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Building Blocks

API.stream offers a comprehensive set of APIs and SDKs intended to provide 3 groups of core API services and 2 high-level workflows. Developers can use a combination of these complimentary services to offload as much or as little of the heavy lifting required to build a frontend studio or a backend automated video mixer.

Workflows​

We encourage our development partners to utilize one of our prebuilt workflows to jumpstart their application development. Our workflows are based on years of experience in developing frontend and backend video applications. They are designed to hide technical complexity where possible while allowing developers to customize and differentiate their product offerings to their specific market needs.

Sceneless​

Our Studio Kit lets developers embed a Studio directly into their browser-based frontend applications. Users can collaborate with other WebRTC guests, share their screen content, and interact with RTMP video sources while live streaming. Development partners control the look and feel; under the hood, api.stream handles automated flow-based layout, integration with WebRTC and other video sources, compositing, encoding, and streaming broadcasts to a CDN.

Sceneless Workflow

Scene​

Our Scene Workflow lets developers create complex, multi-layered HTML compositions comprising live RTMP video, WebRTC video, and arbitrary external URLs. Developers can craft multiple scenes of complex arrangements switching between them with a simple API call. Elements can be manipulated within a scene in real-time with support for key-frame animation.

Notably, the Scene Workflow is purely API-based with no dependencies on a frontend browser. That gives developers the flexibility to utilize it from either a browser or from a backend server.

Scene Workflow

External Renderer​

You can also use our Live API to render and broadcast your own HTML5 compositions to RTMP.

External Renderer Workflow

APIs​

If your workflow doesn't match one of our prebuilt workflows, we invite you to build your own using using our secure, complimentary, and comprehensive set of core video, layout, and event APIs.

Live​

Our Live API enables developers to manage all aspects of a live stream, inclusive of ingesting RTMP, WebRTC, and other live media sources, securely storing and retrieval of broadcast settings and application-specific data, starting and stopping broadcasts, controlling the destination of a broadcast, and receiving broadcast-related events.

Layout​

Developers can leverage our Layout API in one of two ways:

  • If you are using the Scene Workflow, you will be using our Layout API to remotely control our Scene Renderer. You provide directives via the API to build up scenes with complex layers of integrated video and HTML elements. During a broadcast, you can use our APIs to dynamically animate and move elements within a scene, or switch between scenes.
  • We also allow developers to build their own HTML renderer using our Layout API data storage and event primitives.

Event​

The Live API and Layout API utilize the services of our Event API to enable collaboration across multiple co-hosts and guests, and to update the Renderer with changes to a layout. We also allow developers to use our Event API to send custom events between their frontend and backend applications.