The OpenTok Node SDK lets you generate sessions and tokens for OpenTok applications. It also includes methods for working with OpenTok archives, working with OpenTok live streaming broadcasts, working with OpenTok SIP interconnect, and disconnecting clients from sessions.
If you are looking for the JavaScript Client SDK please see the @opentok/client NPM module.
npm helps manage dependencies for node projects. Find more info here: http://npmjs.org.
Run this command to install the package and adding it to your package.json
:
$ npm install opentok --save
Import the module to get a constructor function for an OpenTok object, then call it with new
to
instantiate an OpenTok object with your own API Key and API Secret.
var OpenTok = require('opentok'),
opentok = new OpenTok(apiKey, apiSecret);
To create an OpenTok Session, use the OpenTok.createSession(properties, callback)
method. The
properties
parameter is an optional object used to specify whether the session uses the OpenTok
Media Router, to specify a location hint, and to specify whether the session will be automatically
archived or not. The callback has the signature function(error, session)
. The session
returned
in the callback is an instance of Session. Session objects have a sessionId
property that is
useful to be saved to a persistent store (such as a database).
// Create a session that will attempt to transmit streams directly between
// clients. If clients cannot connect, the session uses the OpenTok TURN server:
opentok.createSession(function(err, session) {
if (err) return console.log(err);
// save the sessionId
db.save('session', session.sessionId, done);
});
// The session will the OpenTok Media Router:
opentok.createSession({mediaMode:"routed"}, function(err, session) {
if (err) return console.log(err);
// save the sessionId
db.save('session', session.sessionId, done);
});
// A Session with a location hint
opentok.createSession({location:'12.34.56.78'}, function(err, session) {
if (err) return console.log(err);
// save the sessionId
db.save('session', session.sessionId, done);
});
// A Session with an automatic archiving
opentok.createSession({mediaMode:'routed', archiveMode:'always'}, function(err, session) {
if (err) return console.log(err);
// save the sessionId
db.save('session', session.sessionId, done);
});
Once a Session is created, you can start generating Tokens for clients to use when connecting to it.
You can generate a token by calling the OpenTok.generateToken(sessionId, options)
method. Another
way is to call the generateToken(options)
method of a Session object. The options
parameter is an optional object used to set the role, expire time, and connection data of the Token.
For layout control in archives and broadcasts, the initial layout class list of streams published
from connections using this token can be set as well.
// Generate a Token from just a sessionId (fetched from a database)
token = opentok.generateToken(sessionId);
// Generate a Token from a session object (returned from createSession)
token = session.generateToken();
// Set some options in a Token
token = session.generateToken({
role : 'moderator',
expireTime : (new Date().getTime() / 1000)+(7 * 24 * 60 * 60), // in one week
data : 'name=Johnny',
initialLayoutClassList : ['focus']
});
You can start the recording of an OpenTok Session using the OpenTok.startArchive(sessionId, options, callback)
method. The options
parameter is an optional object used to set the name of
the Archive. The callback has the signature function(err, archive)
. The archive
returned in
the callback is an instance of Archive
. Note that you can only start an archive on a Session with
connected clients.
opentok.startArchive(sessionId, { name: 'Important Presentation' }, function(err, archive) {
if (err) {
return console.log(err);
} else {
// The id property is useful to save off into a database
console.log("new archive:" + archive.id);
}
});
You can also disable audio or video recording by setting the hasAudio
or hasVideo
property of
the options
parameter to false
:
var archiveOptions = {
name: 'Important Presentation',
hasVideo: false // Record audio only
};
opentok.startArchive(sessionId, archiveOptions, function(err, archive) {
if (err) {
return console.log(err);
} else {
// The id property is useful to save to a database
console.log("new archive:" + archive.id);
}
});
By default, all streams are recorded to a single (composed) file. You can record the different
streams in the session to individual files (instead of a single composed file) by setting the
outputMode
option to 'individual'
when you call the OpenTok.startArchive()
method:
var archiveOptions = {
name: 'Important Presentation',
outputMode: 'individual'
};
opentok.startArchive(sessionId, archiveOptions, function(err, archive) {
if (err) {
return console.log(err);
} else {
// The id property is useful to save off into a database
console.log("new archive:" + archive.id);
}
});
You can stop the recording of a started Archive using the OpenTok.stopArchive(archiveId, callback)
method. You can also do this using the Archive.stop(callback)
method an Archive
instance. The
callback has a signature function(err, archive)
. The archive
returned in the callback is an
instance of Archive
.
opentok.stopArchive(archiveId, function(err, archive) {
if (err) return console.log(err);
console.log("Stopped archive:" + archive.id);
});
archive.stop(function(err, archive) {
if (err) return console.log(err);
});
To get an Archive
instance (and all the information about it) from an archiveId
, use the
OpenTok.getArchive(archiveId, callback)
method. The callback has a function signature
function(err, archive)
. You can inspect the properties of the archive for more details.
opentok.getArchive(archiveId, function(err, archive) {
if (err) return console.log(err);
console.log(archive);
});
To delete an Archive, you can call the OpenTok.deleteArchive(archiveId, callback)
method or the
delete(callback)
method of an Archive
instance. The callback has a signature function(err)
.
// Delete an Archive from an archiveId (fetched from database)
opentok.deleteArchive(archiveId, function(err) {
if (err) console.log(err);
});
// Delete an Archive from an Archive instance, returned from the OpenTok.startArchive(),
// OpenTok.getArchive(), or OpenTok.listArchives() methods
archive.delete(function(err) {
if (err) console.log(err);
});
You can also get a list of all the Archives you've created (up to 1000) with your API Key. This is
done using the OpenTok.listArchives(options, callback)
method. The parameter options
is an
optional object used to specify an offset
and count
to help you paginate through the results.
The callback has a signature function(err, archives, totalCount)
. The archives
returned from
the callback is an array of Archive
instances. The totalCount
returned from the callback is
the total number of archives your API Key has generated.
opentok.listArchives({offset:100, count:50}, function(error, archives, totalCount) {
if (error) return console.log("error:", error);
console.log(totalCount + " archives");
for (var i = 0; i < archives.length; i++) {
console.log(archives[i].id);
}
});
Note that you can also create an automatically archived session, by passing in 'always'
as the archiveMode
option when you call the OpenTok.createSession()
method (see "Creating
Sessions," above).
For composed archives, you can set change the layout dynamically, using the OpenTok.setArchiveLayout(archiveId, type, stylesheet, callback)
method:
opentok.setArchiveLayout(archiveId, type, null, function (err) {
if (err) return console.log("error:", error);
});
You can set the initial layout class for a client's streams by setting the layout
option when
you create the token for the client, using the OpenTok.generateToken()
method. And you can
change the layout classes for streams in a session by calling the
OpenTok.setStreamClassLists(sessionId, classListArray, callback)
method.
Setting the layout of composed archives is optional. By default, composed archives use the "best fit" layout (see Customizing the video layout for composed archives).
For more information on archiving, see the OpenTok archiving developer guide.
Important: Only routed OpenTok sessions support live streaming broadcasts.
To start a live streaming
broadcast of an OpenTok session,
call the OpenTok.startBroadcast()
method. Pass in three parameters: the session ID for the
session, options for the broadcast, and a callback function:
var broadcastOptions = {
outputs: {
hls: {},
rtmp: [{
id: 'foo',
serverUrl: 'rtmp://myfooserver/myfooapp',
streamName: 'myfoostream'
},
{
id: 'bar',
serverUrl: 'rtmp://mybarserver/mybarapp',
streamName: 'mybarstream'
}]
},
maxDuration: 5400,
resolution: '640x480'
layout: {
type: 'verticalPresentation'
}
};
opentok.startBroadcast(sessionId, options, function(error, broadcast) {
if (error) {
return console.log(error);
}
return console.log('Broadcast started: ', broadcast.id);
});
See the API reference for details on the options
parameter.
On success, a Broadcast object is passed into the callback function as the second parameter.
The Broadcast object has properties that define the broadcast, including a broadcastUrls
property, which has URLs for the broadcast streams. See the API reference for details.
Call the OpenTok.stopBroadcast()
method to stop a live streaming broadcast pass in the
broadcast ID (the id
property of the Broadcast object) as the first parameter. The second
parameter is the callback function:
opentok.stopBroadcast(sessionId, function(error, broadcast) {
if (error) {
return console.log(error);
}
return console.log('Broadcast stopped: ', broadcast.id);
});
You can also call the stop()
method of the Broadcast object to stop a broadcast.
Call the Opentok.getBroadcast()
method, passing in a broadcast ID, to get a Broadcast object.
To change the broadcast layout, call the OpenTok.setBroadcastLayout()
method,
passing in the broadcast ID and the layout
type.
You can set the initial layout class for a client's streams by setting the layout
option when
you create the token for the client, using the OpenTok.generateToken()
method. And you can
change the layout classes for streams in a session by calling the
OpenTok.setStreamClassLists(sessionId, classListArray, callback)
method.
Setting the layout of a live streaming broadcast is optional. By default, ive streaming broadcasts use the "best fit" layout.
