iptv/CONTRIBUTING.md

# Contributing Guide

Before submitting your contribution, please make sure to take a moment and read through the following guidelines:

- [Issue Reporting Guidelines](#issue-reporting-guidelines)
- [Pull Request Guidelines](#pull-request-guidelines)
- [Channel Description Scheme](#channel-description-scheme)
- [Project Structure](#project-structure)

## Issue Reporting Guidelines

### Feature Requests

If you have an idea how to improve the project create an [issue](https://github.com/iptv-org/iptv/issues/new?assignees=&labels=discussion&template=----feature-request.md&title=Propose%3A+xxx) with a detailed description of your idea.

### Request a Channel

To request a channel, create an [issue](https://github.com/iptv-org/iptv/issues/new?assignees=&labels=channel+request&template=------channel-request.md&title=Add%3A+xxx) and complete all details requested. (**IMPORTANT:** the issue should contain a request for only one channel, otherwise it will be closed immediately). Understand that our community of volunteers will try to help you, but if a public link cannot be found, there is little we can do.

### Report a Broken Stream

To report a broadcast that is not working, create an [issue](https://github.com/iptv-org/iptv/issues/new?assignees=&labels=broken+stream&template=----broken-stream.md&title=Fix%3A+xxx) with a description of the channel (**IMPORTANT:** an issue should contain a report for only one channel, otherwise it will be closed immediately).

### Request Channel Removal

Publish your DMCA notice somewhere and send us a link to it through this [form](https://github.com/iptv-org/iptv/issues/new?assignees=&labels=DMCA&template=--remove-channel.md&title=Remove%3A+xxx).

## Pull Request Guidelines

### Add or Replace a Stream

If you would like to replace a broken stream or add a new one, please do the following:

- make sure that the link you want to add works by using a program like [VLC media player](https://www.videolan.org/vlc/index.html)
- check if the channel is working outside your country by using a VPN or use a service like [streamtest.in](https://streamtest.in/)
- if the broadcast is not available outside of a certain country, add the label `[Geo-blocked]` to the end of the channel name
- find out from which country the channel is being broadcasted. This information can usually be found on [lyngsat.com](https://www.lyngsat.com/search.html) or [wikipedia.org](https://www.wikipedia.org/). If you are unable to determine which country the channel belongs to, add the channel onto the `channels/unsorted.m3u` playlist
- find the corresponding [ISO_3166-2 code](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3166-2) for the country
- open the `/channels` folder and find the file that has the same code in its name and open it
- if broken, find the broken link in this file and replace it with working one
- if new, at the very end of this file add a link to the channel with a description
- commit all changes and send a pull request

### Add a Category to a Channel

- select a channel that does not have a category specified
- find the file that contains the channel. You can use a [GitHub Search](https://github.com/search/advanced?q=CHANNEL_NAME+repo%3Aiptv-org%2Fiptv+path%3A%2Fchannels&type=Code) to do this
- find the desired channel in this file
- specify the appropriate category in the `group-title` attribute. A complete list of supported categories can be found [here](https://github.com/iptv-org/iptv#playlists-by-category)
- commit all changes and send a pull request

### Add a Language to a Channel

- select a channel that does not have a language specified
- find the file that contains the channel. You can use a [GitHub Search](https://github.com/search/advanced?q=CHANNEL_NAME+repo%3Aiptv-org%2Fiptv+path%3A%2Fchannels&type=Code) to do this.
- find the desired channel in this file
- specify the appropriate language in the `tvg-language` attribute. The name of the language must comply with the [ISO 639-3](https://iso639-3.sil.org/code_tables/639/data?title=&field_iso639_cd_st_mmbrshp_639_1_tid=94671&name_3=&field_iso639_element_scope_tid=All&field_iso639_language_type_tid=51&items_per_page=500) standard.
- commit all changes and send a pull request

