Video API for developers | Mux

# Mux Documentation for LLMs > Mux is how developers build online video. Mux provides a complete video platform that includes: > - Video hosting, encoding, and streaming infrastructure > - A modern, responsive video player with adaptive controls > - Video analytics and performance monitoring > - all with a great developer experience and surprisingly affordable pricing ## Quick start: What are you trying to do? - **Upload and stream a video file** → Start with /docs/core.txt, then /docs/guides/video.txt - **Build a video player** → /docs/guides/player.txt - **Handle file uploads from users** → /docs/guides/uploader.txt - **Track playback metrics and analytics** → /docs/guides/data.txt - **Set up a live stream** → /docs/core.txt (live streams section) + /docs/guides/video.txt - **Integrate with a web framework (Next.js, Rails, etc.)** → /docs/integrations.txt - **Need the full API reference** → /api-spec.json ## Common mistakes to avoid - **Never expose Mux API credentials in client-side code.** All API calls must come from a server. Use direct uploads or signed URLs for client-side operations. - **Don't poll the assets endpoint to check status.** Use webhooks instead. The `video.asset.ready` event tells you when an asset is ready for playback. - **Don't confuse Asset IDs with Playback IDs.** Asset IDs (used with api.mux.com) are for managing assets. Playback IDs (used with stream.mux.com) are for streaming to viewers. - **Don't expose stream keys in public code.** Treat stream keys like passwords. Anyone with the key can broadcast to your live stream. - **Don't hardcode playback URLs.** Playback IDs can change. Store the asset ID and look up playback IDs when needed, or store playback IDs separately. ## For AI agents If you're an AI agent that can use MCP (Model Context Protocol) tools, the Mux MCP server provides direct API access for video uploads, live streaming, and analytics queries. - Hosted MCP: https://mcp.mux.com - GitHub: https://githu