iptv/docs/playlists.md

Playlists

The repository uses two types of playlists: internal and public.

Internal

These playlists are located in the streams/ folder and contain all links currently available in the repository.

The links in these playlists are grouped by country and by the service from which the stream is broadcast. They are arranged this way solely for the convenience of moderating links.

In its simplest form, an internal playlist looks like this:

#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:-1 tvg-id="ExampleTV.us@SD",Example TV (720p)
https://example.com/playlist.m3u8

If there is a guide for one of the channels in the playlist in our EPG repository, the header will also include a link to it:

#EXTM3U x-tvg-url="https://example.com/guide.xml"

Since these playlists are processed primarily using scripts, we need to follow a few rules when editing them:

• All files must have the .m3u extension
• The playlist must begin with the header #EXTM3U
• Each link must comply with the Stream Description Scheme
• Lines must end with CRLF
• The file encoding must be UTF-8 without BOM

Public

Unlike internal playlists, these playlists are created specifically for regular users.

They are generated automatically using the playlist:generate script every day at 00:00 UTC and then placed in a separate branch of gh-pages.

The links in these playlists are organized solely based on the channel's description in our database. For example, if a channel's broadcast area is listed as c/IT, the link to its stream will automatically be placed in the countries/it.m3u file.

Another difference from internal playlists is that public playlists include only the best available option for each channel, based on stream quality and labels. The exception is playlists in the raw/ folder.

Additionally, if the link includes a valid stream ID, the channel logo, category, broadcast country and language will be added to the description. For example:

#EXTM3U x-tvg-url="https://example.com/guide.xml”
#EXTINF:-1 tvg-id="ExampleTV.us@SD” tvg-logo="https://example.com/logo.png” group-title="Movies”,Example TV (720p)
https://example.com/playlist.m3u8

A complete list of public playlists can always be found in PLAYLISTS.md.