Optimize channel data fetching with fast fetch() path

- Try direct fetch() API call first (instant, no Puppeteer)
- Fall back to Puppeteer only if Cloudflare protection detected (403)
- Dramatically improves connection speed in Docker environments
- Reduces resource usage and startup time

Previously, all channel data fetches required launching Puppeteer browser,
which was slow in Docker. Now fetch() is tried first, only falling back to
Puppeteer when necessary to bypass Cloudflare.

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude <[email protected]>

Author: chrisle

src/apis/private/channelData.ts

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import type { LaunchOptions, Browser } from "puppeteer";
 import { setupPuppeteer } from "./utils";
 
 /**
- * Fetch channel data from Kick.com API using Puppeteer
+ * Fetch channel data from Kick.com API using fetch (fast) or Puppeteer fallback (slow)
  * @param channel - Channel name to fetch data for
  * @param puppeteerOptions - Optional Puppeteer launch options
  * @returns Promise resolving to channel info or null if not found
@@ -17,6 +17,56 @@ export const getChannelData = async (
   channel: string,
   puppeteerOptions?: LaunchOptions,
 ): Promise<KickChannelInfo | null> => {
+  // Try direct fetch first (fast path, no Puppeteer)
+  try {
+    const response = await fetch(`https://kick.com/api/v2/channels/${channel}`, {
+      headers: {
+        'Accept': 'application/json',
+        'User-Agent': 'Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; kick-js/1.0)'
+      }
+    });
+
+    if (response.status === 404) {
+      throw new Error(`Channel '${channel}' does not exist on Kick.com`);
+    }
+
+    if (response.status === 403) {
+      // Cloudflare protection - fall back to Puppeteer
+      console.debug(`Cloudflare protection detected, falling back to Puppeteer for ${channel}`);
+      return await getChannelDataWithPuppeteer(channel, puppeteerOptions);
+    }
+
+    if (response.ok) {
+      const data = await response.json() as KickChannelInfo;
+      return data;
+    }
+
+    // Other HTTP errors - fall back to Puppeteer
+    console.debug(`HTTP ${response.status}, falling back to Puppeteer for ${channel}`);
+    return await getChannelDataWithPuppeteer(channel, puppeteerOptions);
+  } catch (error: unknown) {
+    const errorMessage = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
+    // If it's a known error, throw it
+    if (
+      errorMessage.includes("Channel not found") ||
+      errorMessage.includes("does not exist") ||
+      errorMessage.includes("Request forbidden")
+    ) {
+      throw error;
+    }
+    // Otherwise fall back to Puppeteer
+    console.debug(`Fetch failed (${errorMessage}), falling back to Puppeteer for ${channel}`);
+    return await getChannelDataWithPuppeteer(channel, puppeteerOptions);
+  }
+};
+
+/**
+ * Fetch channel data using Puppeteer (slower, but bypasses Cloudflare)
+ */
+async function getChannelDataWithPuppeteer(
+  channel: string,
+  puppeteerOptions?: LaunchOptions,
+): Promise<KickChannelInfo | null> {
   let browser: Browser | undefined;
   try {
     const setup = await setupPuppeteer(puppeteerOptions);
@@ -80,4 +130,4 @@ export const getChannelData = async (
       await browser.close();
     }
   }
-};
+}