BigBlueButton SDK for HTML5 Client Plugins

This repository contains the SDK for developing BigBlueButton plugins. Plugins are React components that can be loaded from external sources by the BigBlueButton HTML5 client to extend its functionalities.

Examples

A variety of example implementations to manipulate different parts of the BBB client can be found in the samples folder.

Usage

This is a general instruction on how to use a plugin. For a detailed configuration example of each use case, have a look at the READMEs in the respective samples-folders.

Running the Plugin from Source

For development purposes you can run a plugin locally from source.

For example if you take the sample-action-button-dropdown-plugin, you do the following:

Running from source code with local BBB-server

1. Start the development server:

   cd $HOME/src/bigbluebutton-html-plugin-sdk/samples/sample-action-button-dropdown-plugin
   npm install
   npm start
   

2. Add reference to it on BigBlueButton's /create call or add it on /usr/share/bbb-web/WEB-INF/classes/bigbluebutton.properties:

pluginsManifests=[{"url": "https://localhost:4701/manifest.json"}]

Running from souce code with a remote BBB-server

If you are running your BBB-server elsewhere, than you can't simply point the manifest URL to a local address, you'll need to either serve the built version into a CDN or serve the dev version using a service to make it public. And for the second option we'd recommend NGROK. Here are the instructions to do that:

1. Create an account on https://ngrok.com/ (Official website of NGROK);

2. Install NGROK in your computer. They have a guide for that right after you created your account;

3. Start the Plugin development server:

cd $HOME/src/plugin-pick-random-user-plugin
npm install
npm start

4. Start the NGROK server into your machine with the following command:

ngrok http https://172.17.0.1:4701

Make sure to point NGROK to the correct local URL (In our case - The samples are made this way, for instance - we used https://172.17.0.1:4701)

Right after that, NGROK will create an interface into your terminal and will display the URL which your static files are being served.

Here's an example of URL: https://.ngrok-free.app

You can already interact with this URL and access both

https://.ngrok-free.app/manifest.json

or

https://.ngrok-free.app/PickRandomUserPlugin.js

5. Add this create parameter into the API-mate of the server you are testing it on:

pluginsManifests=[{"url": "https://.ngrok-free.app/manifest.json"}]

And there you go, you can test it freely.

Building the Plugin (Production)

To build a plugin for production use (again, using the example of sample-action-button-dropdown-plugin), follow these steps:

cd $HOME/src/bigbluebutton-html-plugin-sdk/samples/sample-action-button-dropdown-plugin
npm install
npm run build-bundle

The above command will generate the dist folder, containing the bundled JavaScript file named SampleActionButtonDropdownPlugin.js along with the manifest.json. These files can be hosted on any HTTPS server.

To use the plugin with BigBlueButton, add the plugin's manifest.json URL to bigbluebutton.properties or you can simply send it via /create parameter:

pluginManifests=[{"url":"/path/to/manifest.json"}]

Hosting the Plugin on a BBB Server

While the plugin can be hosted on any Server, it is also possible to host the bundled file directly on a BigBlueButton server. For that you copy dist/SampleActionButtonDropdownPlugin.js and dist/manifest.json to the folder /var/www/bigbluebutton-default/assets/plugins/sampleActionButtonDropdownPlugin. In this case, the your manifest URL will be https:///plugins/sampleActionButtonDropdownPlugin/manifest.json.

API

Extensible UI areas

Foreach of the following ui-extensible-area, we have a different setter function accessible via pluginApi.

Mind that, although each area has its own structure, all the functions follows a certain argument structure, and returns nothing, that would be:

pluginApi.setterFunctionExample([{
  objectProperty1: 'string',
  objectProperty2: 123,
}])

See, it is basicaly a function that requires an array as an argument, with which the more items you push to that array, the more of that extensible area you will have.

That being said, here are the extensible areas we have so far:

• Action bar items (button, separator)
• Action Button Dropdown Items (option, separator)
• Audio settings dropdown items (option, separator)
• Camera settings dropdown items (option, separator)
• Options settings dropdown items (option, separator)
• Nav bar items (button, info)
• Presentation dropdown items (option, separator)
• Presentation toolbar items (button, separator, spinner)
• User camera settings dropdown items (option, separator)
• User list dropdown items (option, separator)
• User list item additional information (item, label)
• Floating window item (floatingWindow)
• Generic Content (main, sidekick)
• User Camera Helper (button)
• Screenshare Helper (button)

Mind that no plugin will interfere into another's extensible area. So feel free to set whatever you need into a certain plugin with no worries.

