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The Platzi Viewer server exposes a REST API for managing courses, progress, and streaming Drive content.

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Base URL

http://localhost:8080
The server runs on localhost:8080 by default. Configure with PORT and HOST environment variables.

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Endpoint Categories

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Course Data

Courses

Get complete course catalog with all details

Bootstrap

Get lightweight course summaries for fast initial load

Course Detail

Get detailed information for a specific course

Cache Meta

Get cache metadata and statistics

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Progress Tracking

Get Progress

Retrieve saved user progress

Save Progress

Persist user progress data

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File Streaming

Drive Proxy

Stream files from Google Drive with range request support

Compatible Video

Stream browser-compatible video using ffmpeg transcoding

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System

MethodEndpointDescription
GET/api/healthHealth check with Drive and ffmpeg status
GET/api/refreshReload courses cache (localhost only)
GET/api/self-check-driveValidate cache contains only Drive IDs
POST/api/open-externalOpen video in external player (VLC)

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Complete Endpoint List

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Course Endpoints

GET  /api/courses                              # Full course catalog
GET  /api/bootstrap                            # Course summaries only
GET  /api/cache-meta                           # Cache metadata
GET  /api/course-detail/{cat}/{route}/{course} # Specific course

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Progress Endpoints

GET  /api/progress    # Load progress
POST /api/progress    # Save progress

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File Streaming Endpoints

GET  /drive/files/{fileId}              # Stream file from Drive
GET  /api/video-compatible/{fileId}     # Transcode video for compatibility

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System Endpoints

GET  /api/health            # Health check
GET  /api/refresh           # Reload cache
GET  /api/self-check-drive  # Validate Drive IDs
POST /api/open-external     # Open in VLC

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Authentication

All endpoints are unauthenticated and intended for localhost-only use. Some endpoints like /api/refresh are restricted to loopback addresses.

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CORS Policy

The server implements strict CORS policies:
  • Only accepts requests from loopback origins (localhost, 127.0.0.1, ::1)
  • Supports GET, POST, and OPTIONS methods
  • Returns appropriate Access-Control-Allow-Origin headers for valid origins

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Response Format

All API endpoints return JSON with UTF-8 encoding: 
{
  "Content-Type": "application/json; charset=utf-8"
}
Responses are gzip-compressed when:
  • Client sends Accept-Encoding: gzip
  • Response payload is ≥1KB

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Error Responses

Standard HTTP status codes are used:
CodeMeaning
200Success
206Partial content (range requests)
400Bad request (invalid parameters)
403Forbidden (non-localhost access)
404Resource not found
413Payload too large
416Range not satisfiable
502Bad gateway (Drive/ffmpeg errors)
503Service unavailable (Drive/ffmpeg not configured)

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Rate Limiting

No rate limiting is enforced. The server is designed for local single-user access.

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Next Steps

Course APIs

Learn about course data endpoints

Progress APIs

Track and save user progress

Drive Proxy

Stream files from Google Drive

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