diff --git a/api/RequestBase.php b/api/RequestBase.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3eea2ec
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/RequestBase.php
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+<?php
+require_once 'Database.php';
+
+abstract class RequestBase {
+    private array $actions = array();
+    protected mysqli $conn;
+
+    /**
+     * add the action handlers in this abstract method
+     */
+    abstract function initHandlers();
+
+    /**
+     * adds a new action handler to the current api file
+     *
+     * @param $action string name of the action variable
+     * @param $callback Closure callback function to be called
+     */
+    function addActionHandler($action, $callback) {
+        $this->actions[$action] = $callback;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * runs the correct handler
+     * should be called once within the api request
+     */
+    function handleAction() {
+        $this->conn = Database::getInstance()->getConnection();
+
+        if (isset($_POST['action'])) {
+            $this->initHandlers();
+
+            $action = $_POST['action'];
+
+            // call the right handler
+            $this->actions[$action]();
+        } else {
+            echo('{data:"error"}');
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/api/Settings.php b/api/Settings.php
index 273446e..f45410c 100644
--- a/api/Settings.php
+++ b/api/Settings.php
@@ -1,29 +1,22 @@
 <?php
-require 'Database.php';
-require 'SSettings.php';
+require 'RequestBase.php';
 
-$conn = Database::getInstance()->getConnection();
-$settings = new SSettings();
-
-if (isset($_POST['action'])) {
-    $action = $_POST['action'];
-    switch ($action) {
-        case "loadGeneralSettings":
+class Settings extends RequestBase {
+    function initHandlers() {
+        $this->addActionHandler("loadGeneralSettings", function () {
             $query = "SELECT * from settings";
 
-            $result = $conn->query($query);
-            if ($result->num_rows > 1) {
-                // todo throw error
-            }
+            $result = $this->conn->query($query);
 
             $r = mysqli_fetch_assoc($result);
             // booleans need to be set manually
-            $r['passwordEnabled']  = $r['password'] != "-1";
+            $r['passwordEnabled'] = $r['password'] != "-1";
             $r['TMDB_grabbing'] = ($r['TMDB_grabbing'] != '0');
 
             echo json_encode($r);
-            break;
-        case "saveGeneralSettings":
+        });
+
+        $this->addActionHandler("saveGeneralSettings", function () {
             $mediacentername = $_POST['mediacentername'];
             $password = $_POST['password'];
             $videopath = $_POST['videopath'];
@@ -38,19 +31,17 @@ if (isset($_POST['action'])) {
                         TMDB_grabbing=$tmdbsupport
                     WHERE 1";
 
-            if ($conn->query($query) === true) {
+            if ($this->conn->query($query) === true) {
                 echo '{"success": true}';
             } else {
                 echo '{"success": true}';
             }
-            break;
-        case "loadInitialData":
+        });
+
+        $this->addActionHandler("loadInitialData", function () {
             $query = "SELECT * from settings";
 
-            $result = $conn->query($query);
-            if ($result->num_rows > 1) {
-                // todo throw error
-            }
+            $result = $this->conn->query($query);
 
             $r = mysqli_fetch_assoc($result);
             if ($r['password'] != "-1") {
@@ -60,6 +51,9 @@ if (isset($_POST['action'])) {
             }
             unset($r['password']);
             echo json_encode($r);
-            break;
+        });
     }
 }
+
+$sett = new Settings();
+$sett->handleAction();
diff --git a/api/Tags.php b/api/Tags.php
index fcc63b7..2953419 100644
--- a/api/Tags.php
+++ b/api/Tags.php
@@ -1,31 +1,30 @@
 <?php
-require 'Database.php';
+require_once 'RequestBase.php';
 
-$conn = Database::getInstance()->getConnection();
-
-if (isset($_POST['action'])) {
-    $action = $_POST['action'];
-    switch ($action) {
-        case "getAllTags":
+class Tags extends RequestBase {
+    function initHandlers() {
+        $this->addActionHandler("getAllTags", function () {
             $query = "SELECT tag_name,tag_id from tags";
 
