Mux Video Platform
Comprehensive guide to building video applications with Mux, the developer-first video infrastructure platform. This skill covers video streaming, live streaming, player integrations, analytics with Mux Data, and AI-powered workflows. Whether you are building a video-on-demand platform, live streaming application, or integrating video into an existing product, this documentation provides the patterns and code examples needed to ship quickly.
Key Capabilities
- Video Hosting and Streaming: Upload, transcode, and deliver video content globally via adaptive bitrate streaming (HLS)
- Live Streaming: Real-time video broadcasting with RTMP/SRT ingest, low-latency options, and automatic recording
- Mux Player: Drop-in video player components for web (React, vanilla JS), iOS, and Android with built-in analytics
- Mux Data: Quality of experience analytics, engagement metrics, and real-time monitoring
- Content Security: Signed playback URLs, DRM protection (Widevine/FairPlay), and domain restrictions
- AI Workflows: Automatic chapter generation, video summarization, content moderation, and audio dubbing
Quick Start
Get streaming in five minutes:
- Create an API Access Token in the Mux Dashboard with Video Read and Write permissions
- Create a video asset from a URL:
curl https://api.mux.com/video/v1/assets \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-X POST \
-d '{ "input": [{ "url": "https://muxed.s3.amazonaws.com/leds.mp4" }], "playback_policy": ["public"] }' \
-u ${MUX_TOKEN_ID}:${MUX_TOKEN_SECRET}
- Play the video using the returned playback ID:
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@mux/mux-player"></script>
<mux-player playback-id="YOUR_PLAYBACK_ID"></mux-player>
See examples/quickstart-stream-video.md for the complete walkthrough with SDK examples in Node.js, Python, Ruby, Go, and PHP.
Reference Documentation
Core Concepts
Foundational knowledge for working with Mux APIs and infrastructure.
Mux Player
Drop-in video player components with built-in analytics and adaptive controls.
| File | Description |
|---|
| reference/mux-player-overview.md | Platform support (web, iOS, Android), installation, and core features |
| reference/player-setup-integration.md | HTML, React, iframe embed, and native mobile integration |
| reference/player-customization.md | Theming, CSS variables, custom controls, and branding |
| reference/player-advanced-features.md | Chromecast, AirPlay, DVR mode, picture-in-picture, and quality selection |
| reference/playback-security.md | Signed URLs, JWT token generation, and playback restrictions |
| reference/playback-modifiers-resolution.md | Resolution capping, bandwidth hints, and playback URL parameters |
Video Upload and Asset Management
Methods for getting video content into Mux and configuring assets.
Live Streaming
Real-time video broadcasting with global ingest and low-latency delivery.
| File | Description |
|---|
| reference/live-streaming-getting-started.md | Creating live streams, stream keys, and basic broadcasting |
| reference/live-stream-configuration.md | Latency modes, reconnect windows, and recording settings |
| reference/streaming-protocols-encoder-setup.md | RTMP, RTMPS, SRT protocols and encoder configuration |
| reference/live-stream-features.md | Simulcasting, live clipping, DVR mode, and embedded captions |
| reference/live-stream-troubleshooting.md | Common issues, debugging, and encoder compatibility |
Mux Data and Analytics
Quality of experience metrics, engagement tracking, and performance monitoring.
| File | Description |
|---|
| reference/metrics-overview.md | Views, watch time, QoE scores, and metric definitions |
| reference/dashboards-and-filtering.md | Dashboard navigation, filters, and data exploration |
| reference/custom-metadata-and-dimensions.md | Custom dimensions, video metadata, and viewer identification |
| reference/data-exports.md | CSV exports, S3 delivery, and raw data access |
| reference/alerts-and-monitoring.md | Alert configuration, thresholds, and notification channels |
| reference/privacy-and-configuration.md | Data retention, GDPR compliance, and privacy settings |
Player Monitoring Integrations
Integrating Mux Data with third-party video players.
Video Features and Tools
Additional video capabilities beyond basic playback.
Framework Integrations
Platform-specific guides for popular web and mobile frameworks.
| File | Description |
|---|
| reference/web-framework-integrations.md | Next.js, Remix, SvelteKit, Nuxt, and other web frameworks |
| reference/react-native-getting-started.md | Setting up Mux in React Native applications |
| reference/react-native-video-features.md | Video playback, uploads, and analytics in React Native |
| reference/react-native-ui-patterns.md | Common UI patterns for video apps (feeds, stories, full-screen) |
| reference/react-native-advanced-topics.md | Performance optimization, offline playback, and background audio |
CMS Integrations and SDKs
Connecting Mux with content management systems and backend services.
| File | Description |
|---|
| reference/cms-integrations.md | Sanity, Contentful, WordPress, Strapi, and other CMS platforms |
| reference/server-side-sdks.md | Node.js, Python, Ruby, PHP, Go, Java, and.NET SDKs |
| reference/mcp-server.md | Mux MCP server for AI assistant integrations |
Pricing and Cost Management
Understanding and optimizing Mux costs.
Examples
Getting Started
Player Integration
Video Upload
Live Streaming
Analytics
Video Features
React Native
CMS Integration
AI Workflows
Important Notes
API Authentication
All Mux API requests require authentication using a Token ID and Token Secret. API requests must be made from a server environment - the API does not support CORS and credentials should never be exposed in client-side code.
Playback IDs vs Asset IDs
- Asset IDs are used to manage content via the API (
api.mux.com) - Playback IDs are used to stream content to viewers (
stream.mux.com) - An asset can have multiple playback IDs with different policies (public vs signed)
Webhooks vs Polling
Always prefer webhooks over polling to track asset status. Webhooks provide real-time notifications when assets are ready, live streams change state, or uploads complete. Configure webhooks per environment in the Mux Dashboard.
Video Quality Tiers
Mux offers different video quality tiers (basic, plus, premium) that affect encoding quality and pricing. Choose the appropriate tier based on your content type and quality requirements.
Stream Key Security
Live stream keys should be treated as secrets. Anyone with the stream key can broadcast to your live stream. Reset keys immediately if compromised.
