S3 CloudFront Video Streamer

A quick infrastructure setup for uploading video files from your home server and distributing them globally via AWS CloudFront for fast worldwide downloads.

Overview

This project creates:

• S3 bucket for video storage
• CloudFront distribution with signed URLs for secure access
• Python scripts for uploading videos and generating download links

Prerequisites

• AWS CLI configured with appropriate permissions
• Terraform installed
• Python 3.8+
• OpenSSL (for key generation)

Quick Start

Automated Setup

# Clone and setup everything
git clone <repository-url>
cd s3-cloudfront-streamer
./scripts/setup.sh

Manual Setup

1. Setup Python Environment

# Create virtual environment
python3 -m venv venv

# Activate virtual environment
source venv/bin/activate  # On macOS/Linux
# or
venv\Scripts\activate     # On Windows

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

2. Generate CloudFront Key Pair

openssl genrsa -out private_key.pem 2048
openssl rsa -pubout -in private_key.pem -out public_key.pem

3. Deploy Infrastructure

cd terraform
terraform init
terraform apply

4. Configure Environment

cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with terraform outputs

Usage

Upload Videos

python src/upload_to_s3.py /path/to/videos/

Generate Download URLs

python src/generate_signed_urls.py

Download Videos

python src/download_videos.py signed_urls.txt

Development

Using Make (Recommended)

# Setup virtual environment and install dependencies
make setup

# Run tests
make test

# Clean up
make clean

Manual Development Setup

# Create and activate virtual environment
python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Run tests
python run_tests.py

Project Structure

├── src/                    # Python source code
│   ├── upload_to_s3.py     # Video upload script
│   ├── generate_signed_urls.py  # URL generation script
│   └── download_videos.py  # Video download script
├── terraform/              # Infrastructure as code
│   └── main.tf            # Terraform configuration
├── scripts/                # Setup and utility scripts
│   └── setup.sh           # Automated setup script
├── tests/                  # Unit tests
├── .github/workflows/      # CI/CD pipelines
├── .env.example           # Environment configuration template
├── Makefile              # Development commands
└── requirements.txt      # Python dependencies

Configuration

Terraform Variables (terraform.tfvars)

aws_region = "us-east-1"
bucket_prefix = "my-video-streaming"
public_key_file = "../public_key.pem"

Environment Variables (.env)

Variable	Description	Default
AWS_REGION	AWS region	ap-northeast-1
S3_BUCKET_NAME	S3 bucket name	From Terraform output
CLOUDFRONT_DISTRIBUTION_ID	CloudFront distribution ID	From Terraform output
CLOUDFRONT_DOMAIN_NAME	CloudFront domain	From Terraform output
CLOUDFRONT_KEY_PAIR_ID	CloudFront key pair ID	From Terraform output
PRIVATE_KEY_FILE	Path to private key	./private_key.pem
URL_EXPIRATION_DAYS	URL validity period	1

Testing

Run All Tests

make test
# or
python run_tests.py

Test Coverage

• Filename sanitization
• Configuration validation
• Error handling
• Terraform syntax validation

Cost Considerations

⚠️ Important: This infrastructure incurs AWS costs:

• S3 storage: ~$0.023/GB/month
• CloudFront data transfer: ~$0.085/GB (varies by region)
• CloudFront requests: ~$0.0075/10,000 requests

Use the AWS Pricing Calculator for detailed estimates.

Security Features

• Private S3 bucket (no public access)
• CloudFront Origin Access Control (OAC)
• Signed URLs with expiration
• No hardcoded credentials

Cleanup

cd terraform
terraform destroy

Troubleshooting

Virtual Environment Issues

# If venv activation fails
python3 -m venv --clear venv
source venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

Common Issues

1. "Access Denied" errors: Check AWS credentials and permissions
2. "Bucket not found": Verify bucket name in .env matches Terraform output
3. "Invalid signature" for URLs: Ensure private key file path is correct
4. Upload failures: Check file permissions and network connectivity

Required AWS Permissions

Your AWS user/role needs:

• s3:CreateBucket, s3:PutObject, s3:GetObject, s3:ListBucket
• cloudfront:CreateDistribution, cloudfront:CreatePublicKey, cloudfront:CreateKeyGroup
• iam:CreateRole, iam:AttachRolePolicy (for S3 bucket policy)

Legal Disclaimer

Users are responsible for:

• Ensuring uploaded content complies with local laws
• Following AWS Terms of Service
• Monitoring and managing AWS costs
• Securing their AWS credentials and private keys

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Setup development environment: make setup
4. Run tests: make test
5. Submit a pull request

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.