Zoom Realtime Media Streams (RTMS) SDK

Bindings for real-time audio, video, and transcript streams from Zoom Meetings

Platform Support Status

Language	Status	Supported Platforms
Node.js	✅ Supported	darwin-arm64, linux-x64
Python	🚧 Under Development	-
Go	📅 Planned	-

We are actively working to expand both language and platform support in future releases.

Overview

The RTMS SDK allows developers to:

• Connect to live Zoom meetings
• Process real-time media streams (audio, video, transcripts)
• Receive events about session and participant updates
• Build applications that interact with Zoom meetings in real-time
• Handle webhook events with full control over validation and responses

Installation

Node.js (Currently Supported)

npm install @zoom/rtms

The Node.js package provides both class-based and singleton APIs for connecting to RTMS streams.

Python (Under Development)

pip install rtms

⚠️ The Python package is under active development. Some features may be limited or experimental.

Usage

Node.js - Webhook Integration

Easily respond to Zoom webhooks and connect to RTMS streams:

import rtms from "@zoom/rtms";

// CommonJS
// const rtms = require('@zoom/rtms').default;

rtms.onWebhookEvent(({event, payload}) => {
    if (event !== "meeting.rtms_started") return;

    const client = new rtms.Client();
    
    client.onAudioData((data, timestamp, metadata) => {
        console.log(`Received audio: ${data.length} bytes from ${metadata.userName}`);
    });

    client.join(payload);
});

Node.js - Advanced Webhook Handling

For advanced use cases requiring custom webhook validation or response handling (e.g., Zoom's webhook validation challenge), you can use the enhanced callback with raw HTTP access:

import rtms from "@zoom/rtms";

rtms.onWebhookEvent((payload, req, res) => {
    // Access request headers for webhook validation
    const signature = req.headers['x-zoom-signature'];
    
    // Handle Zoom's webhook validation challenge
    if (req.headers['x-zoom-webhook-validator']) {
        const validationToken = req.headers['x-zoom-webhook-validator'];
        
        // Echo back the validation token
        res.writeHead(200, { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' });
        res.end(JSON.stringify({ plainToken: validationToken }));
        return;
    }
    
    // Custom validation logic
    if (!validateWebhookSignature(payload, signature)) {
        res.writeHead(401, { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' });
        res.end(JSON.stringify({ error: 'Invalid signature' }));
        return;
    }
    
    // Process the webhook payload
    if (payload.event === "meeting.rtms_started") {
        const client = new rtms.Client();
        
        client.onAudioData((data, timestamp, metadata) => {
            console.log(`Received audio from ${metadata.userName}`);
        });
        
        client.join(payload.payload);
    }
    
    // Send custom response
    res.writeHead(200, { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' });
    res.end(JSON.stringify({ status: 'ok' }));
});

Node.js - Class-Based Approach

For greater control or connecting to multiple streams simultaneously:

import rtms from "@zoom/rtms";

const client = new rtms.Client();

client.onAudioData((data, timestamp, metadata) => {
    console.log(`Received audio: ${data.length} bytes`);
});

client.join({
    meeting_uuid: "your_meeting_uuid",
    rtms_stream_id: "your_stream_id",
    server_urls: "wss://example.zoom.us",
});

Node.js - Global Singleton

When you only need to connect to a single RTMS stream:

import rtms from "@zoom/rtms";

rtms.onAudioData((data, timestamp, metadata) => {
    console.log(`Received audio from ${metadata.userName}`);
});

rtms.join({
    meeting_uuid: "your_meeting_uuid",
    rtms_stream_id: "your_stream_id",
    server_urls: "wss://rtms.zoom.us"
});

Python Integration (Planned API)

This shows the planned decorator-based API for Python (under development):

import rtms

@rtms.on_webhook_event()
def handle_webhook(payload):
    if payload.get('event') != 'meeting.rtms_started':
        return
    
    client = rtms.Client()
    
    @client.on_audio_data()
    def handle_audio(buffer, size, timestamp, metadata):
        print(f"Received audio: {size} bytes")
    
    client.join(payload)

Building from Source

The RTMS SDK can be built from source using either Docker (recommended) or local build tools.

Using Docker (Recommended)

Prerequisites

• Docker and Docker Compose
• Zoom RTMS C SDK files (contact Zoom for access)

Steps

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/zoom/rtms.git
cd rtms

# Place your SDK library files in the lib/{arch} folder
# For linux-x64:
cp ../librtmsdk.0.2025xxxx/librtmsdk.so.0 lib/linux-x64

# For darwin-arm64 (Apple Silicon):
cp ../librtmsdk.0.2025xxxx/librtmsdk.dylib lib/darwin-arm64

# Place the include files in the proper directory
cp ../librtmsdk.0.2025xxxx/h/* lib/include

# Build and run using Docker Compose
docker compose up js  # For Node.js
# or
docker compose up py  # For Python (experimental)

Docker Compose provides an isolated build environment with all necessary dependencies preconfigured, making it the simplest way to build the SDK.

Building Locally

Prerequisites

• Node.js (>= 22.14.0)
• Python 3.8+ with pip (for Python build)
• CMake 3.25+
• C/C++ build tools
• Zoom RTMS C SDK files (contact Zoom for access)

Steps

# Install system dependencies
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y cmake python3-full python3-pip pipx npm
npm install -g prebuild
pip install "pybind11[global]" python-dotenv pdoc3

# Clone and set up the repository
git clone https://github.com/zoom/rtms.git
cd rtms

# Place SDK files in the appropriate lib directory
# lib/linux-x64/ or lib/darwin-arm64/

# Install project dependencies and build
npm install
npm run build:js  # For Node.js (fully supported)
# or
npm run build:py  # For Python (experimental)

Development Commands

The project includes several npm scripts for common development tasks:

# Building modules
npm run build         # Build all modules
npm run build:js      # Build only Node.js module
npm run build:py      # Build only Python module (experimental)

# Testing
npm run test          # Run all tests
npm run test:js       # Run Node.js tests
npm run test:py       # Run Python tests (experimental)

# Build modes
npm run debug         # Switch to debug mode
npm run release       # Switch to release mode (default)
npm run rtms mode     # Check current build mode

These commands help you manage different aspects of the build process and testing workflow.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues:

1. Platform Support: Verify you're using a supported platform (darwin-arm64 or linux-x64)
2. SDK Files: Ensure RTMS C SDK files are correctly placed in the appropriate lib directory
3. Build Mode: Try both debug and release modes (npm run debug or npm run release)
4. Dependencies: Verify all prerequisites are installed

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE.md file for details.