To enable the Video Stitcher API for your project, please reach out to your Account Representative or contact Sales to learn more.

Create a live session

Using the Video Stitcher API, you create a live session each time you start playback of a live stream in which ads are dynamically stitched during ad breaks. The response specifies the playback URL and the configuration of the live session.

This document describes how to create a live session. For more details, see the REST documentation.

Before you begin

Create a live config

Define a live session

When you define a live session, the following field is required:

liveConfig

When you define a live session, the following fields are optional:

adTagMacros
manifestOptions

The adTagMacros parameter is a list of key-value pairs for ad tag macro replacement. For details, see the ad tag macros section.

The manifestOptions parameter specifies which video renditions are generated in the stitched video manifest. It also supports the ordering of the renditions in the stitched video manifest. For more information, see the manifest options documentation.

Create a live session

To create a live session, use the projects.locations.liveSessions.create method.

REST

Before using any of the request data, make the following replacements:

PROJECT_NUMBER: your Google Cloud project number located in the Project number field on the IAM Settings page
LOCATION: the location in which to create your session; use one of the supported regions
Show locations
- us-central1
- us-east1
- us-west1
- asia-east1
- asia-south1
- asia-southeast1
- europe-west1
- southamerica-east1
LIVE_CONFIG_ID: the user-defined identifier for the live config

To send your request, expand one of these options:

curl (Linux, macOS, or Cloud Shell)

Note: The following command assumes that you have logged in to the gcloud CLI with your user account by running gcloud init or gcloud auth login , or by using Cloud Shell, which automatically logs you into the gcloud CLI . You can check the currently active account by running gcloud auth list.

Save the request body in a file named request.json. Run the following command in the terminal to create or overwrite this file in the current directory:

cat > request.json << 'EOF'
{
  "liveConfig": "projects/PROJECT_NUMBER/locations/LOCATION/liveConfigs/LIVE_CONFIG_ID"
}
EOF

Then execute the following command to send your REST request:

curl -X POST \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer $(gcloud auth print-access-token)" \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8" \
     -d @request.json \
     "https://videostitcher.googleapis.com/v1/projects/PROJECT_NUMBER/locations/LOCATION/liveSessions"

PowerShell (Windows)

Note: The following command assumes that you have logged in to the gcloud CLI with your user account by running gcloud init or gcloud auth login . You can check the currently active account by running gcloud auth list.

Save the request body in a file named request.json. Run the following command in the terminal to create or overwrite this file in the current directory:

@'
{
  "liveConfig": "projects/PROJECT_NUMBER/locations/LOCATION/liveConfigs/LIVE_CONFIG_ID"
}
'@  | Out-File -FilePath request.json -Encoding utf8

Then execute the following command to send your REST request:

$cred = gcloud auth print-access-token
$headers = @{ "Authorization" = "Bearer $cred" }

Invoke-WebRequest `
    -Method POST `
    -Headers $headers `
    -ContentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8" `
    -InFile request.json `
    -Uri "https://videostitcher.googleapis.com/v1/projects/PROJECT_NUMBER/locations/LOCATION/liveSessions" | Select-Object -Expand Content

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

{
  "name": "projects/PROJECT_NUMBER/locations/LOCATION/liveSessions/SESSION_ID",
  "playUri": "PLAY_URI",
  "liveConfig": "projects/PROJECT_NUMBER/locations/LOCATION/liveConfigs/LIVE_CONFIG_ID",
}

C#

Before trying this sample, follow the C# setup instructions in the Video Stitcher API quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the Video Stitcher API C# API reference documentation.

