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Janus WebRTC Server
Scalable WebRTC gateway for real‑time media and data
Janus is a modular WebRTC server for Linux (and macOS) that enables multi‑stream video, audio, data channels, and REST/WebSocket APIs, with a rich plugin ecosystem.
Overview
Overview
Janus is a general‑purpose WebRTC server primarily built for Linux, with support for macOS and Windows Subsystem for Linux. It targets developers and organizations that need a flexible, multi‑stream media gateway capable of handling video, audio, and bidirectional data channels.
Capabilities and Deployment
The server offers a plugin architecture that lets you add SIP bridging, audio mixing, live streaming, and custom logic via Lua or Duktape. It exposes REST and WebSocket APIs for signaling, and optional modules enable RabbitMQ, MQTT, Nanomsg, TURN REST, and BoringSSL integration. Deployment involves compiling the core and selected plugins against standard libraries such as GLib, libnice, OpenSSL, and libsrtp, with detailed package lists for Fedora, Ubuntu, and other distributions.
Janus is suited for production‑grade real‑time applications, from multi‑party conferencing to IoT data pipelines, while requiring manual dependency management and Linux‑centric hosting.
Highlights
Multi‑stream video, audio, and data channel support
Extensible plugin system for SIP, AudioBridge, Streaming, etc.
REST and WebSocket APIs for flexible signaling
Optional integrations: RabbitMQ, MQTT, Nanomsg, TURN REST
Pros
- Highly modular and extensible via plugins
- Strong community and active maintenance by Meetecho
- Supports both media and data channels (SCTP)
- Works on Linux, macOS, and WSL for Windows
Considerations
- No native Windows binaries; requires WSL or compilation
- Dependency installation can be complex for newcomers
- Steep learning curve for custom plugin development
- Documentation assumes familiarity with Linux build tools
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Fit guide
Great for
- Developers building custom WebRTC gateways
- Enterprises needing multi‑party video conferencing
- IoT projects requiring low‑latency data channels
- Researchers prototyping real‑time media applications
Not ideal when
- Teams that require out‑of‑the‑box Windows server support
- Simple one‑to‑one video calls without customization
- Users unwilling to compile and manage native dependencies
- Projects needing a turnkey commercial solution
How teams use it
Multi‑party video conferencing platform
Scalable conferences with mixed audio/video streams and data channel chat
Real‑time sensor data streaming
Bidirectional low‑latency data exchange between browsers and IoT devices
SIP‑to‑WebRTC gateway
Bridge legacy SIP phones with modern WebRTC clients
Live RTSP camera broadcasting
Stream IP camera feeds to browsers via the Streaming plugin
Tech snapshot
C83%
JavaScript12%
HTML3%
Lua1%
M41%
Makefile1%
Frequently asked questions
Can Janus run on native Windows?
Official builds are not provided for Windows, but it can run under Windows Subsystem for Linux.
Is there a pre‑compiled package for macOS?
Janus can be compiled on macOS, but you need to build it from source with the required dependencies.
How do I enable data channel support?
Install the optional usrsctp library and compile Janus with the data channel plugin enabled.
What signaling methods are available?
Janus offers REST, WebSocket, and optional RabbitMQ/MQTT/Nanomsg transports for signaling.
Where can I get help or report bugs?
Join the Janus community forum or open an issue on the GitHub repository following the contribution guidelines.
Project at a glance
Active- Stars
- 9,008
- Watchers
- 9,008
- Forks
- 2,605
LicenseGPL-3.0
Repo age11 years old
Last commitlast week
Primary languageC
Last synced 3 hours ago