1. QUICK START GUIDE

1.1 Prerequisites

1.2 First-Time Setup

1. Extract the MediaHarvester-3.0.0-win-x64.exe portable executable to a folder of your choice.
2. Run the executable as Administrator.
3. A splash screen appears for ~10 seconds while the server starts.
4. The application minimizes to your system tray (bottom-right corner).
5. Right-click the tray icon → Open Admin Panel — this opens the web interface at http://localhost:5000.

1.3 Default Login

Change this password immediately after first login (Admin → Users).

1.4 Verify Everything Works

After logging in, check the System Status area:

1.5 Your First Job

1. Go to the Ingest tab (default view after login).
2. Click New Job.
3. Enter a URL or upload a file.
4. Choose a Workflow: Transcode or Delivery.
5. Click Submit.

2. BASIC USER OPERATIONS GUIDE

This section is for end users who submit media for ingestion. You don't need admin privileges.

2.2 Submitting a Job from a URL

1. Click New Job in the Ingest tab.
2. Paste a URL into the Source URL field. Supported sources:
   • YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion, and 1000+ sites (via yt-dlp)
   • Direct .mp4, .mov, .mxf, .webm links
3. Select a Workflow:
   • Transcode — Downloads and converts to your delivery format
   • Delivery — Downloads only (no transcoding)
4. Set Quality (optional): Best, 1080p, 720p, 480p
5. Add Metadata Tags (optional): Free-form labels to organize jobs.
6. Click Submit Job.

2.4 Monitoring Your Jobs

The Ingest tab shows all jobs with status indicators:

3. DETAILED CONFIGURATION GUIDE

3.1 Server Configuration

3.1.1 Environment Variables

3.1.2 Directory Structure

server/
├── data/
│   ├── store.json        # Persistent config (users, settings, license)
│   └── jobs.json         # Persisted job queue (restored on restart)
├── downloads/            # Completed job output files
├── uploads/              # Uploaded files from users
│   └── .pending/         # Files awaiting job assignment
├── frontend/             # Admin panel web UI
├── health/
│   └── heartbeat.json    # Server health status
├── logs/
│   └── remote.log        # JSON-line log file
├── server.mjs            # Main server process
├── transcoder.mjs        # Transcoding engine
└── ldap.mjs              # LDAP authentication module

3.2 Admin Panel Features

The admin panel is accessed by clicking the ⚙ Admin button in the header (visible only to admin users).

3.2.4 User Management

4. LICENSING SYSTEM

4.1 License States

4.4 Instance ID

The Instance ID is derived from the machine hostname: mh-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.

• Same machine = same instance ID (survives reinstall)
• Different machines = different instance IDs
• Each install gets a unique trial period

5. TECHNICAL ARCHITECTURE

5.1 System Overview

5.2 Job Flow

5.5 Watchdog Pair Architecture

5.6 MAM & 3rd Party Integration

5.6.1 Supported Ingest Sources

5.6.2 MAM Integration Patterns

1. REST API — External systems can create jobs, query status, and upload files via /api/jobs and /api/upload.
2. Webhook-style callbacks — Job completion triggers HTTP POST to configured callback URLs.
3. Metadata embedding — Completed files include custom tags, source URLs, and XML sidecars (PBCore, EBUCore).
4. SSE for real-time monitoring — External dashboards connect to /api/sse for live progress updates.

5.6.3 Port Summary