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Version: 4.0 (in development)

new-features

BigBlueButton 4.0 runs on Ubuntu 24.04

Overview​

Here's a breakdown of what's new in 4.0.

Usability​

Engagement​

Behind the scenes​

Experimental​

Integration with LiveKit​

We have added initial support for LiveKit as a media framework for BigBlueButton. It's an experimental feature and, consequently, disabled by default. For an in-depth overview of this initiative, please refer to issue 21059. Feature parity with the current media framework is not yet achieved, but the aforementioned issue provides parity tracking in section Annex 1.

To enable support for LiveKit:

  1. Install bbb-livekit: $ sudo apt-get install bbb-livekit
  2. Enable the LiveKit controller module in bbb-webrtc-sfu:
if [ ! -s /etc/bigbluebutton/bbb-webrtc-sfu/production.yml ]; then echo '{}' > /etc/bigbluebutton/bbb-webrtc-sfu/production.yml; fi
`yq -y -i '.livekit.enabled = true' /etc/bigbluebutton/bbb-webrtc-sfu/production.yml`
  1. Restart bbb-webrtc-sfu: $ sudo systemctl restart bbb-webrtc-sfu
  2. Guarantee that Node.js 22 is installed in your server: $ node -v
    • Older 3.0 installations might still be using Node.js 18. If that's the case, re-run bbb-install or correct any custom installation scripts to ensure Node.js 22 is installed.
  3. Only when using BigBlueButton via the cluster proxy configuration:
    1. Set the appropriate LiveKit endpoint URL in bbb-html5.yml's public.media.livekit.url. See the aforementioned docs section for details.

We also strongly recommend setting up network interface filtering in LiveKit. While optional, this speeds up negotation times and works around an issue with the latest LiveKit versions that might cause CPU spikes if there's no filtering in place. To set up network interface filtering:

  1. Gather relevant network interfaces names to be used for media communication. For most setups, the default network interface is enough. See the route command to find it (Destination: default). If any other network interfaces are needed, make note of them.
  2. Set the following in /etc/bigbluebutton/livekit.yaml:
rtc:
  interfaces:
    includes:
      - <network_interface_name_1>
      - <any_other_network_interface_name>
  1. Restart livekit-server: $ sudo systemctl restart livekit-server

Once enabled, LiveKit still won't be used by default. There are two ways to make use of it in meetings:

  • Per meeting: set any of the following meeting /create parameters
    • audioBridge=livekit
    • cameraBridge=livekit
    • screenShareBridge=livekit
  • Server-wide: set any of the following properties in /etc/bigbluebutton/bbb-web.properties
    • audioBridge=livekit
    • cameraBridge=livekit
    • screenShareBridge=livekit

Those parameters do not need to be set concurrently. LiveKit can be enabled for audio only, for example, while keeping the current media framework for camera and screen sharing by setting just audioBridge=livekit.

As of BigBlueButton v3.0.7, recording is enabled by default for LiveKit sessions via the bbb-webrtc-recorder application. If livekit/egress was previously installed in a server, any steps done to enable it should be reverted. Refer to the previous installations steps.

Keep in mind that the LiveKit integration is still experimental and not feature complete. Configuration, API parameters, and other details are subject to change. We encourage users to test it and provide feedback via our GitHub issue tracker or the mailing lists.

Upgraded components​

Under the hood, BigBlueButton 4.0 installs on Ubuntu 24.04 64-bit, and the following key components have been upgraded

  • Grails 7.0.0
  • Gradle 8.14.3
  • Groovy 4.0.21
  • Spring 6.2.11
  • Spring Boot 3.5.13

For full details on what is new in BigBlueButton 4.0, see the release notes.

Recent releases:

Other notable changes​

Removing deprecated layout options​

The layout system has been simplified to use a single unified layout. The following layouts have been removed: CUSTOM_LAYOUT, SMART_LAYOUT, PRESENTATION_FOCUS, and VIDEO_FOCUS. The default layout is now UNIFIED_LAYOUT.

The layout selection modal and the push layout button have also been removed. The showPushLayoutButton and showPushLayoutToggle settings are no longer available.

The layouts option has been removed from disabledFeatures.

Changes to events.xml​

bbb-web properties changes​

Removed​

None.

Value changed​

  • defaultMeetingLayout default changed from CUSTOM_LAYOUT to UNIFIED_LAYOUT. Accepted values are now UNIFIED_LAYOUT (default), plus the hybrid/niche options CAMERAS_ONLY, PARTICIPANTS_CHAT_ONLY, and PRESENTATION_ONLY. The previous values CUSTOM_LAYOUT, SMART_LAYOUT, PRESENTATION_FOCUS, and VIDEO_FOCUS are no longer accepted.
  • html5PluginSdkVersion bumped from 0.0.99 to 0.1.17.
  • disabledFeatures accepts a new value: pinChatMessage (alongside the existing chat-related options).

Added​

  • lockSettingsPresenterPolicy added (default requireApproval).
  • requireUserConsentBeforeUnmuting added (default false). Only relevant when allowModsToUnmuteUsers=true; when true, a consent dialog is shown before a moderator can unmute a participant.

Development​

For information on developing in BigBlueButton, see setting up a development environment for 4.0.

The build scripts for packaging 4.0 (using fpm) are located in the GitHub repository here.

Contribution​

We welcome contributors to BigBlueButton 4.0! The best ways to contribute at the current time are: