live555/CLAUDE.md

CLAUDE.md

This file provides guidance to Claude Code (claude.ai/code) when working with code in this repository.

Overview

This is the live555 streaming media library - a C++ RTSP/RTP streaming media library. It's a mature library (copyright 1996-2025) for implementing multimedia streaming applications with support for multiple protocols and media formats.

Architecture

The codebase is organized into several key directories:

• liveMedia/: Core streaming media classes and protocols (RTSP, RTP, RTCP, SIP)

  • Media format support: H.264, H.265, MPEG-1/2, MP3, AAC, JPEG, etc.
  • Stream framers, RTP sinks/sources, file server subsessions
  • Key classes: RTSPClient, RTSPServer, MediaSession, RTPSink, RTPSource

• groupsock/: Network socket abstraction layer

  • Groupsock class for UDP multicast/unicast
  • Network interface utilities and address handling

• UsageEnvironment/: Base environment classes for event scheduling

  • Abstract base classes: UsageEnvironment, TaskScheduler

• BasicUsageEnvironment/: Concrete implementation of usage environment

  • BasicUsageEnvironment, BasicTaskScheduler classes
  • Hash table and delay queue implementations

• testProgs/: Example applications and test programs

  • testRTSPClient: Basic RTSP client example
  • openRTSP: Full-featured RTSP client
  • Various streaming test programs for different media formats

• mediaServer/: RTSP media server (live555MediaServer)

  • Serves static media files over RTSP
  • Dynamic RTSP server implementation

• proxyServer/: RTSP proxy server (live555ProxyServer)

  • Proxies RTSP streams with modifications for buffer sizes and port reuse

• hlsProxy/: HLS proxy server

Build System

The project uses a custom Makefile-based build system:

1. Generate Makefiles: ./genMakefiles <platform>

   • Available platforms: linux, linux-64bit, macosx-bigsur, macosx-catalina, freebsd, openbsd, etc.
   • See config.* files for all supported platforms

2. Build: make -j4 (or make for single-threaded)

3. Clean: make clean

4. Install: make install

5. Complete clean: make distclean

Common Build Commands

# Linux build
./genMakefiles linux
make -j4

# macOS build  
./genMakefiles macosx-bigsur
make -j4

# Build with debug info
./genMakefiles linux-gdb
make -j4

Key Executables

After building, important executables are located in:

• ./testProgs/testRTSPClient - Basic RTSP client example
• ./testProgs/openRTSP - Full-featured RTSP client with many options
• ./proxyServer/live555ProxyServer - RTSP proxy server
• ./mediaServer/live555MediaServer - RTSP media server for static files
• ./testProgs/testH264VideoStreamer - H.264 video streaming example
• Various other test programs for different media formats

Development Notes

• The library requires OpenSSL for TLS/SSL support (linked with -lssl -lcrypto)

• Custom modifications in this fork:

  • OutPacketBuffer::maxSize increased to 2M bytes for buggy IP cameras
  • ALLOW_RTSP_SERVER_PORT_REUSE=1 for port reuse functionality
  • Optional TCP error handling improvements in RTCP.cpp

• Header files follow the pattern: each component has an include/ directory with .hh files

• The main library header is liveMedia/include/liveMedia.hh which includes all media classes

Testing

Run test programs from the testProgs/ directory:

# Test RTSP client
./testProgs/testRTSPClient rtsp://example.com/stream

# Stream H.264 file
./testProgs/testH264VideoStreamer inputfile.264

Common Development Workflow

1. Generate Makefiles for your platform
2. Make changes to source files
3. Run make to build
4. Test using programs in testProgs/
5. For server development, test with mediaServer/ or proxyServer/ executables