1 Instructions to code your own VLC Lua scripts and extensions
7 Lua documentation is available on http://www.lua.org/ . The reference manual
8 is very useful: http://www.lua.org/manual/5.1/ .
10 All the Lua standard libraries are available.
16 Several types of VLC Lua scripts can currently be coded:
17 * Playlist and websites parsers (see playlist/README.txt)
18 * Art fetchers (see meta/README.txt)
19 * Interfaces (see intf/README.txt)
20 * Extensions (see extensions/README.txt)
21 * Services Discovery (see sd/README.txt)
23 Lua scripts are tried in alphabetical order in the user's VLC config
24 directory lua/{playlist,meta,intf}/ subdirectory on Windows and Mac OS X or
25 in the user's local share directory (~/.local/share/vlc/lua/... on linux),
26 then in the global VLC lua/{playlist,meta,intf}/ directory.
29 3 - VLC specific Lua modules
30 ============================
32 All VLC specifics modules are in the "vlc" object. For example, if you want
33 to use the "info" function of the "msg" VLC specific Lua module:
34 vlc.msg.info( "This is an info message and will be displayed in the console" )
36 Note: availability of the different VLC specific Lua modules depends on
37 the type of VLC Lua script your are in.
41 config.get( name ): Get the VLC configuration option "name"'s value.
42 config.set( name, value ): Set the VLC configuration option "name"'s value.
43 config.datadir(): Get the VLC data directory.
44 config.userdatadir(): Get the user's VLC data directory.
45 config.homedir(): Get the user's home directory.
46 config.configdir(): Get the user's VLC config directory.
47 config.cachedir(): Get the user's VLC cache directory.
49 config.datadir_list( name ): Get the list of possible data directories in
50 order of priority, appended by "name"
54 local d = vlc.dialog( "My VLC Extension" ): Create a new UI dialog, with a human-readable title: "My VLC Extension"
55 d:show(): Show this dialog.
56 d:hide(): Hide (but not close) this dialog.
57 d:delete(): Close and delete this dialog.
58 d:set_title( title ): set the title of this dialog.
59 d:update(): Update the dialog immediately (don't wait for the current function to return)
60 d:del_widget( widget ): Delete 'widget'. It disappears from the dialog and repositioning may occur.
62 In the following functions, you can always add some optional parameters: col, row, col_span, row_span, width, height.
63 They define the position of a widget in the dialog:
64 - row, col are the absolute positions on a grid of widgets. First row, col are 1.
65 - row_span, col_span represent the relative size of a widget on the grid. A widget with col_span = 4 will be displayed as wide as 4 widgets of col_span = 1.
66 - width and height are size hints (in pixels) but may be discarded by the GUI module
67 Example: w = d:add_label( "My Label", 2, 3, 4, 5 ) will create a label at row 3, col 2, with a relative width of 4, height of 5.
69 d:add_button( text, func, ... ): Create a button with caption "text" (string). When clicked, call function "func". func is a function reference.
70 d:add_label( text, ... ): Create a text label with caption "text" (string).
71 d:add_html( text, ... ): Create a rich text label with caption "text" (string), that supports basic HTML formatting (such as <i> or <h1> for instance).
72 d:add_text_input( text, ... ): Create an editable text field, in order to read user input.
73 d:add_password( text, ... ): Create an editable text field, in order to read user input. Text entered in this box will not be readable (replaced by asterisks).
74 d:add_check_box( text, state, ... ): Create a check box with a text. They have a boolean state (true/false).
75 d:add_dropdown( ... ): Create a drop-down widget. Only 1 element can be selected the same time.
76 d:add_list( ... ): Create a list widget. Allows multiple or empty selections.
77 d:add_image( path, ... ): Create an image label. path is a relative or absolute path to the image on the local computer.
79 Some functions can also be applied on widgets:
80 w:set_text( text ): Change text displayed by the widget. Applies to: button, label, html, text_input, password, check_box.
81 w:get_text(): Read text displayed by the widget. Returns a string. Applies to: button, label, html, text_input, password, check_box.
