Generating tokens | LiveKit Docs

In order for frontend apps to connect to LiveKit rooms, they need a token generated by your backend server. In this guide, we'll walk through how to set up a server to generate tokens for your frontend.

1. Install LiveKit Server SDK

go get github.com/livekit/server-sdk-go/v2

2. Keys and Configuration

Create a new file at development.env and with your API Key and Secret:

export LIVEKIT_API_KEY=<your API Key>
export LIVEKIT_API_SECRET=<your API Secret>

3. Make an endpoint that returns a token

Create a server:

// server.go
import (
	"net/http"
	"log"
	"time"
	"os"

	"github.com/livekit/protocol/auth"
)

func getJoinToken(room, identity string) string {
	at := auth.NewAccessToken(os.Getenv("LIVEKIT_API_KEY"), os.Getenv("LIVEKIT_API_SECRET"))
	grant := &auth.VideoGrant{
		RoomJoin: true,
		Room: room,
	}
	at.AddGrant(grant).
		SetIdentity(identity).
		SetValidFor(time.Hour)

	token, _ := at.ToJWT()
	return token
}

func main() {
	http.HandleFunc("/getToken", func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
		w.Write([]byte(getJoinToken("my-room", "identity")))
	})

	log.Fatal(http.ListenAndServe(":8080", nil))
}

Load the environment variables and run the server:

$ source development.env
$ go run server.go

Note

See the Authentication page for more information on how to generate tokens with custom permissions.

4. Create a frontend app to connect

Create a frontend app that fetches a token from the server we just made, then uses it to connect to a LiveKit room: