---
status: superseded by ADR-0003
---

# NodeCast is a companion to the nodecast-tv server, not standalone

The first cut of the native TV app parsed M3U playlists itself and needed no
backend. We decided to make it a thin companion instead: the TV app is the only
client of a nodecast-tv server, which owns sources, channels, EPG, favorites
and users. Rationale: those features already exist server-side and would
otherwise be rebuilt in the app; the household already runs the server.
Consequence: the app is not usable without a reachable nodecast-tv instance.
The app-side M3U parser is deliberately kept as a generic-source fallback so
M3U/XMLTV servers like ErsatzTV can be added later without rearchitecting.