Family Video Archive

A private family web archive for storing links to YouTube videos, photos, and Google Photos albums. Each member can add their own media and control who can see it. Live demo: https://serwer440097.lh.pl

Requirements

• PHP 7.4+ with extensions: pdo_mysql, gd, exif
• MySQL 5.7+ / MariaDB 10.3+
• Shared hosting or any web server (no composer, no Docker needed)

Installation

1. Upload files

Upload all files to your web server (e.g. via FTP or Git).

2. Create the database

Create a MySQL database in your hosting control panel.

3. Configure

Copy config.example.php to config.php and fill in your values:

define('DB_HOST',     'localhost');
define('DB_NAME',     'your_db_name');
define('DB_USER',     'your_db_user');
define('DB_PASS',     'your_db_password');
define('SITE_NAME',   'Our Archive');           // Your archive name
define('SITE_URL',    'https://your-domain.com'); // No trailing slash
define('SECRET_KEY',  'random-string-here');    // Any random string
define('YOUTUBE_API_KEY', 'your_api_key');      // Optional, see below

// Telegram bot (optional — leave empty to disable)
define('TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN',    '');
define('TELEGRAM_BOT_USERNAME', '');
define('TELEGRAM_MODE',         'poll');         // 'poll' recommended for shared hosting
define('TELEGRAM_POLL_KEY',     'random-string-here');

YouTube API key (optional): get a free key at Google Cloud Console. Enables auto-filling video title and description when adding videos.

4. Set folder permissions

Make sure uploads/thumbnails/ is writable by the web server (chmod 755).

5. Run the installer

Open https://your-site.com/install.php in your browser. The installer will:

• Check the environment
• Create all database tables
• Create the first administrator account

After successful installation you can delete install.php from the server (the installer will offer to do this automatically).

6. Invite family members

Log in as administrator → go to Family management → create invite codes and send them to family members. Each member registers using their 6-digit code.

7. Set up Telegram bot (optional)

To enable instant Telegram notifications when new videos, events, media or comments are added:

1. Create a bot via @BotFather in Telegram (/newbot)
2. Copy the token and bot username into config.php
3. Set TELEGRAM_MODE to 'poll' (recommended for shared hosting) and set a random TELEGRAM_POLL_KEY
4. Add a cron job in your hosting control panel to run every 1–5 minutes:

   https://your-domain.com/telegram_poll.php?key=YOUR_TELEGRAM_POLL_KEY
   

   On LH.pl: Hosting panel → Cron jobs → add URL, interval e.g. */5 * * * *
5. Each family member connects their Telegram account in their Profile page → Connect Telegram

Note: Notifications are sent instantly when content is created — the cron job is only needed to process bot commands (/start, /stop) from users.

Features

• 🎬 YouTube video catalog (unlisted videos supported)
• 🖼 Photo and album links (Google Photos auto-preview)
• 📅 Events — shared pages combining videos, photos, and links
• 👥 Video participants (archive members + external people)
• 🔔 "What's new" bell — shows additions since last visit
• 💬 Comments on videos and events
• 🤖 Telegram bot — instant notifications for new content (optional)
• 🌍 Interface languages: English, German, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Ukrainian
• 🌗 Dark / light theme
• 🔒 Invite-only registration, access control per video/event/media
• 📱 Mobile-friendly (Bootstrap 5)

File structure

config.php              — DB credentials and site settings (not in git)
config.example.php      — config template
db.php                  — DB connection and all data functions
layout.php              — shared template, CSS, navigation
install.php             — first-run installer (delete after setup)
schema.sql              — full database schema
lang/                   — translation files (ru, en, uk, pl, es, pt, de)
uploads/thumbnails/     — generated preview images (not in git)

Tech stack

• PHP + MySQL (PDO), no frameworks
• Bootstrap 5
• No composer required