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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/openlibrecommunity/olcrtc/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

The fastest way to get olcRTC running is through the bundled srv.sh and cnc.sh scripts. Everything runs inside a Podman container — the scripts clone the source, build the binary inside a container, generate a config, and launch the process. No manual Go installation or build toolchain is required on the host. All you need upfront is git and curl; Podman is installed automatically if it is missing.
olcRTC is in Beta. Always verify that the video call service you choose is accessible in your network before relying on it.

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Prerequisites

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git

apt install git

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curl

apt install curl

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Podman (optional — auto-installed by the script)

You do not have to install Podman manually. The script installs it automatically if it is missing. To install it yourself: 
apt install podman

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SWAP (machines with less than 4 GB RAM)

If the machine has less than 4 GB of RAM, the container build may run out of memory and crash. Enable a swap file before proceeding: 
sudo fallocate -l 4G /swapfile && sudo chmod 600 /swapfile && sudo mkswap /swapfile && sudo swapon /swapfile

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Full Workflow

1

Generate a shared encryption key

This key encrypts all tunnel traffic. Generate it once on any machine and keep it — you will paste the same value on both the server and the client.
openssl rand -hex 32
# d823fa01cb3e0609b67322f7cf984c4ee2e294936fc24ef38c9e59f4799...
The key is also saved automatically to ~/.olcrtc_key after the first server run and reused on subsequent runs.
2

Clone the repository

Clone on both the server machine and the client machine:
git clone https://github.com/openlibrecommunity/olcrtc --recurse-submodules
cd olcrtc
3

Run srv.sh on the server machine

On the machine whose internet connection the traffic should exit through (VPS, remote server, home PC):
./script/srv.sh
The script installs Podman if needed, builds the binary in a container, and then asks a series of interactive questions.

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srv.sh flags

FlagEffect
--branch=<name>Use a different repository branch instead of master
--no-cachePurge the Go cache (~/.cache/olcrtc) before building — forces a clean rebuild
./script/srv.sh --no-cache                # build from scratch
./script/srv.sh --branch=dev --no-cache   # branch dev, no cache

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Prompt: Carrier selection

Select carrier:
  1) jitsi
  2) telemost
  3) wbstream
Enter choice [1-3, default: 1]:
ChoiceNotes
jitsiDefault and recommended. Stable on datachannel, no registration required, easy to self-host.
telemostYandex Telemost. Requires Yandex account registration. Note: Telemost removed datachannel support — use vp8channel or videochannel.
wbstreamWbStream (stream.wb.ru). Requires WbStream registration. Use vp8channel, seichannel, or videochannel.

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Prompt: Transport selection

Select transport:
  1) datachannel
  2) videochannel
  3) seichannel
  4) vp8channel
Enter choice [1-4, default: 1]:
ChoiceNotes
datachannelDefault and fastest. Lowest latency. Stable with Jitsi.
vp8channelWorks with Telemost and WbStream; fast but higher latency than datachannel.
seichannelWorks with WbStream; slow but low latency.
videochannelWorks with WbStream reliably and Telemost when possible; slowest and highest latency.
Recommended combo: jitsi + datachannel. Alternative: wbstream + vp8channel.
WbStream + datachannel does not work in the normal guest flow. WbStream issues guest tokens with canPublishData=false, so the data channel does not route data. Use vp8channel, seichannel, or videochannel with WbStream.

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Prompt: Jitsi server URL (jitsi carrier only)

Enter a Jitsi room URL (https://HOST/ROOM).
Pick a HOST from docs/examples/jitsi.instances.yaml and verify it opens in a browser.
Pick any public or self-hosted Jitsi Meet instance that opens in your browser. A list of known public instances is in docs/examples/jitsi.instances.yaml.

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Prompt: Room options (jitsi carrier only)

Room options:
  1) Auto-generate new room (recommended)
  2) Use specific room name or URL
Enter choice [1-2, default: 1]:
  • Auto-generate (recommended) — the script picks a random room name on the chosen server.
  • Specific — enter a room name (myroom) or a full URL (https://meet.example.org/myroom).
For telemost and wbstream, the Jitsi menu is not shown. Instead, the script asks for a Room ID directly — create a room on the provider’s website (telemost.yandex.ru or stream.wb.ru) and paste its ID.

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Prompt: DNS server

DNS server [default: 8.8.8.8:53]:
Press Enter to use the default (8.8.8.8:53). Change only if you have a specific requirement (e.g., 77.88.8.8:53 for Yandex DNS).

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Prompt: SOCKS5 egress proxy

Use SOCKS5 proxy for egress? (y/N):
Press Enter if the server connects to the internet directly. Enter y if the server itself should route its outbound connections through an external SOCKS5 proxy, then provide the address and port.

