Client & Authentication

This document explains how authentication works with the Stream Video ESP32 SDK.

App fetches token, SDK uses it

The app is responsible for obtaining the auth token. The SDK does not fetch tokens. You can get the token from:

Your own backend (recommended for production)
Stream's token service (e.g. pronto for development/demo)

The app calls its token service, receives { userId, apiKey, token }, then passes that auth data to the SDK when joining a call.

Auth data type

The SDK expects auth data in this form (see stream_video_auth.h):

typedef struct stream_video_auth_data {
    char user_id[128];
    char api_key[256];
    char token[512];   // JWT
} stream_video_auth_data_t;

Joining a call

Pass auth data in the join params:

stream_video_auth_data_t auth_data = {0};
// ... obtain auth_data from your token service ...

stream_video_join_call_params_t params = {
    .auth_data = &auth_data,
    .call_type = "default",
    .call_id = "your-call-id",
    .create = true,
    .result_cb = on_join_result,
    .mute_audio = false,
    .mute_video = false,
};

stream_video_client_handle_t client = NULL;
stream_video_join_call(&params, &client);

Using the example token helper

The minimal example includes a token helper in app_token.c / app_token.h that fetches auth data from a configurable base URL (e.g. https://pronto.getstream.io/). Your backend must return a JSON response with userId, apiKey, and token fields. Use it as a reference or copy it into your app:

#include "app_token.h"

stream_video_auth_data_t auth_data = {0};
stream_video_error_t err = app_request_auth_data(
    "https://pronto.getstream.io/",  // or your backend
    "pronto",                         // environment
    "esp32_user",                     // user_id (or NULL)
    STREAM_VIDEO_DEFAULT_TOKEN_EXPIRY_SECONDS,
    &auth_data);
if (err != STREAM_VIDEO_ERR_OK) {
    // handle error
}
// then pass &auth_data to stream_video_join_call params

Creating a user object (optional)

If you need a user object (e.g. for display), create it from auth data:

stream_video_user_t user;
stream_video_create_user_from_auth(
    &auth_data,
    STREAM_VIDEO_USER_ROLE_ADMIN,
    &user
);

Quickstart

Joining & Creating Calls