82 w:set_checked( bool ): Set check state of a check box. Applies to: check_box.
83 w:get_checked(): Read check state of a check box. Returns a boolean. Applies to: check_box.
84 w:add_value( text, id ): Add a value with identifier 'id' (integer) and text 'text'. It's always best to have unique identifiers. Applies to: drop_down.
85 w:get_value(): Return identifier of the selected item. Corresponds to the text value chosen by the user. Applies to: drop_down.
86 w:clear(): Clear a list or drop_down widget. After that, all values previously added are lost.
87 w:get_selection(): Retrieve a table representing the current selection. Keys are the ids, values are the texts associated. Applies to: list.
92 deactivate(): Deactivate current extension (after the end of the current function).
96 http( host, port, [cert, key, ca, crl]): create a new HTTP (SSL) daemon.
98 local h = vlc.httpd( "localhost", 8080 )
99 h:handler( url, user, password, callback, data ) -- add a handler for given url. If user and password are non nil, they will be used to authenticate connecting clients. callback will be called to handle connections. The callback function takes 7 arguments: data, url, request, type, in, addr, host. It returns the reply as a string.
100 h:file( url, mime, user, password, callback, data ) -- add a file for given url with given mime type. If user and password are non nil, they will be used to authenticate connecting clients. callback will be called to handle connections. The callback function takes 2 arguments: data and request. It returns the reply as a string.
101 h:redirect( url_dst, url_src ): Redirect all connections from url_src to url_dst.
105 input.is_playing(): Return true if input exists.
106 input.add_subtitle(url): Add a subtitle file (by path) to the current input
107 input.item(): Get the current input item. Input item methods are:
108 :uri(): Get item's URI.
109 :name(): Get item's name.
110 :duration(): Get item's duration in seconds or negative value if unavailable.
111 :is_preparsed(): Return true if meta data has been preparsed
112 :metas(): Get meta data as a table.
113 :set_meta(key, value): Set meta data.
114 :info(): Get the current input's info. Return value is a table of tables. Keys of the top level table are info category labels.
115 :stats(): Get statistics about the input. This is a table with the following fields:
119 .average_input_bitrate
123 .average_demux_bitrate
138 msg.dbg( [str1, [str2, [...]]] ): Output debug messages (-vv).
139 msg.warn( [str1, [str2, [...]]] ): Output warning messages (-v).
140 msg.err( [str1, [str2, [...]]] ): Output error messages.
141 msg.info( [str1, [str2, [...]]] ): Output info messages.
143 Misc (Interfaces only)
144 ----------------------
145 ----------------------------------------------------------------
146 /!\ NB: this namespace is ONLY usable for interfaces.
148 ----------------------------------------------------------------
149 misc.version(): Get the VLC version string.
150 misc.copyright(): Get the VLC copyright statement.
151 misc.license(): Get the VLC license.
153 misc.action_id( name ): get the id of the given action.
155 misc.mdate(): Get the current date (in microseconds).
156 misc.mwait(): Wait for the given date (in microseconds).
158 misc.quit(): Quit VLC.
162 ----------------------------------------------------------------
163 /!\ NB: this namespace is ONLY usable for interfaces and extensions.
165 ----------------------------------------------------------------
166 net.url_parse( url ): Deprecated alias for strings.url_parse().
167 Will be removed in VLC 4.x.
168 net.listen_tcp( host, port ): Listen to TCP connections. This returns an
169 object with an accept and an fds method. accept is blocking (Poll on the
170 fds with the net.POLLIN flag if you want to be non blocking).
171 The fds method returns a list of fds you can call poll on before using
172 the accept method. For example:
173 local l = vlc.net.listen_tcp( "localhost", 1234 )
175 local fd = l:accept()
177 net.send( fd, "blabla" )
181 net.connect_tcp( host, port ): open a connection to the given host:port (TCP).
182 net.close( fd ): Close file descriptor.
183 net.send( fd, string, [length] ): Send data on fd.
184 net.recv( fd, [max length] ): Receive data from fd.
185 net.poll( { fd = events } ): Implement poll function.
