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Version: 3.0

Developing Plugins

What you'll learn

This guide covers plugin development for Ant Media Server: implementing core interfaces, registering with AMS, and deploying your plugin.

Prerequisites​

Before beginning plugin development, ensure you have:

Development Environment:

  • JDK 17
  • Maven
  • Git

Recommended Reading:

How Plugins Work​

Plugins let you intercept and modify media streams without touching the server source code. You get direct access to decoded frames or encoded packets, which you can process, analyze, or manipulate based on your needs.

For architectural patterns and data flow diagrams, see the Plugin Architecture guide.

Plugin Lifecycle​

Every plugin follows a consistent lifecycle within the AMS ecosystem:

  1. Registration: Plugin registers listeners with the AMS application adaptor
  2. Stream Initialization: Receives stream properties (codec, resolution, bitrate)
  3. Data Processing: Processes frames or packets as they flow through the system
  4. Cleanup: Releases resources when streams end

Integration Points​

Plugins integrate with AMS through these interfaces:

  • ApplicationContextAware: Plugin's main class shell implement this interface
  • AntMediaApplicationAdaptor: Central registration and interaction point
  • IStreamListener: Get notified when streams start/finish or participants join/leave conference rooms
  • IPacketListener: Access to encoded packets (compressed data)
  • IFrameListener: Access to decoded video/audio frames (raw pixel/sample data)
  • Custom REST Endpoints: Expose plugin functionality via HTTP API

Your plugin also has access to all AMS project code.

Plugin Entry Point​

Every plugin requires a main entry point class that AMS discovers and initializes.

The Main Class​

Your plugin's main class must:

  1. Be annotated with @Component("plugins.my_plugin") (Spring Framework) so AMS detects it.
  2. Implement ApplicationContextAware to receive the application context.

ApplicationContextAware Interface​

This interface provides the setApplicationContext method, which serves as the plugin's initialization hook.

@Component(value = "plugin.myPlugin")
public class MyPlugin implements ApplicationContextAware {

    private AntMediaApplicationAdaptor appAdaptor;
    private ApplicationContext applicationContext;
    private Vertx vertx;
    
    private static final Logger logger = LoggerFactory.getLogger(MyPlugin.class);

    @Override
    public void setApplicationContext(ApplicationContext applicationContext) throws BeansException {
        this.applicationContext = applicationContext;
        
        // Get access to the Application Adaptor (core AMS interface)
        this.appAdaptor = (AntMediaApplicationAdaptor) applicationContext.getBean(AntMediaApplicationAdapter.BEAN_NAME);
        
        // Get access to Vertx (if needed for async tasks)
        this.vertx = (Vertx) applicationContext.getBean("vertxCore");
        
        logger.info("MyPlugin initialized");
    }
}

Core Media Interfaces​

AMS provides interfaces for accessing and manipulating media stream data.

IFrameListener Interface​

The IFrameListener interface gives you access to decoded frames (raw pixel data for video, raw audio samples). Use this when you need to:

  • Analyze or modify pixel-level video content
  • Perform image processing, computer vision, or ML inference
  • Add watermarks, overlays, or visual effects
  • Process raw audio samples

Interface Methods​

public interface IFrameListener {
    
    /**
     * Called when a video frame is available
     * @param streamId The unique identifier for the stream
     * @param videoFrame The decoded video frame (raw pixel data)
     * @return The frame to pass to next plugin/encoder, or null to stop propagation
     */
    AVFrame onVideoFrame(String streamId, AVFrame videoFrame);
    
    /**
     * Called when an audio frame is available
     * @param streamId The unique identifier for the stream
     * @param audioFrame The decoded audio frame (raw samples)
     * @return The frame to pass to next plugin/encoder, or null to stop propagation
     */
    AVFrame onAudioFrame(String streamId, AVFrame audioFrame);
    
    /**
     * Called once at stream start with video properties
     * @param streamId The unique identifier for the stream
     * @param videoStreamInfo Codec, resolution, framerate, etc.
     */
    void setVideoStreamInfo(String streamId, StreamParametersInfo videoStreamInfo);
    
    /**
     * Called once at stream start with audio properties
     * @param streamId The unique identifier for the stream
     * @param audioStreamInfo Codec, sample rate, channels, etc.
     */
    void setAudioStreamInfo(String streamId, StreamParametersInfo audioStreamInfo);
    
    /**
     * Called when stream ends - perform cleanup here
     */
    void writeTrailer();
}

Return Value Semantics​

The return value from onVideoFrame() and onAudioFrame() determines data flow:

See Plugin Architecture - Use Cases for more details.

