🎬 WatchHive - Stop Debating, Start Watching

WatchHive is a decision-making platform that helps friends, couples, and families choose movies together—without the endless group chat debates. We solve the coordination problem so you can focus on the fun part: actually watching.

The Problem

The Movie Night Planning Nightmare:

• 30+ minutes lost debating in group chats
• No fair system - someone always compromises
• Scheduling headaches across time zones and busy lives
• Streaming confusion - "Who has Netflix? Does anyone have Hulu?"
• Lost conversations - Great discussions disappear in chat history

Result: Decision fatigue, frustration, or movie night never happens.

The Solution

WatchHive transforms chaotic planning into a simple 4-step process:

1. Create a group for your movie nights
2. Suggest & Vote on movies with fair voting (up/down + veto power)
3. Schedule a time that works for everyone
4. Watch & Discuss with post-movie ratings and conversations

We don't stream movies—we help you decide which ones to watch.

Core Features

Smart Voting System

• Upvote/downvote movies in real-time
• One veto per person to prevent absolute no-gos
• Live results so everyone sees what's winning
• Streaming availability check before voting

Group Coordination

• Persistent groups for your friend circles
• Anonymous voting - friends can vote without accounts
• Easy invites with shareable links
• Member management with admin controls

Decision & Scheduling

• Calendar integration to find mutual availability
• Time zone support for long-distance friends
• Reminders & notifications for upcoming movie nights
• Watch tracking - mark when you actually start watching

Post-Movie Experience

• Group ratings (1-10 with averages)
• Watch history - see all movies your group has watched

Tech Stack

Frontend

• Svelte + SvelteKit - Reactive, fast UI
• TypeScript - Type-safe development
• Tailwind CSS + shadcn-svelte - Beautiful, consistent components
• Lucide Icons - Clean iconography

Backend

• ASP.NET Core - Robust API framework
• Entity Framework Core - Database ORM
• PostgreSQL - Relational database with JSONB support
• SignalR - Real-time voting and chat

APIs & Services

• TMDB API - Movie metadata and details
• JWT Authentication - Secure user sessions

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• .NET 8 SDK
• Docker
• Git

Installation

1. Clone and setup

git clone <repo-url>
cd watch-hive

2. Start PostgreSQL

docker compose -f docker-compose-db.yaml up -d

1. Install EF Core tools

dotnet tool restore

4. Create & Apply migrations

rm -r Migrations/

If database contained some data first (for local development)

docker exec -it postgres psql -U admin -d WatchHive -c "DROP SCHEMA app CASCADE;

dotnet ef migrations add InitialCreate
dotnet ef database update

5. Run the API

dotnet run

OR via docker

1. Build image

docker build -t watchhive:1.0 .

2. Start image

docker run --env-file .env watchhive

OR via docker compose

docker compose -f docker-compose-server.yaml up -d

API runs on https://localhost:5167

API Documentation

Once running, explore the API:

• Swagger UI: https://localhost:5167/swagger
• Interactive docs with full endpoint details

Endpoints

Development

Useful Commands

# Run with auto-reload
dotnet watch run

# Create new migration
dotnet ef migrations add MigrationName

# Update database
dotnet ef database update

# Stop PostgreSQL
docker-compose down

Project Structure

WatchHive/
├── Models/          # Domain entities & DB context
├── DTOs/           # Data transfer objects
├── Services/       # Business logic
├── Endpoints/      # API endpoints
├── Migrations/     # Database migrations
└── Utils/          # Database seeding

Configuration

Connection string in appsettings.json:

  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "DefaultConnection": "Host=localhost;Port=5480;Database=watchhive;Username=admin;Password=secret;"
  }

Troubleshooting

Can't connect to database?

# Check if PostgreSQL is running
docker ps
# Should show 'postgres' container

# View logs
docker-compose logs postgres

Migrations not working?

# Reset everything
docker-compose down -v
docker-compose up -d
rm -rf Migrations/
dotnet ef migrations add InitialCreate
dotnet ef database update

API won't start?

# Clean and rebuild
dotnet clean
dotnet build
dotnet run