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Prompt: Transport-specific settings — videochannel

Video codec:
  1) qrcode
  2) tile (requires 1080x1080)
Enter choice [1-2, default: 1]:
  • qrcode — QR codes; configurable resolution; stable but slower.
  • tile — tile codec; requires 1080×1080 resolution; Reed-Solomon support; faster but less stable.
The script then prompts for width/height, QR error correction level, fragment size (or tile parameters), FPS, bitrate, and hardware acceleration (none / nvenc). Press Enter to accept the defaults.

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Prompt: Transport-specific settings — vp8channel

VP8 FPS [default: 25]:
VP8 batch size (frames per tick) [default: 1]:
Press Enter to accept the defaults (25 FPS, batch size 1).

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Prompt: Transport-specific settings — seichannel

SEI FPS [default: 60]:
SEI batch size (frames per tick) [default: 64]:
SEI fragment size in bytes [default: 900]:
SEI ACK timeout in milliseconds [default: 2000]:
Press Enter on all — the defaults are optimal for most networks.

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Prompt: Config comment/label

Enter a comment for the config (default: olc - t.me/openlibrecommunity):
This string becomes the label embedded in the olcrtc:// URI. Press Enter to use the default or type a custom label.
4

Read the server output

After a successful start, the script prints everything you need to configure the client:
[+] Server started successfully!

Container name: olcrtc-server-xxxxxxxx
Carrier:        jitsi
Transport:      datachannel
Room ID/URL:    https://meet.example.org/olcrtc-xxxxxxxx
Encryption key: d823fa01cb3e0609b67322f7cf984c4ee2e294936fc24ef38c9e59f4799...

uri: olcrtc://jitsi?datachannel@https://meet.example.org/olcrtc-xxxxxxxx#<key>$olc - t.me/openlibrecommunity
Save the Room ID/URL, the encryption key, and the olcrtc:// URI. You will need the Room ID and key when running the client. The key is also saved to ~/.olcrtc_key and reused automatically on subsequent server runs.
5

Run cnc.sh on the client machine

On your local machine (laptop, home PC):
git clone https://github.com/openlibrecommunity/olcrtc --recurse-submodules
cd olcrtc
./script/cnc.sh
Answer the same questions as on the server. Carrier, transport, and Room ID must match the server exactly. When the script asks for the encryption key:
Enter Encryption Key (hex):
Paste the 64-character hex key printed by srv.sh.

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SOCKS5 binding

SOCKS5 ip [default: 127.0.0.1]:
SOCKS5 port [default: 8808]:
SOCKS5 username (leave empty to disable auth):
Press Enter for IP and port — the proxy starts on 127.0.0.1:8808. If you want password protection, enter a username; the script will then ask for a password. When binding to an address outside 127.*, a username and password are required.After a successful start:
[+] Client started successfully!

Container name: olcrtc-client-xxxxxxxx
Auth:           jitsi
Transport:      datachannel
Room ID/URL:    https://meet.example.org/olcrtc-xxxxxxxx
SOCKS5 proxy:   127.0.0.1:8808
6

Verify the tunnel

Send a request through the SOCKS5 proxy. The response should show your server’s IP address, not your local IP:
curl --socks5-hostname 127.0.0.1:8808 https://icanhazip.com
To route all shell traffic through the proxy temporarily:
export all_proxy=socks5h://127.0.0.1:8808
curl https://icanhazip.com

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Container Management

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View running containers

podman ps --filter name=olcrtc

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Follow logs

podman logs -f olcrtc-server-xxxxxxxx   # on the server
podman logs -f olcrtc-client-xxxxxxxx   # on the client

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Stop a specific container

podman stop olcrtc-server-xxxxxxxx
podman stop olcrtc-client-xxxxxxxx

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Stop all olcRTC containers at once

podman stop $(podman ps -q --filter name=olcrtc)

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Updating a Running Instance

A running container does not update itself — it keeps the binary that was built when it started. To move to the latest code: 
cd olcrtc
git pull --recurse-submodules          # pull the latest scripts
podman stop olcrtc-server-xxxxxxxx     # stop the old server container
./script/srv.sh --no-cache             # rebuild from scratch and restart
--no-cache is optional but guarantees a completely clean rebuild. Use the same carrier, transport, Room ID, and key as before. The server key in ~/.olcrtc_key is reused automatically.

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Multiple Instances on One Machine

Each run of srv.sh or cnc.sh creates a container with a unique name (olcrtc-server-<random>), so multiple instances do not conflict: 
./script/srv.sh   # first server — e.g. jitsi + datachannel
./script/srv.sh   # second server — e.g. wbstream + vp8channel
On the client, run a separate cnc.sh for each server, using a different SOCKS5 port for each: 
./script/cnc.sh   # first client  — port 8808 (default)
./script/cnc.sh   # second client — set port 8809 when prompted

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