-            $result = $conn->query($query);
+            $result = $this->conn->query($query);
             $rows = array();
             while ($r = mysqli_fetch_assoc($result)) {
                 array_push($rows, $r);
             }
             echo json_encode($rows);
+        });
 
-            break;
-
-        case "createTag":
+        $this->addActionHandler("createTag", function (){
             $query = "INSERT INTO tags (tag_name) VALUES ('" . $_POST['tagname'] . "')";
 
-            if ($conn->query($query) === TRUE) {
+            if ($this->conn->query($query) === TRUE) {
                 echo('{"result":"success"}');
             } else {
-                echo('{"result":"' . $conn->error . '"}');
+                echo('{"result":"' . $this->conn->error . '"}');
             }
-            break;
+        });
     }
 }
+
+$tags = new Tags();
+$tags->handleAction();
diff --git a/api/videoload.php b/api/videoload.php
index c2070a9..b2c2e0f 100755
--- a/api/videoload.php
+++ b/api/videoload.php
@@ -1,20 +1,20 @@
 <?php
-require 'Database.php';
-require 'SSettings.php';
+require_once 'Database.php';
+require_once 'SSettings.php';
+require_once 'RequestBase.php';
 
-// establish initial db connection
-$conn = Database::getInstance()->getConnection();
-$settings = new SSettings();
+class Video extends RequestBase {
+    private string $videopath;
 
-// load video path from settings
-$videopath = $settings->getVideoPath();
+    public function __construct() {
+        $settings = new SSettings();
+        // load video path from settings
+        $this->videopath = $settings->getVideoPath();
+    }
 
-
-if (isset($_POST['action'])) {
-    $action = $_POST['action'];
-    switch ($action) {
-        case "getMovies":
-            $query = "SELECT movie_id,movie_name FROM videos ORDER BY create_date DESC, movie_name ASC";
+    function initHandlers() {
+        $this->addActionHandler("getMovies", function () {
+            $query = "SELECT movie_id,movie_name FROM videos ORDER BY create_date DESC, movie_name";
             if (isset($_POST['tag'])) {
                 $tag = $_POST['tag'];
                 if ($_POST['tag'] != "all") {
@@ -22,21 +22,22 @@ if (isset($_POST['action'])) {
                             INNER JOIN video_tags vt on videos.movie_id = vt.video_id
                             INNER JOIN tags t on vt.tag_id = t.tag_id
                             WHERE t.tag_name = '$tag'
-                            ORDER BY likes DESC, create_date ASC, movie_name ASC";
+                            ORDER BY likes DESC, create_date, movie_name";
                 }
             }
-            $result = $conn->query($query);
+            $result = $this->conn->query($query);
             $rows = array();
             while ($r = mysqli_fetch_assoc($result)) {
                 array_push($rows, $r);
             }
 
             echo(json_encode($rows));
-            break;
-        case "getRandomMovies":
+        });
+
+        $this->addActionHandler("getRandomMovies", function () {
             $return = new stdClass();
             $query = "SELECT movie_id,movie_name FROM videos ORDER BY RAND() LIMIT " . $_POST['number'];
-            $result = $conn->query($query);
+            $result = $this->conn->query($query);
             $return->rows = array();
 
             // get tags of random videos
@@ -53,32 +54,33 @@ if (isset($_POST['action'])) {
                         INNER JOIN tags t on video_tags.tag_id = t.tag_id
                         WHERE $idstring
                         GROUP BY t.tag_name";
-            $result = $conn->query($query);
+            $result = $this->conn->query($query);
             while ($r = mysqli_fetch_assoc($result)) {
                 array_push($return->tags, $r);
             }
 
             echo(json_encode($return));
-            break;
-        case "getSearchKeyWord":
+        });
+
+        $this->addActionHandler("getSearchKeyWord", function () {
             $search = $_POST['keyword'];
 
