- Implemented configurable public URL rewriting.

What changed:
Added pretty URL helpers/default setting in 
[includes/db.php](/Users/tyemeclifford/Documents/GH/mediaplayer/includes/db.php).
Added root rewrite rules in 
[.htaccess](/Users/tyemeclifford/Documents/GH/mediaplayer/.htaccess):/v/<slug>
/all
/search/<query>

Added Admin → Settings “Public URL Style” toggle in 
[admin/settings.php](/Users/tyemeclifford/Documents/GH/mediaplayer/admin/settings.php), 
defaulting to pretty URLs.
Updated public/player/catalogue/embed/admin preview links to use the 
configured URL style.
Added redirects from legacy ?v= and ?q= URLs to pretty routes when 
rewriting is enabled.
Documented deployment and fallback behavior in 
[README.md](/Users/tyemeclifford/Documents/GH/mediaplayer/README.md).

.htaccess

@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+DirectoryIndex index.php
+
+<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
+  RewriteEngine On
+
+  RewriteRule ^v/([^/]+)/?$ index.php?v=$1 [B,L,QSA]
+  RewriteRule ^all/?$ catalogue.php [L,QSA]
+  RewriteRule ^search/?$ catalogue.php [L,QSA]
+  RewriteRule ^search/(.+)/?$ catalogue.php?q=$1 [B,L,QSA]
+</IfModule>

README.md

@@ -8,13 +8,14 @@ Styled to match the existing `gate.php` / `index.php` dark theme exactly.
 ## Requirements
 
 - PHP 8.0+ with `pdo_sqlite`, `fileinfo` extensions
+- Apache `mod_rewrite` for default pretty URLs, or switch to query URLs in Admin → Settings
 - Write permissions on the `data/` and `media/` directories
 
 ---
 
 ## Installation
 
-1. **Upload** all files to your web server (e.g. `/live/` or wherever `/index.php` lives).
+1. **Upload** all files to your web server. To use domain-level pretty URLs such as `/v/my-video`, deploy the app at the web root.
 
 2. **Set permissions** so PHP can write to these directories:
    ```bash
@@ -36,6 +37,7 @@ Styled to match the existing `gate.php` / `index.php` dark theme exactly.
 /                        ← web root (deploy here)
 ├── index.php            ← Main player + catalogue (home page)
 ├── catalogue.php        ← Full video catalogue browse page
+├── .htaccess            ← Pretty URL rewrite rules
 ├── includes/
 │   ├── db.php           ← SQLite bootstrap + helper functions
 │   └── layout.php       ← Shared HTML head, topbar, footer, pagination
@@ -84,6 +86,16 @@ Use **Admin → YouTube Importer** to paste a YouTube channel URL, `@handle`, or
 
 The full catalogue page includes a public search for published videos only. Search matches video title, description, and slug; draft videos remain hidden.
 
+### Public URLs
+
+Pretty URLs are enabled by default:
+
+- `/v/<slug>` plays a video
+- `/all` lists all public videos
+- `/search/<query>` searches public videos
+
+You can switch to PHP query URLs in **Admin → Settings → Public URL Style** if your host does not support `.htaccess` rewrites.
+
 ### Catalogue Per-Page
 
 Configurable in **Admin → Settings → Videos per page** (1–50).

admin/add.php

@@ -170,7 +170,7 @@ render_head('Add Video — Admin', '
       </div>
     </div>
     <nav class="topbar-social">
-      <a class="social-pill" href="../index.php" target="_blank">
+      <a class="social-pill" href="<?= h(public_absolute_url(public_home_url())) ?>" target="_blank">
         <svg width="12" height="12" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2"><path d="M18 13v6a2 2 0 01-2 2H5a2 2 0 01-2-2V8a2 2 0 012-2h6"/><polyline points="15,3 21,3 21,9"/><line x1="10" y1="14" x2="21" y2="3"/></svg>
         View Site
       </a>

