managing-livekit

name	managing-livekit
description	Use when working with Livekit — liveKit real-time video and audio infrastructure management for WebRTC-based video conferencing, live streaming, and data channels. Use when monitoring active rooms, analyzing participant quality, reviewing egress/ingress status, managing room configurations, or troubleshooting LiveKit sessions.
connection_type	livekit
preload	false

LiveKit Management Skill

Manage and analyze LiveKit real-time video/audio rooms, participants, and media pipelines.

API Conventions

Authentication

API calls use API Key and Secret to generate JWT tokens, injected automatically.

Base URL

https://<your-livekit-host> (connection-provided)

Core Helper Function

#!/bin/bash

livekit_api() {
    local method="$1"
    local endpoint="$2"
    local data="${3:-}"

    if [ -n "$data" ]; then
        curl -s -X "$method" \
            -H "Authorization: Bearer $LIVEKIT_TOKEN" \
            -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
            "${LIVEKIT_URL}${endpoint}" \
            -d "$data"
    else
        curl -s -X "$method" \
            -H "Authorization: Bearer $LIVEKIT_TOKEN" \
            "${LIVEKIT_URL}${endpoint}"
    fi
}

# Alternative: use livekit-cli if available
lk_cli() {
    livekit-cli --url "$LIVEKIT_URL" --api-key "$LIVEKIT_API_KEY" --api-secret "$LIVEKIT_API_SECRET" "$@"
}

Output Rules

• Target ≤50 lines per script output
• Use jq to extract only needed fields
• Never dump full API responses

Phase 1: Discovery

#!/bin/bash
echo "=== Active Rooms ==="
lk_cli list-rooms 2>/dev/null \
    | jq -r '.rooms[] | "\(.name)\t\(.num_participants) participants\t\(.creation_time)"' \
    | head -20

echo ""
echo "=== Room Details ==="
ROOMS=$(lk_cli list-rooms 2>/dev/null | jq -r '.rooms[].name' | head -5)
for room in $ROOMS; do
    echo "--- Room: $room ---"
    lk_cli list-participants --room "$room" 2>/dev/null \
        | jq -r '.participants[] | "\(.identity)\t\(.state)\ttracks:\(.tracks | length)"' | head -5
done

echo ""
echo "=== Active Egresses ==="
lk_cli list-egress 2>/dev/null \
    | jq -r '.items[] | "\(.egress_id[0:12])\t\(.room_name)\t\(.status)\t\(.started_at)"' \
    | head -10

Phase 2: Analysis

Room & Participant Quality

#!/bin/bash
echo "=== Participant Summary ==="
ROOMS=$(lk_cli list-rooms 2>/dev/null | jq -r '.rooms[].name')
TOTAL_PARTICIPANTS=0
for room in $ROOMS; do
    COUNT=$(lk_cli list-participants --room "$room" 2>/dev/null | jq '.participants | length')
    TOTAL_PARTICIPANTS=$((TOTAL_PARTICIPANTS + COUNT))
    echo "$room: $COUNT participants"
done | head -15
echo "Total participants across all rooms: $TOTAL_PARTICIPANTS"

echo ""
echo "=== Track Quality ==="
for room in $(echo "$ROOMS" | head -3); do
    lk_cli list-participants --room "$room" 2>/dev/null \
        | jq -r '.participants[] | .tracks[] | "\(.sid[0:12])\t\(.type)\t\(.width // "-")x\(.height // "-")\t\(.muted)"'
done | head -15

Egress & Ingress Status

#!/bin/bash
echo "=== Egress Jobs ==="
lk_cli list-egress 2>/dev/null \
    | jq -r '.items[] | "\(.egress_id[0:12])\t\(.room_name)\t\(.status)\tstarted:\(.started_at)"' \
    | head -15

echo ""
echo "=== Egress Status Breakdown ==="
lk_cli list-egress 2>/dev/null \
    | jq -r '.items[] | .status' | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn

echo ""
echo "=== Ingress Endpoints ==="
lk_cli list-ingress 2>/dev/null \
    | jq -r '.items[] | "\(.ingress_id[0:12])\t\(.room_name)\t\(.state)\t\(.input_type)"' \
    | head -10

Output Format

=== LiveKit Server: <url> ===
Active Rooms: <n>  Total Participants: <n>

--- Room Details ---
<room_name>: <n> participants, <n> tracks

--- Egress/Ingress ---
Active Egresses: <n>  Active Ingresses: <n>

--- Quality ---
Tracks: <n> video, <n> audio  Muted: <n>

Anti-Hallucination Rules

1. NEVER assume resource names — always discover via CLI/API in Phase 1 before referencing in Phase 2.
2. NEVER fabricate metric names or dimensions — verify against the service documentation or --help output.
3. NEVER mix CLI commands between service versions — confirm which version/API you are targeting.
4. ALWAYS use the discovery → verify → analyze chain — every resource referenced must have been discovered first.
5. ALWAYS handle empty results gracefully — an empty response is valid data, not an error to retry.

Counter-Rationalizations

Shortcut	Counter	Why
"I'll skip discovery and check known resources"	Always run Phase 1 discovery first	Resource names change, new resources appear — assumed names cause errors
"The user only asked for a quick check"	Follow the full discovery → analysis flow	Quick checks miss critical issues; structured analysis catches silent failures
"Default configuration is probably fine"	Audit configuration explicitly	Defaults often leave logging, security, and optimization features disabled
"Metrics aren't needed for this"	Always check relevant metrics when available	API/CLI responses show current state; metrics reveal trends and intermittent issues
"I don't have access to that"	Try the command and report the actual error	Assumed permission failures prevent useful investigation; actual errors are informative

Common Pitfalls

• JWT tokens expire: Generate fresh tokens for each API call session
• Twirp protocol: LiveKit uses Twirp (protobuf over HTTP); CLI abstracts this
• Room auto-delete: Empty rooms are deleted automatically after timeout
• Track types: AUDIO, VIDEO, DATA — filter accordingly