peerjs README

The project's README from github.com/peers/peerjs. As one markdown file: README.md.

PeerJS: Simple peer-to-peer with WebRTC

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PeerJS provides a complete, configurable, and easy-to-use peer-to-peer API built on top of WebRTC, supporting both data channels and media streams.

Live Example

Here's an example application that uses both media and data connections: https://glitch.com/~peerjs-video. The example also uses its own PeerServer.

Special Announcement:

We now have a Discord Channel
There we plan to discuss roadmaps, feature requests, and more
Join us today

Setup

Include the library

with npm: npm install peerjs

with yarn: yarn add peerjs

// The usage -
import { Peer } from "peerjs";

Create a Peer

const peer = new Peer("pick-an-id");
// You can pick your own id or omit the id if you want to get a random one from the server.

Data connections

Connect

const conn = peer.connect("another-peers-id");
conn.on("open", () => {
	conn.send("hi!");
});

Receive

peer.on("connection", (conn) => {
	conn.on("data", (data) => {
		// Will print 'hi!'
		console.log(data);
	});
	conn.on("open", () => {
		conn.send("hello!");
	});
});

Media calls

Call

navigator.mediaDevices.getUserMedia(
	{ video: true, audio: true },
	(stream) => {
		const call = peer.call("another-peers-id", stream);
		call.on("stream", (remoteStream) => {
			// Show stream in some <video> element.
		});
	},
	(err) => {
		console.error("Failed to get local stream", err);
	},
);

Answer

peer.on("call", (call) => {
	navigator.mediaDevices.getUserMedia(
		{ video: true, audio: true },
		(stream) => {
			call.answer(stream); // Answer the call with an A/V stream.
			call.on("stream", (remoteStream) => {
				// Show stream in some <video> element.
			});
		},
		(err) => {
			console.error("Failed to get local stream", err);
		},
	);
});

Running tests

npm test

Browser support

Firefox
Firefox		 Chrome
Chrome		 Safari
Edge		 Safari
Safari
80+ 83+ 83+ 15+

We test PeerJS against these versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari with BrowserStack to ensure compatibility. It may work in other and older browsers, but we don't officially support them. Changes to browser support will be a breaking change going forward.

[!NOTE] Firefox 102+ is required for CBOR / MessagePack support.

FAQ

Q. I have a message Critical dependency: the request of a dependency is an expression in browser's console

A. The message occurs when you use PeerJS with Webpack. It is not critical! It relates to Parcel https://github.com/parcel-bundler/parcel/issues/2883 We'll resolve it when updated to Parcel V2.

Documentation / API Reference

PeerServer

Discuss PeerJS on our Telegram Channel

Changelog

Contributors

This project exists thanks to all the people who contribute.

Backers

Thank you to all our backers! [Become a backer]

Sponsors

Support this project by becoming a sponsor. Your logo will show up here with a link to your website. [Become a sponsor]

License

PeerJS is licensed under the MIT License.

peerjs (peers/peerjs)

Searching Database…

13.5K ·GitHub
Peerjs
What is this?PeerJS is a client-side JavaScript/TypeScript library that wraps WebRTC in a simple, configurable peer-to-peer API, supporting both data channels and media streams.
Is PeerJS a library I bundle into my web app, or a service I deploy?It is a client-side library you include in a web app (via npm or yarn) — the peer-to-peer work happens in the browser through the WebRTC API.
How do I add it to a project?Install with npm ('npm install peerjs') or yarn ('yarn add peerjs'), then create a Peer in your code to start making connections.
Do I need to run my own server for peers to find each other?Yes — connection setup goes through PeerServer, a separate companion component the README's live example runs its own instance of. After that, data and media travel between peers.
Which browsers will it actually run in?Firefox 80+, Chrome 83+, Edge 83+, and Safari 15+ are officially supported and tested with BrowserStack. Other or older browsers may work but are not officially supported.
Can it do audio and video calls, or is it data-only?Both. It supports data channels for messages and media streams, with dedicated call and answer steps for media connections.
What does a minimal connection look like in code?You create a Peer; for data connections you then connect and receive, and for media calls you call and answer — the README is organized around exactly those steps.
Does it support structured data like CBOR or MessagePack?Yes — it includes CBOR and MessagePack support, but that part requires Firefox 102 or newer.
Any gotchas when bundling with Webpack?A 'Critical dependency: the request of a dependency is an expression' console message can appear. Per the FAQ it is not critical, relates to Parcel, and will be resolved when the project updates to Parcel V2.
What are similar projects?samples, WebRTC-Experiment, Piik, webrtc, ffmpeg.wasm, tincan-cli, trystero, react-player
Which topics is it in?communication, webrtc, p2p, real-time, audio, video, browser, web-development, npm, frontend, library, typescript
Creator
peers
Size
10.8 MB
Stars
13.5K
Updated
CommitJul 18Releasev1.5.5Jun 07
Age
13y
Commits · 90 Days