M3U8

M3U8 is a C library for parsing, generating, and managing M3U8 playlists. Designed for performance and strict adherence to both the current M3U8 RFC standards and the Apple HLS specification.

Features

• Compliant Generation: Creates M3U8 playlists that adhere to both the latest M3U8 RFCs and Apple's HLS specification.
• Clear Data Structures: Provides intuitive C structures for representing M3U8 tags and attributes.
• Dual Standard Adherence: Developed to comply with both the current M3U8 RFC (e.g., RFC 8216) and the Apple M3U8 specification and associated licensing terms.

Installation

1. clone this repository:

$ git clone https://github.com/diegocatalao/m3u8.git
$ cd m3u8

2. create and navigate to the build directory, then run make:

$ cmake -S . -B build
$ cmake --build build
$ cmake --install build

3. (optional) build and run all unittests

$ cmake -S . -B build -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=$HOME/.local -DCOMPILE_TESTS=ON
$ cmake --build build
$ cmake --install build
$ ctest --test-dir=build --extra-verbose --output-on-failure

Compilation Definitions

You can compile with some flags and definitions using cmake:

Definition	Value	Description
CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX	/usr/local	Base directory installation
COMPILE_TESTS	YES/NO	Compile tests or not
M3U8_PREEMPTIVE_LOGGER	ON/OFF	Enable or disable the async/sink log

Documentation

You can generate the doxygen documentation following this steps:

1. install the Doxygen from official website;

2. generate the documentation from source:

$ doxygen Doxyfile

Releases

Stay up-to-date with the latest improvements and features! We publish new versions of M3U8 regularly.

For a detailed history of changes, new features, and bug fixes for each version, please refer to our CHANGELOG.md file. You can also find all released versions and their associated assets on our GitHub Releases page.

Basic usage example

#include <m3u8.h>
#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
  const char* playlist_string =
    "#EXTM3U\n"
    "#EXT-X-VERSION:3\n"
    "#EXT-X-TARGETDURATION:10\n"
    "#EXTINF:9.009,\n"
    "http://example.com/movie/segment0.ts\n"
    "#EXTINF:9.009,\n"
    "http://example.com/movie/segment1.ts\n";

  m3u8_t *playlist_ptr = NULL;

  if (m3u8_create_playlist(&playlist_ptr) != M3U8_STATUS_NO_ERROR) {
    fprintf(stderr, "Unable to allocated playlist.\n");
    return -1;
  }

  if (m3u8_parse_from_str(playlist_string) != M3U8_STATUS_NO_ERROR) {
    m3u8_free_playlist(playlist_ptr);
    fprintf(stderr, "Unable to parse playlist.\n");
    return -1;
  }

  printf("M3U8 Version: %d\n", playlist->version);
  printf("Target Duration: %d\n", playlist->target_duration);

  for (size_t i = 0; i < playlist->segments->count; ++i) {
    segment = (m3u8_media_segment_t*)playlist->segments->items[i];
    printf("URL: %s, Duration: %.3f\n", segment->uri, segment->duration);
  }

  m3u8_free_playlist(playlist);

  return 0;
}

Licensing

M3U8 adheres to both the current M3U8 RFC standards (e.g., RFC 8216) and the Apple M3U8 License and specification. This ensures broad compatibility and compliance with both open standards and Apple's proprietary extensions to the HLS standard. Refer to the IETF RFC 8216 and the Apple HLS Authoring Specifications for Apple Devices for full terms.

Contributing

We warmly welcome contributions to this library. Your involvement is invaluable in enhancing this library and ensuring its continued evolving M3U8 standards. To maintain a high quality and consistent development flow, please review the guidelines below before initiating any contributions.