1 Instructions to code your own VLC Lua scripts.
7 Lua documenation is available on http://www.lua.org . The reference manual
8 is very usefull: http://www.lua.org/manual/5.1/ .
10 All the Lua standard libraries are available.
15 3 types of VLC Lua scripts can currently be coded:
16 * Playlist (see playlist/README.txt)
17 * Art fetcher (see meta/README.txt)
18 * Interface (see intf/README.txt)
19 * Extensions (see extensions/README.txt)
21 Lua scripts are tried in alphabetical order in the user's VLC config
22 directory lua/{playlist,meta,intf}/ subdirectory on Windows and Mac OS X or
23 in the user's local share directory (~/.local/share/vlc/lua/... on linux),
24 then in the global VLC lua/{playlist,meta,intf}/ directory.
26 3 - VLC specific Lua modules
27 ============================
29 All VLC specifc modules are in the "vlc" object. For example, if you want
30 to use the "info" function of the "msg" VLC specific Lua module:
31 vlc.msg.info( "This is an info message and will be displayed in the console" )
33 Note: availability of the different VLC specific Lua modules depends on
34 the type of VLC Lua script your are in.
38 local a = vlc.acl(true) -> new ACL with default set to allow
39 a:check("10.0.0.1") -> 0 == allow, 1 == deny, -1 == error
40 a("10.0.0.1") -> same as a:check("10.0.0.1")
41 a:duplicate() -> duplicate ACL object
42 a:add_host("10.0.0.1",true) -> allow 10.0.0.1
43 a:add_net("10.0.0.0",24,true) -> allow 10.0.0.0/24 (not sure)
44 a:load_file("/path/to/acl") -> load ACL from file
48 config.get( name ): Get the VLC configuration option "name"'s value.
49 config.set( name, value ): Set the VLC configuration option "name"'s value.
53 local d = vlc.dialog( "My VLC Extension" ): Create a new UI dialog, with a human-readble title: "My VLC Extension"
54 d:show(): Show this dialog.
55 d:hide(): Hide (but not close) this dialog.
56 d:close(): Close and delete this dialog.
57 d:del_widget( widget ): Delete 'widget'. It disappears from the dialog and repositionning may occur.
59 In the following functions, you can always add some optional parameters: col, row, col_span, row_span.
60 They define the position of a widget in the dialog:
61 - row, col are the absolute positions on a grid of widgets. First row, col are 1.
62 - 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.
63 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.
65 d:add_button( text, func, ... ): Create a button with caption "text" (string). When clicked, call function "func". func is a string.
66 d:add_label( text, ... ): Create a text label with caption "text" (string).
67 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).
68 d:add_text_input( text, ... ): Create an editable text field, in order to read user input.
69 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).
70 d:add_check_box( text, ... ): Create a check box with a text. They have a boolean state (true/false).
71 d:add_dropdown( ... ): Create a drop-down widget. Only 1 element can be selected the same time.
72 d:add_list( ... ): Create a list widget. Allows multiple or empty selections.
73 d:add_image( path, ... ): Create an image label. path is a relative or absolute path to the image on the local computer.
75 Some functions can also be applied on widgets:
76 w:set_text( text ): Change text displayed by the widget. Applies to: button, label, html, text_input, password, check_box.
77 w:get_text(): Read text displayed by the widget. Returns a string. Applies to: button, label, html, text_input, password, check_box.
78 w:set_checked( bool ): Set check state of a check box. Applies to: check_box.
79 w:get_checked(): Read check state of a check box. Returns a boolean. Applies to: check_box.
80 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.
81 w:get_value(): Return identifier of the selected item. Corresponds to the text value chosen by the user. Applies to: drop_down.
82 w:clear(): Clear a list or drop_down widget. After that, all values previously added are lost.
83 w:get_selection(): Retrieve a table representing the current selection. Keys are the ids, values are the texts associated. Applies to: list.
88 deactivate(): Deactivate current extension (after the end of the current function).
92 http( host, port, [cert, key, ca, crl]): create a new HTTP (SSL) daemon.
94 local h = vlc.httpd( "localhost", 8080 )
95 h:handler( url, user, password, acl, callback, data ) -- add a handler for given url. If user and password are non nil, they will be used to authenticate connecting clients. If acl is non nil, it will be used to restrict access. 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.
96 h:file( url, mime, user, password, acl, 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. If acl is non nil, it will be used to restrict access. callback will be called to handle connections. The callback function takes 2 arguments: data and request. It returns the reply as a string.
97 h:redirect( url_dst, url_src ): Redirect all connections from url_src to url_dst.
101 input.is_playing(): Return true if input exists.
102 input.add_subtitle(url): Add a subtitle to the current input
103 input.item(): Get the current input item. Input item methods are:
104 :uri(): Get item's URI.
105 :name(): Get item's name.
106 :duration(): Get item's duration in seconds or negative value if unavailable.
107 :is_preparsed(): Return true if meta data has been preparsed
108 :metas(): Get meta data as a table.
109 :set_meta(key, value): Set meta data.
110 :info(): Get the current input's info. Return value is a table of tables. Keys of the top level table are info category labels.
111 :stats(): Get statistics about the input. This is a table with the following fields:
115 .average_input_bitrate
119 .average_demux_bitrate
134 msg.dbg( [str1, [str2, [...]]] ): Output debug messages (-vv).
135 msg.warn( [str1, [str2, [...]]] ): Output warning messages (-v).
136 msg.err( [str1, [str2, [...]]] ): Output error messages.
137 msg.info( [str1, [str2, [...]]] ): Output info messages.
141 misc.version(): Get the VLC version string.
142 misc.copyright(): Get the VLC copyright statement.
143 misc.license(): Get the VLC license.
145 misc.datadir(): Get the VLC data directory.
146 misc.userdatadir(): Get the user's VLC data directory.
147 misc.homedir(): Get the user's home directory.
148 misc.configdir(): Get the user's VLC config directory.
149 misc.cachedir(): Get the user's VLC cache directory.
151 misc.datadir_list( name ): FIXME: write description ... or ditch function
152 if it isn't usefull anymore, we have datadir and userdatadir :)
154 misc.mdate(): Get the current date (in milliseconds).
155 misc.mwait(): Wait for the given date (in milliseconds).
157 misc.lock_and_wait(): Lock our object thread and wait for a wake up signal.
159 misc.should_die(): Returns true if the interface should quit.
160 misc.quit(): Quit VLC.
164 net.url_parse( url, [option delimiter] ): Parse URL. Returns a table with
165 fields "protocol", "username", "password", "host", "port", path" and
167 net.listen_tcp( host, port ): Listen to TCP connections. This returns an
168 object with an accept and an fds method. accept is blocking (Poll on the
169 fds with the net.POLLIN flag if you want to be non blockin).
170 The fds method returns a list of fds you can call poll on before using
171 the accept method. For example:
172 local l = vlc.net.listen_tcp( "localhost", 1234 )
174 local fd = l:accept()
176 net.send( fd, "blabla" )
180 net.close( fd ): Close file descriptor.
181 net.send( fd, string, [length] ): Send data on fd.
182 net.recv( fd, [max length] ): Receive data from fd.
183 net.poll( { fd = events }, [timeout in seconds] ): Implement poll function.
184 Retruns the numbers of file descriptors with a non 0 revent. The function
185 modifies the input table to { fd = revents }. See "man poll".
186 net.POLLIN/POLLPRI/POLLOUT/POLLRDHUP/POLLERR/POLLHUP/POLLNVAL: poll event flags
187 net.fd_read( fd, [max length] ): Read data from fd.
188 net.fd_write( fd, string, [length] ): Write data to fd.
189 net.stat( path ): Stat a file. Returns a table with the following fields:
198 net.opendir( path ): List a directory's contents.