Getters available through the API:

• getSessionToken: returns the user session token located on the user's URL.
• getJoinUrl: returns the join url associated with the parameters passed as an argument. Since it fetches the BigBlueButton API, this getter method is asynchronous.

Realtime data consumption

• useCurrentPresentation hook: provides information regarding the current presentation;
• useLoadedUserList hook: provides information regarding the loaded user list (displayed in the screen);
• useCurrentUser hook: provides information regarding the current user;
• useUsersBasicInfo hook: provides information regarding all users (only crucial information: userId, name and role);
• useLoadedChatMessages hook: provides information regarding the loaded chat messages;
• useCustomSubscription hook: with this hook, the developer can query pretty much anything graphql can provide. Note: Make sure that, on BBB version change, the custom subscriptions you make will work as expected.
• usePluginSettings hook: it provides all the specific settings regarding the current plugin it's been loaded from.
• useTalkingIndicator hook: it gives you invormation on the user-voice data, that is, who is talking or muted.
• useMeeting hook: it gives you information on the current meeting that the user is on.

So for these types of hooks, the return will follow the same structure:

export interface GraphqlResponseWrapper {
  loading: boolean;
  data?: TData;
  error?: ApolloError;
}

So we have the data, which is different for each hook, that's why it's a generic, the error, that will be set if, and only if, there is an error, otherwise it is undefined, and loading, which tells the developer if the query is still loading (being fetched) or not.

Real time data exchange

• useDataChannel hook: this will allow you to exchange information (Send and receive) amongst different users through the same plugin;

So for this hook to read the data from the data channel, the developer will be able to choose the format in which they want it.The possible formats are described down below:

• ALL_ITEMS: Fetches all items from specific data-channel and specific subchannel-name since the begining of the meeting from the newest to the latest (It can be used as a history);
• LATEST_ITEM: Fetches only the latest item pushed to the data-channel within a specific subchannel-name since the begining of the meeting;
• NEW_ITEMS: Fetches the new items pushed to the data-channel within a specific subchannel-name since the moment that the useDataChannel hook has been called (It will not see entries sent previous to that moment);

An interesting thing about this hook is that it is generic, so, you can use a custom type, and this will be found not only in the consumer part of the data structure returned, but also in functions in which you need to specify an object to be persisted, meaning it will force the object to be of the type you mentioned previously (that is the case for pushEntry and replaceEntry). One can find examples of usage of this in the data-channel plugin sample or most of the official ones. The syntax is described below:

const {
  data: response, // Data that will be returned
  pushEntry: pushEntryFunction, // Function to push another item to the data-channel
  deleteEntry: deleteEntryFunction, // Function to delete specific item or wipe all
  replaceEntry: replaceEntryFunction, // Function replace a specifi item
} = useDataChannel(
  channelName, // Defined according to what is on settings.yml from bbb-htlm5
  DataChannelTypes.All_ITEMS, // | LATEST_ITEM | NEW_ITEMS -> ALL_ITEMS is default
  subChannelName = 'default', // If no subchannelName is specified, it will be 'default'
);

Wiping all data off will delete every item from the specific data-channel within the specific subchannel-name.

The data-channel name must be written in the settings.yml.

All the permission for writing and deleting must be in the yaml too just like the example ahead:

public:
  plugins:
    - name: PluginName
      url: https:///PluginName.js
      dataChannels:
        - name: channel-name
          # pushPermission options: moderator, presenter, all
          pushPermission: ['moderator','presenter']
          # replaceOrDeletePermission options: moderator, presenter, creator, all
          replaceOrdeletePermission:
            - moderator
            - sender

If no permission is mentioned in the yaml (writing or deleting), no one will be able proceed with that specific action:

The pushEntryFunction has a minor detail to pay attention to, it is possible to specify the users who you want to send the item to, if none is specified, all will receive the item, such as done ahead:

pushEntryFunction(objectToBePushed: T, options: {
  receivers?: ObjectTo[];
})
export interface ToUserId {
  userId: string;
}
export interface ToRole {
  role: DataChannelPushEntryFunctionUserRole;
}

export type ObjectTo = ToUserId | ToRole;