To authenticate to Video Stitcher API, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.


using Google.Cloud.Video.Stitcher.V1;

public class CreateLiveSessionSample
{
    public LiveSession CreateLiveSession(
        string projectId, string location, string liveConfigId)
    {
        // Create the client.
        VideoStitcherServiceClient client = VideoStitcherServiceClient.Create();

        CreateLiveSessionRequest request = new CreateLiveSessionRequest
        {
            Parent = $"projects/{projectId}/locations/{location}",
            LiveSession = new LiveSession
            {
                LiveConfig = LiveConfigName.FormatProjectLocationLiveConfig(projectId, location, liveConfigId)
            }
        };

        // Call the API.
        LiveSession session = client.CreateLiveSession(request);

        // Return the result.
        return session;
    }
}

Go

Before trying this sample, follow the Go setup instructions in the Video Stitcher API quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the Video Stitcher API Go API reference documentation.

To authenticate to Video Stitcher API, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.

import (
	"context"
	"fmt"
	"io"

	stitcher "cloud.google.com/go/video/stitcher/apiv1"
	"cloud.google.com/go/video/stitcher/apiv1/stitcherpb"
)

// createLiveSession creates a livestream session in which to insert ads.
// Live sessions are ephemeral resources that expire after a few minutes.
func createLiveSession(w io.Writer, projectID, liveConfigID string) error {
	// projectID := "my-project-id"
	// liveConfigID := "my-live-config"
	location := "us-central1"
	ctx := context.Background()
	client, err := stitcher.NewVideoStitcherClient(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("stitcher.NewVideoStitcherClient: %w", err)
	}
	defer client.Close()

	req := &stitcherpb.CreateLiveSessionRequest{
		Parent: fmt.Sprintf("projects/%s/locations/%s", projectID, location),
		LiveSession: &stitcherpb.LiveSession{
			LiveConfig: fmt.Sprintf("projects/%s/locations/%s/liveConfigs/%s", projectID, location, liveConfigID),
		},
	}
	// Creates the live session.
	response, err := client.CreateLiveSession(ctx, req)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("client.CreateLiveSession: %w", err)
	}

	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Live session: %v\n", response.GetName())
	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Play URI: %v", response.GetPlayUri())
	return nil
}

Java

Before trying this sample, follow the Java setup instructions in the Video Stitcher API quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the Video Stitcher API Java API reference documentation.

To authenticate to Video Stitcher API, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.


import com.google.cloud.video.stitcher.v1.CreateLiveSessionRequest;
import com.google.cloud.video.stitcher.v1.LiveConfigName;
import com.google.cloud.video.stitcher.v1.LiveSession;
import com.google.cloud.video.stitcher.v1.LocationName;
import com.google.cloud.video.stitcher.v1.VideoStitcherServiceClient;
import java.io.IOException;

public class CreateLiveSession {

  public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
    // TODO(developer): Replace these variables before running the sample.
    String projectId = "my-project-id";
    String location = "us-central1";
    String liveConfigId = "my-live-config-id";

    createLiveSession(projectId, location, liveConfigId);
  }

  public static void createLiveSession(String projectId, String location, String liveConfigId)
      throws IOException {
    // Initialize client that will be used to send requests. This client only needs to be created
    // once, and can be reused for multiple requests. In this example, try-with-resources is used
    // which automatically calls close() on the client to clean up resources.
    try (VideoStitcherServiceClient videoStitcherServiceClient =
        VideoStitcherServiceClient.create()) {
      CreateLiveSessionRequest createLiveSessionRequest =
          CreateLiveSessionRequest.newBuilder()
              .setParent(LocationName.of(projectId, location).toString())
              .setLiveSession(
                  LiveSession.newBuilder()
                      .setLiveConfig(LiveConfigName.format(projectId, location, liveConfigId)))
              .build();

      LiveSession response = videoStitcherServiceClient.createLiveSession(createLiveSessionRequest);
      System.out.println("Created live session: " + response.getName());
      System.out.println("Play URI: " + response.getPlayUri());
    }
  }
}

Node.js

Before trying this sample, follow the Node.js setup instructions in the Video Stitcher API quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the Video Stitcher API Node.js API reference documentation.

To authenticate to Video Stitcher API, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.

