Documentation:Modules/http intf

Module: http
Type	Control interface
First VLC version	-
Last VLC version	-
Operating system(s)	all
Description	Allows control of VLC over a http connection
Shortcut(s)	-

It is possible to Control VLC via a browser via an extra interface which can be enabled by going to Settings > Add Interface > Web Interface.

How to use

To use this interface as the primary interface, launch VLC with the parameter "-I http" or set http to be the primary interface via the preferences (in versions .8+ you go to Preferences > Interface > General > Interface module: http remote control interface. In later versions it might be preferences -> All radio button -> Interface -> Main interfaces -> check HTTP remote control). To launch it as a secondary interface you should launch VLC with the parameter "--extraintf=http" or set http as an extra-interface in the Preferences area mentioned above.

Now when you start VLC, a web interface will be created and running on your computer on port 8080.

The following option can be used to specify an IP and a different port on which you want to run the interface.

VLC < 1.2.x

 --http-host host:port

 or on Windows platforms:
 --http-host=host:port

VLC > 1.2.x

 --http-host host
 --http-port port

 or on Windows platforms:
 --http-host=host
 --http-port=port

For your information, you can connect to a web server listening on an arbitrary port using http://server:port syntax, so you can test the VLC web interface using this URL: http://127.0.0.1:8080.

Configure

Access control

Access control - specific IPs or ranges of IP addresses - to the http interface can be done globally by editing "/usr/share/vlc/http/.hosts" (or "%PROGRAMFILES%\VideoLAN\VLC\http\.hosts" for Windows).

Note that the global file gets overwritten when/if you reinstall/upgrade VLC.
This is solved by some distributions by symlinking the file to /etc.
If your distribution does not do this; execute the following as root:
mkdir /etc/vlc && cd /usr/share/vlc/http/ && mv .hosts /etc/vlc && ln -s /etc/vlc/.hosts .hosts

Customization

It is now also possible to customize the Web interface. See the html pages in share/html (within the VLC directory for Windows, within the VLC.app package on Mac OS X and somewhere in /usr/local for Linux). This can be a very cool interface if you spent some time developing nice UI elements. If you would like to contribute a new 'Default' html interface, you are also very welcome (keep it small).

An additional theme has been created (by Lucas Steigmeyer a.k.a. Plezops) specifically for PDA's or PSP's in mind. This additonal theme has a grey theme and will fit nicely on most portable versions of web browsers. The theme has the layout reordered to fit the screen better. You may download this theme from OrrentDesign.com. A readme file is included. View for install instructions and other info.

Notes

Note: On versions of VLC (windows) that are greater than .8 (possibly previous versions, though not confirmed) the HTTP interface index file is stored in the "http" folder in the VLC folder. There are no help files bundled with the download however you may find help files in the online Wiki and how-to, or readme's.

Note: A new http interface is available since 0.8.5. However this new interface does not work on handhelp PDA's running the Windows Mobile OS, it also does not work with javascript turned off in your browser. This old interface was available at http://<ip>:<port>/old/ for releases prior to 1.0.0.

For more information about the HTTP interface, see the document "VLC Play-Howto", the paragraph "The HTTP interface" in chapter 4 ("Advanced use of VLC") and "Building pages for the HTTP interface". "See also old/outdated appendix B".

Related topic

Building Pages for the HTTP Interface

Interfaces

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