IPacketListener Interface​

The IPacketListener interface gives you access to encoded packets (compressed video/audio data). Use this when you need to:

  • Analyze stream metadata without decoding overhead
  • Record or transmit packets directly
  • Monitor bitrates, packet timing, or network statistics
  • Work with compressed data formats

Interface Methods​

public interface IPacketListener {
    
    /**
     * Called when an encoded packet is available
     * @param streamId The unique identifier for the stream
     * @param packet The encoded packet (may be video or audio)
     * @return The packet to pass forward, modified packet, or null
     */
    AVPacket onPacket(String streamId, AVPacket packet);
    
    /**
     * Called once at stream start with video properties
     */
    void setVideoStreamInfo(String streamId, StreamParametersInfo videoStreamInfo);
    
    /**
     * Called once at stream start with audio properties
     */
    void setAudioStreamInfo(String streamId, StreamParametersInfo audioStreamInfo);
    
    /**
     * Called when stream ends - perform cleanup here
     */
    void writeTrailer();
}

Performance Considerations​

  • Use IPacketListener for statistics/monitoring (no decode overhead)
  • Use IFrameListener for pixel-level manipulation (requires decode/encode cycles)

IStreamListener Interface​

The IStreamListener interface notifies your plugin about stream lifecycle events and conference room activity. Use this when you need to:

  • Track when streams start and stop
  • Monitor conference room participants
  • Initialize or cleanup resources based on stream events
  • Trigger actions when users join/leave conference rooms

Interface Methods​

public interface IStreamListener {
    
    /**
     * Called when a stream starts
     * @param broadcast The broadcast object containing stream details
     */
    void streamStarted(Broadcast broadcast);
    
    /**
     * Called when a stream finishes
     * @param broadcast The broadcast object containing stream details
     */
    void streamFinished(Broadcast broadcast);
    
    /**
     * Called when a participant joins a conference room
     * @param roomId The conference room ID
     * @param streamId The participant's stream ID
     */
    void joinedTheRoom(String roomId, String streamId);
    
    /**
     * Called when a participant leaves a conference room
     * @param roomId The conference room ID
     * @param streamId The participant's stream ID
     */
    void leftTheRoom(String roomId, String streamId);
}

Use Cases:

  • Logging and analytics (track stream durations, participant counts)
  • Dynamic resource allocation (spin up processing when streams start)
  • Notifications (alert users when conference participants join/leave)
  • Integration with external systems (update databases, trigger webhooks)

Registration and Lifecycle Management​

Once your plugin is initialized and you have access to AntMediaApplicationAdaptor, you must register your listeners to start receiving data.

Listener Registration​

Listeners are registered via the AntMediaApplicationAdaptor class.

Registration Methods​

Methods to register and unregister listeners:

public class AntMediaApplicationAdaptor .... {
    
    // Frame listener registration
    public void addFrameListener(String streamId, IFrameListener listener);
    public void removeFrameListener(String streamId, IFrameListener listener);
    
    // Packet listener registration
    public void addPacketListener(String streamId, IPacketListener listener);
    public void removePacketListener(String streamId, IPacketListener listener);
}

Registration Flow:

Best Practices:

  • Register listeners when stream starts or on-demand via REST API
  • Always unregister in writeTrailer() to prevent memory leaks
  • Use try-finally blocks to ensure cleanup
  • Support dynamic registration/unregistration

Custom Broadcast Integration​

For the First Point use case (plugin as stream source), use Custom Broadcast to inject streams into AMS from external sources.

