YouTube Clone Backend API

📖 Table of Contents

• Overview
• Tech Stack
• Features
• Quick Start
• Environment Variables
• API Documentation
  • Authentication
  • Users
  • Videos
  • Comments
  • Likes
  • Playlists
  • Tweets
  • Subscriptions
  • Dashboard
  • Health Check
• Error Handling
• Rate Limiting
• File Upload
• Testing
• Contributing

🚀 Overview

A robust, scalable backend API for a YouTube-like video sharing platform built with Node.js, Express.js, and MongoDB. This API provides comprehensive functionality including user authentication, video management, social features, and real-time interactions.

Key Highlights

• RESTful API Design - Clean, intuitive endpoints
• JWT Authentication - Secure token-based auth with refresh tokens
• File Upload & Cloud Storage - Cloudinary integration for media files
• Advanced Search & Filtering - Powerful video discovery features
• Social Features - Likes, comments, subscriptions, playlists
• Rate Limiting - Protection against abuse and spam
• Comprehensive Error Handling - Structured error responses
• Professional Documentation - Complete API reference

🛠️ Tech Stack

• Runtime: Node.js 18+
• Framework: Express.js
• Database: MongoDB with Mongoose ODM
• Authentication: JSON Web Tokens (JWT)
• File Storage: Cloudinary
• File Upload: Multer
• Security: bcrypt, express-rate-limit
• Validation: Custom middleware
• Environment: dotenv

✨ Features

Core Features

• 🔐 User Authentication & Authorization
• 🎥 Video Upload & Management
• 💬 Comments System
• 👍 Likes & Reactions
• 📝 Tweet-like Posts
• 📋 Playlist Management
• 👥 User Subscriptions
• 📊 Channel Analytics Dashboard

Advanced Features

• 🔍 Advanced Search & Filtering
• 📄 Pagination & Sorting
• 🚀 Rate Limiting & Security
• 📱 Responsive File Upload
• 🎯 View Tracking
• 🔄 Real-time Updates
• 📈 Performance Monitoring

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v18 or higher)
• MongoDB (local or Atlas)
• Cloudinary account
• npm or yarn

Installation

1. Clone the repository

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd youtube-clone-backend

2. Install dependencies

   npm install

3. Set up environment variables

   cp .env.sample .env

4. Configure your .env file (see Environment Variables)

5. Start the server

   # Development mode
   npm run dev
   
   # Production mode
   npm start

The server will start on http://localhost:8000

🔧 Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the root directory:

# Server Configuration
PORT=8000
NODE_ENV=development

# Database
MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/youtube-clone

# JWT Secrets
ACCESS_TOKEN_SECRET=your_access_token_secret
ACCESS_TOKEN_EXPIRY=1d
REFRESH_TOKEN_SECRET=your_refresh_token_secret
REFRESH_TOKEN_EXPIRY=7d

# Cloudinary Configuration
CLOUDINARY_CLOUD_NAME=your_cloud_name
CLOUDINARY_API_KEY=your_api_key
CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET=your_api_secret

# CORS
CORS_ORIGIN=http://localhost:3000

📚 API Documentation

Base URL: http://localhost:8000/api/v1

All API responses follow this structure:

{
  "statusCode": 200,
  "data": {...},
  "message": "Success message",
  "success": true
}

🔐 Authentication

Register User

POST /users/register

Body (multipart/form-data):

{
	"username": "johndoe",
	"email": "john@example.com",
	"fullName": "John Doe",
	"password": "password123",
	"avatar": "file (optional, max 2MB)",
	"coverImage": "file (optional, max 2MB)"
}

Response:

{
	"statusCode": 201,
	"data": {
		"user": {
			"_id": "user_id",
			"username": "johndoe",
			"email": "john@example.com",
			"fullName": "John Doe",
			"avatar": "cloudinary_url",
			"coverImage": "cloudinary_url"
		},
		"accessToken": "jwt_token",
		"refreshToken": "refresh_token"
	},
	"message": "User registered successfully"
}

Login User

POST /users/login

Body:

{
	"email": "john@example.com",
	"password": "password123"
}

Response:

{
  "statusCode": 200,
  "data": {
    "user": {...},
    "accessToken": "jwt_token",
    "refreshToken": "refresh_token"
  },
  "message": "User logged in successfully"
}

Logout User

DELETE /users/logout

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <access_token>

Response:

{
	"statusCode": 200,
	"data": {},
	"message": "User logged out successfully"
}

Refresh Access Token

POST /users/refresh-access-token

Body:

{
	"refreshToken": "refresh_token"
}

👤 Users

Get Current User

GET /users/get-current-user

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <access_token>

Update Account Details

PATCH /users/update-account-details

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <access_token>

Body:

{
	"fullName": "Updated Name",
	"email": "updated@example.com"
}

Update User Avatar

PATCH /users/update-user-avatar

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <access_token>

Body (multipart/form-data):

{
	"avatar": "file (required, max 2MB, JPEG/PNG/GIF/WebP)"
}

Update Cover Image

PATCH /users/update-user-cover-image

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <access_token>

Body (multipart/form-data):

{
	"coverImage": "file (required, max 2MB, JPEG/PNG/GIF/WebP)"
}

Change Password

PATCH /users/change-current-password

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <access_token>

Body:

{
	"oldPassword": "current_password",
	"newPassword": "new_password"
}

Get User Channel Profile

GET /users/channel/:username

Parameters:

• username (string, required) - Username of the channel

Response:

{
	"statusCode": 200,
	"data": {
		"channel": {
			"_id": "user_id",
			"username": "johndoe",
			"fullName": "John Doe",
			"avatar": "cloudinary_url",
			"coverImage": "cloudinary_url",
			"subscribersCount": 150,
			"videosCount": 25,
			"isSubscribed": false
		}
	},
	"message": "Channel profile fetched successfully"
}

Get Watch History

GET /users/get-user-watch-history

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <access_token>

Query Parameters:

• page (number, optional) - Page number (default: 1)
• limit (number, optional) - Items per page (default: 10)

🎥 Videos

Get All Videos

GET /videos

Query Parameters:

• page (number, optional) - Page number (default: 1)
• limit (number, optional) - Videos per page (default: 10, max: 100)
• keyword (string, optional) - Search in title/description
• sortBy (string, optional) - Sort by: 'createdAt', 'views', 'likesCount' (default: 'createdAt')
• sortType (string, optional) - Sort order: 'asc', 'desc' (default: 'desc')
• userId (string, optional) - Filter by user ID

Response:

{
	"statusCode": 200,
	"data": {
		"videos": [
			{
				"_id": "video_id",
				"title": "Video Title",
				"description": "Video Description",
				"videoFile": "cloudinary_url",
				"thumbnail": "cloudinary_url",
				"duration": 300,
				"views": 1250,
				"isPublished": true,
				"owner": {
					"_id": "user_id",
					"username": "johndoe",
					"fullName": "John Doe",
					"avatar": "cloudinary_url"
				},
				"createdAt": "2024-01-01T00:00:00.000Z"
			}
		],
		"pagination": {
			"currentPage": 1,
			"totalPages": 5,
			"totalVideos": 50,
			"hasNextPage": true,
			"hasPrevPage": false
		}
	},
	"message": "Videos fetched successfully"
}

Upload Video

POST /videos

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <access_token>

Body (multipart/form-data):

{
	"title": "My Video Title",
	"description": "Video description here",
	"videoFile": "file (required, max 100MB, MP4/AVI/MKV/MOV/WMV)",
	"thumbnail": "file (required, max 2MB, JPEG/PNG/GIF/WebP)"
}

Response:

{
	"statusCode": 201,
	"data": {
		"_id": "video_id",
		"title": "My Video Title",
		"description": "Video description here",
		"videoFile": "cloudinary_url",
		"thumbnail": "cloudinary_url",
		"duration": 0,
		"views": 0,
		"isPublished": false,
		"owner": "user_id",
		"createdAt": "2024-01-01T00:00:00.000Z"
	},
	"message": "Video uploaded successfully"
}

Get Video by ID

GET /videos/:videoId

Parameters:

• videoId (string, required) - Video ID

Response: Similar to video object above with like status and owner details

Update Video

PATCH /videos/:videoId

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <access_token>

Body (multipart/form-data):

{
	"title": "Updated Title",
	"description": "Updated Description",
	"thumbnail": "file (optional, max 2MB, JPEG/PNG/GIF/WebP)"
}

Delete Video

DELETE /videos/:videoId

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <access_token>

Toggle Publish Status

PATCH /videos/toggle/publish/:videoId

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <access_token>

💬 Comments

Get Video Comments

GET /comments/:videoId

Parameters:

• videoId (string, required) - Video ID

Query Parameters:

• page (number, optional) - Page number
• limit (number, optional) - Comments per page

Add Comment

POST /comments/:videoId

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <access_token>

Body:

{
	"content": "Great video! Thanks for sharing."
}

Update Comment

PATCH /comments/id/:commentId

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <access_token>

Body:

{
	"content": "Updated comment content"
}

Delete Comment

DELETE /comments/id/:commentId

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <access_token>

👍 Likes

Toggle Video Like

POST /likes/toggle/video/:videoId

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <access_token>

Toggle Comment Like

POST /likes/toggle/comment/:commentId

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <access_token>

Toggle Tweet Like

POST /likes/toggle/tweet/:tweetId

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <access_token>

Get Liked Videos

GET /likes/videos

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <access_token>

📋 Playlists

Create Playlist

POST /playlists

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <access_token>

Body:

{
	"name": "My Playlist",
	"description": "Playlist description",
	"isPublic": false
}

Get Playlist Videos

GET /playlists/:playlistId

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <access_token>

Update Playlist

PATCH /playlists/:playlistId

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <access_token>

Delete Playlist

DELETE /playlists/:playlistId

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <access_token>

Add Video to Playlist

PATCH /playlists/add/:videoId/:playlistId

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <access_token>

Remove Video from Playlist

PATCH /playlists/remove/:videoId/:playlistId

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <access_token>

Get User Playlists

GET /playlists/user/:userId

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <access_token>

🐦 Tweets

Create Tweet

POST /tweets

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <access_token>

Body:

{
	"content": "This is my tweet content (max 280 characters)"
}

Get User Tweets

GET /tweets/user/:userId

Update Tweet

PATCH /tweets/:tweetId

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <access_token>

Delete Tweet

DELETE /tweets/:tweetId

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <access_token>

👥 Subscriptions

Get Subscribed Channels

GET /subscriptions

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <access_token>

Get Channel Subscriber Count

GET /subscriptions/channel/:channelId

Toggle Subscription

POST /subscriptions/channel/:channelId

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <access_token>

Get Channel Subscribers

GET /subscriptions/user/:subscriberId

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <access_token>

📊 Dashboard

Get Channel Statistics

GET /dashboard/stats

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <access_token>

Response:

{
	"statusCode": 200,
	"data": {
		"totalVideos": 25,
		"totalViews": 10500,
		"totalSubscribers": 150,
		"totalLikes": 850,
		"totalComments": 320
	},
	"message": "Channel statistics fetched successfully"
}

Get Channel Videos

GET /dashboard/videos

Headers: Authorization: Bearer <access_token>

Query Parameters:

• page (number, optional) - Page number
• limit (number, optional) - Videos per page
• sortBy (string, optional) - Sort field
• sortType (string, optional) - Sort order

🏥 Health Check

Application Health

GET /healthcheck

Response:

{
	"statusCode": 200,
	"data": {
		"status": "OK",
		"timestamp": "2024-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
		"uptime": 3600,
		"environment": "development"
	},
	"message": "Service is healthy"
}

⚠️ Error Handling

All errors follow this structure:

{
	"statusCode": 400,
	"data": null,
	"message": "Error description",
	"success": false,
	"errors": [] // Additional error details if any
}

Common Error Codes:

• 400 - Bad Request (validation errors)
• 401 - Unauthorized (authentication required)
• 403 - Forbidden (insufficient permissions)
• 404 - Not Found (resource doesn't exist)
• 409 - Conflict (duplicate resource)
• 413 - Payload Too Large (file size exceeded)
• 429 - Too Many Requests (rate limit exceeded)
• 500 - Internal Server Error

🚫 Rate Limiting - NOT IMPLEMENTED YET

API endpoints are protected with rate limiting:

• General routes: 100 requests per 15 minutes per IP
• Auth routes: 5 requests per 15 minutes per IP
• Upload routes: 10 requests per 15 minutes per IP
• Search routes: 50 requests per 15 minutes per IP

Rate limit headers are included in responses:

X-RateLimit-Limit: 100
X-RateLimit-Remaining: 99
X-RateLimit-Reset: 1640995200

📁 File Upload

Supported Formats:

Images (avatars, thumbnails, covers):

• Formats: JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP
• Max size: 2MB

Videos:

• Formats: MP4, AVI, MKV, MOV, WMV
• Max size: 100MB

Upload Process:

1. Files are temporarily stored on server
2. Uploaded to Cloudinary cloud storage
3. Temporary files are automatically cleaned up
4. Database is updated with cloud URLs

🧪 Testing

# Run tests
npm test

# Run tests with coverage
npm run test:coverage

# Run tests in watch mode
npm run test:watch

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🆘 Support

For support, email sayankb.001@gmail.com or create an issue on GitHub.

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Built with ❤️ using Node.js, Express.js, and MongoDB