186 Returns the numbers of file descriptors with a non 0 revent. The function
187 modifies the input table to { fd = revents }. See "man poll". This function
188 is not available on Windows.
189 net.POLLIN/POLLPRI/POLLOUT/POLLRDHUP/POLLERR/POLLHUP/POLLNVAL: poll event flags
190 net.read( fd, [max length] ): Read data from fd. This function is not
191 available on Windows.
192 net.write( fd, string, [length] ): Write data to fd. This function is not
193 available on Windows.
194 net.stat( path ): Stat a file. Returns a table with the following fields:
203 net.opendir( path ): List a directory's contents.
207 object.input(): Get the current input object.
208 object.playlist(): Get the playlist object.
209 object.libvlc(): Get the libvlc object.
210 object.aout(): Get the audio output object.
211 object.vout(): Get the video output object.
213 object.find( object, type, mode ): Return nil. DO NOT USE.
217 osd.icon( type, [id] ): Display an icon on the given OSD channel. Uses the
218 default channel is none is given. Icon types are: "pause", "play",
219 "speaker" and "mute".
220 osd.message( string, [id], [position], [duration] ): Display the text message on
221 the given OSD channel. Position types are: "center", "left", "right", "top",
222 "bottom", "top-left", "top-right", "bottom-left" or "bottom-right". The
223 duration is set in microseconds.
224 osd.slider( position, type, [id] ): Display slider. Position is an integer
225 from 0 to 100. Type can be "horizontal" or "vertical".
226 osd.channel_register(): Register a new OSD channel. Returns the channel id.
227 osd.channel_clear( id ): Clear OSD channel.
231 playlist.prev(): Play previous track.
232 playlist.next(): Play next track.
233 playlist.skip( n ): Skip n tracks.
234 playlist.play(): Play.
235 playlist.pause(): Pause.
236 playlist.stop(): Stop.
237 playlist.clear(): Clear the playlist.
238 playlist.repeat_( [status] ): Toggle item repeat or set to specified value.
239 playlist.loop( [status] ): Toggle playlist loop or set to specified value.
240 playlist.random( [status] ): Toggle playlist random or set to specified value.
241 playlist.goto( id ): Go to specified track.
242 playlist.add( ... ): Add a bunch of items to the playlist.
243 The playlist is a table of playlist items.
244 A playlist item has the following members:
245 .path: the item's full path / URL
246 .name: the item's name in playlist (OPTIONAL)
247 .title: the item's Title (OPTIONAL, meta data)
248 .artist: the item's Artist (OPTIONAL, meta data)
249 .genre: the item's Genre (OPTIONAL, meta data)
250 .copyright: the item's Copyright (OPTIONAL, meta data)
251 .album: the item's Album (OPTIONAL, meta data)
252 .tracknum: the item's Tracknum (OPTIONAL, meta data)
253 .description: the item's Description (OPTIONAL, meta data)
254 .rating: the item's Rating (OPTIONAL, meta data)
255 .date: the item's Date (OPTIONAL, meta data)
256 .setting: the item's Setting (OPTIONAL, meta data)
257 .url: the item's URL (OPTIONAL, meta data)
258 .language: the item's Language (OPTIONAL, meta data)
259 .nowplaying: the item's NowPlaying (OPTIONAL, meta data)
260 .publisher: the item's Publisher (OPTIONAL, meta data)
261 .encodedby: the item's EncodedBy (OPTIONAL, meta data)
262 .arturl: the item's ArtURL (OPTIONAL, meta data)
263 .trackid: the item's TrackID (OPTIONAL, meta data)
264 .options: a list of VLC options (OPTIONAL)
265 example: .options = { "run-time=60" }
266 .duration: stream duration in seconds (OPTIONAL)
267 .meta: custom meta data (OPTIONAL, meta data)
268 A .meta field is a table of custom meta key value pairs.
269 example: .meta = { ["GVP docid"] = "-5784010886294950089", ["GVP version] = "1.1", Hello = "World!" }
270 Invalid playlist items will be discarded by VLC.
271 playlist.enqueue( ... ): like playlist.add() except that track isn't played.