Custom Broadcast API​

public class AntMediaApplicationAdaptor {
    
    /**
     * Creates a custom broadcast stream
     * @param streamId Unique identifier for the new stream
     * @return IFrameListener to receive your frames
     */
    public IFrameListener createCustomBroadcast(String streamId);
    
    /**
     * Stops a custom broadcast stream
     * @param streamId The stream to stop
     */
    public void stopCustomBroadcast(String streamId);
}

Custom Broadcast Workflow​

Implementation Steps:

  1. Create the custom broadcast: IFrameListener broadcast = createCustomBroadcast("mystream")
  2. Set stream properties: Call setVideoStreamInfo() and setAudioStreamInfo() on the broadcast
  3. Start the broadcast:? TODO: check this? Call start() on the broadcast
  4. Feed frames: Call onVideoFrame() and onAudioFrame() with your data
  5. Cleanup: Call stopCustomBroadcast() when done

Use Cases:

  • Ingesting streams from proprietary protocols
  • Generating synthetic video (test patterns, overlays)
  • Bridging from external streaming platforms
  • AI-generated content injection

Building Your First Plugin​

We'll build a statistics collector plugin that tracks frame counts and exposes them via REST API. Start with the sample plugin, verify it works, then customize it.

Sample Plugin Repository: https://github.com/ant-media/Plugins/tree/master/SamplePlugin

Step 1: Get the Sample Plugin​

Clone the sample plugin repository:

git clone https://github.com/ant-media/Plugins.git
cd Plugins/SamplePlugin

The sample plugin structure:

SamplePlugin/
├── pom.xml                          # Maven configuration
├── src/main/java/
│   └── io/antmedia/
│       ├── plugin/
│       │   └── SamplePlugin.java          # Main plugin class
│       ├── app/
│       │   ├── SampleFrameListener.java   # Frame processing
│       │   └── SamplePacketListener.java  # Packet processing
│       └── rest/
│           └── SampleRestService.java     # REST API endpoints
└── README.md

Key Requirements:

  • Plugin main class must be in io.antmedia.plugin package
  • REST services must be in io.antmedia.rest package

AMS automatically discovers plugins in these packages.

Step 2: Build the Sample Plugin​

Build the plugin using Maven:

mvn clean install -Dmaven.javadoc.skip=true -Dmaven.test.skip=true -Dgpg.skip=true

This generates a JAR file in the target/ directory, typically named SamplePlugin-1.0.0.jar.

Step 3: Deploy and Verify​

Deploy your plugin following the installation procedure:

  1. Copy the JAR file to the plugins directory:

    sudo cp target/SamplePlugin-1.0.0.jar /usr/local/antmedia/plugins/

  2. Set proper ownership:

    sudo chown antmedia:antmedia /usr/local/antmedia/plugins/SamplePlugin-1.0.0.jar

  3. Restart AMS:

    sudo service antmedia restart

  4. Verify the plugin loaded:

    cat /usr/local/antmedia/log/ant-media-server.log | grep "SampleFrameListener"

You should see log entries indicating the plugin has been loaded. If not, see the Troubleshooting section.

Step 4: Customize for Statistics Collection​

Now that the sample plugin works, let's customize it to collect frame statistics.

First, copy the project to a new directory for your custom plugin:

# From the Plugins directory
cp -r SamplePlugin /path/to/your/StatsPlugin
cd /path/to/your/StatsPlugin

Update pom.xml with your plugin details:

<groupId>io.antmedia.plugin</groupId>
<artifactId>stats-plugin</artifactId>
<version>1.0.0</version>
<name>Statistics Collection Plugin</name>

Step 5: Implement the Frame Listener​

Create StatsFrameListener.java in io.antmedia.plugin:

package io.antmedia.plugin;

public class StatsFrameListener implements IFrameListener {
    private long videoFrameCount = 0;
    private long audioFrameCount = 0;
    private String streamId;
    
    public StatsFrameListener(String streamId) {
        this.streamId = streamId;
    }
    
    @Override
    public AVFrame onVideoFrame(String streamId, AVFrame videoFrame) {
        videoFrameCount++;
        // Return same frame (Asynchronous pattern - no modification)
        return videoFrame;
    }
    
    @Override
    public AVFrame onAudioFrame(String streamId, AVFrame audioFrame) {
        audioFrameCount++;
        return audioFrame;
    }
    
    @Override
    public void setVideoStreamInfo(String streamId, StreamParametersInfo info) {
    }
    