/**
 * TODO(developer): Uncomment these variables before running the sample.
 */
// projectId = 'my-project-id';
// location = 'us-central1';
// liveConfigId = 'my-live-config-id';

// Imports the Video Stitcher library
const {VideoStitcherServiceClient} =
  require('@google-cloud/video-stitcher').v1;
// Instantiates a client
const stitcherClient = new VideoStitcherServiceClient();

async function createLiveSession() {
  // Construct request
  const request = {
    parent: stitcherClient.locationPath(projectId, location),
    liveSession: {
      liveConfig: stitcherClient.liveConfigPath(
        projectId,
        location,
        liveConfigId
      ),
    },
  };

  const [session] = await stitcherClient.createLiveSession(request);
  console.log(`Live session: ${session.name}`);
  console.log(`Play URI: ${session.playUri}`);
}

createLiveSession();

PHP

Before trying this sample, follow the PHP setup instructions in the Video Stitcher API quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the Video Stitcher API PHP API reference documentation.

To authenticate to Video Stitcher API, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.

use Google\Cloud\Video\Stitcher\V1\Client\VideoStitcherServiceClient;
use Google\Cloud\Video\Stitcher\V1\CreateLiveSessionRequest;
use Google\Cloud\Video\Stitcher\V1\LiveSession;

/**
 * Creates a live session. Live sessions are ephemeral resources that expire
 * after a few minutes.
 *
 * @param string $callingProjectId     The project ID to run the API call under
 * @param string $location             The location of the session
 * @param string $liveConfigId         The live config ID to use to create the
 *                                     live session
 */
function create_live_session(
    string $callingProjectId,
    string $location,
    string $liveConfigId
): void {
    // Instantiate a client.
    $stitcherClient = new VideoStitcherServiceClient();

    $parent = $stitcherClient->locationName($callingProjectId, $location);
    $liveConfig = $stitcherClient->liveConfigName($callingProjectId, $location, $liveConfigId);
    $liveSession = new LiveSession();
    $liveSession->setLiveConfig($liveConfig);

    // Run live session creation request
    $request = (new CreateLiveSessionRequest())
        ->setParent($parent)
        ->setLiveSession($liveSession);
    $response = $stitcherClient->createLiveSession($request);

    // Print results
    printf('Live session: %s' . PHP_EOL, $response->getName());
}

Python

Before trying this sample, follow the Python setup instructions in the Video Stitcher API quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the Video Stitcher API Python API reference documentation.

To authenticate to Video Stitcher API, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.


import argparse

from google.cloud.video import stitcher_v1
from google.cloud.video.stitcher_v1.services.video_stitcher_service import (
    VideoStitcherServiceClient,
)


def create_live_session(
    project_id: str, location: str, live_config_id: str
) -> stitcher_v1.types.LiveSession:
    """Creates a live session. Live sessions are ephemeral resources that expire
    after a few minutes.
    Args:
        project_id: The GCP project ID.
        location: The location in which to create the session.
        live_config_id: The user-defined live config ID.

    Returns:
        The live session resource.
    """

    client = VideoStitcherServiceClient()

    parent = f"projects/{project_id}/locations/{location}"
    live_config = (
        f"projects/{project_id}/locations/{location}/liveConfigs/{live_config_id}"
    )

    live_session = stitcher_v1.types.LiveSession(live_config=live_config)

    response = client.create_live_session(parent=parent, live_session=live_session)
    print(f"Live session: {response.name}")
    return response

Ruby

Before trying this sample, follow the Ruby setup instructions in the Video Stitcher API quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the Video Stitcher API Ruby API reference documentation.

