quick Launch button in the header bar (shows "Quick Launch" with dropdown arrow).

Default Quick Access Items

All Channels - Go to channel management
AI Create Channel - Start AI channel creation
Schedules - View and edit schedules
Import - Import channels
M3U Playlist - Download M3U file (external link)
XMLTV EPG - Download EPG file (external link)
Settings - System settings
Health Check - System diagnostics

Customizing Quick Access

Go to System > Quick Launch to:

Add or remove menu items
Reorder items by priority
Add channel shortcuts
Configure which channels appear

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
`Esc`	Close modals and dialogs
`/`	Focus search (on supported pages)
`?`	Show help (on supported pages)

Getting Help

If you need assistance:

Check the Documentation - Help > Documentation
Run Health Check - Help > Health Check
Use AI Troubleshooting - Diagnostics > AI Troubleshooting
View Logs - Diagnostics > Streaming Logs

Last updated: January 2026

Last Revised: 2026-03-01