Real time ui data consumption

• useUiData hook: This will return certain data from the UI depending on the parameter the developer uses. It works just like the useUiEvent hook, but instead of passing a callback as a parameter to be run everytime the event occurs, it will return the data directly, keep in mind that the second parameter is the default value that this function will assume. Possible choices:
  • IntlLocaleUiDataNames.CURRENT_LOCALE;
  • ChatFormUiDataNames.CURRENT_CHAT_INPUT_TEXT;
  • ChatFormUiDataNames.CHAT_INPUT_IS_FOCUSED;
  • ExternalVideoVolumeUiDataNames.CURRENT_VOLUME_VALUE;
  • ExternalVideoVolumeUiDataNames.IS_VOLUME_MUTED;
  • UserListUiDataNames.USER_LIST_IS_OPEN;
  • LayoutPresentatioAreaUiDataNames.CURRENT_ELEMENT;

Example of usage:

  const currentLocale = pluginApi.useUiData(IntlLocaleUiDataNames.CURRENT_LOCALE, {
    locale: 'en',
    fallbackLocale: 'en',
  });
  // Do something with the currentLocale:
  currentLocale.locale;
  currentLocale.fallbackLocale;

Mind that foreach enum we have, a different type of fallback is needed as the second argument. In the example above, we want the intl, so the second argument, will follow the structure depicted.

One other thing is that the type of the return is precisely the same type required as the second argument.

Ui Commands to automatize tasks in BBB

uiCommands object: It basically contains all the possible commands available to the developer to interact with the core BBB UI, see the ones implemented down below:

• chat:
  • form:
    • open: this function will open the sidebar chat panel automatically;
    • fill: this function will fill the form input field of the chat passed in the argument as {text: string}
• external-video:
  • volume:
    • set: this function will set the external video volume to a certain number between 0 and 1 (that is 0% and);
• sidekick-options-container:
  • open: this function will open the sidekick options panel automatically;
  • close: this function will close the sidekick options panel automatically (and also the sidebar content if open, to avoid inconsistencies in ui);
• presentation-area:
  • open: this function will open the presentation area content automatically;
  • close: this function will close the presentation area content automatically;
• conference:
  • setSpeakerLevel: this function will set the speaker volume level(audio output) of the conference to a certain number between 0 and 1;
• user-status:
  • setAwayStatus: this function will set the away status of the user to a certain status;

See usage ahead:

  pluginApi.uiCommands.chat.form.open();
  pluginApi.uiCommands.chat.form.fill({
    text: 'Just an example message filled by the plugin',
  });

So the idea is that we have a uiCommands object and at a point, there will be the command to do the intended action, such as open the chat form and/or fill it, as demonstrated above

Server Commands

serverCommands object: It contains all the possible commands available to the developer to interact with the BBB core server, see the ones implemented down below:

• chat:

  • sendPublicMessage: This function sends a message to the public chat on behalf of the currently logged-in user.

  • sendCustomPublicMessage: This function sends a text message to the public chat, optionally including custom metadata. > Note: The custom messages sent by plugins are not automatically rendered by the client. To display these messages, a plugin must handle the rendering using useLoadedChatMessages and useChatMessageDomElements.

• caption:

  • save: this function saves the given text, locale and caption type
  • addLocale: this function sends a locale to be added to the available options

Dom Element Manipulation

• useChatMessageDomElements hook: This hook will return the dom element of a chat message reactively, so one can modify whatever is inside, such as text, css, js, etc.;
• useUserCameraDomElements hook: This hook will return the dom element of each of the user's webcam corresponding to the streamIds passed reactively, so one can modify whatever is inside, such as text, css, js, etc., and also can get the video element within it;

Learning Analytics Dashboard integration

• sendGenericDataForLearningAnalyticsDashboard: This function will send data for the bbb to render inside the plugin's table

The object structure of this function's argument must be:

interface GenericDataForLearningAnalyticsDashboard {
  cardTitle: string; // Yet to be implemented (future updates)
  columnTitle: string;
  value: string;
}

So that the data will appear in the following form:

User	Count	``
user-name	1	``

External data resources

This is the new integration with external servers to fetch data in a secure manner.