    @Override
    public void setAudioStreamInfo(String streamId, StreamParametersInfo info) {
    }
    
    @Override
    public void writeTrailer() {
        videoFrameCount = 0;
        audioFrameCount = 0;
    }
    
    public long getVideoFrameCount() { return videoFrameCount; }
    public long getAudioFrameCount() { return audioFrameCount; }
}

Step 6: Implement the Main Plugin Class​

Create StatsPlugin.java in io.antmedia.plugin:

package io.antmedia.plugin;

@Component(value = "plugin.stats-plugin")
public class StatsPlugin implements ApplicationContextAware {
    
    private AntMediaApplicationAdapter appAdaptor;
    private ConcurrentHashMap<String, StatsFrameListener> listeners = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
    
    @Override
    public void setApplicationContext(ApplicationContext applicationContext) throws BeansException {
        appAdaptor = (AntMediaApplicationAdapter) applicationContext.getBean(AntMediaApplicationAdapter.BEAN_NAME);
    }
    
    public boolean register(String streamId) {
        if (listeners.containsKey(streamId)) {
            return false;
        }
        
        StatsFrameListener listener = new StatsFrameListener(streamId);
        appAdaptor.addFrameListener(streamId, listener);
        listeners.put(streamId, listener);
        return true;
    }
    
    public boolean unregister(String streamId) {
        StatsFrameListener listener = listeners.remove(streamId);
        if (listener != null) {
            appAdaptor.removeFrameListener(streamId, listener);
            return true;
        }
        return false;
    }
    
    public StreamStats getStats(String streamId) {
        StatsFrameListener listener = listeners.get(streamId);
        if (listener != null) {
            return new StreamStats(
                listener.getVideoFrameCount(),
                listener.getAudioFrameCount()
            );
        }
        return null;
    }
    
    public static class StreamStats {
        public long videoFrames;
        public long audioFrames;
        
        public StreamStats(long video, long audio) {
            this.videoFrames = video;
            this.audioFrames = audio;
        }
    }
}

Key Points:

  • @Component(value = "plugin.stats-plugin") registers the plugin as a Spring bean with a specific name
  • Implements ApplicationContextAware to get access to Spring's ApplicationContext
  • setApplicationContext() retrieves the AntMediaApplicationAdapter from Spring context

Step 7: Create REST API Endpoints​

Create RestService.java in io.antmedia.rest:

package io.antmedia.rest;

@Component
@Path("/stats-plugin")
public class RestService {
    
    @Context
    protected ServletContext servletContext;
    
    @POST
    @Path("/register/{streamId}")
    @Produces(MediaType.APPLICATION_JSON)
    public Response register(@PathParam("streamId") String streamId) {
        boolean success = getPlugin().register(streamId);
        return Response.ok()
            .entity("{\"success\":" + success + "}")
            .build();
    }
    
    @GET
    @Path("/stats/{streamId}")
    @Produces(MediaType.APPLICATION_JSON)
    public Response getStats(@PathParam("streamId") String streamId) {
        StatsPlugin.StreamStats stats = getPlugin().getStats(streamId);
        if (stats != null) {
            return Response.ok(stats).build();
        }
        return Response.status(404)
            .entity("{\"error\":\"Stream not found\"}")
            .build();
    }
    
    private StatsPlugin getPlugin() {
        ApplicationContext appCtx = (ApplicationContext) servletContext
            .getAttribute(WebApplicationContext.ROOT_WEB_APPLICATION_CONTEXT_ATTRIBUTE);
        return (StatsPlugin) appCtx.getBean("plugin.stats-plugin");
    }
    
    public void setServletContext(ServletContext servletContext) {
        this.servletContext = servletContext;
    }
}

Key Points:

  • @Component registers the service with Spring
  • @Context ServletContext injects the servlet context
  • getPlugin() retrieves the plugin bean from Spring's ApplicationContext
  • Bean name format: "plugin.{your-plugin-name}"

Step 8: Rebuild and Redeploy​

Now rebuild your customized statistics plugin:

mvn clean install -Dmaven.javadoc.skip=true -Dmaven.test.skip=true -Dgpg.skip=true

Deploy the updated plugin:

# Copy the new JAR
sudo cp target/stats-plugin-1.0.0.jar /usr/local/antmedia/plugins/

# Set ownership
sudo chown antmedia:antmedia /usr/local/antmedia/plugins/stats-plugin-1.0.0.jar

# Restart AMS
sudo service antmedia restart

# Verify the stats plugin loaded
cat /usr/local/antmedia/log/ant-media-server.log | grep "stats-plugin"

Testing Your Statistics Plugin​

Integration Testing​

  1. Start publishing a stream to your AMS instance
  2. Register the stream with your plugin via REST API
  3. Let it run for a few seconds
  4. Query statistics and verify counts are incrementing
  5. Stop the stream and verify cleanup

REST API Calls​

Test the registration endpoint:

curl -X POST -H "Accept: application/json" \
  http://localhost:5080/WebRTCAppEE/rest/stats-plugin/register/stream1

Retrieve statistics:

curl -X GET -H "Accept: application/json" \
  http://localhost:5080/WebRTCAppEE/rest/stats-plugin/stats/stream1

Expected response:

{
  "videoFrames": 1524,
  "audioFrames": 2156
}

Best Practices and Optimization​

General notes​

  • Always put log after your plugin is booted up and ready, in setApplicationContext method. (EX: logger.log("Stats plugin ready!"))

Thread Safety​

  • Listener methods are called from AMS processing threads - make sure your code is thread-safe
  • Don't block in onVideoFrame()/onPacket() - it blocks stream processing
  • Keep in mind that callbacks from multiple plugins can be called sequentially on same thread
  • Offload heavy processing to separate threads
  • Use ConcurrentHashMap for shared state

Performance Optimization​

  • Keep processing time in callbacks under 1ms
  • Reuse objects instead of creating new ones per frame
  • Profile with JVM tools to find bottlenecks
  • Use packet listeners for statistics (lower overhead)
  • Batch operations when possible (EX: write stats every N frames, not every frame)

Error Handling​

  • Never throw uncaught exceptions from listener methods (crashes stream processing)
  • Wrap processing logic in try-catch blocks
  • Avoid excessive logging in hot paths
  • Handle errors gracefully (skip frame on error, don't stop stream)

Logging​

import org.slf4j.Logger;
import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;

private static final Logger logger = LoggerFactory.getLogger(StatsPlugin.class);

@Override
public AVFrame onVideoFrame(String streamId, AVFrame videoFrame) {
    try {
        // Processing logic
    } catch (Exception e) {
        logger.error("Error processing frame for stream {}", streamId, e);
    }
    return videoFrame;
}

Resource Management​

  • Always unregister listeners in writeTrailer() or plugin shutdown
  • Close file handles and network connections in cleanup methods
  • Implement plugin lifecycle methods for initialization/shutdown

Troubleshooting​

Plugin Not Loading​

Symptom: No log messages indicating plugin loaded

Solutions:

  • Verify JAR file is in /usr/local/antmedia/plugins/
  • Check package structure: main class in io.antmedia.plugins
  • Ensure file permissions: owned by antmedia:antmedia
  • Review server logs: /usr/local/antmedia/log/ant-media-server.log

ClassNotFoundException or NoClassDefFoundError​

Symptom: Plugin loads but crashes with missing class errors

Solutions:

  • Add missing dependencies to pom.xml
  • Use maven-shade-plugin to create uber-jar with dependencies
  • Check for conflicts with AMS classpath

Listener Not Receiving Frames​

Symptom: Plugin loads but callback methods never called

Solutions:

  • Verify registration occurred (addFrameListener was called)
  • Confirm stream ID matches exactly (check for whitespace/case issues)
  • Ensure stream is actually publishing (check AMS dashboard)
  • Add debug logging to registration and callback methods

Performance Issues​

Symptom: Stream stuttering or high CPU usage

Solutions:

  • Profile plugin with JVM profiler
  • Move heavy processing to background threads (Asynchronous pattern)
  • Reduce logging verbosity
  • Consider packet listener instead of frame listener if appropriate

Next Steps​

Community Plugin Examples​

Check out existing plugins for ideas and patterns:

Browse all examples at github.com/ant-media/Plugins.

Get Involved​