admin/edit.php

@@ -238,7 +238,7 @@ render_head('Edit Video — Admin', '
       </div>
     </div>
     <nav class="topbar-social">
-      <a class="social-pill" href="../index.php?v=<?= urlencode($video['slug']) ?>" target="_blank">
+      <a class="social-pill" href="<?= h(public_absolute_url(public_video_url($video['slug']))) ?>" target="_blank">
         <svg width="12" height="12" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2"><path d="M18 13v6a2 2 0 01-2 2H5a2 2 0 01-2-2V8a2 2 0 012-2h6"/><polyline points="15,3 21,3 21,9"/><line x1="10" y1="14" x2="21" y2="3"/></svg>
         Preview
       </a>

admin/index.php

@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@ render_head('Admin — TyClifford.com', '
       </div>
     </div>
     <nav class="topbar-social">
-      <a class="social-pill" href="../index.php" target="_blank">
+      <a class="social-pill" href="<?= h(public_absolute_url(public_home_url())) ?>" target="_blank">
         <svg width="12" height="12" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2"><path d="M18 13v6a2 2 0 01-2 2H5a2 2 0 01-2-2V8a2 2 0 012-2h6"/><polyline points="15,3 21,3 21,9"/><line x1="10" y1="14" x2="21" y2="3"/></svg>
         View Site
       </a>

admin/login.php

@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ render_head('Admin Login — TyClifford.com', '
         <div class="brand-sub">admin dashboard</div>
       </div>
     </div>
-    <a href="../index.php" class="btn btn-secondary btn-sm">← Back to site</a>
+    <a href="<?= h(public_absolute_url(public_home_url())) ?>" class="btn btn-secondary btn-sm">← Back to site</a>
   </header>
 
   <div class="login-wrap">

admin/settings.php

@@ -12,10 +12,13 @@ if ($_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] === 'POST') {
         $per_page    = max(1, min(50, (int)($_POST['catalogue_per_page'] ?? 10)));
         $site_title  = trim($_POST['site_title'] ?? 'Ty Clifford');
         $site_sub    = trim($_POST['site_sub']   ?? 'tyclifford.com / media');
+        $url_mode    = $_POST['url_rewrite_mode'] ?? 'pretty';
+        if (!in_array($url_mode, ['pretty', 'query'], true)) $url_mode = 'pretty';
 
         set_setting('catalogue_per_page', (string)$per_page);
         set_setting('site_title',  $site_title);
         set_setting('site_sub',    $site_sub);
+        set_setting('url_rewrite_mode', $url_mode);
         $msg = 'Settings saved.';
     }
 
@@ -40,6 +43,7 @@ if ($_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] === 'POST') {
 $per_page   = setting('catalogue_per_page', '10');
 $site_title = setting('site_title', 'Ty Clifford');
 $site_sub   = setting('site_sub',   'tyclifford.com / media');
+$url_rewrite_mode = url_rewrite_mode();
 
 // DB stats
 $db = get_db();
@@ -83,7 +87,7 @@ render_head('Settings — Admin', '
       </div>
     </div>
     <nav class="topbar-social">
-      <a class="social-pill" href="../index.php" target="_blank">
+      <a class="social-pill" href="<?= h(public_absolute_url(public_home_url())) ?>" target="_blank">
         <svg width="12" height="12" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2"><path d="M18 13v6a2 2 0 01-2 2H5a2 2 0 01-2-2V8a2 2 0 012-2h6"/><polyline points="15,3 21,3 21,9"/><line x1="10" y1="14" x2="21" y2="3"/></svg>
         View Site
       </a>
@@ -164,6 +168,14 @@ render_head('Settings — Admin', '
                      name="catalogue_per_page" value="<?= h($per_page) ?>" min="1" max="50">
               <span class="hint">How many thumbnails to show per page (1–50).</span>
             </div>
+            <div class="form-group">
+              <label class="form-label" for="url_rewrite_mode">Public URL Style</label>
+              <select class="form-select" id="url_rewrite_mode" name="url_rewrite_mode">
+                <option value="pretty" <?= $url_rewrite_mode === 'pretty' ? 'selected' : '' ?>>Pretty rewrite URLs (/v/sample)</option>
+                <option value="query" <?= $url_rewrite_mode === 'query' ? 'selected' : '' ?>>PHP query URLs (index.php?v=sample)</option>
+              </select>
+              <span class="hint">Default routes are /v/&lt;slug&gt;, /all, and /search/&lt;query&gt;. Pretty URLs require Apache mod_rewrite and the included .htaccess.</span>
+            </div>
           </div>
           <button class="btn btn-primary btn-sm" type="submit">
             <svg width="13" height="13" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2"><path d="M19 21H5a2 2 0 01-2-2V5a2 2 0 012-2h11l5 5v11a2 2 0 01-2 2z"/><polyline points="17,21 17,13 7,13 7,21"/><polyline points="7,3 7,8 15,8"/></svg>

