API

Overview

Programmatic access to C21 Live Control over its REST API.

The C21 Live Control REST API exposes every resource visible in the operator UI. Use it to script provisioning, integrate with playout systems, build internal dashboards or drive operations from an external scheduler. The MCP server documented under MCP server wraps the same operations for any MCP-compatible AI agent or automation.

Base URL

https://<host>/c21apiv2

<host> is the hostname of your C21 Live Control deployment. Every operation lives under /c21apiv2.

Resources

The API is organised around the same resources surfaced in the UI. Each resource usually exposes two scopes: an operational scope (e.g. /livestreams, /livestreams/{id}/start) and a CRUD scope (/crud/livestreams). Consult the OpenAPI spec for the full per-resource operation index.

Resource	Operational path	UI section
Channels	`/c21apiv2/channels`	Sources
Encodings	`/c21apiv2/encodings`	Encodings
Encoding groups	`/c21apiv2/encodings/groups`	Encodings
Destinations	`/c21apiv2/publishings`	Destinations
Destination groups	`/c21apiv2/publishings/groups`	Destinations
Live streams	`/c21apiv2/livestreams`	Live streams
Schedules	`/c21apiv2/schedules`	Scheduler
Recordings	`/c21apiv2/recordings`	Recordings
Devices	`/c21apiv2/devices`	Devices
Device groups	`/c21apiv2/devices/groups`	Devices
Assets	`/c21apiv2/assets` (with `?fileType=logos\|files\|clips`)	Assets
Users	`/c21apiv2/users`	Users
User groups	`/c21apiv2/usergroups`	Users
API tokens	`/c21apiv2/security/tokens`	(API-only — no UI Interface)
DRM providers	`/c21apiv2/settings/integrations/drmproviders`	Integrations → DRM Providers
C21 Live Cloud accounts	`/c21apiv2/settings/integrations/c21livecloud`	Integrations → C21 Live Cloud
MediaCopilot	`/c21apiv2/settings/integrations/mediacopilot`	Integrations → MediaCopilot
System	`/c21apiv2/system`	(API-only — System Administrator surface)

Resource paths follow the OpenAPI spec literally. Where a path contains a templated segment in braces ({livestreamId}, etc.), substitute the concrete value at call time.

Content types

Direction	Type
Request body	`application/json`
Response body	`application/json`
File uploads (Assets, licences)	`multipart/form-data`

HTTP verbs

Verb	Use
`GET`	Read a single resource or list.
`POST`	Create a resource, or trigger an action (`/livestreams/{id}/start`, `/livestreams/{id}/stop`).
`PUT`	Full replace.
`PATCH`	Partial update (used by `patchSystemPreferences`).
`DELETE`	Remove a resource.

Action endpoints under POST use a verb-shaped suffix (/start, /stop, /validate) rather than a separate verb.

Idempotency

Clients may send an optional Idempotency-Key header on mutating operations; where the deployment supports it, replayed requests with the same key within the retention window return the cached response from the first call. Confirm with your platform team before building a client that relies on this behaviour. Keys, when applicable, should be opaque, unique per logical operation, and at most 64 characters.

Worked example

Start a Live stream against the public API:

curl -X POST "https://<host>/c21apiv2/livestreams/{livestreamId}/start" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $LIVECONTROL_TOKEN" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: ops-2026-05-15-news-start-01" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json"

The response carries an X-Request-Id header that correlates the call with server-side events. Clients should first call GET /c21apiv2/livestreams/{livestreamId}/start/config (operation getLivestreamStartConfig) to obtain a valid idEncoderGroup and the last saved startConfig[] before posting the start.

FAQ

Overview

Build against C21 Live Control — the REST API at /c21apiv2 and the MCP server, both behind one bearer token.

Authentication

API tokens and how C21 Live Control authenticates callers.