Opnshelf

Track what you watch and discover what others are watching. A personal media tracker built on the AT Protocol that keeps you in control of your data.

Logo masters, palette guidance, and the pre-launch clearance note live in design/branding.

Features

• Track Movies & TV Shows - Log movies and episodes you've watched with timestamps
• Custom Lists - Create and manage lists (Want to Watch, Favorites, Custom collections)
• Social Discovery - Follow friends and see what they're watching
• Release Calendar - Track upcoming releases and never miss a premiere
• Trakt Sync - Keep your history and collections in sync with Trakt.tv
• AT Protocol OAuth - Secure authentication with Bluesky/AT Protocol accounts
• Cross-Platform - Web app and mobile apps (iOS/Android) with synced data

Tech Stack

• Backend: NestJS + Prisma + PostgreSQL + AT Protocol (Tab)
• Web: React + TanStack Start (SSR) + TanStack Router + Vite + Tailwind CSS v4
• Mobile: Expo + React Native + Expo Router + Uniwind + local UI components
• Protocol: AT Protocol (decentralized storage via xyz.opnshelf.* lexicons)
• Design: Dynamic theming derived from poster colors
• Analytics: PostHog
• Monorepo: pnpm workspaces + Turbo

Project Structure

opnshelf/
├── apps/
│   ├── web/          # TanStack Start web app (port 3000)
│   └── mobile/       # Expo mobile app
├── backend/          # NestJS API (port 3001)
├── packages/
│   └── api/          # Shared API client (OpenAPI generated)
└── lexicons/         # AT Protocol record definitions

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Node.js 24+
• pnpm 11.1.2+
• Docker (for local Tab)

Setup

# Install dependencies
pnpm i

# Start PostgreSQL and Tab
docker-compose up -d

# Configure backend/.env
DATABASE_URL="postgresql://opnshelf:[email protected]:5432/opnshelf"
TMDB_API_KEY="your-tmdb-key"
TAB_URL="http://localhost:2480"
REDIS_URL="redis://127.0.0.1:6379"
TAB_ADMIN_PASSWORD="y29d6b572f17af0f150cd4b480bec85cf"

# Run migrations. This is `prisma migrate dev` against DATABASE_URL, so make
# sure backend/.env points at the local Postgres above, never at a hosted one.
pnpm prisma:migrate

# Start all services
pnpm dev

AT Protocol Lexicons

User data is stored as AT Protocol records in their personal repository:

• xyz.opnshelf.movie - Tracked movies
• xyz.opnshelf.episode - Tracked TV episodes
• xyz.opnshelf.list - Custom lists
• xyz.opnshelf.list.item - Items in lists
• xyz.opnshelf.rating - Ratings for movies/episodes
• xyz.opnshelf.review.like - Likes on reviews
• xyz.opnshelf.note - Notes attached to media
• xyz.opnshelf.mediaLink - Links between records and media
• xyz.opnshelf.follow - Social follows
• xyz.opnshelf.profile - User profiles

The backend subscribes to the AT Protocol firehose via Tab to index public records for social discovery.

Development Commands

# Individual services
pnpm dev:backend    # Backend API (port 3001)
pnpm dev:web        # Web app (port 3000)
pnpm dev:mobile     # Mobile app (Expo)

# Code quality
pnpm check          # Lint + format all packages
pnpm check:write    # Auto-fix issues
pnpm typecheck      # Type-check all packages

# Database
pnpm prisma:migrate
pnpm prisma:generate
pnpm generate:api   # Regenerate API client from OpenAPI

Testing the mobile app on a physical device

The native app authenticates via AT Protocol OAuth, which needs an HTTPS URL the phone can reach — localhost/LAN IPs won't work for the OAuth callback. The simplest way is a Cloudflare quick tunnel pointed at the local backend.

# 1. Start a quick tunnel to the backend (leave it running)
cloudflared tunnel --url http://localhost:3001
# → prints a URL like https://random-words.trycloudflare.com
#   (the API returns a transient 1101 error now and then — just rerun)

# 2. Point both env files at that URL, then restart the affected service:
#    backend/.env       BACKEND_PUBLIC_URL=https://random-words.trycloudflare.com   → restart backend
#    apps/mobile/.env   EXPO_PUBLIC_API_URL=https://random-words.trycloudflare.com  → restart `expo start`

Notes:

• Quick tunnels are ephemeral. The URL changes every time cloudflared restarts, so you must re-edit both env files and restart backend + Expo each time. For a stable URL, use a named tunnel with a DNS route instead.
• One auth domain at a time. The backend advertises a single BACKEND_PUBLIC_URL, and the login cookie binds to it. So you get a working session on either the tunnel (native mobile) or http://127.0.0.1:3001 (web browser) — not both at once. Switch BACKEND_PUBLIC_URL (and restart the backend) depending on which you're testing.
• CORS only allows the localhost web origins, which doesn't affect the native app (no browser origin check). eas.json keeps the 127.0.0.1 default — the tunnel URL belongs only in your local apps/mobile/.env.