             $query = "SELECT movie_id,movie_name FROM videos 
                         WHERE movie_name LIKE '%$search%'
-                        ORDER BY likes DESC, create_date DESC, movie_name ASC";
-            $result = $conn->query($query);
+                        ORDER BY likes DESC, create_date DESC, movie_name";
+            $result = $this->conn->query($query);
             $rows = array();
             while ($r = mysqli_fetch_assoc($result)) {
                 array_push($rows, $r);
             }
 
             echo(json_encode($rows));
+        });
 
-            break;
-        case "loadVideo":
+        $this->addActionHandler("loadVideo", function () {
             $query = "SELECT movie_name,movie_id,movie_url,thumbnail,poster,likes,quality,length FROM videos WHERE movie_id='" . $_POST['movieid'] . "'";
 
-            $result = $conn->query($query);
+            $result = $this->conn->query($query);
             $row = $result->fetch_assoc();
 
             $arr = array();
@@ -92,7 +94,7 @@ if (isset($_POST['action'])) {
             $arr["movie_name"] = $row["movie_name"];
             // todo drop video url from db -- maybe one with and one without extension
             // extension hardcoded here!!!
-            $arr["movie_url"] = str_replace("?", "%3F", $videopath . $row["movie_name"] . ".mp4");
+            $arr["movie_url"] = str_replace("?", "%3F", $this->videopath . $row["movie_name"] . ".mp4");
             $arr["likes"] = $row["likes"];
             $arr["quality"] = $row["quality"];
             $arr["length"] = $row["length"];
@@ -103,15 +105,15 @@ if (isset($_POST['action'])) {
                         INNER JOIN tags t on video_tags.tag_id = t.tag_id
                         WHERE video_tags.video_id=" . $_POST['movieid'] . "
                         GROUP BY t.tag_name";
-            $result = $conn->query($query);
+            $result = $this->conn->query($query);
             while ($r = mysqli_fetch_assoc($result)) {
                 array_push($arr['tags'], $r);
             }
 
             echo(json_encode($arr));
+        });
 
-            break;
-        case "getDbSize":
+        $this->addActionHandler("getDbSize", function () {
             $dbname = Database::getInstance()->getDatabaseName();
 
             $query = "SELECT table_schema AS \"Database\", 
@@ -119,24 +121,24 @@ if (isset($_POST['action'])) {
                         FROM information_schema.TABLES 
                         WHERE TABLE_SCHEMA='$dbname'
                         GROUP BY table_schema;";
-            $result = $conn->query($query);
+            $result = $this->conn->query($query);
 
             if ($result->num_rows == 1) {
                 $row = $result->fetch_assoc();
                 echo '{"data":"' . $row["Size"] . 'MB"}';
             }
+        });
 
-            break;
-        case "readThumbnail":
+        $this->addActionHandler("readThumbnail", function () {
             $query = "SELECT thumbnail FROM videos WHERE movie_id='" . $_POST['movieid'] . "'";
 
-            $result = $conn->query($query);
+            $result = $this->conn->query($query);
             $row = $result->fetch_assoc();
 
             echo($row["thumbnail"]);
+        });
 
-            break;
-        case "getTags":
+        $this->addActionHandler("getTags", function () {
             // todo add this to loadVideo maybe
             $movieid = $_POST['movieid'];
 
@@ -144,7 +146,7 @@ if (isset($_POST['action'])) {
                         INNER JOIN tags t on video_tags.tag_id = t.tag_id 
                         WHERE video_id='$movieid'";
 
-            $result = $conn->query($query);
+            $result = $this->conn->query($query);
 
             $rows = array();
             $rows['tags'] = array();
@@ -153,21 +155,23 @@ if (isset($_POST['action'])) {
             }
 
             echo(json_encode($rows));
-            break;
-        case "addLike":
+        });
+
+        $this->addActionHandler("addLike", function () {
             $movieid = $_POST['movieid'];
 
