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DEPENDENCIES.md

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LiveKit C++ SDK - System Dependencies

This file lists all system-level dependencies required to link against the LiveKit C++ SDK libraries.

Overview

The LiveKit SDK consists of two libraries:

  • livekit.lib / liblivekit.a - Main SDK static library
  • livekit_ffi.dll / liblivekit_ffi.so / liblivekit_ffi.dylib - Rust FFI dynamic library

Distribution Model

The SDK uses different distribution strategies per platform:

Windows (Complete Package)

✅ Ready to use - All dependencies included:

  • livekit.lib - Main SDK static library
  • livekit_ffi.dll + livekit_ffi.dll.lib - Rust FFI dynamic library
  • libprotobuf.dll + libprotobuf.lib - Protocol Buffers runtime
  • abseil_dll.dll + abseil_dll.lib - Abseil C++ library

User action: Copy all DLLs alongside your executable. No additional installation required.

Linux (Minimal Package)

⚠️ Requires system dependencies:

  • liblivekit.a - Main SDK static library (included)
  • liblivekit_ffi.so - Rust FFI dynamic library (included, must be placed alongside your executable)
  • libprotobuf - Must install via apt install libprotobuf-dev
  • libssl - Must install via apt install libssl-dev
  • libabsl - Only if built with Protobuf 6.0+: apt install libabsl-dev

User action: Install required packages and copy liblivekit_ffi.so to your executable directory.

macOS (Minimal Package)

⚠️ Requires system dependencies:

  • liblivekit.a - Main SDK static library (included)
  • liblivekit_ffi.dylib - Rust FFI dynamic library (included, must be placed alongside your executable)
  • protobuf - Must install via brew install protobuf
  • abseil - Only if built with Protobuf 6.0+: brew install abseil

User action: Install required packages and copy liblivekit_ffi.dylib to your executable directory.

Windows Dependencies

When linking on Windows, you must add these system libraries:

target_link_libraries(your_app PRIVATE
    # LiveKit static libraries
    livekit
    livekit_ffi
    
    # Windows system libraries (REQUIRED)
    ntdll          # NT kernel interface
    userenv        # User environment functions
    winmm          # Windows multimedia
    iphlpapi       # IP Helper API
    msdmo          # DirectX Media Objects
    dmoguids       # DMO GUIDs
    wmcodecdspuuid # Windows Media codec DSP UUIDs
    ws2_32         # Winsock 2
    secur32        # Security Support Provider Interface
    bcrypt         # Cryptography API
    crypt32        # Cryptography API (certificates)
)

Visual Studio Project Settings

If using Visual Studio directly, add to Linker → Input → Additional Dependencies:

ntdll.lib;userenv.lib;winmm.lib;iphlpapi.lib;msdmo.lib;dmoguids.lib;wmcodecdspuuid.lib;ws2_32.lib;secur32.lib;bcrypt.lib;crypt32.lib

macOS Dependencies

When linking on macOS, you must add these system frameworks:

find_library(FW_COREAUDIO      CoreAudio      REQUIRED)
find_library(FW_AUDIOTOOLBOX   AudioToolbox   REQUIRED)
find_library(FW_COREFOUNDATION CoreFoundation REQUIRED)
find_library(FW_SECURITY       Security       REQUIRED)
find_library(FW_COREGRAPHICS   CoreGraphics   REQUIRED)
find_library(FW_COREMEDIA      CoreMedia      REQUIRED)
find_library(FW_VIDEOTOOLBOX   VideoToolbox   REQUIRED)
find_library(FW_AVFOUNDATION   AVFoundation   REQUIRED)
find_library(FW_COREVIDEO      CoreVideo      REQUIRED)
find_library(FW_FOUNDATION     Foundation     REQUIRED)
find_library(FW_APPKIT         AppKit         REQUIRED)
find_library(FW_QUARTZCORE     QuartzCore     REQUIRED)
find_library(FW_OPENGL         OpenGL         REQUIRED)
find_library(FW_IOSURFACE      IOSurface      REQUIRED)
find_library(FW_METAL          Metal          REQUIRED)
find_library(FW_METALKIT       MetalKit       REQUIRED)
find_library(FW_SCREENCAPTUREKIT ScreenCaptureKit REQUIRED)

target_link_libraries(your_app PRIVATE
    # LiveKit static libraries
    livekit
    livekit_ffi
    