Environment Variables

Backend (backend/.env)

Variable	Requirement	Purpose
NODE_ENV	Defaulted	Runtime mode; defaults to development.
PORT	Defaulted	HTTP listening port; defaults to 3001.
HOST	Defaulted	HTTP bind address; defaults to 0.0.0.0. Use 127.0.0.1 for a local-only server.
DATABASE_URL	Required in production	PostgreSQL connection string.
FEATURED_ADMIN_DID	Optional	Non-secret DID of the sole Featured Content editor; unset disables editorial access.
TMDB_API_KEY	Required in production	TMDB API key for catalogue reads.
PDS_URL	Required in production	Tranquil Personal Data Server URL.
PLC_DIRECTORY_URL	Optional	Override the PLC directory for an isolated local AT Protocol network; defaults to the public directory.
HANDLE_RESOLVER_URL	Optional	Optional trusted XRPC service for OAuth handle resolution; unset uses DNS and HTTPS resolution.
PDS_HANDLE_DOMAIN	Required in production	Handle domain served by the PDS.
PDS_ADMIN_IDENTIFIER	Required in production	PDS admin account used for account management.
PDS_ADMIN_PASSWORD	Required in production	PDS admin account password.
BACKEND_PUBLIC_URL	Required in production	Public API URL for OAuth callbacks and avatars.
BACKEND_URL	Optional	Legacy fallback base URL for avatar links.
FRONTEND_URL	Required in production	Web origin for CORS, redirects and notification links.
TAB_URL	Required in production	Tab ingestion service URL; local fallback is http://localhost:2480.

The table is generated from backend/src/config/env.schema.ts; run pnpm --filter backend run env:docs after changing the schema. Backend tests check it for drift. Empty values count as absent; supplied values are validated in every mode. Production requirements also apply to Staging, which runs NODE_ENV=production. Redis remains optional under ADR 0041. Local integrations may be disabled, but real local API usage still needs a database, TMDB and a PDS.

Validation runs before Nest boots and reports only missing/invalid variable names. The backend uses plain Zod so conditional production requirements, value-free aggregate errors and generated documentation share one schema. A typed global Nest provider replaces ConfigModule loading; no T3 wrapper is needed. Node 24 loads backend/.env when commands run in the backend workspace; already-set deployment variables take precedence.

TAB_URL and TAB_ADMIN_PASSWORD are canonical. For the transition release, TAP_URL and TAP_ADMIN_PASSWORD remain accepted with a deprecation warning; nonempty canonical values win. Before removing aliases in the following release, rename legacy variables on each Railway Server service to TAB_*, retaining the same environment-specific values/references. First verify a Staging deploy with its current names unchanged, then rename and verify again. Do not change the Tab service's own upstream variable names or share Tab between environments. Deployment and Railway changes require operator approval.

backend/.env.example provides local setup examples. Deployed values live in Railway service variables on the Server service and are never checked in.

Web (apps/web/.env)

Variable	Description
SSR_RATE_LIMIT_SECRET	Server-only shared Web/API signing secret, at least 32 characters. Leave unset until the trusted-edge verification passes; use separate values per environment
VITE_API_URL	Backend API URL
VITE_POSTHOG_KEY	PostHog analytics key
VITE_TURNSTILE_SITE_KEY	Cloudflare Turnstile site key for the signup captcha (public, domain-locked)

Mobile (apps/mobile/.env)

Variable	Description
EXPO_PUBLIC_API_URL	Backend API URL — the Cloudflare tunnel URL when testing on a device (see Testing the mobile app on a physical device)
EXPO_PUBLIC_TURNSTILE_SITE_KEY	Cloudflare Turnstile site key for the signup captcha
EXPO_PUBLIC_POSTHOG_KEY	PostHog analytics key

Test data

There is no seed script and no fixture database. Everything the API serves is indexed from AT Protocol records, so you get test data by producing records and letting the ingester index them:

1. docker-compose up -d starts a local Postgres (opnshelf/opnshelf on 5432) and a local Tab on 2480 filtered to xyz.opnshelf.*.
2. Point DATABASE_URL, TAB_URL and TAB_ADMIN_PASSWORD in backend/.env at those containers (the Quick Start values), run pnpm prisma:migrate, then pnpm dev.
3. Sign in on the Web App with an AT Protocol handle. On every sign-in and signup the backend calls IngesterService.addRepo(did) (backend/src/ingester/ingester.service.ts), Tab backfills that repo's history and streams new records over a WebSocket channel, and the ingester writes them to your local Postgres. Log a Watch or a Rating and it shows up in the database within seconds.