To authenticate to Video Stitcher API, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.

require "google/cloud/video/stitcher"

##
# Create a live stream session. Live sessions are ephemeral resources
# that expire after a few minutes.
#
# @param project_id [String] Your Google Cloud project (e.g. "my-project")
# @param location [String] The location (e.g. "us-central1")
# @param live_config_id [String] Your live config name (e.g. "my-live-config")
#
def create_live_session project_id:, location:, live_config_id:
  # Create a Video Stitcher client.
  client = Google::Cloud::Video::Stitcher.video_stitcher_service

  # Build the resource name of the parent.
  parent = client.location_path project: project_id, location: location

  # Build the resource name of the live config.
  live_config_name = client.live_config_path project: project_id,
                                             location: location,
                                             live_config: live_config_id

  # Set the session fields.
  new_live_session = {
    live_config: live_config_name
  }

  response = client.create_live_session parent: parent,
                                        live_session: new_live_session

  # Print the live session name.
  puts "Live session: #{response.name}"
end

The Video Stitcher API generates a unique session ID for each request. A session expires if the playUri is not requested within the past 5 minutes.

An ad must be encoded before it can be stitched into a live session. When you create a session for an ad-stitched video, the Video Stitcher API determines if the ad has already been encoded from a previous session. The API only looks for encoded ads created by sessions associated with your Google Cloud project. For more information on this process, see the Overview.

The response is a live session object. The playUri is the URL the client device uses to play the ad stitched stream for this live session.

If you're generating a session on behalf of your customers' devices, you can set the following parameters using HTTP headers:

Parameter	HTTP Header
`CLIENT_IP`	`x-forwarded-for`
`REFERRER_URL`	`referer`
`USER_AGENT`	`user-agent`

You can add the following headers to the preceding curl request:

-H "x-forwarded-for: CLIENT_IP" \
-H "referer: REFERRER_URL" \
-H "user-agent: USER_AGENT" \

If the x-forwarded-for header is not provided, the Video Stitcher API uses the client's IP address in ad metadata requests. Be aware that the client's IP address may not match the IP of your customers' devices if sessions are generated on behalf of your customers' devices.

Ad tag macros

An ad tag can contain macros, which can produce a different ad tag for each session. Macros are denoted by square brackets in the ad tag, as illustrated by the following example:

AD_TAG_URI&macro=[value]

The adTagUri is defined in the live config.

To substitute the value in the ad tag macro, provide a mapping in the adTagMacros field. For example, if you want to replace the [value] macro with the string bar, you need to provide the following:

{
  ...
  "adTagMacros": {
    "value": "bar"
  },
  ...
}

When the Video Stitcher API requests the ad metadata, it uses the following ad tag:

AD_TAG_URI&macro=bar

Get a session

To get the live session, use the projects.locations.liveSessions.get method.

REST

Before using any of the request data, make the following replacements:

PROJECT_NUMBER: your Google Cloud project number located in the Project number field on the IAM Settings page
LOCATION: the location in which to create your session; use one of the supported regions
Show locations
- us-central1
- us-east1
- us-west1
- asia-east1
- asia-south1
- asia-southeast1
- europe-west1
- southamerica-east1
SESSION_ID: the identifier for the live session

To send your request, expand one of these options:

curl (Linux, macOS, or Cloud Shell)

Execute the following command:

curl -X GET \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer $(gcloud auth print-access-token)" \
     "https://videostitcher.googleapis.com/v1/projects/PROJECT_NUMBER/locations/LOCATION/liveSessions/SESSION_ID"

PowerShell (Windows)

Execute the following command:

$cred = gcloud auth print-access-token
$headers = @{ "Authorization" = "Bearer $cred" }

Invoke-WebRequest `
    -Method GET `
    -Headers $headers `
    -Uri "https://videostitcher.googleapis.com/v1/projects/PROJECT_NUMBER/locations/LOCATION/liveSessions/SESSION_ID" | Select-Object -Expand Content

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

{
  "name": "projects/PROJECT_NUMBER/locations/LOCATION/liveSessions/SESSION_ID",
  "playUri": "ad-stitched-live-stream-uri",
  "liveConfig": "projects/PROJECT_NUMBER/locations/LOCATION/liveConfigs/LIVE_CONFIG_ID",
}

C#

To authenticate to Video Stitcher API, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.


