Cineplex Movie Monitor

A Node.js application that monitors (cronjob) Cineplex BD for specific movie availability and sends notifications via ntfy to your mobile app (ntfy) when tickets become available.

Features

• Monitors specific movies based on configurable criteria (title, actors, director, movie ID, category)
• Sends instant notifications when target movies are found
• Provides detailed show times and seat availability (%) information
• Supports image attachments in notifications

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v14 or higher)
• ntfy server for notifications
• Cron job scheduler (optional, for automated monitoring)

Installation

1. Clone or download the project files

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Create a .env file in the project root:

   cp .env.example .env

4. Configure the environment variables in .env (copy from request header):

   CINEPLEX_TOKEN=your_cineplex_api_token_here
   

ntfy Setup

Option 1: Self-hosted ntfy server

1. Install ntfy server:

   # Ubuntu/Debian
   sudo apt install ntfy

2. Start ntfy server:

   ntfy serve

3. Update the notification server details in index.js:

   const ntfyReq = http.request({
     hostname: 'localhost',  // Change to your server IP
     port: 80,               // Change to your server port
     path: `/${ntfyTopic}`,
     method: 'POST',
     headers: headers
   });

Option 2: Using ntfy.sh (public service)

1. Update the notification function in index.js:

   const ntfyReq = https.request({
     hostname: 'ntfy.sh',
     port: 443,
     path: `/${ntfyTopic}`,
     method: 'POST',
     headers: headers
   });

2. Subscribe to notifications:

   # Mobile app or web browser
   # Visit: https://ntfy.sh/movie-alert
   
   # CLI subscription
   ntfy subscribe movie-alert

Configuration

Edit the MOVIE_DETECTION_CONSTANTS object in index.js to monitor different movies:

const MOVIE_DETECTION_CONSTANTS = {
  TITLES: ['superman'],
  ACTORS: ['david corenswet', 'nicholas hoult', 'rachel brosnahan'],
  GENRES: ['action', 'adventure', 'sci-fi'],
  IMAGE_KEYWORDS: ['superman'],
  MOVIE_ID: 1640,
  CATEGORY: '3D',
  DIRECTOR: ['james gunn']
};

Usage

Manual Execution

node index.js

Automated Monitoring with Cron

1. Open crontab:

   crontab -e

2. Add a cron job to run every 15 minutes:

   */15 * * * * cd /path/to/cineplex-scraper && node index.js >> /path/to/cineplex-scraper/log.txt 2>&1

3. Alternative: Run every hour:

   @hourly /path/to/cineplex-scraper && node index.js >> /path/to/cineplex-scraper/log.txt 2>&1

Systemd Service (Alternative to Cron)

1. Create a service file:

   sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/cineplex-monitor.service

2. Add the following content:

   [Unit]
   Description=Cineplex Movie Monitor
   After=network.target
   
   [Service]
   Type=simple
   User=your_username
   WorkingDirectory=/path/to/cineplex-scraper
   ExecStart=/usr/bin/node index.js
   Restart=always
   RestartSec=900
   Environment=NODE_ENV=production
   
   [Install]
   WantedBy=multi-user.target

3. Enable and start the service:

   sudo systemctl daemon-reload
   sudo systemctl enable cineplex-monitor.service
   sudo systemctl start cineplex-monitor.service

Notification Format

The application sends two types of notifications:

1. Movie Found Alert: Basic notification when target movie is detected
2. Detailed Show Times: Comprehensive information including:
   • Available show dates
   • Screen details
   • Show times with pricing
   • Seat availability with color-coded indicators

Troubleshooting

Token Expiration

• The application automatically detects token expiration
• Update the CINEPLEX_TOKEN in your .env file when notified

Common Issues

1. Connection refused errors: Check ntfy server is running and accessible
2. No movies found: Verify movie detection criteria in configuration
3. API errors: Ensure token is valid and properly formatted

Logs

Check the console output or log file for detailed execution information.

Security Notes

• Keep your .env file secure and never commit it to version control
• The .gitignore file is configured to exclude sensitive files
• Consider using environment variables in production deployments