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Host Live Streaming (RESTful API)

RESTful API Live Streaming is built for scenarios that require strict control over live rooms. By centrally configuring room rules—such as room ID, layout template, and permissions—through your business backend, you can achieve cloud-based room management, multi-device streaming, and cross-platform viewing.

Applicable Scenarios

Starting a live stream via RESTful API allows you to tightly integrate live streaming workflows with your business logic. This approach is ideal for scenarios where you need strong control over live rooms:
Business Scenario
Core Value
Paid/Reserved Live Streaming
Rooms are created only after backend permission verification, ensuring controlled allocation of live resources (RoomId) and preventing unauthorized use.
Enterprise/Education Live Streaming
The backend pre-configures layout templates (such as fixed grid layouts), ensuring a consistent viewing experience across different hosts and devices.
Platform Operations Management
Supports server-side forced room dismissal, admin configuration, and user banning, enabling full lifecycle supervision of live streaming.

Activate the Service

Activate the Service: See Activate the Service to obtain your SDKAppID.
Configure Application Admin Account: In the console, Configure Admin for API authentication.

Step 1: Create Room on Server Side

Have your business backend call the RESTful API to configure a live room. Refer to Create Room for details on invoking the room creation API.
https://xxxxxx/v4/live_engine_http_srv/create_room?sdkappid=88888888&identifier=admin&usersig=xxx&random=99999999&contenttype=json
Required Room Parameters
Field
Type
Required
Description
RoomId
String
Required
Unique room identifier, up to 48 bytes.
RoomType
String
Required
Room type. Use the fixed value: Live.
SeatTemplate
String
Required
Layout template ID. See below for SeatTemplate Layout Options.
Owner_Account
String
Required
Host ID (must be an account imported into the Live account system). It is recommended to use the host's userID for the current live room.
SeatTemplate Layout Options
Note:
The number of mic seats you can configure depends on your package. For details, see Live Monthly Package regarding co-hosting capacity.
Vertical Video Streaming
Layout Type
Dynamic Grid Layout
Floating Window Layout
Fixed Grid Layout
Fixed Floating Window Layout
Template ID
VideoDynamicGrid9Seats
VideoDynamicFloat7Seats
VideoFixedGrid9Seats
VideoFixedFloat7Seats
Max Seats
9
7
9
7
Description
Default layout. Grid size dynamically adjusts based on the number of co-hosts.
Audience co-hosts are displayed as floating windows.
Fixed co-host count. Each guest occupies a fixed grid slot.
Fixed co-host count. Guests are displayed as fixed floating windows.
Preview












Horizontal Video Streaming
Template ID: VideoLandscape4Seat
Max Mic Seats: Supports up to 4 mic seats (1 host video seat, 3 audience co-host audio seats).
Live Effect:


Step 2: Select Streaming Method

In RESTful API mode, live room instances are pre-created by your backend. To simplify client logic, LiveKit standardizes the streaming API: the host only needs to call startLive to begin streaming.
Note:
Make sure the host's login userId matches the Owner_Account set in the backend.

Mobile App Streaming


Applicable Scenarios: Outdoor streaming, mobile showrooms, lifestyle vlogs—ideal for portability and real-time interaction.
Core Advantages:
Easy Integration: Built-in beauty filters, voice changing, live comments, gifts, mic seat management, and more. Handles complex audio/video capture automatically.
Complete Interaction Suite: All mobile interactive features (beauty, stickers, voice changing, live comments, gifts, mic seat management) are included, so you don't need to assemble UI components manually.
High Performance & Low Power: Optimized for mobile devices, supports hardware encoding/decoding, and enables long-duration streaming without overheating or frame drops.
Flexible Scenarios: Natively supports automatic landscape/portrait switching, auto-reconnect after network loss, and background stream switching.
Integration Guide: See the sidebar Streaming Method for your platform's Host Streaming documentation. For iOS, when initializing the host streaming page, set the LiveID parameter in the LiveInfo instance to the server-generated RoomId.
 // Assemble LiveInfo and set roomId from server
 let liveInfo = LiveInfo()
 liveInfo.liveID = "your_server_room_id" // Use the RoomId from your server

 public init(liveInfo: LiveInfo, coreView: LiveCoreView? = nil) {
     self.liveInfo = liveInfo
     if let coreView = coreView {
         self.coreView = coreView
     } else {
         self.coreView = LiveCoreView()
     }
     self.anchorView = AnchorView(liveInfo: liveInfo, coreView: self.coreView, behavior: .createRoom)
     super.init(nibName: nil, bundle: nil)
 }

