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This page covers how to create and join a HashDrop video conference room, what controls are available during a call, and how the waiting room and admit/deny flow works. Rooms work across the web app and the native mobile app simultaneously — participants on any platform can join the same session.
HashDrop’s video infrastructure is powered by LiveKit. The Next.js API layer issues short-lived tokens for each participant; no video data passes through HashDrop’s servers beyond the encrypted WebRTC streams managed by LiveKit.

Create a conference room

1

Open the conference page

Navigate to Video Conference from the home screen. Enter a username when prompted — this name is displayed to all other participants in the room.
2

Create a new room

Click Create room. HashDrop requests a host token from the API and assigns you a room code in ADJECTIVE-NOUN format (e.g., STELLAR-PHOENIX).
3

Share the room code or QR

Copy the room code or display the QR code for others to scan. Share it with anyone you want to invite — up to 50 participants can join a single room.
4

Manage the waiting room

As host, you see an incoming participant panel whenever someone knocks. For each pending participant, choose Admit to let them in or Deny to remove them. Denied participants see a denied status and are disconnected.
5

Use in-call controls

Toggle your microphone, camera, and screen sharing from the control bar. Click any participant tile to pin them to the main view. Picture-in-picture layout keeps all feeds visible while a pinned or screen-share stream takes the spotlight.
6

End the meeting

Click Leave to disconnect as a participant, or End for all as the host to close the room for everyone.

Join a conference room

1

Open the conference page

Navigate to Video Conference and enter your username.
2

Enter the room code or scan the QR

Type the ADJECTIVE-NOUN code shared by the host, or use the QR scanner in the HashDrop mobile app to join instantly. On web, you can also paste a direct invite link.
3

Wait in the lobby

After entering the code your status becomes waiting. A lobby screen shows that your join request has been sent to the host. The request retries automatically every 5 seconds until the host responds.
4

Get admitted

When the host clicks Admit, your status changes to in-room and your camera and microphone publish immediately. You receive a confirmation notification.

Conference status lifecycle

StatusMeaning
idleNo room active
pre-joinEntering username and room code
connectingConnecting to the LiveKit room
waitingIn the lobby, awaiting host admission
in-roomActively in the call
endedCall finished or host ended the meeting
deniedHost rejected the join request

Key capabilities

  • Up to 50 participants in a single room
  • Picture-in-picture layout: horizontal strip of participant tiles with a zoomable spotlight for the pinned participant or active screen share
  • Screen sharing: share your entire screen or a specific window; other participants see it in the spotlight view
  • In-call chat: send text messages and files to all participants without leaving the call
  • Cross-platform: web users and mobile users join the same LiveKit room seamlessly
Mobile users running the HashDrop iOS or Android app can join the same room as web participants. Camera and microphone handling is fully optimized for native iOS and Android hardware. See Mobile app for setup instructions.

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