Glossary¶

The words this documentation and the dashboard use, in plain terms. Each entry links to the page that goes deeper.

Provider (upstream): The IPTV service you subscribe to. tunlx sits between it and your players. The address you give the Add Proxy form is the provider's server URL.
Xtream Codes API: The login-and-catalog interface most IPTV apps speak: they sign in with a username and password, then ask for categories, channels, movies and series. tunlx speaks it on both sides, so an app only needs tunlx's address in place of the provider's. See the Xtream API reference.
Standard proxy: One address on this machine that forwards to one provider. It is the blueprint to start with: Standard Proxies.
Composite proxy (composite catalog): One Xtream address that merges the categories you pick from several standard proxies, so a player sees a single login and a single lineup. See Composite Catalogs.
Xtream service: A panel of your own: you define the groups, channels and users (with expiry dates and connection limits) and tunlx serves them through the Xtream API. See Xtream Services.
Listener, bind port: The port tunlx listens on for one proxy. It is the port your IPTV app connects to, and each proxy needs its own.
Inbound: How tunlx listens: on public interfaces, on your Tailscale network, or both. See Inbound & Outbound.
Outbound, egress: How tunlx reaches your providers, and so which address a provider sees: the machine's normal connection, a WireGuard VPN, or a Tailscale exit node.
Route (system, vpn, tsexit, direct): A proxy's own choice of egress. system uses the machine's normal connection, vpn goes through WireGuard, tsexit goes out through the Tailscale exit node you chose, and direct binds to a local address you name (the source IP) so that proxy can bypass the VPN.
Fail-closed: A setting for proxies that must leave through the VPN or a Tailscale exit node. When that path is down, a fail-closed proxy answers with an error (503) instead of quietly using your normal connection. It is off by default. See Inbound & Outbound.
WireGuard: The VPN protocol tunlx can bring up for proxies whose route is vpn. See WireGuard / VPN.
Tailscale, tailnet, exit node, tsnet: Tailscale links your devices into a private network, your tailnet. An exit node is a device on it that others can send their internet traffic through. tsnet is the library that lets tunlx join your tailnet as a device of its own, with no separate Tailscale install. See Tailscale Access.
MediaFlow: An optional companion service that buffers HLS streams and handles range requests. You turn it on per proxy. See MediaFlow Integration.
M3U: A playlist file that lists channels and their addresses. Many providers hand out an M3U link that contains the server URL, the username and the password; the Auto-fill button in the Add Proxy form reads one.
EPG: The electronic program guide: what is on each channel, and when. Providers publish it as XMLTV, and tunlx can refresh it on a schedule. See EPG automation.
HLS, MPEG-TS: Two ways of delivering live video. HLS is a playlist (.m3u8) of short segments; MPEG-TS (.ts) is one continuous stream. tunlx recognises both, and the stream tester probes them.
Simple mode, Advanced mode: Two views of the dashboard. Simple mode has the day-to-day actions for standard proxies; Advanced mode adds every proxy type, the diagnostics and the editors. See Dashboard Modes.
Streaming now, Ready, Not listening: The three states a proxy can be in. Streaming now: a request came in during the last 15 seconds. Ready: it is listening and waiting for a player. Not listening: its listener did not start, usually because another program holds the port. See the Dashboard Tour.