Network Interfaces

How to interact with the Livepeer Network and protocol: REST and gRPC APIs, GraphQL, JS SDK, CLI, and smart contract interfaces.

Livepeer exposes multiple access interfaces for developers, creators, and infrastructure operators to interact with the protocol and network. These include SDKs, REST and gRPC APIs, the CLI, GraphQL endpoints, and playback tooling for on-chain and off-chain applications. This page breaks down each interface by use case, target user, and sample integration paths.

Interface categories

REST API (Livepeer Studio)

Available at: https://livepeer.studio/api

Common endpoints:

• POST /stream - Create video stream ingest session
• POST /transcode - On-demand file transcode
• POST /ai/infer - Submit AI job (e.g. Image enhancement)
• GET /session/:id - Fetch session status

Docs: livepeer.studio/docs

gRPC API (Gateway nodes)

gRPC allows high-throughput, low-latency Orchestrator routing.

Methods (examples): ReserveSession, Heartbeat, ReportJobComplete, OrchestratorList

Used by: Studio Gateway, Daydream Gateway, Cascade.

Proto: gateway.proto

GraphQL Explorer API

Access detailed Livepeer on-chain and network state.

Endpoint: https://explorer.livepeer.org/graphql

Example query:

query GetOrchestrators {
  orchestrators {
    id
    totalStake
    rewardCut
    serviceURI
  }
}

Also supports: delegator rewards, inflation rate, total active stake, round info. Used by Explorer.

JS SDK

GitHub: @livepeer/sdk

Install:

npm install @livepeer/sdk

Features: Ingest (create stream, push video), AI job submit, view session output, wallet support (ETH, credit), playback and stats.

Example:

const { createStream } = require('@livepeer/sdk');
const stream = await createStream({ name: 'My Stream' });

Used in: Livepeer Studio, Daydream, VJ apps (e.g. MetaDJ).

CLI

Install via Go build or Docker:

go install github.com/livepeer/go-livepeer

Commands (examples): stake, unbond, withdraw, reward, claim, transcode, broadcast, query

Ideal for Orchestrator testing and protocol analysis.

Smart contract interfaces

Interact directly with the protocol (Arbitrum) via RPC and ABIs.

Current Arbitrum contract addresses and ABIs are listed in Blockchain contracts. Use ethers.js, viem, hardhat, or JSON-RPC to call contracts.

Workflow examples

Transcode from web app:

await sdk.createStream({ profile: '720p', name: 'MyCam' });

Run AI image-to-image (curl):

curl -X POST https://livepeer.studio/api/ai/infer \
  -d '{ "model": "sdxl", "input": "image.png" }'

Check node metrics:

livepeer_cli status

See also

• Technical architecture - Stack overview, Orchestrator, Gateway, workers
• Marketplace - Routing and pricing
• Job lifecycle - Session flow and settlement
• Blockchain contracts - Contract addresses and ABIs
• Livepeer Protocol repo

References

• Livepeer Studio API
• Livepeer Explorer GraphQL
• Livepeer JS SDK
• Protocol ABIs
• Livepeer Protocol repo