If a channel is broadcasted in several languages at once, you can specify them all through a semicolon, like this:

```xml
#EXTINF:-1 tvg-language="English;Chinese",CCTV
http://example.com/cctv.m3u8
```

### Add a Country to a Channel

- select a channel that does not have a country specified
- find out in which country the channel is broadcast. This information can usually be found in the channel description on Wikipedia.
- find the corresponding [ISO_3166-2 code](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3166-2) corresponding to the country
- find the file that contains the channel. You can use a [GitHub Search](https://github.com/search/advanced?q=CHANNEL_NAME+repo%3Aiptv-org%2Fiptv+path%3A%2Fchannels&type=Code) to do this.
- find the desired channel in this file
- paste the country ISO_3166-2 code into `tvg-country` attribute of the channel description
- commit all changes and send a pull request

If a channel is broadcasted in several countries at once, you can specify them all through a semicolon, like this:

```xml
#EXTINF:-1 tvg-country="US;CA",CNN
http://example.com/cnn.m3u8
```

If a channel is broadcast for an entire region, you can use one of the [supported region code](https://github.com/iptv-org/iptv/blob/master/.readme/supported-region-codes.md) to avoid listing all countries. In this case the channel will be added to the playlists of all countries from that region.

In case the channel is broadcast worldwide you can use the code `INT`:

```xml
#EXTINF:-1 tvg-country="INT",CNN
http://example.com/cnn.m3u8
```

### Sort channels from `channels/unsorted.m3u`

- select any channel from [channels/unsorted.m3u](https://github.com/iptv-org/iptv/blob/master/channels/unsorted.m3u)
- find out the full name of the channel and from which country it is being broadcasted. This information can usually be found on [lyngsat.com](https://www.lyngsat.com/search.html) or [wikipedia.org](https://www.wikipedia.org/)
- update the channel name if necessary
- find the corresponding [ISO_3166-2 code](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3166-2) for the country
- open the `channels/` folder and find a file with the same name as the country code
- at the very end of this file add a link to the channel with a description
- commit all changes and send a pull request

### Update README.md

- open `.readme/template.md`
- make the necessary changes
- commit all changes and send a pull request

### Update this Guide

- open `.github/CONTRIBUTING.md`
- make the necessary changes
- commit all changes and send a pull request

## Channel Description Scheme

For a channel to be approved, its description must follow this template:

```
#EXTINF:-1 tvg-id="EPG_ID" tvg-name="EPG_NAME" tvg-country="COUNTRY" tvg-language="LANGUAGE" tvg-logo="LOGO_URL" group-title="CATEGORY",FULL_NAME STREAM_TIME_SHIFT (ALTERNATIVE_NAME) (STREAM_RESOLUTION) [STREAM_STATUS]
STREAM_URL
```

| Attribute           | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
| ------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `EPG_ID`            | Channel ID that is used to load EPG. Must match `id` from the EPG file. (optional)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
| `EPG_NAME`          | Channel name that is also sometimes used to load EPG. Must match `<display-name>` from the EPG file. (optional)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
| `COUNTRY`           | The code of the country in which the channel is broadcast. The code of the country must conform to the standard [ISO_3166-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3166-2). If the channel is broadcast in several countries you can list them separated by a semicolon. You can also use one of these [region codes](#supported-region-codes). (optional)                                        |
| `LANGUAGE`          | Channel language. The name of the language must conform to the standard [ISO 639-3](https://iso639-3.sil.org/code_tables/639/data?title=&field_iso639_cd_st_mmbrshp_639_1_tid=94671&name_3=&field_iso639_element_scope_tid=All&field_iso639_language_type_tid=51&items_per_page=500). If the channel is broadcast in several languages you can list them separated by a semicolon. (optional) |
| `LOGO_URL`          | The logo of the channel that will be displayed if the player supports it. Supports files in png, jpeg and gif format. (optional)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
| `CATEGORY`          | The category to which the channel belongs. The list of currently supported categories can be found [here](https://github.com/iptv-org/iptv#playlists-by-category). (optional)                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
| `FULL_NAME`         | Full name of the channel. It is recommended to use the name listed on [lyngsat](https://www.lyngsat.com/search.html) or [wikipedia](https://www.wikipedia.org/) if possible. May contain any characters except plus sign, minus sign, round and square brackets.                                                                                                                              |
| `STREAM_TIME_SHIFT` | Must be specified if the channel is broadcast with a shift in time relative to the main stream. Should only contain a number and a sign. (optional)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
| `ALTERNATIVE_NAME`  | Can be used to specify a short name or name in another language. May contain any characters except round and square brackets. (optional)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |
| `STREAM_RESOLUTION` | The maximum height of the frame with a "p" at the end. In case of VLC Player this information can be found in `Window > Media Information... > Codec Details`. (optional)                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
| `STREAM_STATUS`     | Specified if the broadcast for some reason is interrupted or does not work in a particular application. May contain any characters except round and square brackets. (optional)                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
| `STREAM_URL`        | Channel broadcast URL.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |

Example:

```xml
#EXTINF:-1 tvg-id="example.ua" tvg-name="Example TV" tvg-country="UA" tvg-language="Ukrainian;Russian" tvg-logo="https://i.imgur.com/bu12f89.png" group-title="Kids",Example TV +3 (Пример ТВ) (720p) [not 24/7]
https://example.com/playlist.m3u8
```

Also, if necessary, you can specify custom HTTP User-Agent or Referrer via the `#EXTVLCOPT` tag:

```xml
#EXTINF:-1 tvg-id="exampletv.us" tvg-name="Example TV" tvg-country="US" tvg-language="English" tvg-logo="http://example.com/channel-logo.png" group-title="News",Example TV
#EXTVLCOPT:http-referrer=http://example.com/
#EXTVLCOPT:http-user-agent=Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64)
http://example.com/stream.m3u8
```

## Project Structure

- `.github/`
  - `ISSUE_TEMPLATE/`: issue templates for this repository.
  - `workflows/`
    - `auto-update.yml`: contain actions that automatically updates all playlists every day.
  - `CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md`: rules you shouldn't break if you don't want to get banned.
- `.readme/`
  - `_categories.md`: automatically generated list of all categories and their corresponding playlists.
  - `_countries.md`: automatically generated list of all countries and their corresponding playlists.
  - `_languages.md`: automatically generated list of all languages and their corresponding playlists.
  - `config.json`: config for the `markdown-include` package, which is used to compile everything into one `README.md` file.
  - `preview.png`: image displayed in the `README.md`.
  - `supported-region-codes.md`: list of supported region codes.
  - `template.md`: template for `README.md`.
- `channels/`: contains all channels broken down by the country from which they are broadcast.
  - ...
  - `unsorted.m3u`: playlist with channels not yet sorted.
- `scripts/`
  - `blacklist.json`: list of channels banned for addition to the repository.
  - `categories.json`: list of supported categories.
  - `clean.js`: used in GitHub Action to check all links and remove broken ones.
  - `db.js`: contains functions for retrieving and managing the channel list.
  - `format.js`: used within GitHub Action to sort channels and remove duplicates from each playlist.
  - `generate.js`: used within GitHub Action to generate all additional playlists.
  - `parser.js`: contains functions for parsing playlists.
  - `regions.json`: list of supported region codes.
  - `remove-duplicates.js`: used in GitHub Action to remove duplicates from the playlist.
  - `update-readme.js`: used within GitHub Action to update the `README.md` file.
  - `utils.js`: contains functions that are used in other scripts.
- `CONTRIBUTING.md`: file you are currently reading.
- `index.m3u`: main playlist that contains links to all playlists in the `channels/` folder.
- `README.md`: project description generated from the contents of the `.readme/` folder.