             $query = "update videos set likes = likes + 1 where movie_id = '$movieid'";
 
-            if ($conn->query($query) === TRUE) {
+            if ($this->conn->query($query) === TRUE) {
                 echo('{"result":"success"}');
             } else {
-                echo('{"result":"' . $conn->error . '"}');
+                echo('{"result":"' . $this->conn->error . '"}');
             }
-            break;
-        case "getStartData":
+        });
+
+        $this->addActionHandler("getStartData", function () {
             $query = "SELECT COUNT(*) as nr FROM videos";
-            $result = $conn->query($query);
+            $result = $this->conn->query($query);
             $r = mysqli_fetch_assoc($result);
 
             $arr = array();
@@ -176,7 +180,7 @@ if (isset($_POST['action'])) {
             $query = "SELECT COUNT(*) as nr FROM videos
                         INNER JOIN video_tags vt on videos.movie_id = vt.video_id
                         INNER JOIN tags t on vt.tag_id = t.tag_id";
-            $result = $conn->query($query);
+            $result = $this->conn->query($query);
             $r = mysqli_fetch_assoc($result);
             $arr['tagged'] = $r['nr'];
 
@@ -184,7 +188,7 @@ if (isset($_POST['action'])) {
                         INNER JOIN video_tags vt on videos.movie_id = vt.video_id
                         INNER JOIN tags t on vt.tag_id = t.tag_id
                         WHERE t.tag_name='hd'";
-            $result = $conn->query($query);
+            $result = $this->conn->query($query);
             $r = mysqli_fetch_assoc($result);
             $arr['hd'] = $r['nr'];
 
@@ -192,7 +196,7 @@ if (isset($_POST['action'])) {
                         INNER JOIN video_tags vt on videos.movie_id = vt.video_id
                         INNER JOIN tags t on vt.tag_id = t.tag_id
                         WHERE t.tag_name='fullhd'";
-            $result = $conn->query($query);
+            $result = $this->conn->query($query);
             $r = mysqli_fetch_assoc($result);
             $arr['fullhd'] = $r['nr'];
 
@@ -200,43 +204,43 @@ if (isset($_POST['action'])) {
                         INNER JOIN video_tags vt on videos.movie_id = vt.video_id
                         INNER JOIN tags t on vt.tag_id = t.tag_id
                         WHERE t.tag_name='lowquality'";
-            $result = $conn->query($query);
+            $result = $this->conn->query($query);
             $r = mysqli_fetch_assoc($result);
             $arr['sd'] = $r['nr'];
 
             $query = "SELECT COUNT(*) as nr FROM tags";
-            $result = $conn->query($query);
+            $result = $this->conn->query($query);
             $r = mysqli_fetch_assoc($result);
             $arr['tags'] = $r['nr'];
 
             echo(json_encode($arr));
-            break;
+        });
 
-        case "getAllTags":
+        $this->addActionHandler("getAllTags", function () {
             $query = "SELECT tag_name,tag_id from tags";
-            $result = $conn->query($query);
+            $result = $this->conn->query($query);
 
             $rows = array();
             while ($r = mysqli_fetch_assoc($result)) {
                 array_push($rows, $r);
             }
             echo(json_encode($rows));
-            break;
-        case "addTag":
+        });
+
+        $this->addActionHandler("addTag", function () {
             $movieid = $_POST['movieid'];
             $tagid = $_POST['id'];
 
             $query = "INSERT INTO video_tags(tag_id, video_id) VALUES ('$tagid','$movieid')";
 
-            if ($conn->query($query) === TRUE) {
+            if ($this->conn->query($query) === TRUE) {
                 echo('{"result":"success"}');
             } else {
-                echo('{"result":"' . $conn->error . '"}');
+                echo('{"result":"' . $this->conn->error . '"}');
             }
-            break;
+        });
     }
-} else {
-    echo('{data:"error"}');
 }
-return;
 
+$video = new Video();
+$video->handleAction();