Node.js Sending a file stream to client Using fs And pipe To Stream Static Files From The Server
Example
A good VOD (Video On Demand) service should start with the basics. Lets say you have a directory on your server that is not publicly accessible, yet through some sort of portal or paywall you want to allow users to access your media.
var movie = path.resolve('./public/' + req.params.filename);
fs.stat(movie, function (err, stats) {
var range = req.headers.range;
if (!range) {
return res.sendStatus(416);
}
//Chunk logic here
var positions = range.replace(/bytes=/, "").split("-");
var start = parseInt(positions[0], 10);
var total = stats.size;
var end = positions[1] ? parseInt(positions[1], 10) : total - 1;
var chunksize = (end - start) + 1;
res.writeHead(206, {
'Transfer-Encoding': 'chunked',
"Content-Range": "bytes " + start + "-" + end + "/" + total,
"Accept-Ranges": "bytes",
"Content-Length": chunksize,
"Content-Type": mime.lookup(req.params.filename)
});
var stream = fs.createReadStream(movie, { start: start, end: end, autoClose: true })
.on('end', function () {
console.log('Stream Done');
})
.on("error", function (err) {
res.end(err);
})
.pipe(res, { end: true });
});
The above snippet is a basic outline for how you would like to stream your video to a client. The chunk logic depends on a variety of factors, including network traffic and latency. It is important to balance chuck size vs. quantity.
Finally, the .pipe call lets node.js know to keep a connection open with the server and to send additional chunks as needed.
