1# Cloudflare Stream
2 
3Serverless live and on-demand video streaming platform with one API.
4 
5## Overview
6 
7Cloudflare Stream provides video upload, storage, encoding, and delivery without managing infrastructure. Runs on Cloudflare's global network.
8 
9### Key Features
10- **On-demand video**: Upload, encode, store, deliver
11- **Live streaming**: RTMPS/SRT ingestion with ABR
12- **Direct creator uploads**: End users upload without API keys
13- **Signed URLs**: Token-based access control
14- **Analytics**: Server-side metrics via GraphQL
15- **Webhooks**: Processing notifications
16- **Captions**: Upload or AI-generate subtitles
17- **Watermarks**: Apply branding to videos
18- **Downloads**: Enable MP4 offline viewing
19 
20## Core Concepts
21 
22### Video Upload Methods
231. **API Upload (TUS protocol)**: Direct server upload
242. **Upload from URL**: Import from external source
253. **Direct Creator Uploads**: User-generated content (recommended)
26 
27### Playback Options
281. **Stream Player (iframe)**: Built-in, optimized player
292. **Custom Player (HLS/DASH)**: Video.js, HLS.js integration
303. **Thumbnails**: Static or animated previews
31 
32### Access Control
33- **Public**: No restrictions
34- **requireSignedURLs**: Token-based access
35- **allowedOrigins**: Domain restrictions
36- **Access Rules**: Geo/IP restrictions in tokens
37 
38### Live Streaming
39- RTMPS/SRT ingest from OBS, FFmpeg
40- Automatic recording to on-demand
41- Simulcast to YouTube, Twitch, etc.
42- WebRTC support for browser streaming
43 
44## Quick Start
45 
46**Upload video via API**
47```bash
48curl -X POST \
49  "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/accounts/{account_id}/stream/copy" \
50  -H "Authorization: Bearer <TOKEN>" \
51  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
52  -d '{"url": "https://example.com/video.mp4"}'
53```
54 
55**Embed player**
56```html
57<iframe
58  src="https://customer-<CODE>.cloudflarestream.com/<VIDEO_ID>/iframe"
59  style="border: none;"
60  height="720" width="1280"
61  allow="accelerometer; gyroscope; autoplay; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture;"
62  allowfullscreen="true"
63></iframe>
64```
65 
66**Create live input**
67```bash
68curl -X POST \
69  "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/accounts/{account_id}/stream/live_inputs" \
70  -H "Authorization: Bearer <TOKEN>" \
71  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
72  -d '{"recording": {"mode": "automatic"}}'
73```
74 
75## Limits
76 
77- Max file size: 30 GB
78- Max frame rate: 60 fps (recommended)
79- Supported formats: MP4, MKV, MOV, AVI, FLV, MPEG-2 TS/PS, MXF, LXF, GXF, 3GP, WebM, MPG, QuickTime
80 
81## Pricing
82 
83- $5/1000 min stored
84- $1/1000 min delivered
85 
86## Resources
87 
88- Dashboard: https://dash.cloudflare.com/?to=/:account/stream
89- API Docs: https://developers.cloudflare.com/api/resources/stream/
90- Stream Docs: https://developers.cloudflare.com/stream/
91 
92## Reading Order
93 
94| Order | File | Purpose | When to Use |
95|-------|------|---------|-------------|
96| 1 | [configuration.md](./configuration.md) | Setup SDKs, env vars, signing keys | Starting new project |
97| 2 | [api.md](./api.md) | On-demand video APIs | Implementing uploads/playback |
98| 3 | [api-live.md](./api-live.md) | Live streaming APIs | Building live streaming |
99| 4 | [patterns.md](./patterns.md) | Full-stack flows, TUS, JWT signing | Implementing workflows |
100| 5 | [gotchas.md](./gotchas.md) | Errors, limits, troubleshooting | Debugging issues |
101 
102## In This Reference
103 
104- [configuration.md](./configuration.md) - Setup, environment variables, wrangler config
105- [api.md](./api.md) - On-demand video upload, playback, management APIs
106- [api-live.md](./api-live.md) - Live streaming (RTMPS/SRT/WebRTC), simulcast
107- [patterns.md](./patterns.md) - Full-stack flows, state management, best practices
108- [gotchas.md](./gotchas.md) - Error codes, troubleshooting, limits
109 
110## See Also
111 
112- [workers](../workers/) - Deploy Stream APIs in Workers
113- [pages](../pages/) - Integrate Stream with Pages
114- [workers-ai](../workers-ai/) - AI-generate captions
115