You can send a signal to all participants in an OpenTok Session by calling the
OpenTok.signal(sessionId, connectionId, payload, callback)
method and setting
the connectionId
parameter to null
:
var sessionId = '2_MX2xMDB-flR1ZSBOb3YgMTkgMTE6MDk6NTggUFNUIDIwMTN-MC2zNzQxNzIxNX2';
opentok.signal(sessionId, null, { 'type': 'chat', 'data': 'Hello!' }, function(error) {
if (error) return console.log("error:", error);
});
Or send a signal to a specific participant in the session by calling the
OpenTok.signal(sessionId, connectionId, payload, callback)
method and setting all paramters,
including connectionId
:
var sessionId = '2_MX2xMDB-flR1ZSBOb3YgMTkgMTE6MDk6NTggUFNUIDIwMTN-MC2zNzQxNzIxNX2';
var connectionId = '02e80876-02ab-47cd-8084-6ddc8887afbc';
opentok.signal(sessionId, connectionId, { 'type': 'chat', 'data': 'Hello!' }, function(error) {
if (error) return console.log("error:", error);
});
This is the server-side equivalent to the signal() method in the OpenTok client SDKs. See OpenTok signaling developer guide .
You can disconnect participants from an OpenTok Session using the
OpenTok.forceDisconnect(sessionId, connectionId, callback)
method.
opentok.forceDisconnect(sessionId, connectionId, function(error) {
if (error) return console.log("error:", error);
});
This is the server-side equivalent to the forceDisconnect() method in OpenTok.js: https://www.tokbox.com/developer/guides/moderation/js/#force_disconnect.
You can add an audio-only stream from an external third-party SIP gateway using the SIP Interconnect feature. This requires a SIP URI, the session ID you wish to add the audio-only stream to, and a token to connect to that session ID.
opentok.dial(sessionId, token, sipUri, options, function (error, sipCall) {
if (error) return console.log("error: ", error);
console.log('SIP audio stream Id: ' + sipCall.streamId+ ' added to session ID: ' + sipCall.sessionId);
});
For more information, see the OpenTok SIP Interconnect developer guide.
You can get information on an active stream in an OpenTok session:
var sessionId = '2_MX6xMDB-fjE1MzE3NjQ0MTM2NzZ-cHVTcUIra3JUa0kxUlhsVU55cTBYL0Y1flB';
var streamId = '2a84cd30-3a33-917f-9150-49e454e01572';
opentok.getStream(sessionId, streamId, function(error, streamInfo) {
if (error) {
console.log(error.message);
} else {
console.log(stream.id); // '2a84cd30-3a33-917f-9150-49e454e01572'
console.log(stream.videoType); // 'camera'
console.log(stream.name); // 'Bob'
console.log(stream.layoutClassList); // ['main']
}
});
Pass a session ID, stream ID, and callback function to the OpenTok.getStream()
method.
The callback function is called when the operation completes. It takes two parameters:
error
(in the case of an error) or stream
. On sucessful completion, the stream
object
is set, containing properties of the stream.
To get information on all active streams in a session, call the OpenTok.listStreams()
method,
passing in a session ID and a callback function. Upon sucess, the callback function is invoked
with an array of Stream objects passed into the second parameter:
opentok.listStreams(sessionId, function(error, streams) {
if (error) {
console.log(error.message);
} else {
streams.map(function(stream) {
console.log(stream.id); // '2a84cd30-3a33-917f-9150-49e454e01572'
console.log(stream.videoType); // 'camera'
console.log(stream.name); // 'Bob'
console.log(stream.layoutClassList); // ['main']
}));
}
});
There are sample applications included in this repository. To get going as fast as possible, clone the whole repository and read the README in each of the sample directories:
Reference documentation is available at https://tokbox.com/developer/sdks/node/reference/index.html.
You need an OpenTok API key and API secret, which you can obtain by logging into your TokBox account.
The OpenTok Node SDK requires Node.js 4 or higher. It may work on older versions but they are no longer tested.
See the Releases page for details about each release.
Changes in v2.2.3:
The default setting for the createSession()
method is to create a session with the media mode set
to relayed. In previous versions of the SDK, the default setting was to use the OpenTok Media Router
(media mode set to routed). In a relayed session, clients will attempt to send streams directly
between each other (peer-to-peer); if clients cannot connect due to firewall restrictions, the
session uses the OpenTok TURN server to relay audio-video streams.
Changes in v2.2.0:
This version of the SDK includes support for working with OpenTok archives.
The createSession()
method has changed to take one parameter: an options
object that has location
and mediaMode
properties. The mediaMode
property replaces the properties.p2p.preference
parameter in the previous version of the SDK.
The generateToken()
has changed to take two parameters: the session ID and an options
object that has role
, expireTime
and data
properties.
See the reference documentation http://www.tokbox.com/opentok/libraries/server/node/reference/index.html and in the docs directory of the SDK.
Interested in contributing? We ❤️ pull requests! See the Development and Contribution guidelines.
See https://support.tokbox.com for all our support options.
Find a bug? File it on the Issues page. Hint: test cases are really helpful!