    # macOS frameworks (REQUIRED)
    ${FW_COREAUDIO}
    ${FW_AUDIOTOOLBOX}
    ${FW_COREFOUNDATION}
    ${FW_SECURITY}
    ${FW_COREGRAPHICS}
    ${FW_COREMEDIA}
    ${FW_VIDEOTOOLBOX}
    ${FW_AVFOUNDATION}
    ${FW_COREVIDEO}
    ${FW_FOUNDATION}
    ${FW_APPKIT}
    ${FW_QUARTZCORE}
    ${FW_OPENGL}
    ${FW_IOSURFACE}
    ${FW_METAL}
    ${FW_METALKIT}
    ${FW_SCREENCAPTUREKIT}
)

target_link_options(your_app PRIVATE "LINKER:-ObjC")

Xcode Project Settings

Add to Build Phases → Link Binary With Libraries:

  • CoreAudio.framework
  • AudioToolbox.framework
  • CoreFoundation.framework
  • Security.framework
  • CoreGraphics.framework
  • CoreMedia.framework
  • VideoToolbox.framework
  • AVFoundation.framework
  • CoreVideo.framework
  • Foundation.framework
  • AppKit.framework
  • QuartzCore.framework
  • OpenGL.framework
  • IOSurface.framework
  • Metal.framework
  • MetalKit.framework
  • ScreenCaptureKit.framework

Also add -ObjC to Other Linker Flags.

Linux Dependencies

Required System Packages

First, install the required development packages:

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install libprotobuf-dev protobuf-compiler libabsl-dev libssl-dev

# Fedora/RHEL
sudo dnf install protobuf-devel abseil-cpp-devel openssl-devel

CMake Configuration

find_package(Protobuf REQUIRED)
find_package(OpenSSL REQUIRED)

target_link_libraries(your_app PRIVATE
    # LiveKit static libraries
    livekit
    livekit_ffi
    
    # Protobuf (REQUIRED)
    protobuf::libprotobuf
    
    # Linux system libraries (REQUIRED)
    OpenSSL::SSL
    OpenSSL::Crypto
    pthread
    dl
)

# NOTE: If using Protobuf 6.0+, you also need to link Abseil:
# find_package(absl REQUIRED)
# target_link_libraries(your_app PRIVATE absl::log absl::strings absl::base)

Manual Linking (Makefile/gcc)

g++ your_app.cpp \
    -I/path/to/livekit/include \
    -L/path/to/livekit/lib \
    -llivekit -llivekit_ffi \
    -lprotobuf -lssl -lcrypto -lpthread -ldl

Common Linking Errors

Windows

error LNK2019: unresolved external symbol __imp_WSAStartup

Solution: Add ws2_32.lib to your linker dependencies.

error LNK2019: unresolved external symbol BCryptGenRandom

Solution: Add bcrypt.lib to your linker dependencies.

macOS

Undefined symbols for architecture x86_64:
  "_AudioObjectGetPropertyData", referenced from:

Solution: Link against CoreAudio.framework.

Linux

undefined reference to `SSL_CTX_new'

Solution: Install OpenSSL development package and link against it:

sudo apt install libssl-dev

Quick Reference

Platform System Libraries Count Key Dependencies
Windows 11 libraries ws2_32, bcrypt, secur32
macOS 17 frameworks CoreAudio, VideoToolbox, ScreenCaptureKit
Linux 2+ libraries OpenSSL (ssl, crypto)

Verification

To verify you have all dependencies linked correctly:

  1. Build your application
  2. Check for linker errors - any unresolved external symbol or undefined reference indicates a missing system library
  3. Run the application - if it crashes immediately, you may be missing runtime dependencies

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