using Google.Cloud.Video.Stitcher.V1;

public class GetLiveSessionSample
{
    public LiveSession GetLiveSession(
        string projectId, string location, string sessionId)
    {
        // Create the client.
        VideoStitcherServiceClient client = VideoStitcherServiceClient.Create();

        GetLiveSessionRequest request = new GetLiveSessionRequest
        {
            LiveSessionName = LiveSessionName.FromProjectLocationLiveSession(projectId, location, sessionId)
        };

        // Call the API.
        LiveSession session = client.GetLiveSession(request);

        // Return the result.
        return session;
    }
}

Go

To authenticate to Video Stitcher API, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.

import (
	"context"
	"fmt"
	"io"

	stitcher "cloud.google.com/go/video/stitcher/apiv1"
	"cloud.google.com/go/video/stitcher/apiv1/stitcherpb"
)

// getLiveSession gets a livestream session by ID.
func getLiveSession(w io.Writer, projectID, sessionID string) error {
	// projectID := "my-project-id"
	// sessionID := "123-456-789"
	location := "us-central1"
	ctx := context.Background()
	client, err := stitcher.NewVideoStitcherClient(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("stitcher.NewVideoStitcherClient: %w", err)
	}
	defer client.Close()

	req := &stitcherpb.GetLiveSessionRequest{
		Name: fmt.Sprintf("projects/%s/locations/%s/liveSessions/%s", projectID, location, sessionID),
	}
	// Gets the session.
	response, err := client.GetLiveSession(ctx, req)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("client.GetLiveSession: %w", err)
	}

	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Live session: %+v", response)
	return nil
}

Java

To authenticate to Video Stitcher API, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.


import com.google.cloud.video.stitcher.v1.GetLiveSessionRequest;
import com.google.cloud.video.stitcher.v1.LiveSession;
import com.google.cloud.video.stitcher.v1.LiveSessionName;
import com.google.cloud.video.stitcher.v1.VideoStitcherServiceClient;
import java.io.IOException;

public class GetLiveSession {

  public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
    // TODO(developer): Replace these variables before running the sample.
    String projectId = "my-project-id";
    String location = "us-central1";
    String sessionId = "my-session-id";

    getLiveSession(projectId, location, sessionId);
  }

  public static void getLiveSession(String projectId, String location, String sessionId)
      throws IOException {
    // Initialize client that will be used to send requests. This client only needs to be created
    // once, and can be reused for multiple requests. In this example, try-with-resources is used
    // which automatically calls close() on the client to clean up resources.
    try (VideoStitcherServiceClient videoStitcherServiceClient =
        VideoStitcherServiceClient.create()) {
      GetLiveSessionRequest getLiveSessionRequest =
          GetLiveSessionRequest.newBuilder()
              .setName(LiveSessionName.of(projectId, location, sessionId).toString())
              .build();

      LiveSession response = videoStitcherServiceClient.getLiveSession(getLiveSessionRequest);
      System.out.println("Live session: " + response.getName());
    }
  }
}

Node.js

To authenticate to Video Stitcher API, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.

/**
 * TODO(developer): Uncomment these variables before running the sample.
 */
// projectId = 'my-project-id';
// location = 'us-central1';
// sessionId = 'my-session-id';

// Imports the Video Stitcher library
const {VideoStitcherServiceClient} =
  require('@google-cloud/video-stitcher').v1;
// Instantiates a client
const stitcherClient = new VideoStitcherServiceClient();

async function getLiveSession() {
  // Construct request
  const request = {
    name: stitcherClient.liveSessionPath(projectId, location, sessionId),
  };
  const [session] = await stitcherClient.getLiveSession(request);
  console.log(`Live session: ${session.name}`);
}

getLiveSession();

PHP

To authenticate to Video Stitcher API, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.

use Google\Cloud\Video\Stitcher\V1\Client\VideoStitcherServiceClient;
use Google\Cloud\Video\Stitcher\V1\GetLiveSessionRequest;

