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Base64 URL support

MediaFlow Proxy now supports base64 encoded URLs, providing additional flexibility for handling URLs that may be encoded in base64 format.

Features

Automatic Base64 Detection and Decoding

The proxy automatically detects and decodes base64 encoded URLs in all endpoints:

  • Proxy endpoints (/proxy/stream, /proxy/hls/manifest.m3u8, etc.)
  • Extractor endpoints (/extractor/video)
  • MPD/DASH endpoints (/proxy/mpd/manifest.m3u8, /proxy/mpd/playlist.m3u8)

Base64 Utility Endpoints

New endpoints for base64 operations:

1. Encode URL to Base64 

POST /base64/encode
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "url": "https://example.com/video.mp4"
}

Response: 

{
  "encoded_url": "aHR0cHM6Ly9leGFtcGxlLmNvbS92aWRlby5tcDQ",
  "original_url": "https://example.com/video.mp4"
}

2. Decode Base64 URL 

POST /base64/decode
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "encoded_url": "aHR0cHM6Ly9leGFtcGxlLmNvbS92aWRlby5tcDQ"
}

Response: 

{
  "decoded_url": "https://example.com/video.mp4",
  "encoded_url": "aHR0cHM6Ly9leGFtcGxlLmNvbS92aWRlby5tcDQ"
}

3. Check if String is Base64 URL 

GET /base64/check?url=aHR0cHM6Ly9leGFtcGxlLmNvbS92aWRlby5tcDQ

Response: 

{
  "url": "aHR0cHM6Ly9leGFtcGxlLmNvbS92aWRlby5tcDQ",
  "is_base64": true,
  "decoded_url": "https://example.com/video.mp4"
}

URL Generation with Base64 Encoding

The /generate_url endpoint now supports a base64_encode_destination parameter:

import requests

url = "http://localhost:8888/generate_url"
data = {
    "mediaflow_proxy_url": "http://localhost:8888",
    "endpoint": "/proxy/stream",
    "destination_url": "https://example.com/video.mp4",
    "base64_encode_destination": True,  # Encode destination URL in base64
    "api_password": "your_password"
}

response = requests.post(url, json=data)
encoded_url = response.json()["url"]
print(encoded_url)

Usage Examples

1. Using Base64 Encoded URLs Directly

You can now pass base64 encoded URLs directly to any proxy endpoint:

# Original URL: https://example.com/video.mp4
# Base64 encoded: aHR0cHM6Ly9leGFtcGxlLmNvbS92aWRlby5tcDQ

mpv "http://localhost:8888/proxy/stream?d=aHR0cHM6Ly9leGFtcGxlLmNvbS92aWRlby5tcDQ&api_password=your_password"

2. HLS Manifest with Base64 URL

# Base64 encoded HLS URL
mpv "http://localhost:8888/proxy/hls/manifest.m3u8?d=aHR0cDovL2V4YW1wbGUuY29tL3BsYXlsaXN0Lm0zdTg&api_password=your_password"

3. Extractor with Base64 URL

# Base64 encoded extractor URL
curl "http://localhost:8888/extractor/video?host=Doodstream&d=aHR0cHM6Ly9kb29kc3RyZWFtLmNvbS9lL3NvbWVfaWQ&api_password=your_password"

4. DASH Stream with Base64 URL

# Base64 encoded DASH manifest URL
mpv "http://localhost:8888/proxy/mpd/manifest.m3u8?d=aHR0cHM6Ly9leGFtcGxlLmNvbS9tYW5pZmVzdC5tcGQ&api_password=your_password"

Implementation Details

Base64 Detection Algorithm

The system uses several heuristics to detect base64 encoded URLs:

  1. Character Set Check: Verifies the string contains only valid base64 characters (A-Z, a-z, 0-9, +, /, =)
  2. Protocol Check: Ensures the string doesn't start with common URL protocols (http://, https://, etc.)
  3. Length Check: Validates minimum length for meaningful base64 encoded URLs
  4. Decoding Validation: Attempts to decode and validates the result is a valid URL

URL-Safe Base64 Encoding

The system supports both standard and URL-safe base64 encoding:

  • Standard Base64: Uses + and / characters
  • URL-Safe Base64: Uses - and _ characters instead of + and /
  • Padding: Automatically handles missing padding (= characters)

Error Handling

  • Invalid base64 strings are treated as regular URLs
  • Decoding failures are logged but don't break the request flow
  • Malformed URLs after decoding are handled gracefully

Security Considerations

  • Base64 encoding is not encryption - it's just encoding
  • URLs are still logged in their decoded form for debugging
  • All existing security measures (API keys, IP restrictions, etc.) still apply
  • Base64 encoded URLs are subject to the same validation as regular URLs

Backward Compatibility

This feature is fully backward compatible:

  • Existing URLs continue to work without changes
  • Regular (non-base64) URLs are processed normally
  • No configuration changes required
  • All existing API endpoints remain unchanged