272 playlist.get( [what, [tree]] ): Get the playlist.
273 If "what" is a number, then this will return the corresponding playlist
274 item's playlist hierarchy. If it is "normal" or "playlist", it will
275 return the normal playlist. If it is "ml" or "media library", it will
276 return the media library. If it is "root" it will return the full playlist.
277 If it is a service discovery module's name, it will return that service
278 discovery's playlist. If it is any other string, it won't return anything.
279 Else it will return the full playlist.
280 The second argument, "tree", is optional. If set to true or unset, the
281 playlist will be returned in a tree layout. If set to false, the playlist
282 will be returned using the flat layout.
283 Each playlist item returned will have the following members:
284 .item: The input item.
286 .flags: a table with the following members if the corresponding flag is
292 .duration: (-1 if unknown)
294 .children: A table of children playlist items.
295 playlist.search( name ): filter the playlist items with the given string
296 playlist.current(): return the current playlist item id
297 playlist.sort( key ): sort the playlist according to the key.
298 Key must be one of the followings values: 'id', 'title', 'title nodes first',
299 'artist', 'genre', 'random', 'duration',
300 'title numeric' or 'album'.
301 playlist.status(): return the playlist status: 'stopped', 'playing', 'paused' or 'unknown'.
302 playlist.delete( id ): check if item of id is in playlist and delete it. returns -1 when invalid id.
303 playlist.move( id_item, id_where ): take id_item and if id_where has children, it put it as first children,
304 if id_where don't have children, id_item is put after id_where in same playlist. returns -1 when invalid ids.
306 FIXME: add methods to get an item's meta, options, es ...
311 Interfaces and extensions can use the following SD functions:
313 sd.get_services_names(): Get a table of all available service discovery
314 modules. The module name is used as key, the long name is used as value.
315 sd.add( name ): Add service discovery.
316 sd.remove( name ): Remove service discovery.
317 sd.is_loaded( name ): Check if service discovery is loaded.
319 Services discovery scripts can use the following SD functions:
321 sd.add_node( ... ): Add a node to the service discovery.
322 The node object has the following members:
323 .title: the node's name
324 .arturl: the node's ArtURL (OPTIONAL)
325 .category: the node's category (OPTIONAL)
326 sd.add_item( ... ): Add an item to the service discovery.
327 The item object has the same members as the one in playlist.add().
328 Returns the input item.
329 sd.remove_item( item ): remove the item.
331 n = vlc.sd.add_node( {title="Node"} )
332 n:add_subitem( ... ): Same as sd.add_item(), but as a child item of node n.
333 n:add_subnode( ... ): Same as sd.add_node(), but as a subnode of node n.
335 d = vlc.sd.add_item( ... ) Get an item object to perform following set operations on it:
336 d:set_name(): the item's name in playlist
337 d:set_title(): the item's Title (OPTIONAL, meta data)
338 d:set_artist(): the item's Artist (OPTIONAL, meta data)
339 d:set_genre(): the item's Genre (OPTIONAL, meta data)
340 d:set_copyright(): the item's Copyright (OPTIONAL, meta data)
341 d:set_album(): the item's Album (OPTIONAL, meta data)
342 d:set_tracknum(): the item's Tracknum (OPTIONAL, meta data)
343 d:set_description(): the item's Description (OPTIONAL, meta data)
344 d:set_rating(): the item's Rating (OPTIONAL, meta data)
345 d:set_date(): the item's Date (OPTIONAL, meta data)
346 d:set_setting(): the item's Setting (OPTIONAL, meta data)
347 d:set_url(): the item's URL (OPTIONAL, meta data)
348 d:set_language(): the item's Language (OPTIONAL, meta data)
349 d:set_nowplaying(): the item's NowPlaying (OPTIONAL, meta data)
350 d:set_publisher(): the item's Publisher (OPTIONAL, meta data)
351 d:set_encodedby(): the item's EncodedBy (OPTIONAL, meta data)
352 d:set_arturl(): the item's ArtURL (OPTIONAL, meta data)
353 d:set_trackid(): the item's TrackID (OPTIONAL, meta data)
357 stream( url ): Instantiate a stream object for specific url.
