The latest articles on DEV Community by eli6 (@eli6_4649fc5be59e2aeb2736). https://dev.to/eli6_4649fc5be59e2aeb2736 https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3960374%2Fcf9a3084-d7f1-42d0-a490-3ddfbcfa8506.png https://dev.to/eli6_4649fc5be59e2aeb2736 en eli6 Sat, 30 May 2026 20:03:20 +0000 https://dev.to/eli6_4649fc5be59e2aeb2736/i-built-a-free-streaming-site-from-scratch-no-ads-no-framework-no-bs-32o6 https://dev.to/eli6_4649fc5be59e2aeb2736/i-built-a-free-streaming-site-from-scratch-no-ads-no-framework-no-bs-32o6 <h2> What I built </h2> <p><a href="https://eli6movies.vercel.app" rel="noopener noreferrer">ELI6 Movies</a> is a free streaming platform — films, shows, and anime. No sign-up wall, no ads, no subscription. You open it and things play.</p> <p>I wanted to prove you don't need React, a paid CDN, or $15/month to deliver a decent streaming experience.</p> <h2> Stack </h2> <div class="table-wrapper-paragraph"><table> <thead> <tr> <th>Layer</th> <th>Tech</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Frontend</td> <td>Vanilla JS + CSS (no framework)</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Backend</td> <td>Node.js + Express</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Database</td> <td>MongoDB (Mongoose)</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Hosting</td> <td>Vercel (frontend) + Render (backend)</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Metadata</td> <td>TMDB API</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Email</td> <td>Resend</td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <h2> Things I'm proud of </h2> <p><strong>No framework on the frontend.</strong> I went full vanilla — custom routing, component patterns, theme switching, all without a build step. The entire frontend deploys as static files.</p> <p><strong>JWT with per-device session management.</strong> Each login creates a session with a JTI (JWT ID). Users can see and revoke individual sessions from their profile — like Netflix's "sign out of all devices" but per-session.</p> <p><strong>Custom analytics dashboard.</strong> No Google Analytics. I built my own: page views, daily chart, top pages, countries (via ip-api.com with a circuit breaker), device types, browser breakdown, referrers, and live active sessions. All stored in MongoDB.</p> <p><strong>Password reset + email verification</strong> using Resend's HTTP API — no new npm dependencies, just native <code>fetch</code>.</p> <p><strong>GeoIP circuit breaker.</strong> After 5 consecutive failures or a quota hit from ip-api.com, the system backs off for 5 minutes instead of hammering the free tier.</p> <h2> Things that bit me </h2> <p><strong>The <code>router.use(auth, adminOnly)</code> trap.</strong> Express's <code>router.use(fn)</code> without a path prefix intercepts <em>all</em> requests entering the router — not just the routes you defined. I had an analytics router with unscoped auth middleware that silently intercepted <code>/api/health</code>, causing Render's health check to receive 401 on every deploy. The service rolled back with <code>update_failed</code> in a loop for days. Fix was one line: <code>router.use('/admin/analytics', auth, adminOnly)</code>.</p> <p><strong>ua-parser-js v2 on Render.</strong> The library crashing on import caused a crash loop. Replaced with 15 lines of inline regex.</p> <h2> What's live </h2> <ul> <li>Films, TV shows, anime</li> <li>Watchlist (synced to account)</li> <li>Resume watching</li> <li>Light/dark/system theme</li> <li>Mobile-friendly</li> <li>Admin analytics panel</li> </ul> <p><strong>Live at: <a href="https://eli6movies.vercel.app" rel="noopener noreferrer">eli6movies.vercel.app</a></strong></p> <p>Feedback welcome — roast the code, suggest features, or just tell me what's broken.</p> webdev javascript node showdev