Run a Sample IoT SDK Project

The IoT SDK ships two ready-to-run sample projects inside the published component on the ESP Component Registry:

Example	What it does
audio_call	Joins a meeting and streams audio.
video_call	Joins a meeting and streams camera video.

idf.py create-project-from-example downloads the component and scaffolds the whole project for you: source, CMakeLists.txt, partitions.csv and a tuned sdkconfig.defaults. There is nothing to wire up by hand.

The same samples are also available on GitHub: videosdk-rtc-iot-sdk-example.

tip

If you would rather build a project from scratch and add the SDK to it yourself, follow the Quick Start instead.

Prerequisites

Before you get started, ensure you have the following:

• ESP-IDF: ESP-IDF v5.4.2, v5.4.3, or v5.4.4
• Python: Python version >= 3.11
• A supported ESP32-S3 board: Seeed XIAO ESP32-S3 (Sense) or ESP32-S3-Korvo-2 v3.1, with 8 MB flash and octal PSRAM
• A valid Video SDK Account

Generate Token

To manage secured communication, every participant that connects to a meeting needs an access token. You can easily generate this token from the VideoSDK Dashboard.

For development purpose, you can generate a temporary token from VideoSDK Dashboard's API section.

Run the Sample Project

Step 1: Configure the ESP-IDF environment

1

Configure the ESP-IDF environment

tip

For setting up ESP-IDF, follow only Step 1 of the Quick Start. Inside that step, you do not need to run the project creation commands; the next step here creates the project for you.

Once the toolchain is installed, activate it in your shell:

source ~/esp/esp-idf/export.sh

Step 2: Create the sample project

2

Create the sample project

Pick the example you want and run one command. It fetches the component from the registry and generates a complete project in the current directory.

# Audio call
idf.py create-project-from-example "videosdk/iot-sdk=0.3.2:audio_call"

# ...or video call
idf.py create-project-from-example "videosdk/iot-sdk=0.3.2:video_call"

Then move into the generated folder:

cd audio_call     # or: cd video_call

note

The generated project already contains everything the SDK needs: main/idf_component.yml, main/CMakeLists.txt, partitions.csv and a tuned sdkconfig.defaults. The board, token, meeting ID and log-verbosity menus come from the component itself, so there is no Kconfig.projbuild to write.

Step 3: Configure your board and credentials

3

Configure your board and credentials

Set the target, then set your Wi-Fi, token and meeting ID in menuconfig.

warning

Set the target to esp32s3. Any other target will fail to build; the SDK supports the ESP32-S3 only.

idf.py set-target esp32s3
idf.py menuconfig

Inside menuconfig, set the following. Press S to save and Enter to confirm, then Esc or q to exit.

a. Example Connection Configuration
       |-> WIFI SSID              <!-- your WiFi name -->
       |-> WIFI Password          <!-- your WiFi password -->

b. VideoSDK Configuration
       |-> Auth token (JWT)       <!-- paste your VideoSDK token -->
       |-> Meeting / room ID      <!-- the meeting you want to join -->

c. SET Microcontroller
       |-> Audio hardware board
             |-> ESP32-S3-XIAO      (default)
             |-> ESP32-S3-Korvo-2
       |-> Speaker output volume (0-100)   <!-- board-dependent; see Supported Microcontrollers -->

d. VideoSDK Logging
       |-> Log verbosity
             |-> Normal (default)
             |-> Debug

The token and meeting ID live in sdkconfig, not in source, so you never have to paste a real token into a .c file.

Sending vs receiving

All boards can send audio and video. Receiving needs a speaker and a display; on boards without them, startSubscribeAudio() and startSubscribeVideo() return DEVICE_NOT_SUPPORTED (expected, not a failure). See Supported Microcontrollers.

Step 4: Build & Flash Project

4

Build & Flash Project

Build the firmware and flash it onto your board.

idf.py build
idf.py -p <PORT> flash monitor

Join the same meeting ID from a browser or a phone using any VideoSDK client SDK, and the device will appear as another participant.

warning

sdkconfig.defaults is read only on the first build, when no sdkconfig file exists yet. If you change it later, delete the generated sdkconfig before rebuilding; otherwise your change is silently ignored.

Next steps

• Audio: Publish Audio · Subscribe Audio
• Video: Publish Video · Subscribe Video
• Data Channel: Send Message · Receive Message
• API reference: Methods · Result Codes