VDO.Ninja Flutter Capture

VDO.Ninja's companion Flutter app for publishing camera, microphone, or screen feeds from Android and iOS devices to VDO.Ninja collections or custom self-hosted domains. Mobile is the only supported target; other Flutter platforms may compile but are not tested or maintained.

Features

• Share camera and microphone feeds to VDO.Ninja on Android and iOS.
• Screen-share on Android with optional mic capture.
• Background operation for long-running captures (subject to each device's battery optimisations).
• Supports custom VDO.Ninja-compatible domains by replacing the default endpoint.

Current Limitations

• Group rooms are not yet supported.
• Encrypted (&password) connections are not available; use &password=false on viewers.
• iOS does not provide screen-share today.
• No UVC / external camera support, and some device cameras may remain incompatible.
• Not feature-complete with the web version of VDO.Ninja.

Requirements

• Flutter SDK 3.22 or newer (tested with Flutter 3.33.0-1.0.pre.476).
• Dart 3 toolchain bundled with the chosen Flutter release.
• macOS 13+ with Xcode 15+ for iOS development/signing.
• Android Studio (or command-line Android SDK), including:
  • Android SDK Platform 36 and Build-Tools 36.0.0.
  • Java 17 toolchain (bundled with current Android Studio releases).
• Optional: a physical device connected via USB for deployment (flutter run).

Note: The Android build uses Android Gradle Plugin 8.6.0 and Kotlin 2.2.0. When updating Flutter or plugins, keep these minimums in sync.

Getting Started

git clone https://github.com/steveseguin/vdon_flutter.git
cd vdon_flutter
flutter pub get

To verify your environment, run:

flutter doctor

Resolve any reported issues before building.

Running the App

Android (debug)

flutter run -d android

Ensure USB debugging is enabled on the device or use an emulator running API level 33+.

iOS (debug)

flutter run -d ios

On macOS, you can alternatively open ios/Runner.xcworkspace in Xcode, select a real device, and press Run. iOS simulators are convenient for UI work but do not expose full camera/microphone capabilities.

Building for Release

Android APK

flutter build apk

By default the release build falls back to the debug signing configuration if android/key.properties is missing. To produce a production-signed APK:

1. Create or locate your keystore (keystore.jks).
2. Add android/key.properties with:

   storeFile=/absolute/path/to/keystore.jks
   storePassword=...
   keyAlias=...
   keyPassword=...

3. Re-run flutter build apk.
4. The artifact is written to build/app/outputs/flutter-apk/app-release.apk.

iOS App

1. From macOS, run flutter build ipa or open the Xcode project under ios/.
2. Configure signing & capabilities with your Apple Developer certificate.
3. Use Xcode’s Archive workflow or flutter build ipa --export-options-plist=<path> to generate an .ipa.

Updating Dependencies

• flutter pub upgrade --major-versions updates Dart packages.
• Review generated changes in pubspec.lock and test both Android and iOS builds afterwards.
• When Flutter SDK updates introduce new Gradle or Kotlin minimums, mirror those versions in android/settings.gradle and android/build.gradle.

Distribution

If you ship the app through app stores, keep in mind:

• Android Play Store submissions require a release keystore (not the debug keystore).
• iOS uploads need an Apple Developer account (paid) and a registered bundle identifier.
• TestFlight/TestFairy or local side-loading are recommended for quick validation.

Contributing

Contributions that enhance mobile capture reliability are welcome. Common focus areas include:

• Improving hardware compatibility (camera / microphone / UVC).
• Implementing encrypted room support and feature parity with the web app.
• Robust background service behaviour on Android and iOS.

To propose changes:

1. Fork the repository.
2. Create a feature branch, make changes, and ensure flutter analyze and target builds pass.
3. Submit a pull request with testing notes.

License

This project is released under the LICENSE file included in the repository.