This is possible by simply configuring the dataResource name in the manifest and then its endpoint in the URL meta parameter that goes in the create request. The manifest would look like:

{
  // ...rest of manifest configuration
  "remoteDataSources": [
      {
          "name": "allUsers",
          "url": "${meta_pluginSettingsUserInformation}",
          "fetchMode": "onMeetingCreate",
          "permissions": ["moderator", "viewer"]
      }
  ]
}

Then when creating the meeting send the following parameters along, adjusting to your needs and resources:

meta_pluginSettingsUserInformation=https:///api/users
pluginsManifests=[{"url": "https:///your-plugin/manifest.json"}]

In the plugin, just use the function like:

pluginApi.getRemoteData('allUsers').then((response: Response) => {
  if (response.ok) {
    response.json().then((r: CourseData) => {
      // Do something with the jsonified data (if it's a json)
    }).catch((reason) => {
      pluginLogger.error('Error while processing the json from success response: ', reason);
    });
  }
}).catch((reason) => {
  pluginLogger.error('Error while fetching external resource: ', reason);
});

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How do I remove a certain extensible area that I don't want anymore? It is pretty simple: just set an empty array of elements of that specific extensible area. Or simply remove the specific item of the array and set the new array to that extensible area in the next iteration.

See example below:

// First iteration:
  // Define both variables:
  const dropdownToUserListItem = { ... };
  const buttonToUserListItem = { ... };
  pluginApi.setActionsBarItems([dropdownToUserListItem, buttonToUserListItem]);

// Second iteration:
  // Redefine variable(s):
  const newButtonToUserListItem = { ... };
  pluginApi.setActionsBarItems([newButtonToUserListItem]);

// Third iteration:
  // I don't want any of this extensible-area:
  pluginApi.setActionsBarItems([]);
  // All set from this plugin will disappear from the UI;

How to propperly build a plugin? Just go to your plugin folder, install dependencies and run the build command as follows:

cd my-plugin-folder/
npm i
npm run build-bundl

At this point, another folder will be created into the plugin directory called "dist/" inside of that folder you will find the plugin itself MyPlugin.js. Remember that the name of this file will be the same as defined in the webpack.config.js, such as:

module.exports = {
  // ... Other configurations
  output: {
    filename: 'MyPlugin.js'
  }
  // ... Other configurations
}

Does the builded plugin need to be in the same BBB server? No, feel free to host it anywhere you want, just make sure to point the URL from manifest.json correctly (into the create endpoint or bigbluebutton.properties).

I am making my plugin based on a sample inside the SDK, but somehow, the sample is not working properly, what do I do to run it in dev mode and make it work? Well there are several motives to why the sample is not working properly, so I will go through each one of them briefly:

• The config has not been set properly inside bbb-html5.yml, see this section to configure your plugin;
• The plugin is not even running in dev mode, it could be the port already in use, or typescript and/or javascript errors (Make sure to initialize the pluginApi as any of the samples inside a react function component);
• It could be an error with that sample indeed, or that feature the plugin uses broke (it is not usual, but can happen since BBB is constantly changing and enhancing its features with its wonderful community). If that happens, just open an issue in the SDK's github detailing the error you are facing. And thank you in advance for reporting it back to us so we can improve each time.

How to troubleshoot the plugins? See if it has loaded in the BBB, for instance. Well, each time a set of plugins are listed in the bbb-html5.yml, it will fire some logs based on the amount of plugins that it need to load inside the client. So open the console in the browser by pressing F12 key in your keyboard and search for the following log:

 plugins loaded

If 1 out of 5 plugins loaded, you'll see "1/5 plugins loaded", and so on.

Also, when a plugin loaded, the client will log it's name like:

Loaded plugin MyPlugin

Sometimes, there could be the case of a plugin to not load properly and an error will log with the following message:

Error when loading plugin MyPlugin, error:  {"isTrusted":true}

In this case, the URL that leads to the plugin is not available or leads to an error. But it can log something different, so pay attention to what the error message will tell you.

Lastly, there are, of course, other scenarios and different informative logs, but these are the most common and important ones. Please contact us if you feel we left something out!