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">&#x3C;/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.

File Description

reference/mux-fundamentals.md Organizations, environments, assets, playback IDs, and API structure

reference/api-authentication.md Access tokens, permissions, and secure API request patterns

reference/webhooks.md Webhook events, signature verification, and event handling

reference/content-security-policy.md CSP configuration for Mux Player and streaming domains

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.

File Description

reference/upload-methods.md URL ingestion, direct uploads, and resumable upload protocols

reference/mux-uploader.md Drop-in upload components for web with progress and error handling

reference/mobile-upload-sdks.md iOS and Android upload SDKs for native applications

reference/asset-configuration.md Video quality tiers, MP4 support, master access, and encoding settings

reference/text-tracks-and-audio.md Captions, subtitles, audio tracks, and language configuration

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.

File Description

reference/web-player-integrations.md Video.js, HLS.js, Shaka Player, JW Player, and Bitmovin

reference/mobile-player-integrations.md AVPlayer (iOS), ExoPlayer (Android), and native SDKs

reference/smart-tv-device-integrations.md Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, and smart TV platforms

reference/custom-player-integrations.md Building custom player integrations with Mux Data SDK

Video Features and Tools

Additional video capabilities beyond basic playback.

File Description

reference/video-clipping.md Creating clips from assets, URL-based clipping, and clip management

reference/images-and-thumbnails.md Thumbnail generation, animated GIFs, and timeline previews

reference/custom-domains-and-security.md CNAME setup, SSL certificates, and branded delivery domains

reference/social-sharing-and-special-features.md OG tags, Twitter cards, and social media optimization

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.

File Description

reference/pricing-overview.md Pricing model, billable metrics, and cost calculations

reference/cost-optimization.md Strategies for reducing encoding, storage, and delivery costs

Examples

Getting Started

File Description

examples/quickstart-stream-video.md Complete guide to uploading and playing your first video

examples/webhook-signature-verification.md Verifying webhook signatures in Node.js, Python, and Ruby

Player Integration

File Description

examples/mux-player-web-setup.md Setting up Mux Player in HTML, React, and Vue applications

examples/signed-url-playback.md Generating and using signed playback URLs with JWTs

examples/drm-protected-playback.md Configuring DRM-protected content with Widevine and FairPlay

Video Upload

File Description

examples/direct-upload-with-webhooks.md Client-side uploads with server webhook handling

examples/video-with-captions-and-metadata.md Uploading videos with subtitle tracks and custom metadata

Live Streaming

File Description

examples/live-streaming-complete-setup.md End-to-end live streaming implementation

examples/live-captions-and-simulcasting.md Adding live captions and streaming to multiple platforms

Analytics

File Description

examples/custom-analytics-integration.md Advanced Mux Data integration with custom dimensions

examples/web-player-integration-example.md Integrating Mux Data with Video.js and HLS.js

examples/mobile-player-integration-example.md iOS and Android analytics SDK integration

Video Features

File Description

examples/video-clipping-workflows.md Creating clips for social sharing and highlights

examples/thumbnail-and-preview-integration.md Dynamic thumbnails and timeline hover previews

React Native

File Description

examples/react-native-stories-app.md Building an Instagram-style stories feature

examples/react-native-video-upload-workflow.md Complete upload flow with progress and background handling

CMS Integration

File Description

examples/cms-setup-sanity.md Integrating Mux with Sanity CMS

AI Workflows

File Description

examples/ai-video-workflows.md Automatic chapters, summarization, and tagging with @mux/ai

examples/content-moderation-strategies.md AI-powered content moderation for user-generated video

examples/video-synchronization.md Syncing video playback across multiple viewers

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.