LiveKit makes it easy for participants to chat in real-time using its text streaming features like

sendText

and

streamText

. That said, it doesn’t have built-in support for SMS services just yet. If you want to connect SMS with LiveKit, you’d need to set up a bridge between LiveKit’s text streams and an SMS service API (think Twilio or Nexmo). This means forwarding messages back and forth using webhooks or APIs. I’d be happy to help you get this set up! Just let me know what you’re aiming for or which SMS service you’re thinking about, and we can take it from there. - show me

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yes both using telnyx

Hey there! To get Telnyx SMS working smoothly with LiveKit’s text streaming for both sending and receiving messages, here’s a friendly step-by-step guide you can follow: 1. Send Text via LiveKit: You can use the

sendText

method to send messages to participants. Here’s a quick example:

const text = 'Hello from Telnyx!';
const info = await room.localParticipant.sendText(text, {
  topic: 'telnyx-sms',
});

2. Stream Text Incrementally: If you want to send text in smaller chunks,

streamText

is your friend:

const streamWriter = await room.localParticipant.streamText({
  topic: 'telnyx-sms',
});
const textChunks = ["Hello", " ", "from", " ", "Telnyx!"];
for (const chunk of textChunks) {
  await streamWriter.write(chunk);
}
await streamWriter.close();

3. Handle Incoming Text Streams: To catch incoming messages and pass them along to Telnyx, just register a handler like this: `room.registerTextStreamHandler('telnyx-sms', async (reader, participantInfo) => { const info = reader.info; console.log(

Received text stream from ${participantInfo.identity}

); console.log(

Text: ${await reader.readAll()}

); });` 4. Integrate with Telnyx SMS API: On your backend, use the Telnyx API to send SMS messages whenever you get text via LiveKit. And don’t forget to set up an endpoint to receive SMS from Telnyx and forward those messages to your LiveKit participants. 5. Stream Properties: You can customize your text streams with handy properties like

topic

,

attributes

, and

destinationIdentities

. Just a heads-up: LiveKit text streams don’t save messages automatically, so you might want to handle saving those on your backend. If you hit any bumps or want to chat more about this, I’m here to help! Sources: Sending text | LiveKit Docs | Text and transcriptions | LiveKit Docs

I would have to have live session running though correct?

Just a heads-up: LiveKit's text streaming features like

sendText

and

streamText

need you to be actively connected in a room. These methods are part of the

LocalParticipant

API, which means the participant should already be in a room. Without an active session, text streaming won’t work. If you have any other questions or want a hand setting things up, feel free to ask—I’m here to help! Sources: Sending text | LiveKit Docs | Sending text | LiveKit Docs | packages/livekit-rtc/src/participant.ts

Is it possible to connect to a room from my API and send Text to it?

Absolutely, you can connect to a LiveKit room from your API and send text messages using the

sendText

or

streamText

methods. Here’s a friendly guide on how to do it: 1. Using `sendText`: This method sends a full text string all at once. For example:

const info = await room.localParticipant.sendText('Hello, Room!', {
  topic: 'my-topic',
});

2. Using `streamText`: This one lets you stream text bit by bit, which is great for real-time typing or longer messages. For example:

const streamWriter = await room.localParticipant.streamText({
  topic: 'my-topic',
});
await streamWriter.write('Hello');
await streamWriter.write(', Room!');
await streamWriter.close();

Just a heads up, both methods need you to be connected to the room and have a

topic

specified so the text goes where it should. You can also set up a handler to catch incoming text streams on the same topic. If you want a hand setting this up or have any other questions, feel free to ask—I’m here to help! Sources: src/room/data-stream/outgoing/OutgoingDataStreamManager.ts | Sending text | LiveKit Docs

how can I connect to my room from my python backend?

Hey there! If you want to connect to a LiveKit room from your Python backend, the LiveKit Python SDK makes it pretty straightforward. Here’s a simple way to do it: 1. First, install the packages you’ll need:

pip install livekit livekit-api

2. Next, generate an access token and connect like this:

from livekit import api, rtc
import asyncio

async def connect_to_livekit_room():
    url = "<ws://localhost:7880>"  # Swap this out for your LiveKit server URL
    token = (
        api.AccessToken()
        .with_identity("your-backend-participant")
        .with_grants(api.VideoGrants(room_join=True, room="your-room-name"))
        .to_jwt()
    )

    room = rtc.Room()

    @room.on("connected")
    def on_connected():
        print("Successfully connected to the room")

    @room.on("disconnected")
    def on_disconnected(reason):
        print(f"Disconnected from the room: {reason}")

    try:
        await room.connect(url, token)
        print(f"Connected to room {room.name}")
        # You can now send messages or publish tracks here
        # Don’t forget to call await room.disconnect() when you’re done
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Failed to connect to room: {e}")

asyncio.run(connect_to_livekit_room())

3. Just make sure to update these placeholders: ◦ `url`: Put in your actual LiveKit server URL (like

<wss://your-project.livekit.cloud>

). ◦ `your-room-name`: The name of the room you want to join. If you run into any issues or want to customize things further, just give me a shout—I’m happy to help!

This fails with error: token = ( api.AccessToken() .with_identity(_candidate_id_) .with_room_config(api.RoomConfiguration(name=_room_id_)) .to_jwt() ) room = rtc.Room() Failed to connect to room: engine: signal failure: ws failure: HTTP error: 401 Unauthorized [Backend] 2025-08-18 170046,067 - livekit - ERROR - livekit_ffi:serverroom283livekit ffiserver:room - error while connecting to a room: engine: signal failure: ws failure: HTTP error: 401 Unauthorized What do I pass in as the candidate_id?

Hey there! The

identity

(also called

candidate_id

) is basically a unique string that helps identify the participant joining the room. It can be something meaningful to you, like a username, user ID, or even a string you generate on the fly. For example:

identity = f"python-user-{room_id}"

Or, if you want it to be truly unique, you can create a random string like this:

import random
import string

def generate_random_string(length=8):
    return ''.join(random.choices(string.ascii_lowercase + string.digits, k=length))

identity = f"python-user-{generate_random_string()}"

Just make sure the identity stays unique so there aren’t any mix-ups between participants. If you want me to walk you through it or have any questions, feel free to ask—I’m here to help!

it says 401 unauthorized when I try to connect to my room via my backend microsaervice

Seeing a 401 Unauthorized error when trying to connect to a LiveKit room usually means there’s a hiccup with the authentication token. Don’t worry, here are some common reasons and easy fixes: 1. Invalid or Missing Token: Double-check that your token is created using your LiveKit API key and secret, and that it has the right permissions (grants). 2. Incorrect Token Permissions: Make sure your token includes the necessary grants like

roomJoin

,

canPublish

, and

canSubscribe

. 3. Token Expiration: Tokens can expire, so it’s worth checking and generating a fresh one if needed. 4. Backend Configuration: Take a quick look to confirm your backend is using the correct API key and secret when generating tokens. 5. Token Validation: Ensure your token is properly signed and contains all the valid claims. If you’d like, feel free to share your token generation code or tell me more about your setup—I’m here to help you figure this out! Sources: src/pages/api/connection_details.ts | src/lib/controller.ts | Protocol & WebRTC | livekit/livekit_composite | DeepWiki | Connecting to LiveKit | LiveKit Docs | CLI Setup | LiveKit Docs