admin/youtube_import.php

@@ -587,7 +587,7 @@ render_head('YouTube Importer — Admin', '
       </div>
     </div>
     <nav class="topbar-social">
-      <a class="social-pill" href="../index.php" target="_blank">View Site</a>
+      <a class="social-pill" href="<?= h(public_absolute_url(public_home_url())) ?>" target="_blank">View Site</a>
       <a class="social-pill" href="logout.php">Logout</a>
     </nav>
   </header>

catalogue.php

@@ -2,9 +2,28 @@
 require_once __DIR__ . '/includes/db.php';
 require_once __DIR__ . '/includes/layout.php';
 
+$route_segments = public_route_segments();
+$search   = public_search_query_from_request();
+
+if (url_rewrite_enabled()) {
+    $route_head = $route_segments[0] ?? '';
+    $target = null;
+    if (isset($_GET['q']) && $route_head !== 'search') {
+        $target = public_search_url($search);
+    } elseif (!isset($_GET['q']) && !in_array($route_head, ['all', 'search'], true)) {
+        $target = public_catalogue_url();
+    }
+
+    if ($target !== null) {
+        $redirect_page = max(1, (int)($_GET['page'] ?? 1));
+        if ($redirect_page > 1) $target = media_append_query($target, ['page' => (string)$redirect_page]);
+        header('Location: ' . $target, true, 302);
+        exit;
+    }
+}
+
 $per_page = (int)setting('catalogue_per_page', '10');
 $page     = max(1, (int)($_GET['page'] ?? 1));
-$search   = trim($_GET['q'] ?? '');
 $paged    = get_videos_paginated($page, $per_page, true, $search);
 
 render_head('Videos — TyClifford.com', '
@@ -76,14 +95,14 @@ render_head('Videos — TyClifford.com', '
       <?= $paged['total'] ?> <?= $search ? 'result' : 'video' ?><?= $paged['total'] != 1 ? 's' : '' ?>
     </span>
   </div>
-  <form class="public-search" method="get" action="catalogue.php" role="search">
+  <form class="public-search" method="get" action="<?= h(public_catalogue_url()) ?>" role="search">
     <input class="form-input" type="search" name="q" value="<?= h($search) ?>" placeholder="Search public videos…">
     <button class="btn btn-secondary btn-sm" type="submit">
       <svg width="13" height="13" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2"><circle cx="11" cy="11" r="8"/><line x1="21" y1="21" x2="16.65" y2="16.65"/></svg>
       Search
     </button>
     <?php if ($search): ?>
-      <a href="catalogue.php" class="btn btn-secondary btn-sm">Clear</a>
+      <a href="<?= h(public_catalogue_url()) ?>" class="btn btn-secondary btn-sm">Clear</a>
     <?php endif; ?>
   </form>
 </div>
@@ -105,7 +124,7 @@ render_head('Videos — TyClifford.com', '
       $vdur    = (int)$v['duration'];
       $created = substr($v['created_at'], 0, 10);
     ?>
-      <a class="cat-thumb" href="https://tyclifford.com/player/?v=<?= urlencode($vslug) ?>" title="<?= h($vtitle) ?>">
+      <a class="cat-thumb" href="<?= h(public_video_url($vslug)) ?>" title="<?= h($vtitle) ?>">
         <div class="cat-thumb-img">
           <?php if ($vthumb): ?>
             <img src="<?= h(MEDIA_URL . $vthumb) ?>" alt="<?= h($vtitle) ?>" loading="lazy">
@@ -133,7 +152,7 @@ render_head('Videos — TyClifford.com', '
   <?php if ($paged['total_pages'] > 1): ?>
     <div class="cat-footer">
       <span class="cat-count">page <?= $paged['page'] ?> of <?= $paged['total_pages'] ?></span>
-      <?php render_pagination($paged['page'], $paged['total_pages'], 'catalogue.php?' . ($search ? 'q=' . urlencode($search) . '&' : '') . 'page=%d'); ?>
+      <?php render_pagination($paged['page'], $paged['total_pages'], public_catalogue_page_url_pattern($search)); ?>
     </div>
   <?php endif; ?>
 <?php endif; ?>

embed.php

@@ -200,7 +200,7 @@ header('Content-Security-Policy: frame-ancestors *');
     <!-- Title + brand overlay -->
     <div class="title-overlay" id="title-overlay">
       <span class="title-text"><?= htmlspecialchars($video['title'], ENT_QUOTES) ?></span>
-      <a class="brand-link" href="<?= $base_url ?>index.php?v=<?= urlencode($video['slug']) ?>"
+      <a class="brand-link" href="<?= h(public_absolute_url(public_video_url($video['slug']))) ?>"
          target="_blank" rel="noopener">tyclifford.com</a>
     </div>
 

includes/db.php

@@ -67,6 +67,7 @@ function get_db(): PDO {
         'admin_password'     => password_hash('admin', PASSWORD_DEFAULT),
         'site_title'         => 'Ty Clifford',
         'site_sub'           => 'tyclifford.com / media',
+        'url_rewrite_mode'   => 'pretty',
     ];
     $ins = $pdo->prepare("INSERT OR IGNORE INTO settings (key, value) VALUES (?, ?)");
     foreach ($defaults as $k => $v) $ins->execute([$k, $v]);
@@ -100,6 +101,109 @@ function set_setting(string $key, string $value): void {
             ->execute([$key, $value]);
 }
 
+function url_rewrite_mode(): string {
+    $mode = strtolower(setting('url_rewrite_mode', 'pretty'));
+    return in_array($mode, ['pretty', 'query'], true) ? $mode : 'pretty';
+}
+
+function url_rewrite_enabled(): bool {
+    return url_rewrite_mode() === 'pretty';
+}
+
+function public_base_path(): string {
+    $script = str_replace('\\', '/', $_SERVER['SCRIPT_NAME'] ?? '');
+    $dir = rtrim(dirname($script), '/');
+    if ($dir === '/' || $dir === '.') $dir = '';
+    if (str_ends_with($dir, '/admin')) $dir = substr($dir, 0, -6);
+    return $dir;
+}
+
+function public_url_path(string $path): string {
+    $base = public_base_path();
+    $path = '/' . ltrim($path, '/');
+    if ($path === '/') return $base === '' ? '/' : $base . '/';
+    return $base . $path;
+}
+
+function public_home_url(): string {
+    return url_rewrite_enabled() ? public_url_path('/') : public_url_path('/index.php');
+}
+
+function public_catalogue_url(): string {
+    return url_rewrite_enabled() ? public_url_path('/all') : public_url_path('/catalogue.php');
+}
+
+function public_video_url(string $slug): string {
+    $slug = trim($slug);
+    if (url_rewrite_enabled()) return public_url_path('/v/' . rawurlencode($slug));
+    return public_url_path('/index.php') . '?v=' . rawurlencode($slug);
+}
+
+function public_search_url(string $query): string {
+    $query = trim($query);
+    if ($query === '') return public_catalogue_url();
+    if (url_rewrite_enabled()) return public_url_path('/search/' . rawurlencode($query));
+    return public_url_path('/catalogue.php') . '?q=' . rawurlencode($query);
+}
+
+function public_page_url_pattern(string $base_url): string {
+    return $base_url . (strpos($base_url, '?') === false ? '?' : '&') . 'page=%d';
+}
+
+function public_catalogue_page_url_pattern(string $search = ''): string {
+    return public_page_url_pattern($search !== '' ? public_search_url($search) : public_catalogue_url());
+}
+
+function public_player_page_url_pattern(string $slug = ''): string {
+    $base = $slug !== '' ? public_video_url($slug) : public_home_url();
+    return public_page_url_pattern($base);
+}
+
+function public_request_path(): string {
