pubnub-js-webrtc

JavaScript WebRTC Video Chat Package with PubNub

Adds the ability to do 1-to-1 WebRTC audio/video calls with PubNub. The PubNub key set must have PubNub Presence enabled. The example folder app uses Xirsys to get TURN server access via a PubNub Function.

For education on WebRTC, and also a how-to for making your own app with this repository see these blog posts:

• link to blog 1
• link to blog 2

Initialization of the WebRTC Phone

let pubnub = new PubNub({
    publishKey: 'your-publish-api-key-here',
    subscribeKey: 'your-subscribe-api-key-here'
});
 
// set up all event handlers ...
 
// WebRTC phone object configuration.
let config = {
    rtcConfig,
    ignoreNonTurn: false,
    myStream: myAudioVideoStream,
    onPeerStream,   // is required
    onIncomingCall, // is required
    onCallResponse, // is required
    onDisconnect,   // is required
    pubnub          // is required
};
 
webRtcPhone = new WebRtcPhone(config);

Items that are provided to the WebRtcPhone constructor via the config object

// Standard WebRTC constructor config parameter (this data is for example purposes and will not work)
let rtcConfig = {
    iceServers: [
        {
            urls: "stun:stun.example.com",
            username: "[e-mail]", 
            credential: "webrtcdemo"
        }, {
            urls: ["stun:stun.example.com", "stun:stun-1.example.com"]
        }
    ]
};
 
// WebRTC phone object event for when the remote peer's video becomes available.
const onPeerStream = (webRTCTrackEvent) => {
    console.log('Peer audio/video stream now available');
    const peerStream = webRTCTrackEvent.streams[0];
    window.peerStream = peerStream;
    remoteVideo.srcObject = peerStream; // HTML <video> element
};
 
// WebRTC phone object event for when a remote peer attempts to call you.
const onIncomingCall = (fromUuid, callResponseCallback) => {
    let username = 'Bob';
    incomingCall(username).then((acceptedCall) => {
        if (acceptedCall) {
            // End an already open call before opening a new one
            webRtcPhone.disconnect();
            // Update your UI for showing peer video feed
        }
 
        callResponseCallback({ acceptedCall });
    });
};
 
// WebRTC phone object event for when the remote peer responds to your call request.
const onCallResponse = (acceptedCall) => {
    console.log('Call response: ', acceptedCall ? 'accepted' : 'rejected');
    if (acceptedCall) {
        // Update your UI for showing peer video feed
    }
};
 
// WebRTC phone object event for when a call disconnects or timeouts.
const onDisconnect = () => {
    console.log('Call disconnected');
    // Update your UI for hiding peer video feed
};

Send a call request to another user

webRtcPhone.callUser("Alice", {
    myStream: myAudioVideoStream // Get this stream with `navigator.mediaDevices.getUserMedia()`
});

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about the PubNub JS WebRTC Package

What is WebRTC?

WebRTC is a free and open source project that enables web browsers and mobile devices to provide a simple real-time communication API. Please read this PubNub blog to learn more about WebRTC and how to implement the code in this repository.

What is PubNub? Why is PubNub relevant to WebRTC?

PubNub is a global Data Stream Network (DSN) and realtime network-as-a-service. PubNub's primary product is a realtime publish/subscribe messaging API built on a global data stream network which is made up of a replicated network with multiple points of presence around the world.

PubNub is a low cost, easy to use, infrastructure API that can be implemented rapidly as a WebRTC signaling service. The signaling service is responsible for delivering messages to WebRTC peer clients. See the next question for the specific signals that PubNub's publish/subscribe API handles.

Does PubNub stream audio or video data?

No. PubNub pairs very well with WebRTC as a signaling service. This means that PubNub signals events from client to client using the Pub/Sub messaging over TCP. These events include:

• I, User A, would like to call you, User B
• User A is currently trying to call you, User B
• I, User B, accept your call User A
• I, User B, reject your call User A
• I, User B, would like to end our call User A
• I, User A, would like to end our call User B
• Text instant messaging like in Slack, Google Hangouts, Skype, Facebook Messenger, etc.

Is this package officially part of PubNub?

No. It is an open source project that is community supported. If you want to report a bug, do so on the GitHub Issues page.

Can I make a group call with more than 2 participants?

Group calling is possible to develop with WebRTC and PubNub, however, the current PubNub WebRTC package can connect only 2 users in a private call. The community may develop this feature in the future but there are no plans for development to date.

I found a bug in the package. Where do I report it?

The PubNub WebRTC package is an open source, community supported project. This means that the best place to report bugs is on the GitHub Issues page in for the code repository. The community will tackle the bug fix at will, so there is no guarantee that a fix will be made. If you wish to provide a code fix, fork the GitHub repository to your GitHub account, push fixes, and make a pull request (process documented on GitHub).