ToDesktop Recall Desktop SDK Plugin

A ToDesktop plugin that integrates with Recall.ai's Desktop Recording SDK to enable automatic meeting recording for Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams.

Overview

This plugin provides a complete integration between ToDesktop and the Recall.ai Desktop Recording SDK, offering:

• Automatic meeting detection for Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Slack
• Recording management with start, stop, pause, and resume functionality
• Desktop audio recording for non-meeting scenarios
• Real-time events including transcription and participant data
• Permission management for accessibility, screen capture, and microphone access
• Upload progress tracking and webhook integration
• Type-safe client library for web applications

Want a tutorial?

Check out the tutorial for a step-by-step guide on how to use the Recall desktop plugin and client SDK.

Installation & Setup

Prerequisites

1. Recall.ai Account: Sign up at recall.ai and get your API key
2. ToDesktop Builder App: Create a ToDesktop application
3. Backend Integration: Set up webhook endpoints and upload token generation

1. Install Dependencies

npm install @todesktop/client-recall

3. Add Plugin to ToDesktop Builder

1. Open ToDesktop Builder
2. Install the recall desktop sdk plugin

4. Configure Plugin Preferences

In ToDesktop Builder, configure the following preferences:

• API URL: Your Recall.ai region URL (e.g., https://us-east-1.recall.ai)
• Enable Plugin: Toggle to enable/disable recording functionality
• Request permissions on startup: Automatically request required permissions

Usage

Basic Recording Workflow

import { recallDesktop } from "@todesktop/client-recall";

// Initialize the SDK
await recallDesktop.initSdk();

// Listen for meeting detection
const stopMeetingListener = recallDesktop.addEventListener(
  "meeting-detected",
  async ({ window }) => {
    console.log("Meeting detected:", window);

    // Get upload token from your backend
    const uploadToken = await getUploadTokenFromBackend();

    // Start recording
    const result = await recallDesktop.startRecording(window.id, uploadToken);
    if (result.success) {
      console.log("Recording started successfully");
    }
  }
);

// Listen for recording events
const stopStateListener = recallDesktop.addEventListener(
  "sdk-state-change",
  ({ sdk }) => {
    console.log("Recording state:", sdk.state.code);
  }
);

const stopUploadListener = recallDesktop.addEventListener(
  "upload-progress",
  ({ progress }) => {
    console.log(`Upload progress: ${progress}%`);
  }
);

// Handle recording completion
const stopRecordingListener = recallDesktop.addEventListener(
  "recording-ended",
  async ({ window }) => {
    console.log("Recording ended for window:", window.id);

    // Upload the recording
    await recallDesktop.uploadRecording(window.id);
  }
);

// Later, remove listeners when no longer needed
stopMeetingListener();
stopStateListener();
stopUploadListener();
stopRecordingListener();

Desktop Audio Recording

For capturing audio from applications other than supported meeting platforms:

// Prepare desktop audio recording
const { data } = await recallDesktop.prepareDesktopAudioRecording();
const { windowId } = data;

// Get upload token and start recording
const uploadToken = await getUploadTokenFromBackend();
await recallDesktop.startRecording(windowId, uploadToken);

// Stop when done
await recallDesktop.stopRecording(windowId);
await recallDesktop.uploadRecording(windowId);

Permission Management

// Check permission status
const status = await recallDesktop.getStatus();
console.log("Permissions:", status.permissions);

// Request specific permission
await recallDesktop.requestPermission("screen-capture");

// Listen for permission changes
const removePermissionListener = recallDesktop.addEventListener(
  "permission-status",
  ({ permission, status }) => {
    console.log(`Permission ${permission}: ${status}`);
  }
);

// Remove the listener when you no longer need updates
removePermissionListener();

Backend Integration

Demo Backend Service

A minimal Express backend lives in packages/backend for demos. It exposes:

• POST /api/create-sdk-upload – calls the Recall API and returns { id, upload_token, recording_id }
• POST /webhooks/recall – logs Recall webhook payloads for inspection
• GET /health – health check

Run it with your Recall token (replace the example value with the token for your workspace):

RECALL_API_TOKEN="c5a6aaff378e5dc5a7e28b3e2853eff832ce4bde" \
npm start --workspace=packages/backend

The server defaults to https://us-west-2.recall.ai; override via RECALL_API_BASE if you use another region. Set CORS_ORIGIN to restrict cross-origin access (defaults to *).

Creating Upload Tokens

Your backend needs to create upload tokens using the Recall.ai API:

// Example backend endpoint
app.post("/api/create-upload-token", async (req, res) => {
  const response = await fetch(`${RECALL_API_URL}/api/v1/sdk-upload/`, {
    method: "POST",
    headers: {
      Authorization: `Token ${RECALL_API_KEY}`,
      "Content-Type": "application/json",
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      transcript: {
        provider: {
          assembly_ai_streaming: {},
        },
      },
    }),
  });

  const data = await response.json();
  res.json({ uploadToken: data.upload_token });
});

Webhook Handling

Set up webhooks to handle recording completion:

app.post("/webhooks/recall", (req, res) => {
  const { event, data } = req.body;

  switch (event) {
    case "sdk_upload.complete":
      console.log("Recording completed:", data.recording.id);
      // Process completed recording
      break;

    case "sdk_upload.failed":
      console.log("Recording failed:", data);
      // Handle failure
      break;

    case "sdk_upload.uploading":
      console.log("Recording uploading:", data);
      // Track upload progress
      break;
  }

  res.status(200).send("OK");
});

API Reference

Main Methods

• initSdk() - Initialize the Recall SDK
• shutdownSdk() - Shutdown the SDK and cleanup
• getStatus() - Get plugin and SDK status
• startRecording(windowId, uploadToken) - Start recording a meeting
• stopRecording(windowId) - Stop recording
• pauseRecording(windowId) - Pause recording
• resumeRecording(windowId) - Resume recording
• uploadRecording(windowId) - Upload completed recording
• prepareDesktopAudioRecording() - Prepare desktop audio capture

Event Listeners

Use recallDesktop.addEventListener(eventType, callback) to subscribe. Available event types include:

• meeting-detected, meeting-updated, meeting-closed
• recording-started, recording-ended, sdk-state-change
• upload-progress, realtime-event, error
• permissions-granted, permission-status
• media-capture-status, participant-capture-status, shutdown

Configuration

• setConfig(config) - Update plugin configuration
• getConfig() - Get current configuration
• requestPermission(permission) - Request specific permission

Development

Available Scripts

• npm run build - Build all packages
• npm run dev - Development mode with watch
• npm run test - Run tests
• npm run typecheck - TypeScript type checking
• npm run clean - Clean build artifacts

Plugin Development

• The Electron plugin uses @recallai/desktop-sdk directly; no mock setup is required.

• Before building or type-checking the client package, the sync-sdk-types script copies the SDK's TypeScript declarations into packages/client/src/generated. This runs automatically via npm run build --workspace=@todesktop/client-recall and npm run typecheck --workspace=@todesktop/client-recall, but you can invoke it manually with:

  npm run sync-sdk-types --workspace=@todesktop/client-recall