Live streams and ingest

A live stream is a standing channel you create once and reuse for every broadcast from one place, for example one per venue, one per church campus or one per pitch. Its ingest address and key stay the same from show to show, so the crew sets up the encoder once.

POST /v1/streams/live_streams
Idempotency-Key: venue-kasarani-1

Every body field is optional.

Field	Default	What it does
latency_mode	low	low keeps the picture close to real time. standard trades some delay for a steadier picture.
reconnect_window	60	Seconds the broadcast stays open after the encoder drops, from 0 to 1800. See going live.
audio_only	false	A stream with sound and no picture, for radio sets and audiences on small data plans.
playback_policy	signed	signed needs a playback link that Vabu issues to a viewer with access. public plays for anyone who has the link. See signed playback.
simulcast_targets	none	Up to 6 other platforms to forward the broadcast to.
external_id	none	Your own id for the venue. Unique per account and environment. Fetch it back with GET /v1/streams/live_streams?external_id=....
metadata	none	Your own key and value pairs. Filter lists with metadata[key]=value.

The response holds the stream's id (starts ls_), its status, its ingest details and its playback_ids.

Ingest

The ingest object says where an encoder sends video.

Field	Protocol	Use it for
rtmp_url with stream_key	RTMP over TLS	OBS, hardware encoders and most phone apps. This is the usual choice.
rtmp_backup_url	RTMP	A second address for the same stream, for an encoder that can switch.
srt_url	SRT	Poor or long-distance networks. It recovers lost packets better than RTMP. srt_passphrase is set when one is needed.
whip_url	WHIP	Sending from a browser or a WebRTC tool. It is null when the video network behind your account does not offer it.

The full address for most encoders is the rtmp_url, a slash and the stream_key. The stream key is a secret. It is encrypted at rest and is never put in an event or a webhook payload. If it leaks, call POST /v1/streams/live_streams/{id}/reset_stream_key. The new key works at once and the old one stops.

When a field is null, the thing is not offered for that stream. Check the field instead of assuming. Delivery networks and capabilities lists the checks.

Encoder settings

Use H.264 video and AAC audio, a keyframe every 2 seconds and about 2 to 6 Mbps for 720p. The full table, with OBS and phone steps, is in going live.

Status

status follows the encoder.

Status	Meaning
idle	No broadcast is running.
connecting	An encoder has connected and the first video is arriving.
active	Video is flowing. Viewers can watch.
disconnected	The encoder dropped. The broadcast is still open for the reconnect_window.
disabled	You switched the stream off. It refuses encoders and viewers.

Each change produces an event, so you do not need to poll. See stream events.

Control the stream

Call	What it does
PATCH /v1/streams/live_streams/{id}	Change latency_mode, reconnect_window, metadata or external_id.
POST /v1/streams/live_streams/{id}/disable	Refuse the encoder and new viewers. Use it to lock a stream between shows.
POST /v1/streams/live_streams/{id}/enable	Let the stream take video again.
POST /v1/streams/live_streams/{id}/complete	End the broadcast now, without waiting for the reconnect window.
DELETE /v1/streams/live_streams/{id}	Delete the stream. Later reads return 404.

Simulcast targets

A simulcast target forwards your broadcast to another platform at the same time. A common use is to send the first part of a show to a free social platform with a link to watch the rest in your app.

POST /v1/streams/live_streams/{id}/simulcast_targets

{ "url": "rtmps://live.example.com/app", "stream_key": "..." }

The target's key is stored encrypted and never returned. DELETE /v1/streams/live_streams/{id}/simulcast_targets/{target_id} removes it. A target that the video network rejects is listed with status: "errored", and the stream is still created.

Test mode

A test key makes a simulated stream. It stays idle and takes no video. Use it to build your flow, then switch to live keys to send real video. See test mode.