Web Browser Streaming


Applicable Scenarios: E-commerce hosting, online education. Supports multi-layer layouts in desktop browsers.
Core Advantages:
Multi-source Layout: Supports camera, screen sharing, window sharing, and image layering with drag-and-drop and mirroring.
Interactive Features: Built-in audience co-host layout switching, host PK, and full audience management (mute/kick).
Integration Guide (Vue3): See Web Browser Streaming for details. When integrating the host streaming page, set liveId to the server-generated RoomId:
 // Set liveId in createLive to the server-generated RoomId during handleStartLive
 const handleStartLive = async () => {
   await createLive({
     liveId: 'your_server_room_id', // Use the RoomId from your server
   });
 };

PC Streaming Assistant


Applicable Scenarios: Game streaming, large events, corporate meetings—ideal for high-definition video and complex local media mixing.
Core Advantages:
Video Capabilities: Supports up to 2K/60fps streaming and advanced local video file (MP4/MKV) mixing.
Audio Effects: Includes 13 voice changing effects, 11 reverbs, and background music control, suitable for professional sound card setups.
Co-host Layouts: Supports vertical nine-grid/floating window, horizontal 1v3 audio co-hosting, and custom templates.
Integration Guide: See PC Streaming Assistant for details. When the host starts streaming, set liveId to the server-generated RoomId:
 // Set liveId to the server-generated RoomId during handleStartLive
 const handleStartLive = async () => {
   await createLive({
     liveId: 'your_server_room_id', // Use the RoomId from your server
   });
 };

OBS Studio Streaming


Applicable Scenarios: Professional teams with established OBS plugin systems or production workflows.
Integration Guide: See OBS Studio Streaming to obtain the server and stream key for OBS. Open OBS, configure the live streaming service, and start streaming.

Step 3: Select Viewing Method

LiveKit supports cross-platform audience integration. Once the audience has the server-configured RoomId, they can join the live room using the following methods:

Web / H5 Web Viewing


Applicable Scenarios: Social sharing, viral growth. Ideal for web embedding—users can watch instantly via a link, with no app installation required.
Core Advantages: Broad cross-platform compatibility, supports browser-based streaming and basic text interaction.
Integration Guide: See the sidebar Viewing Method for your platform's Audience Viewing documentation. For Web Vue3 mobile browsers, when integrating the audience viewing page with Web UI components, set liveId to the server-generated RoomId.
 const liveId = 'your_server_room_id'  // Use the RoomId from your server

Live Monitoring Viewing


Applicable Scenarios: Platform compliance and supervision. Admins can monitor multiple live rooms simultaneously, review content, and handle violations.
Core Advantages:
Multi-room Monitoring: Monitor multiple live rooms at once, view real-time online user counts, reward totals, and more.
Powerful Controls: Integrates backend "one-click end stream" and "user ban" features.
Integration Guide: See Live Management Deployment Guide to deploy the live management system. After logging in, admins can access the "monitoring details page" for a specific room from the "live room list."

Step 4: Server-Side Room Dismissal (End Live Stream)

When a live stream ends or a violation is detected, your backend can call the Dismiss Room API to forcibly dismiss the room.
Effect: All users (hosts and audience) in the room will receive a dismissal notification and be forcibly removed. Cloud resources will be released.
Applicable Scenarios:
Automatic cleanup by the backend after an abnormal host disconnect.
Immediate ban when violations are detected.
System-enforced end when a paid live stream reaches its time limit.
Core Parameter:
Field
Type
Required
Description
RoomId
String
Required
ID of the live room to be dismissed.

FAQs

After the server creates a room, if the host hasn't entered and started streaming, can the audience enter the live room in advance?

Supported: Once the room is created on the server, the audience can join using joinLive.
Viewing Experience: If the host hasn't started streaming, the audience will not see audio/video content—typically resulting in a black screen or placeholder image.
Optimization Suggestion: To prevent the audience from entering a "black screen room," set IsPublicVisible to false (hide the live room) when creating the room on the server. After the host starts streaming, update the room info to set it to true (publicly visible).

Is creating a room via server API a mandatory step for starting a live stream?

Not Mandatory: LiveKit supports two streaming modes.
Self-service Streaming: Hosts can create and enter rooms directly in the app without using the server API.
Business Pre-configuration: Creating rooms via the server API is recommended for paid or reserved live streaming scenarios where the backend needs to allocate room IDs and preset layout templates.

What's the difference between using startLive and joinLive when the host enters a pre-created room?

Hosts should always call startLive in any scenario.
Consistent Role: If the room is already created on the server, whether the host calls startLive or joinLive, they will be recognized as the host and have streaming permissions.
Integration Differences:
UI Component Integration: After calling startLive or joinLive, the SDK automatically takes a mic seat and enables the camera and microphone for the host.
No UI Integration (Core SDK): After calling startLive or joinLive, only the mic seat is automatically taken; developers must manually enable media tracks (camera/microphone) as needed.
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