+    $path = parse_url($_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'] ?? '/', PHP_URL_PATH);
+    return is_string($path) && $path !== '' ? $path : '/';
+}
+
+function public_route_segments(): array {
+    $path = public_request_path();
+    $base = public_base_path();
+    if ($base !== '' && ($path === $base || str_starts_with($path, $base . '/'))) {
+        $path = substr($path, strlen($base));
+    }
+    $segments = array_values(array_filter(explode('/', trim($path, '/')), 'strlen'));
+    return array_map('rawurldecode', $segments);
+}
+
+function public_video_slug_from_request(): string {
+    $slug = trim((string)($_GET['v'] ?? ''));
+    if ($slug !== '') return $slug;
+
+    $segments = public_route_segments();
+    return (($segments[0] ?? '') === 'v' && isset($segments[1])) ? trim($segments[1]) : '';
+}
+
+function public_search_query_from_request(): string {
+    if (isset($_GET['q'])) return trim((string)$_GET['q']);
+
+    $segments = public_route_segments();
+    return (($segments[0] ?? '') === 'search' && isset($segments[1])) ? trim($segments[1]) : '';
+}
+
+function public_request_scheme(): string {
+    return (!empty($_SERVER['HTTPS']) && $_SERVER['HTTPS'] !== 'off') ? 'https' : 'http';
+}
+
+function public_origin(): string {
+    return public_request_scheme() . '://' . ($_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'] ?? 'localhost');
+}
+
+function public_absolute_url(string $url): string {
+    if (preg_match('#^[a-z][a-z0-9+.-]*://#i', $url)) return $url;
+    if (str_starts_with($url, '//')) return public_request_scheme() . ':' . $url;
+    if (str_starts_with($url, '/')) return public_origin() . $url;
+    return public_origin() . public_url_path($url);
+}
+
 function make_slug(string $title, int $id = 0): string {
     $slug = strtolower(trim(preg_replace('/[^a-z0-9]+/i', '-', $title), '-'));
     if ($id) {

includes/layout.php

@@ -224,16 +224,16 @@ function render_topbar(string $active = ''): void {
 <header class="topbar">
   <div class="topbar-brand">
     <div>
-      <a href="index.php" class="brand-name"><?= h($title) ?></a>
+      <a href="<?= h(public_home_url()) ?>" class="brand-name"><?= h($title) ?></a>
       <div class="brand-sub"><?= h($sub) ?></div>
     </div>
   </div>
   <nav class="topbar-social" aria-label="Navigation">
-    <a class="social-pill <?= $active==='home' ? 'active' : '' ?>" href="index.php">
+    <a class="social-pill <?= $active==='home' ? 'active' : '' ?>" href="<?= h(public_home_url()) ?>">
       <svg width="12" height="12" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2"><path d="M3 9l9-7 9 7v11a2 2 0 01-2 2H5a2 2 0 01-2-2z"/><polyline points="9,22 9,12 15,12 15,22"/></svg>
       Home
     </a>
-    <a class="social-pill <?= $active==='catalogue' ? 'active' : '' ?>" href="catalogue.php">
+    <a class="social-pill <?= $active==='catalogue' ? 'active' : '' ?>" href="<?= h(public_catalogue_url()) ?>">
       <svg width="12" height="12" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2"><rect x="2" y="3" width="20" height="14" rx="2"/><line x1="8" y1="21" x2="16" y2="21"/><line x1="12" y1="17" x2="12" y2="21"/></svg>
       Videos
     </a>

index.php

@@ -3,7 +3,14 @@ require_once __DIR__ . '/includes/db.php';
 require_once __DIR__ . '/includes/layout.php';
 