Things to know before you do that:

• PDS writes are real. The default PDS_URL is the production PDS, and there is no test PDS: Staging shares it too (ADR 0021). Anything you log from a local backend is a public record on that account and federates. Use a throwaway account or the Staging Account, not your own.
• Use your own Tab. Never point TAB_URL at Staging's or production's Tab. Tab channels share one cursor, so a second consumer acks events the real backend never sees (ADR 0021).
• Never migrate a hosted database from your machine. pnpm prisma:migrate is prisma migrate dev. Shared databases only ever get prisma migrate deploy, with explicit operator approval.
• No dumps. Do not copy Staging or production data locally; there is no sanctioned export, and none is needed for the flow above.
• TMDB_API_KEY is required for any Media Item to resolve. Get a free key from TMDB. Trakt Sync requires its configured client credentials.

External dependencies

Derived from the env var reads in backend/src and the client env modules. Deployed backend values are Railway service variables on the Server service, per environment; web values are Railway variables on the Web service; mobile values are baked in per EAS build profile (apps/mobile/eas.json env blocks). Locally they live in the .env files. Values themselves are never in the repo.

System	Purpose	Connection	Env vars
TMDB	Movie, show, season, episode and Person metadata; search; Discover sections	HTTPS to api.themoviedb.org/3 from backend/src/tmdb/tmdb-http.ts and the *-tmdb.service.ts files	TMDB_API_KEY
Trakt	Trakt Sync service	HTTPS to api.trakt.tv from backend/src/trakt-sync/trakt-sync.client.ts	TRAKT_API_KEY
Tranquil PDS	Hosts Opnshelf handles; OAuth sign-in; all xyz.opnshelf.* record writes; email verification. The backend signs in as a PDS admin to mint a single-use invite code per signup (com.atproto.server.createInviteCode)	AT Protocol OAuth and XRPC from backend/src/auth/auth.service.ts and backend/src/pds/tranquil-admin.service.ts. Runs in the separate opnshelf-pds Railway project (ADR 0019)	PDS_URL, PDS_HANDLE_DOMAIN, PDS_ADMIN_IDENTIFIER, PDS_ADMIN_PASSWORD, BACKEND_PUBLIC_URL
Tab	Indexes xyz.opnshelf.* records from tracked repos and delivers them to the backend	WebSocket channel via @atproto/tap from backend/src/ingester/ingester.service.ts; repos are added on sign-in and signup, events are acked only after indexing. Local: docker-compose. Deployed: one tap service per environment, never shared (ADR 0021)	TAB_URL, TAB_ADMIN_PASSWORD
Cloudflare Turnstile	Human check before an invite code is minted at signup	Server-side verify against challenges.cloudflare.com in backend/src/pds/captcha.service.ts; widget in apps/web/src/components/TurnstileWidget.tsx and the Mobile App signup WebView	TURNSTILE_SECRET_KEY (backend), VITE_TURNSTILE_SITE_KEY (web), EXPO_PUBLIC_TURNSTILE_SITE_KEY (mobile)
Cloudflare Email Sending	Feedback notification email to an admin inbox (ADR 0007). The PDS sends its own mail through services/mail-relay	REST call from backend/src/email/email.service.ts, used by backend/src/feedback/feedback.service.ts

Testing a change

The verification matrix in AGENTS.md says which gates a change must pass; .github/workflows/ci.yml runs the same commands. Type and lint checks for every workspace:

pnpm typecheck
pnpm check

Each workspace's test script is vitest run. Run the whole suite, or a single file by passing its path to vitest directly:

# Backend (picks up src/**/*.spec.ts)
pnpm --filter backend run test
pnpm --filter backend exec vitest run src/auth/auth.guard.spec.ts

# Web (*.test.tsx under jsdom)
pnpm --filter web run test
pnpm --filter web exec vitest run src/components/StoreBadges.test.tsx

# Mobile (*.test.ts(x) with src/test/setup.ts)
pnpm --filter mobile run test
pnpm --filter mobile exec vitest run src/lib/relative-time.test.ts

Drop run from the vitest invocation for watch mode. Backend changes also need pnpm --filter backend run build; API contract changes need pnpm generate:api and a review of the generated diff.

To check a change against the real app, follow Test data, then pnpm dev. The Web App is on http://127.0.0.1:3000, the API on http://127.0.0.1:3001 with Swagger at /api. For the Mobile App on a device, see Testing the mobile app on a physical device.

Documentation

docs/README.md indexes the ADRs, product briefs, runbooks and implementation plans. Working rules are in AGENTS.md and vocabulary in GLOSSARY.md.

License

MIT