# Create and manage stream recorders

You can use the Wowza Streaming Engine™ media server software REST API to create and manage stream recorders in a Wowza Streaming Engine instance.

A stream recorder creates an MP4 recording of a stream as it's broadcast from a live application.
A recorder can be created before the live application starts streaming, or while the live application is actually streaming.
You can use the REST API to stop a recorder at any time; otherwise, it stops when the server no longer receives the incoming stream.
After the recorder stops, it is no longer available — the MP4 recording is saved, but you have to create a new recorder if you plan to restart and record the same live application.

> **Notes:**
- Wowza Streaming Engine 4.3.0 or later is required.
- PHP examples for the tasks in this article are available in the **tests** folder of the [PHP REST Library for Wowza Streaming Engine on GitHub](https://github.com/WowzaMediaSystems/wse-rest-library-php).



## Get a list of recorders

View a list of all stream recorders for an application on a local Wowza Streaming Engine instance:


```bash
curl -X GET \
-H 'Accept:application/json; charset=utf-8' \
-H 'Content-Type:application/json; charset=utf-8' \
http://localhost:8087/v2/servers/{serverName}/vhosts/{vhostName}/applications/{appName}/instances/{instanceName}/streamrecorders
```

In this example, retrieve a list of all stream recorders for an application named *testlive*:


```bash
curl -X GET \
-H 'Accept:application/json; charset=utf-8' \
-H 'Content-Type:application/json; charset=utf-8' \
http://localhost:8087/v2/servers/{serverName}/vhosts/{vhostName}/applications/testlive/instances/{instanceName}/streamrecorders
```

If the stream and recording haven't started, the command should return a response that looks something like this:


```json
{
  "serverName": "serverName",
  "instanceName": "instanceName",
  "streamrecorder": [{
    "recorderName": "myStream",
    "instanceName": "instanceName",
    "recorderState": "Waiting for stream",
    "defaultRecorder": false,
    "segmentationType": "None",
    "outputPath": "",
    "baseFile": ".mp4",
    "fileFormat": "MP4",
    "fileVersionDelegateName": "com.wowza.wms.livestreamrecord.manager.StreamRecorderFileVersionDelegate",
    "fileTemplate": "${BaseFileName}_${RecordingStartTime}_${SegmentNumber}",
    "segmentDuration": 900000,
    "segmentSize": 10485760,
    "segmentSchedule": "0 * * * * *",
    "recordData": false,
    "startOnKeyFrame": true,
    "splitOnTcDiscontinuity": false,
    "backBufferTime": 0,
    "option": "Version existing file",
    "moveFirstVideoFrameToZero": true,
    "currentSize": 0,
    "currentDuration": 0,
    "recordingStartTime": ""
  }]
}
```

If the stream and recorder have started, the response looks something like this:


```json
{
  "serverName": "serverName",
  "instanceName": "instanceName",
  "streamrecorder": [{
    "recorderName": "myStream",
    "instanceName": "instanceName",
    "recorderState": "Recording in Progress",
    "defaultRecorder": false,
    "segmentationType": "None",
    "outputPath": "",
    "baseFile": "myStream.mp4",
    "fileFormat": "MP4",
    "fileVersionDelegateName": "com.wowza.wms.livestreamrecord.manager.StreamRecorderFileVersionDelegate",
    "fileTemplate": "${BaseFileName}_${RecordingStartTime}_${SegmentNumber}",
    "segmentDuration": 38537,
    "segmentSize": 10485760,
    "segmentSchedule": "0 * * * * *",
    "recordData": false,
    "startOnKeyFrame": true,
    "splitOnTcDiscontinuity": false,
    "backBufferTime": 0,
    "option": "Version existing file",
    "moveFirstVideoFrameToZero": true,
    "currentSize": 3104321,
    "currentDuration": 38537,
    "currentFile": "/Library/WowzaStreamingEngine/content/myStream_2017-04-06-16.07.01.033-PDT_0.mp4",
    "recordingStartTime": "2017-04-06-16.07.01.033--07:00"
  }]
}
```

## Create a recorder

When you create a recorder, it starts immediately if the stream is running.
Otherwise, it starts when you start the stream.

Create a stream recorder named *myStream* using the default settings.
Note that the stream recorder name matches the incoming stream name and is included in both the request URL and the body of the request — these must match:


```bash
curl -X POST \
-H 'Accept:application/json; charset=utf-8' \
-H 'Content-Type:application/json; charset=utf-8' \
http://localhost:8087/v2/servers/{serverName}/vhosts/{vhostName}/applications/{appName}/instances/{instanceName}/streamrecorders/myStream \
-d '{
  "instanceName": "",
  "fileVersionDelegateName": "",
  "serverName": "",
  "recorderName": "myStream",
  "currentSize": 0,
  "segmentSchedule": "",
  "startOnKeyFrame": true,
  "outputPath": "",
  "currentFile": "",
  "recordData": false,
  "applicationName": "",
  "moveFirstVideoFrameToZero": false,
  "recorderErrorString": "",
  "segmentSize": 0,
  "defaultRecorder": false,
  "splitOnTcDiscontinuity": false,
  "version": "",
  "baseFile": "",
  "segmentDuration": 0,
  "recordingStartTime": "",
  "fileTemplate": "",
  "backBufferTime": 0,
  "segmentationType": "",
  "currentDuration": 0,
  "fileFormat": "",
  "recorderState": "",
  "option": ""
}'
```

The command should return a response that looks something like this:


```json
{
  "success": true,
  "message": "Recorder Created",
  "data": null
}
```

## Split an active recording

When you split, or segment, an active recording, the recorder keeps running but the current recording ends and a new recording begins from the moment of the split.
Both recordings are stored in the specified `output_path` (by default, `/Library/WowzaStreamingEngine/content`) and are named according to the file naming template (by default, `[BaseFilename]_[RecordingStartTime]_[SegmentNumber].mp4`).

Split a recording:


```bash
curl -X PUT \
-H 'Accept:application/json; charset=utf-8' \
-H 'Content-Type:application/json; charset=utf-8' \
http://localhost:8087/v2/servers/{serverName}/vhosts/{vhostName}/applications/{appName}/instances/{instanceName}/streamrecorders/{recorderName}/actions/splitRecording
```

The command should return a response that looks something like this:


```json
{
  "success": true,
  "message": "Recording (myStream) split",
  "data": null
}
```

## Stop a recording

Stop a recording:


```bash
curl -X PUT \
-H 'Accept:application/json; charset=utf-8' \
-H 'Content-Type:application/json; charset=utf-8' \
http://localhost:8087/v2/servers/{serverName}/vhosts/{vhostName}/applications/{appName}/instances/{instanceName}/streamrecorders/{recorderName}/actions/stopRecording
```

The command should return a response that looks something like this:


```json
{
  "success": true,
  "message": "Recording (recorderName) stopped",
  "data": null
}
```