 // Determine which video to play
-$slug   = $_GET['v'] ?? '';
+$slug = public_video_slug_from_request();
+if (url_rewrite_enabled() && $slug !== '' && isset($_GET['v']) && ((public_route_segments()[0] ?? '') !== 'v')) {
+    $target = public_video_url($slug);
+    $redirect_page = max(1, (int)($_GET['page'] ?? 1));
+    if ($redirect_page > 1) $target = media_append_query($target, ['page' => (string)$redirect_page]);
+    header('Location: ' . $target, true, 302);
+    exit;
+}
 $video  = $slug ? get_video_by_slug($slug) : null;
 
 // Latest video as default if none specified
@@ -30,12 +37,6 @@ foreach ($player_sources as $player_source) {
     if (($player_source['kind'] ?? '') !== 'iframe') $native_player_sources[] = $player_source;
 }
 
-// Build absolute base URL used for embed snippet generation
-$_scheme   = (!empty($_SERVER['HTTPS']) && $_SERVER['HTTPS'] !== 'off') ? 'https' : 'http';
-$_host     = $_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'] ?? 'localhost';
-$_script   = rtrim(dirname($_SERVER['SCRIPT_NAME'] ?? '/'), '/');
-$_base_url = $_scheme . '://' . $_host . $_script . '/';
-
 render_head('Media — TyClifford.com', '
   /* ── Catalogue grid ── */
   .cat-section { display:flex; flex-direction:column; gap:1rem; }
@@ -279,7 +280,7 @@ render_head('Media — TyClifford.com', '
   </div>
 
   <?php if ($video):
-    $embed_url   = $_base_url . 'embed.php?v=' . urlencode($video['slug']);
+    $embed_url   = public_absolute_url('embed.php?v=' . rawurlencode($video['slug']));
     $iframe_code = '<iframe src="' . $embed_url . '" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen allow="fullscreen"></iframe>';
   ?>
   <div class="embed-panel" id="embed-panel" role="region" aria-label="Embed code">
@@ -314,14 +315,14 @@ render_head('Media — TyClifford.com', '
 <section class="cat-section">
   <div class="cat-header">
     <p class="eyebrow eyebrow-purple">Video Catalogue</p>
-    <form class="cat-search" method="get" action="catalogue.php" role="search">
+    <form class="cat-search" method="get" action="<?= h(public_catalogue_url()) ?>" role="search">
       <input class="form-input" type="search" name="q" placeholder="Search public videos…">
       <button class="btn btn-secondary btn-sm" type="submit">
         <svg width="13" height="13" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2"><circle cx="11" cy="11" r="8"/><line x1="21" y1="21" x2="16.65" y2="16.65"/></svg>
         Search
       </button>
     </form>
-    <a href="catalogue.php" class="btn btn-secondary btn-sm">Browse all →</a>
+    <a href="<?= h(public_catalogue_url()) ?>" class="btn btn-secondary btn-sm">Browse all →</a>
   </div>
 
   <?php if (empty($paged['videos'])): ?>
@@ -340,9 +341,9 @@ render_head('Media — TyClifford.com', '
         $vthumb  = $v['thumbnail'];
         $vdur    = (int)$v['duration'];
         $created = substr($v['created_at'], 0, 10);
-      ?>
+        ?>
         <a class="cat-thumb <?= $active ? 'active' : '' ?>"
-           href="?v=<?= urlencode($vslug) ?>"
+           href="<?= h(public_video_url($vslug)) ?>"
            title="<?= h($vtitle) ?>">
           <div class="cat-active-indicator"></div>
           <div class="cat-thumb-img">
@@ -373,8 +374,7 @@ render_head('Media — TyClifford.com', '
           · page <?= $paged['page'] ?> of <?= $paged['total_pages'] ?>
         </span>
         <?php
-          $url_v = $video ? '&v=' . urlencode($video['slug']) : '';
+          render_pagination($paged['page'], $paged['total_pages'], public_player_page_url_pattern($video['slug'] ?? ''));
-          render_pagination($paged['page'], $paged['total_pages'], '?page=%d' . $url_v);
         ?>
       </div>
     <?php endif; ?>