202 object.input(): Get the current input object.
203 object.playlist(): Get the playlist object.
204 object.libvlc(): Get the libvlc object.
206 object.find( object, type, mode ): Find an object of given type. mode can
207 be any of "parent", "child" and "anywhere". If set to "parent", it will
208 look in "object"'s parent objects. If set to "child" it will look in
209 "object"'s children. If set to "anywhere", it will look in all the
210 objects. If object is unset, the current module's object will be used.
211 Type can be: "libvlc", "playlist", "input", "decoder",
212 "vout", "aout", "packetizer", "generic".
213 This function is deprecated and slow and should be avoided.
214 object.find_name( object, name, mode ): Same as above except that it matches
215 on the object's name and not type. This function is also slow and should
216 be avoided if possible.
220 osd.icon( type, [id] ): Display an icon on the given OSD channel. Uses the
221 default channel is none is given. Icon types are: "pause", "play",
222 "speaker" and "mute".
223 osd.message( string, [id] ): Display text message on the given OSD channel.
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.
228 osd.menu.show(): Show the OSD menu.
229 osd.menu.hide(): Hide the OSD menu.
230 osd.menu.prev(): Select previous/left item.
231 osd.menu.next(): Select next/right item.
232 osd.menu.up(): Move selection up.
233 osd.menu.down(): Move selection down.
234 osd.menu.activate(): Activate/validate current selection.
238 playlist.prev(): Play previous track.
239 playlist.next(): Play next track.
240 playlist.skip( n ): Skip n tracs.
241 playlist.play(): Play.
242 playlist.pause(): Pause.
243 playlist.stop(): Stop.
244 playlist.clear(): Clear the playlist.
245 playlist.repeat_( [status] ): Toggle item repeat or set to specified value.
246 playlist.loop( [status] ): Toggle playlist loop or set to specified value.
247 playlist.random( [status] ): Toggle playlsit random or set to specified value.
248 playlist.goto( id ): Go to specified track.
249 playlist.add( ... ): Add a bunch of items to the playlist.
250 The playlist is a table of playlist objects.
251 A playlist object has the following members:
252 .path: the item's full path / URL
253 .name: the item's name in playlist (OPTIONAL)
254 .title: the item's Title (OPTIONAL, meta data)
255 .artist: the item's Artist (OPTIONAL, meta data)
256 .genre: the item's Genre (OPTIONAL, meta data)
257 .copyright: the item's Copyright (OPTIONAL, meta data)
258 .album: the item's Album (OPTIONAL, meta data)
259 .tracknum: the item's Tracknum (OPTIONAL, meta data)
260 .description: the item's Description (OPTIONAL, meta data)
261 .rating: the item's Rating (OPTIONAL, meta data)
262 .date: the item's Date (OPTIONAL, meta data)
263 .setting: the item's Setting (OPTIONAL, meta data)
264 .url: the item's URL (OPTIONAL, meta data)
265 .language: the item's Language (OPTIONAL, meta data)
266 .nowplaying: the item's NowPlaying (OPTIONAL, meta data)
267 .publisher: the item's Publisher (OPTIONAL, meta data)
268 .encodedby: the item's EncodedBy (OPTIONAL, meta data)
269 .arturl: the item's ArtURL (OPTIONAL, meta data)
270 .trackid: the item's TrackID (OPTIONAL, meta data)
271 .options: a list of VLC options (OPTIONAL)
272 example: .options = { "fullscreen" }
273 .duration: stream duration in seconds (OPTIONAL)
274 .meta: custom meta data (OPTIONAL, meta data)
275 A .meta field is a table of custom meta categories which
276 each have custom meta properties.
277 example: .meta = { ["Google video"] = { ["docid"] = "-5784010886294950089"; ["GVP version"] = "1.1" }; ["misc"] = { "Hello" = "World!" } }
278 Invalid playlist items will be discarded by VLC.
279 playlist.enqueue( ... ): like playlist.add() except that track isn't played.