/**
 * Gets a live session.
 *
 * @param string $callingProjectId     The project ID to run the API call under
 * @param string $location             The location of the session
 * @param string $sessionId            The ID of the session
 */
function get_live_session(
    string $callingProjectId,
    string $location,
    string $sessionId
): void {
    // Instantiate a client.
    $stitcherClient = new VideoStitcherServiceClient();

    $formattedName = $stitcherClient->liveSessionName($callingProjectId, $location, $sessionId);
    $request = (new GetLiveSessionRequest())
        ->setName($formattedName);
    $session = $stitcherClient->getLiveSession($request);

    // Print results
    printf('Live session: %s' . PHP_EOL, $session->getName());
}

Python

To authenticate to Video Stitcher API, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.


import argparse

from google.cloud.video import stitcher_v1
from google.cloud.video.stitcher_v1.services.video_stitcher_service import (
    VideoStitcherServiceClient,
)


def get_live_session(
    project_id: str, location: str, session_id: str
) -> stitcher_v1.types.LiveSession:
    """Gets a live session. Live sessions are ephemeral resources that expire
    after a few minutes.
    Args:
        project_id: The GCP project ID.
        location: The location of the session.
        session_id: The ID of the live session.

    Returns:
        The live session resource.
    """

    client = VideoStitcherServiceClient()

    name = client.live_session_path(project_id, location, session_id)
    response = client.get_live_session(name=name)
    print(f"Live session: {response.name}")
    return response

Ruby

To authenticate to Video Stitcher API, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.

require "google/cloud/video/stitcher"

##
# Get a live session. Live sessions are ephemeral resources
# that expire after a few minutes.
#
# @param project_id [String] Your Google Cloud project (e.g. "my-project")
# @param location [String] The location (e.g. "us-central1")
# @param session_id [String] The live session ID (e.g. "my-live-session-id")
#
def get_live_session project_id:, location:, session_id:
  # Create a Video Stitcher client.
  client = Google::Cloud::Video::Stitcher.video_stitcher_service

  # Build the resource name of the live session.
  name = client.live_session_path project: project_id, location: location,
                                  live_session: session_id

  # Get the live session.
  session = client.get_live_session name: name

  # Print the live session name.
  puts "Live session: #{session.name}"
end

Sample ad-stitched playlist

The following shows a sample source live playlist before ad-stitching:

#EXTM3U
#EXT-X-TARGETDURATION:10
#EXT-X-VERSION:4
#EXT-X-MEDIA-SEQUENCE:5
#EXTINF:10.010
segment_00005.ts
#EXTINF:10.010
segment_00006.ts
#EXT-X-DATERANGE:ID="2415919105",START-DATE="2021-06-22T08:32:00Z",DURATION=60,SCTE35-OUT=0xF...
#EXTINF:10.010
segment_00007.ts
#EXTINF:10.010
segment_00008.ts
#EXT-X-DATERANGE:ID="2415919105",START-DATE="2021-06-22T08:39:20Z",SCTE35-IN=0xF...
#EXTINF:10.010
segment_00009.ts

The following shows a sample source live playlist after ad-stitching:

#EXTM3U
#EXT-X-TARGETDURATION:10
#EXT-X-VERSION:4
#EXT-X-MEDIA-SEQUENCE:5
#EXTINF:10.010
segment_00005.ts
#EXTINF:10.010
segment_00006.ts
#EXT-X-DISCONTINUITY
#EXTINF:6.000
https://ads.us-west1.cdn.videostitcher.goog/ad-1/seg-1.ts
#EXTINF:5.000
https://ads.us-west1.cdn.videostitcher.goog/ad-1/seg-2.ts
#EXT-X-DISCONTINUITY
#EXTINF:6.000
https://ads.us-west1.cdn.videostitcher.goog/ad-2/seg-1.ts
#EXTINF:5.000
https://ads.us-west1.cdn.videostitcher.goog/ad-2/seg-2.ts
#EXT-X-DISCONTINUITY
#EXTINF:10.010
segment_00009.ts