| name | zoom-video-sdk |
| description | Zoom Video SDK for building custom video experiences (not Zoom meetings) on web, React Native, Flutter, Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, Unity, and Linux platforms.
Use when you want full control over the video UI and experience.
|
| triggers | ["custom video","video sdk","build video app","video session","video chat","video call","video conferencing","custom video ui","twitter spaces","clubhouse alternative","audio-only room","screen sharing","virtual background","native video sdk"] |
Zoom Video SDK
Build custom video experiences powered by Zoom's infrastructure.
Current Release Snapshot
Verified from the public changelog and package registries on 2026-07-10:
| Platform family | Current release |
|---|
| Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Windows | 2.6.0 |
| React Native | 2.5.10 |
| Flutter | 2.5.10 |
| Web | 2.4.5 |
| Unity wrapper | 0.0.2 |
Native 2.6.0 contains breaking changes. Read
the native 2.6.0 upgrade reference before using the older
2.5.10 package inventories bundled into several child skills.
Hard Routing Guardrail (Read First)
- If the user asks for custom real-time video app behavior (topic/session join, custom rendering, attach/detach), route to Video SDK.
- Do not switch to REST meeting endpoints for Video SDK join flows.
- Video SDK does not use Meeting IDs,
join_url, or Meeting SDK join payload fields (meetingNumber, passWord).
- After confirming Video SDK, select one platform child skill before generating implementation code.
Platform Router
| User context | Primary child skill |
|---|
| Browser, JavaScript, TypeScript, React, Vue, Angular, Svelte | web/SKILL.md |
| React Native mobile wrapper | react-native/SKILL.md |
| Flutter mobile wrapper | flutter/SKILL.md |
| Native Android, Java, Kotlin, AAR | android/SKILL.md |
| Native iOS, Objective-C, Swift, XCFramework | ios/SKILL.md |
| Native macOS, Objective-C, Swift, Cocoa | macos/SKILL.md |
| Windows native, C++, Win32, C++/CLI | windows/SKILL.md |
| Linux native, C++, headless bot, Docker, Qt/GTK | linux/SKILL.md |
| Unity wrapper or scene integration | unity/SKILL.md |
Do not answer from this root's Web quick start when the user selected another platform.
Chaining Order
Use this order so workflow guidance and version-specific APIs remain distinct:
- Read this root skill to confirm Video SDK rather than Meeting SDK.
- Read the selected platform
SKILL.md for architecture, lifecycle, implementation patterns, and troubleshooting.
- If the downloaded SDK package contains a bundled API skill, read that skill and its relevant Markdown/JSON pair to verify exact signatures, enums, callbacks, threading, and role requirements.
- Cross-check generated API documentation against package headers, TypeScript source, or exported wrapper APIs.
- Load only the cross-product skill required by the feature using the table below.
- Return to the platform runbook for validation and troubleshooting.
For React Native, Flutter, and Unity, never invent wrapper APIs from native Android/iOS/Windows documentation. Use native documentation only to understand behavior after confirming the wrapper exports the feature.
Meeting SDK vs Video SDK
| Feature | Meeting SDK | Video SDK |
|---|
| UI | Default Zoom UI or Custom UI | Fully custom UI (you build it) |
| Experience | Zoom meetings | Video sessions |
| Branding | Limited customization | Full branding control |
| Features | Full Zoom features | Core video features |
UI Options (Web)
Video SDK gives you full control over the UI:
| Option | Description |
|---|
| UI Toolkit | Pre-built React components (low-code) |
| Custom UI | Build your own UI using the SDK APIs |
Prerequisites
- Zoom Video SDK credentials from Marketplace
- SDK Key and Secret
- A development environment for the selected platform
Need to create the Video SDK app first? Use
Marketplace app management for app creation,
manifest validation, app-type quirks, and credential response shapes before generating
Video SDK session JWTs.
Need a Video SDK session JWT? Start with authorization. Use zoom-oauth only for OAuth or REST API flows outside the session join contract.
Need pre-join diagnostics on web? Use probe-sdk before Video SDK join() to reduce first-minute failures.
Start troubleshooting fast: Use the 5-Minute Runbook before deep debugging.
SDK-Bundled API Skills
The reviewed Video SDK 2.5.10 packages include version-matched API skills and paired Markdown/JSON
documentation for several native platforms. These are historical package snapshots now that
native 2.6.0 is public. Keep the platform skill in this repository as the workflow entry point,
then use the bundled skill from the exact package you deploy to verify signatures, enums,
callbacks, threading, role requirements, and object lifetime.
| Platform | SDK-bundled skill |
|---|
| Android | Docs/skills/zm-videosdk-android-api/SKILL.md |
| iOS | Sample-Libs/Docs/zm-videosdk-ios-api/SKILL.md |
| macOS | Docs/skills/zm-videosdk-macos-api/SKILL.md |
| Windows | Sample-Libs/<arch>/Docs/skills/zm-videosdk-windows-api/SKILL.md |
| Linux | Docs/videosdk/skills/zm-videosdk-linux-api/SKILL.md |
| React Native | docs/ai-docs/skills/zm-videosdk-react-native-api/SKILL.md |
Flutter, Unity, and Web packages in this review do not include an equivalent bundled SKILL.md. The Web 2.4.5 archive is a React/Vite sample application; use web/references/sample-app-2.4.5.md for its implementation map. Do not infer platform parity from another package; verify against that platform's exported API.
Quick Start (Web)
NPM Usage (Bundler like Vite/Webpack)
import ZoomVideo from '@zoom/videosdk';
const client = ZoomVideo.createClient();
await client.init('en-US', 'Global', { patchJsMedia: true });
await client.join(topic, signature, userName, password);
const stream = client.getMediaStream();
await stream.startVideo();
await stream.startAudio();
CDN Usage (No Bundler)
WARNING: Ad blockers block source.zoom.us. Self-host the SDK to avoid issues.
curl "https://source.zoom.us/videosdk/zoom-video-{VERSION}.min.js" -o js/zoom-video-sdk.min.js
<script src="js/zoom-video-sdk.min.js"></script>
const ZoomVideo = WebVideoSDK.default;
const client = ZoomVideo.createClient();
await client.init('en-US', 'Global', { patchJsMedia: true });
await client.join(topic, signature, userName, password);
const stream = client.getMediaStream();
await stream.startVideo();
await stream.startAudio();
ES Module with CDN (Race Condition Fix)
When using <script type="module"> with CDN, SDK may not be loaded yet:
function waitForSDK(timeout = 10000) {
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
if (typeof WebVideoSDK !== 'undefined') {
resolve();
return;
}
const start = Date.now();
const check = setInterval(() => {
if (typeof WebVideoSDK !== 'undefined') {
clearInterval(check);
resolve();
} else if (Date.now() - start > timeout) {
clearInterval(check);
reject(new Error('SDK failed to load'));
}
}, 100);
});
}
await waitForSDK();
const ZoomVideo = WebVideoSDK.default;
const client = ZoomVideo.createClient();
SDK Lifecycle (CRITICAL ORDER)
The SDK has a strict lifecycle. Violating it causes silent failures.
1. Create client: client = ZoomVideo.createClient()
2. Initialize: await client.init('en-US', 'Global', options)
3. Join session: await client.join(topic, signature, userName, password)
4. Get stream: stream = client.getMediaStream() ← ONLY AFTER JOIN
5. Start media: await stream.startVideo() / await stream.startAudio()
Common Mistake (Silent Failure):
const client = ZoomVideo.createClient();
await client.init('en-US', 'Global');
const stream = client.getMediaStream();
await client.join(...);
const client = ZoomVideo.createClient();
await client.init('en-US', 'Global');
await client.join(...);
const stream = client.getMediaStream();
Video Rendering (Event-Driven)
The SDK is event-driven. You must listen for events and render videos accordingly.
Use attachVideo() NOT renderVideo()
import { VideoQuality } from '@zoom/videosdk';
await stream.startVideo();
const element = await stream.attachVideo(userId, VideoQuality.Video_360P);
container.appendChild(element);
await stream.detachVideo(userId);
Required Events
client.on('peer-video-state-change', async (payload) => {
const { action, userId } = payload;
if (action === 'Start') {
const el = await stream.attachVideo(userId, VideoQuality.Video_360P);
container.appendChild(el);
} else {
await stream.detachVideo(userId);
}
});
client.on('user-added', (payload) => { });
client.on('user-removed', (payload) => { stream.detachVideo(payload.userId); });
See web/references/web.md for complete event handling patterns.
Key Concepts
| Concept | Description |
|---|
| Session | Video session (not a meeting) |
| Topic | Session identifier (any string you choose) |
| Signature | JWT for authorization |
| MediaStream | Audio/video stream control |
Session Creation Model
Important: Video SDK sessions are created just-in-time, not in advance.
| Aspect | Video SDK | Meeting SDK |
|---|
| Pre-creation | NOT required | Create meeting via API first |
| Session start | First participant joins with topic | Join existing meeting ID |
| Topic | Any string (you define it) | Meeting ID from API |
| Scheduling | N/A - sessions are ad-hoc | Meetings can be scheduled |
How Sessions Work
- No pre-creation needed: Sessions don't exist until someone joins
- Topic = Session ID: Any participants joining with the same
topic string join the same session
- First join creates it: The session is created when the first participant joins
- No meeting ID: There's no numeric meeting ID like in Zoom Meetings
await client.join('my-custom-session-123', signature, 'User Name');
await client.join('my-custom-session-123', signature, 'Another User');
Signature Endpoint Setup
The signature endpoint must be accessible from your frontend without CORS issues.
Option 1: Same-Origin Proxy (Recommended)
# Nginx config
location /api/ {
proxy_pass http://YOUR_BACKEND_HOST:3005/api/;
proxy_http_version 1.1;
proxy_set_header Host $host;
}
const response = await fetch('/api/signature', { ... });
Option 2: CORS Configuration
const cors = require('cors');
app.use(cors({
origin: ['https://your-domain.com'],
credentials: true
}));
WARNING: Mixed content (HTTPS page → HTTP API) will be blocked by browsers.
Use Cases
BYOS (Bring Your Own Storage)
Video SDK feature - Zoom saves cloud recordings directly to your Amazon S3 bucket. No downloading required.
Official docs: https://developers.zoom.us/docs/build/storage/
Prerequisites:
- Video SDK account with Cloud Recording add-on (Universal Credit includes this)
- AWS S3 bucket
Authentication options:
- AWS Access Key - simpler setup
- Cross Account Access - more secure (IAM role assumption)
S3 path structure:
Buckets/{bucketName}/cmr/byos/{YYYY}/{MM}/{DD}/{GUID}/cmr_byos/
Key benefits:
- Zero download bandwidth costs
- Direct storage during recording
- Config-only setup (no webhook/download code needed)
Setup location: Developer Portal → Account Settings → General → Communications Content Storage Location
See ../general/use-cases/video-sdk-bring-your-own-storage.md for complete setup guide.
Detailed References
UI & Components
Platform Guides
Sample Repositories
Official (by Zoom)
Full list: See general/references/community-repos.md
Resources
Environment Variables
Linux Operations