280 playlist.get( [what, [tree]] ): Get the playist.
281 If "what" is a number, then this will return the corresponding playlist
282 item's playlist hierarchy. If it is "normal" or "playlist", it will
283 return the normal playlist. If it is "ml" or "media library", it will
284 return the media library. If it is "root" it will return the full playlist.
285 If it is a service discovery module's name, it will return that service
286 discovery's playlist. If it is any other string, it won't return anything.
287 Else it will return the fullplaylist.
288 The second argument, "tree", is optional. If set to true or unset, the
289 playlist will be returned in a tree layout. If set to false, the playlist
290 will be returned using the flat layout.
291 Each playlist item returned will have the following members:
293 .flags: a table with the following members if the corresponing flag is
303 .duration: (-1 if unknown)
305 .children: A table of children playlist items.
307 FIXME: add methods to get an item's meta, options, es ...
311 sd.get_services_names(): Get a table of all available service discovery
312 modules. The module name is used as key, the long name is used as value.
313 sd.add( name ): Add service discovery.
314 sd.remove( name ): Remove service discovery.
315 sd.is_loaded( name ): Check if service discovery is loaded.
319 stream( url ): Instantiate a stream object for specific url.
321 s = vlc.stream( "http://www.videolan.org/" )
322 s:read( 128 ) -- read up to 128 characters. Return 0 if no more data is available (FIXME?).
323 s:readline() -- read a line. Return nil if EOF was reached.
324 s:addfilter() -- add a stream filter. If no argument was specified, try to add all automatic stream filters.
328 strings.decode_uri( [uri1, [uri2, [...]]] ): Decode a list of URIs. This
329 function returns as many variables as it had arguments.
330 strings.encode_uri_component( [uri1, [uri2, [...]]] ): Encode a list of URI
331 components. This function returns as many variables as it had arguments.
332 strings.resolve_xml_special_chars( [str1, [str2, [...]]] ): Resolve XML
333 special characters in a list of strings. This function returns as many
334 variables as it had arguments.
335 strings.convert_xml_special_chars( [str1, [str2, [...]]] ): Do the inverse
340 var.get( object, name ): Get the object's variable "name"'s value.
341 var.set( object, name, value ): Set the object's variable "name" to "value".
342 var.get_list( object, name ): Get the object's variable "name"'s value list.
343 1st return value is the value list, 2nd return value is the text list.
344 var.create( object, name, value ): Create and set the object's variable "name"
345 to "value". Created vars can be of type float, string or bool.
347 var.add_callback( object, name, function, data ): Add a callback to the
348 object's "name" variable. Callback functions take 4 arguments: the
349 variable name, the old value, the new value and data.
350 var.del_callback( object, name, function, data ): Delete a callback to
351 the object's "name" variable. "function" and "data" must be the same as
352 when add_callback() was called.
353 var.trigger_callback( object, name ): Trigger the callbacks associated with the
354 object's "name" variable.
356 var.command( object name, name, argument ): Issue "object name"'s "name"
357 command with argument "argument".
358 var.libvlc_command( name, arguement ): Issue libvlc's "name" command with
363 video.fullscreen( [status] ):
364 * toggle fullscreen if no arguments are given
365 * switch to fullscreen 1st argument is true
366 * disable fullscreen if 1st argument is false
370 vlm(): Instanciate a VLM object.
373 v:execute_command( "new test broadcast" ) -- execute given VLM command
375 Note: if the VLM object is deleted and you were the last person to hold
376 a reference to it, all VLM items will be deleted.
380 volume.set( level ): Set volume to an absolute level between 0 and 1024.
382 volume.get(): Get volume.
383 volume.up( [n] ): Increment volume by n steps of 32. n defaults to 1.
384 volume.down( [n] ): Decrement volume by n steps of 32. n defaults to 1.