Stream your audio line over HTTP 💫

​H.A.L. Streamer is a simple Node.js-based application that allows you to stream an audio line (such as a virtual sound card or microphone) over HTTP or / and websocket. The project aims to provide an easy-to-use and configurable solution for streaming audio data and optional song metadata over websocket.

Backend console:

Frontend webpage:

🚀 Quickstart:

• Clone this repo to your computer or download it.
• Install the required softwares and node modules.
• Configurate your server.
• Just run the src/index.js with node .
• Be happy c:

⌨ Keybinds:

• [q] [escape] [C-c] : Close the program
• [tab] : Select screen
• [Up] [Down] [PageUp] [PageDown] : Scroll the log in the selected screen

🌐 Forward a port for the http server

• What you set in the config.json file (http_port)

📦 Required softwares:

• A virtual audio cable mod: Recommended: https://vb-audio.com/Cable/ (or https://vb-audio.com/Voicemeeter/)
• FFmpeg: https://ffmpeg.org/ (be available in environment variables)
• NodeJS

NPM modules

Use npm install to install all required module.
Used modules:

• blessed
• express
• pidusage
• ws

🔊 Playback:

• Use VLC and "Open network stream" and paste your url or open your http server url in the browser and enjoy the websocket stream (if enabled in your config :)
• Your url is: http://localhost:{http_port} // for example http://localhost:8080/
• To reduce latency, set the "network-caching" setting in VLC's settings to a lower value, e.g. 200ms. (usually the websocket is faster).

👨‍💻 Config:

Use this command to list your audio devices which able to stream:

ffmpeg -list_devices true -f dshow -i dummy

config.json:

{
    "http_port": 8080, // The main http server port
    "https" : {
        "enabled" : false,  // Enable HTTPS server
        "port" : 443,   // Your HTTPS port
        "certfile" : "selfsigned.crt",  // Your cert filename (in the src/cert folder)
        "keyfile" : "selfsigned.key"    // Your cert private key filename (in the src/cert folder)
    },
    "stream": {
        "ws_enabled" : true,    // Enable websocket stream and webpage
        "http_enabled" : true,  // Enable the HTTP stream
        "audio_line": "CABLE Output (VB-Audio Virtual Cable)",  // Your streamable audio input line name
        "audio_api": "dshow",   // Your system audio api, Windows: dshow Linux: pulse or alsa
        "codec": "libmp3lame",  // FFmpeg audio codec (libmp3lame for mp3)
        "bitrate": 320, // Stream bitrate in kbps
        "format": "mp3" // Stream container format (different format requires different codec)
    },
    "monitoring": {
        "refresh_interval": 45, // Resource monitor update interval in seconds (May result high CPU usage)
        "enable_ffmpeg_log": true,  // Disable / Enable FFmpeg log
        "ffmpeg_log_length": 50,    // Maximum length of FFmpeg log (to save memory)
        "screen_max_scrollback": 1000,  // Screen module max scrollback size
        "use_ps_fetch": false,   // When true uses ps instead of proc files to fetch process information
        "save_main_log" : true,    // Disable / Enable to save the main "Log" screen values to a log file
        "save_ffmpeg_log" : false,   // Disable / Enable to save the "FFmpeg Log" screen values to a log file
        "save_resource_log" : false  // Disable / Enable to save resource usage to a log file
    },
    "meta_infos" : {
        "enabled" : true,   // Enable to get meta informations from frontend
        "api_url" : "http://localhost:8181/api/current",    // Your api server link (for example: https://github.com/mcitomi/spotify-song-display-api ).
        "title_path" : "item.name", // The title location inside your api (example: https://github.com/mcitomi/spotify-song-display-api/blob/main/src/types/spotifyCurrentPlaying.d.ts ).
        "author_path" : "item.artists[].name", // Author's name location
        "album_pic_path" : "item.album.images[].url",  // Album / song pic url location
        "song_urL_path" : "item.external_urls.spotify", // Song url location
        "artist_url_path" : "item.artists[].external_urls.spotify",    // Artist url location
        "song_duration_path" : "item.duration_ms",  // Song duration in miliseconds.
        "song_progress_path" : "progress_ms",   // Song actual progress in miliseconds.
        "refresh_interval" : 3, // The interval when the application calls the API in seconds.
        "max_history_length" : 50   // Maximum length of music history.
    }
}

• Make sure the metadata server configuration and paths are valid, and the API responds with a 404 status if a song doesn't play or if no new songs are found.
• If you don't want to use any of the settings, just set it to Null or Undefined.
• The settings in the configuration are set for the https://github.com/mcitomi/spotify-song-display-api application, if you stream audio from Spotify, you can use it too!
• As shown in the example configuration, the server can handle multiple artists, i.e. arrays. (In the case of frontend artists, it displays all of them, and among the images, it selects 0 as high resolution, 2 as low resolution, if there is only one image, it uses it everywhere).

📝 Changelog

Plans:

• Improve synchronization between clients with buffer size.
• Volume control from another client via client code (desktop pc audio from mobile).
• Spotify / Spicetify mod integration (search bar, song request, queue).
• Display statistics in frontend: number of stream listeners, client latency and IP address, server cpu and memory load.
• Darkmode / color themes.
• Auto reconnect.

1.4.4.

• Added support for HTTPS server and certificate.
• Web song history style updated.
• WebSocket calls updated to support secure connection.

1.4.3.

• Delay setting added (manipulate the buffer size)!
  • Realtime
  • Low
  • Medium (Default)
  • High
  • Epic
• The delay setting is automatically saved to local storage and loaded when the page is opened.
• (You can set a custom buffer size in localStorage).
• Supports multiple artist display from array (api).
• Soundbuffer updating improved.
• Favicon added!
• HTML meta tags added.

1.4.2.

• Link embedding in queue, album cover and title.
• Queue bugfixes.
• Song progress bar added!
• Volume bar redesigned.

1.4.1.

• Impressive frontend update: React based web application added to play websocket stream.
• Config settings added for frontend song display.
• Song metadata broadcaster added to backend + websocket updated.

1.4.0.

• Removed UDP multicast -> using process pipes.
• Code Refactor: FFmpeg, client counter, HTTP and WC have been placed in separate modules.
• Websocket Stream option added to reduce delay.
• A dedicated web player has been created for the websocket stream, which can be accessed by typing https://localhost:8080/, which will redirect to https://localhost:8080/webplayer/ if you open it in a browser instead of VLC. (The HTTP stream is still available through VLC at https://localhost:8080/).
• The web player: uses vanilla javascript and html, saves volume and theme settings to local storage (the plan is to create a simple react-based application for it in the future, the current one is just a test/sample)
• Removed fluent-ffmpeg module, using only native FFmpeg as child process.

1.3.8.

• Ability to log everything to /logs directory. ✨ (main screen, FFmpeg console and resource monitor).

1.3.7.

• Monitoring updated: Handle childprocess crashes and design improved.
• FFmpeg crash handler and crash log file added.
• Logger module: Added log types enum and log file creator.
• Added tags to package.
• Updated readme docs and emotes 🌟💘

1.3.6.

• Added: log / screen scrollback.
• Screen change with tab.
• Option to change FFmpeg and screen default log scrollback size.
• config file structure refactored.
• Updated readme: Added Quickstart, better config example and Changelog :)

1.3.5.

• Added alternative process stat fetching method (usePs).
• Option to disable FFmpeg log screen (to save CPU and memory usage).
• Memory leak fixed in FFmpeg log.

1.3.4.

• Added better FFmpeg logging to save resources and improve display.

1.3.3.

• Better connection messages in Logs.
• H.A.L. （づ￣3￣）づ╭❤️～
• FFmpeg log screen has been changed to a list type and a more efficient update method has been added.
• Added new CPU monitor function instead of "pidusage" module to save CPU load.
• Displays "Heap" memory usage.

1.3.2.

• Added new timestamp method for handling timezones.
• Tried to optimize the "pidusage" module.

1.3.1.

• Resource monitor labels updated.
• Removed useless log tests.
• Added new resource checker function.
• Ability to disable FFmpeg log screen and save CPU load.

1.3.0.

• Added a new GUI with blessed module.
• Refactoring codebase to module type standard.
• Added new log style with screens.
• Resource monitor added with custom refresh interval.
• FFmpeg stream reloacted to Node spawn child process.
• Bug fixed: The FFmpeg process does not stop with the main process.

1.2.

• Client / listener counter added.
• More client info logged (ip, client ~ user agent).
• New client disconnect message.

1.1.

• Publish to GitHub. 🎉
• Ability to configure custom FFmpeg settings.
• New log messages, logger function.
• Added readme.md and example config.

1.0.

• A basic http server.
• Bult in FFmpeg stream method with Node exec.

🍻 About:

Dev(s):

• mcitomi

  Discord: @mcitomi / https://dc.mcitomi.hu

Artist / Designer:

• gyapjashabcukor

Testers:

• Decsi01
• kiwisfagyi ~ alterlany

<3