🎬 ItunesMoviePriceTracker

A Blazor Server application for managing your iTunes movie wishlist with price monitoring. Track HD and 4K price history, set watch prices and receive email notifications when prices drop, all from a local IIS-hosted web app.

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Screenshots

Movie List	Add Movie	Movie Detail

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Features

• 📋 Browse all tracked iTunes movies in a sortable, filterable data grid
• 📈 Price history per movie with trend indicators (up / down / all-time low)
• 🎯 Set a personal watch price per movie
• 🔄 Scheduled price checks via Windows Task Scheduler
• 🖱️ Manual price update trigger from the UI
• 🌙 Dark / light mode with system theme detection and localStorage persistence
• 🔍 Filter by title and director

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Prerequisites

• .NET 10 SDK
• SQL Server (local or remote)
• IIS with ASP.NET Core Hosting Bundle installed
• ASP.NET Core Hosting Bundle for .NET 10

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Getting Started

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/your-username/ItunesMoviePriceTracker.git
cd ItunesMoviePriceTracker

2. Configure the database

Update the connection string in both appsettings.json files (see Configuration below).

3. Run the Web app locally

dotnet run --project src/ItunesMoviePriceTracker.Web

Or open ItunesMoviePriceTracker.sln in Visual Studio and press F5.

The database and all migrations are applied automatically on startup. If the database does not exist it will be created.

4. Set up the Update Service (optional)

To run price checks on a schedule, register the UpdateService with Windows Task Scheduler:

dotnet publish src/ItunesMoviePriceTracker.UpdateService -c Release -o publish/UpdateService

Then create a new task in Windows Task Scheduler pointing to:

publish/UpdateService/ItunesMoviePriceTracker.UpdateService.exe

Configure the trigger to run at your preferred times. Price checks can also be triggered manually from the Web UI via the Refresh button.

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Configuration

appsettings.json (Web & UpdateService)

Both ItunesMoviePriceTracker.Web and ItunesMoviePriceTracker.UpdateService require a local appsettings.json that is not committed to the repository. Use appsettings.example.json as a template — copy it and rename it to appsettings.json:

{
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "DefaultConnection": "Server=YOUR_SERVER;Database=ItunesMovies;Trusted_Connection=True;TrustServerCertificate=True;"
  },
  "PriceCheck": {
    "ThrottleHours": 24,
    "StoreCountry": "se"
  },
  "UiPolling": {
    "IntervalMinutes": 30
  },
  "DataProtection": {
    "KeyPath": "YOUR_KEY_PATH"
  },
  "Notifications": {
    "SmtpHost": "smtp.gmail.com",
    "SmtpPort": 587,
    "SmtpUser": "YOUR_EMAIL",
    "SmtpPassword": "YOUR_APP_PASSWORD",
    "ToEmail": "YOUR_EMAIL"
  },
  "AllowedHosts": "*"
}

Replace YOUR_SERVER with your SQL Server instance name, e.g. localhost or .\SQLEXPRESS.

ThrottleHours controls how many hours must pass before a movie is eligible for a new price check. Defaults to 24 if not set.

StoreCountry sets the iTunes store country code. Defaults to se (Sweden) if not set.

UiPolling:IntervalMinutes sets how often the UI polls the database for updates in the background. Defaults to 30 minutes if not set.

DataProtection:KeyPath sets the path where ASP.NET Core Data Protection keys are persisted. Example: C:\\inetpub\\ItunesMoviePriceTracker\\keys. The IIS app pool identity needs write access to this folder.

Notifications — SMTP settings for email notifications when a price drops below WatchPrice.

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IIS Setup

1. Install ASP.NET Core Hosting Bundle for .NET 10

Download and install from dot.net/download then run:

iisreset

2. Create site folder and required subfolders

mkdir C:\inetpub\ItunesMoviePriceTracker
mkdir C:\inetpub\ItunesMoviePriceTracker\logs
mkdir C:\inetpub\ItunesMoviePriceTracker\keys

3. Grant IIS permissions

icacls "C:\inetpub\ItunesMoviePriceTracker" /grant "IIS_IUSRS:(OI)(CI)RX"
icacls "C:\inetpub\ItunesMoviePriceTracker\logs" /grant "IIS_IUSRS:(OI)(CI)F"
icacls "C:\inetpub\ItunesMoviePriceTracker\keys" /grant "IIS_IUSRS:(OI)(CI)F"
icacls "C:\inetpub\ItunesMoviePriceTracker\keys" /grant "IIS APPPOOL\ItunesMoviePriceTracker:(OI)(CI)F"

Note: The last command uses the exact application pool identity. Replace ItunesMoviePriceTracker with your site name if different.

4. Grant SQL Server permissions

Run in SSMS:

USE master;
CREATE LOGIN [IIS APPPOOL\ItunesMoviePriceTracker] FROM WINDOWS;

USE ItunesMovies;
CREATE USER [IIS APPPOOL\ItunesMoviePriceTracker] FOR LOGIN [IIS APPPOOL\ItunesMoviePriceTracker];
ALTER ROLE db_datareader ADD MEMBER [IIS APPPOOL\ItunesMoviePriceTracker];
ALTER ROLE db_datawriter ADD MEMBER [IIS APPPOOL\ItunesMoviePriceTracker];
ALTER ROLE db_ddladmin ADD MEMBER [IIS APPPOOL\ItunesMoviePriceTracker];

5. Create IIS site

In IIS Manager → Sites → Add Website:

• Site name: ItunesMoviePriceTracker
• Physical path: C:\inetpub\ItunesMoviePriceTracker
• Port: 8080

6. Configure Application Pool

In IIS Manager → Application Pools → ItunesMoviePriceTracker → Advanced Settings:

• .NET CLR Version: No Managed Code
• Enable 32-Bit Applications: False

7. Publish and deploy

Run as administrator:

iisreset /stop
dotnet publish src/ItunesMoviePriceTracker.Web -c Release -o C:\inetpub\ItunesMoviePriceTracker
iisreset /start

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Architecture

Solution Structure

ItunesMoviePriceTracker/
├── ItunesMoviePriceTracker.sln
└── src/
    ├── ItunesMoviePriceTracker.Shared           # DTOs only
    ├── ItunesMoviePriceTracker.Repository       # EF Core, MSSQL, internal entities
    ├── ItunesMoviePriceTracker.Services         # Business logic, iTunes API, DI registration
    ├── ItunesMoviePriceTracker.Web              # Blazor Server (.NET 10), IIS hosted
    └── ItunesMoviePriceTracker.UpdateService    # Console App, Windows Task Scheduler

Dependency Graph

Shared      ←  Services  ←  Web
                          ←  UpdateService
Repository  ←  Services

• Shared has zero dependencies — DTOs only
• Repository has zero dependencies on other projects — only EF Core NuGet packages
• Services references Shared and Repository, contains service interfaces, implementations and DI registration via extension methods
• Web and UpdateService reference Shared and Services only — Repository is wired up via DI in Program.cs

Data Flow

Web → (DTOs in Shared) → Service → Repository → MSSQL
                              ↑
                 EF entity mapped to DTO in Service layer

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Coding Conventions

Convention	Choice
Constructors	Primary constructors (C# 12)
Async	Async/await throughout
Nullable	Nullable reference types enabled
Naming	PascalCase for classes/methods, camelCase for locals

Example:

// ✅ Primary constructor
public class MovieRepository(AppDbContext context, int throttleHours) : IMovieRepository
{
    public async Task<IEnumerable<Movie>> GetAllAsync()
        => await context.Movies.Include(m => m.Prices).OrderBy(m => m.TrackHdPrice).ToListAsync();
}

// ❌ Old style
public class MovieRepository : IMovieRepository
{
    private readonly AppDbContext _context;
    public MovieRepository(AppDbContext context) { _context = context; }
}

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Architecture & Key Decisions

Area	Choice	Reason
Framework	.NET 10 / Blazor Server	Modern, interactive server rendering
Database	MSSQL (existing)	Preserves years of accumulated price data
ORM	EF Core Code First	Migrations handle schema changes cleanly
Hosting	IIS (local)	Consistent with existing setup
Price updates	Windows Task Scheduler + manual UI trigger	Simple, reliable, no external dependencies
iTunes data	iTunes Search API (Apple)	Proven, no scraping needed
HTTP	IHttpClientFactory	Best practice for HttpClient lifetime management
Theme	System detection + localStorage	Respects user preference, persists across navigation
Logging	Serilog with file sink	Daily rolling log files, EF Core noise filtered out

Layered Architecture

• Shared exposes only DTOs — no interfaces, no EF entities leak into Web
• Repository is fully internal — EF entities never leave the Repository layer
• Services owns all mapping between EF entities and DTOs
• Services owns DI registration via extension methods — Web and UpdateService call builder.Services.AddMovieServices() in Program.cs without knowing anything about Repository

Price Trend

Trend is intentionally calculated in the UI layer (Blazor component), not in services. It is a display concern — no enum or helper needed. The Trend property is set on the DTO after data is loaded.

iTunes API Behavior

• Store country configurable via PriceCheck:StoreCountry in appsettings.json (default se)
• 3-second delay between API calls — respects Apple rate limits
• Movies only checked if LastChecked is older than ThrottleHours (configurable, default 24h)

Logging

Serilog is used for structured logging with a daily rolling file sink. EF Core database command logging is suppressed at Warning level to avoid noise. Log files are stored in the logs/ folder of each deployed application and rotated daily with a 30-day retention policy.

On startup, ApplyMigrationsAsync() is called via Program.cs. This creates the database if it does not exist and applies any pending migrations automatically. No manual dotnet ef database update needed.

Theme

Theme is managed entirely in JavaScript — Blazor never touches it. On page load, the saved localStorage value is applied. If no preference is saved, the system theme is used. The toggle button in the header persists the choice to localStorage.

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Database Schema

dbo.Movies

Column	Type	Notes
TrackId	int PK	iTunes Track ID
TrackName	nvarchar(500)	Movie title
ReleaseDate	datetime2(7)
ArtistName	nvarchar(255)	Director
LongDescription	nvarchar(2000)
ArtworkUrl60	nvarchar(500)	Thumbnail
ArtworkUrl400	nvarchar(500)	Full artwork
TrackHdPrice	decimal(18,2)	Latest known price
LastChecked	datetime2(7)	Throttle control
WatchPrice	decimal(18,2)	Target watch price (nullable)

dbo.Prices

Column	Type	Notes
Id	int PK
Date	datetime2(7)	UTC
Price	decimal(18,2)
MovieTrackId	int FK	→ dbo.Movies.TrackId

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Future Considerations

• Multi-language support (UI layer, resource strings)
• Support for additional iTunes store countries
• Desktop app version using Blazor + WebView2 — wraps the existing app in a Windows .exe installer, eliminating the need for IIS and SQL Server setup for end users

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License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.