358 memory_stream( string ): Instantiate a stream object containing a specific string.
359 Those two functions return the stream object upon success and nil if an
360 error occurred, in that case, the second return value will be an error message.
362 s = vlc.stream( "http://www.videolan.org/" )
363 s:read( 128 ) -- read up to 128 characters. Return 0 if no more data is available (FIXME?).
364 s:readline() -- read a line. Return nil if EOF was reached.
365 s:addfilter() -- add a stream filter. If no argument was specified, try to add all automatic stream filters.
369 strings.decode_uri( [uri1, [uri2, [...]]] ): Decode a list of URIs. This
370 function returns as many variables as it had arguments.
371 strings.encode_uri_component( [uri1, [uri2, [...]]] ): Encode a list of URI
372 components. This function returns as many variables as it had arguments.
373 strings.make_uri( path, [scheme] ): Convert a file path to a URI.
374 strings.url_parse( url ): Parse URL. Returns a table with
375 fields "protocol", "username", "password", "host", "port", path" and
377 strings.resolve_xml_special_chars( [str1, [str2, [...]]] ): Resolve XML
378 special characters in a list of strings. This function returns as many
379 variables as it had arguments.
380 strings.convert_xml_special_chars( [str1, [str2, [...]]] ): Do the inverse
382 strings.from_charset( charset, str ): convert a string from a specified
383 character encoding into UTF-8; return an empty string on error.
387 var.inherit( object, name ): Find the variable "name"'s value inherited by
388 the object. If object is unset, the current module's object will be used.
389 var.get( object, name ): Get the object's variable "name"'s value.
390 var.get_list( object, name ): Get the object's variable "name"'s value list.
391 1st return value is the value list, 2nd return value is the text list.
392 var.set( object, name, value ): Set the object's variable "name" to "value".
393 var.create( object, name, value ): Create and set the object's variable "name"
394 to "value". Created vars can be of type float, string, bool or void.
395 For a void variable the value has to be 'nil'.
397 var.trigger_callback( object, name ): Trigger the callbacks associated with the
398 object's "name" variable.
400 var.libvlc_command( name, argument ): Issue libvlc's "name" command with
403 var.inc_integer( name ): Increment the given integer.
404 var.dec_integer( name ): Decrement the given integer.
405 var.count_choices( name ): Return the number of choices.
406 var.toggle_bool( name ): Toggle the given boolean.
410 video.fullscreen( [status] ):
411 * toggle fullscreen if no arguments are given
412 * switch to fullscreen 1st argument is true
413 * disable fullscreen if 1st argument is false
417 vlm(): Instanciate a VLM object.
420 v:execute_command( "new test broadcast" ) -- execute given VLM command
422 Note: if the VLM object is deleted and you were the last person to hold
423 a reference to it, all VLM items will be deleted.
427 volume.get(): Get volume.
428 volume.set( level ): Set volume to an absolute level between 0 and 1024.
430 volume.up( [n] ): Increment volume by n steps of 32. n defaults to 1.
431 volume.down( [n] ): Decrement volume by n steps of 32. n defaults to 1.
435 This module is only available on Windows builds
436 win.console_init(): Initialize the windows console.
437 win.console_wait([timeout]): Wait for input on the console for timeout ms.
438 Returns true if console input is available.
439 win.console_read(): Read input from the windows console. Note that polling and
440 reading from stdin does not work under windows.
444 xml = vlc.xml(): Create an xml object.
445 reader = xml:create_reader( stream ): create an xml reader that use the given stream.
446 reader:read(): read some data, return -1 on error, 0 on EOF, 1 on start of XML
447 element, 2 on end of XML element, 3 on text
448 reader:name(): name of the element
449 reader:value(): value of the element
450 reader:next_attr(): next attribute of the element
451 reader:node_empty(): queries whether the previous invocation of reader:read()
452 refers to an empty node ("<tag/>"). Returns a value less than 0 on error,
453 1 if the node is empty, and 0 if it is not.
455 The simplexml module can also be used to parse XML documents easily.