# Composite recording (/en/realtime-media/on-premise-recording/build/record-audio-and-video/composite-mode)

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    The On-Premise Recording SDK supports two recording modes:

    * Individual recording mode: This is the default recording mode. The SDK generates one audio and/or video file for each UID.
    * Composite recording mode: Generates a single mixed audio and video file for all UIDs in a channel, or mixes the audio of all UIDs in the channel into an audio file and the video of all UIDs into a video file.

    See [Differences between individual recording mode and composite recording mode](https://docs.agora.io/en/help/integration-issues/recording_mode) to decide which mode you should use.

    ## Prerequisites [#prerequisites]

    Before continuing, follow the [Quickstart](/en/realtime-media/on-premise-recording/quickstart) guide to integrate the Recording SDK and implement the basic recording functionality.

    ## Implement composite recording [#implement-composite-recording]

    The implementation of composite recording is largely similar to the steps in the [Quickstart](/en/realtime-media/on-premise-recording/quickstart) guide. The main differences are in the configuration parameters and the APIs used.

    Refer to the following call sequence diagram to understand the recording workflow.

    <details>
      <summary>
        Sequence diagram
      </summary>

      ![Sequence diagram](https://assets-docs.agora.io/images/on-premise-recording/composite-recording-logic.svg)
    </details>

    To implement composite recording in your app, follow these steps:

    To implement composite recording mode in your C++ app, follow these steps:

    1. Initialize the recorder with [`enableMix`](/en/api-reference/api-ref/on-premise-recording#initialize) set to `true`.
    2. Subscribe to the audio and video streams of the users you want to record.
    3. Join the channel with [`joinChannel`](/en/api-reference/api-ref/on-premise-recording#joinchannel).
    4. After joining the channel, configure the recording:
       * Use [`setRecorderConfig`](/en/api-reference/api-ref/on-premise-recording#setrecorderconfig) to set video resolution, bitrate, and storage path.
       * Optionally, apply watermarks with [`enableAndUpdateVideoWatermarks`](/en/api-reference/api-ref/on-premise-recording#enableandupdatevideowatermarks).
       * Define the video layout with [`setVideoMixingLayout`](/en/api-reference/api-ref/on-premise-recording#setvideomixinglayout).
    5. Start and stop recording by calling:
       * [`startRecording`](/en/api-reference/api-ref/on-premise-recording#startrecording)
       * [`stopRecording`](/en/api-reference/api-ref/on-premise-recording#stoprecording)

    Refer to the following code to implement these steps:

    ```cpp
    // Initialize the recorder in composite recording mode
    recorder->initialize(service, true);

    // Subscribe to all audio and video streams
    recorder->subscribeAllAudio();
    recorder->subscribeAllVideo();

    // Join the channel
    recorder->joinChannel(config.token.c_str(), config.ChannelName.c_str(), config.UserId.c_str());

    // Set recording configuration
    recorder->setRecorderConfig(recorder_config);

    // Apply watermarks (optional)
    recorder->enableAndUpdateVideoWatermarks(watermarks, config.waterMarks.size());

    // Set the video mixing layout
    recorder->setVideoMixingLayout(layout);

    // Start recording
    recorder->startRecording();

    // ...

    // Stop recording
    recorder->stopRecording();
    ```

    ## Reference [#reference]

    This section contains content that completes the information on this page, or points you to documentation that explains other aspects to this product.

    ### Considerations [#considerations]

    The composite recording mode supports a specific set of APIs. Calling unsupported methods in the wrong mode has no effect. When using the composite recording mode, the following methods do not work:

    * [`setRecorderConfigByUid`](/en/api-reference/api-ref/on-premise-recording#setrecorderconfigbyuid)
    * [`enableAndUpdateVideoWatermarksByUid`](/en/api-reference/api-ref/on-premise-recording#enableandupdatevideowatermarksbyuid)
    * [`startSingleRecordingByUid`](/en/api-reference/api-ref/on-premise-recording#startsinglerecordingbyuid)
    * [`stopSingleRecordingByUid`](/en/api-reference/api-ref/on-premise-recording#stopsinglerecordingbyuid)

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    The On-Premise Recording SDK supports two recording modes:

    * Individual recording mode: This is the default recording mode. The SDK generates one audio and/or video file for each UID.
    * Composite recording mode: Generates a single mixed audio and video file for all UIDs in a channel, or mixes the audio of all UIDs in the channel into an audio file and the video of all UIDs into a video file.

    See [Differences between individual recording mode and composite recording mode](https://docs.agora.io/en/help/integration-issues/recording_mode) to decide which mode you should use.

    ## Prerequisites [#prerequisites-1]

    Before continuing, follow the [Quickstart](/en/realtime-media/on-premise-recording/quickstart) guide to integrate the Recording SDK and implement the basic recording functionality.

    ## Implement composite recording [#implement-composite-recording-1]

    The implementation of composite recording is largely similar to the steps in the [Quickstart](/en/realtime-media/on-premise-recording/quickstart) guide. The main differences are in the configuration parameters and the APIs used.

    Refer to the following call sequence diagram to understand the recording workflow.

    <details>
      <summary>
        Sequence diagram
      </summary>

      ![Sequence diagram](https://assets-docs.agora.io/images/on-premise-recording/composite-recording-logic.svg)
    </details>

    To implement composite recording in your app, follow these steps:

    1. Initialize the recorder with [`enableMix`](/en/api-reference/api-ref/on-premise-recording#initialize) set to `true`.
    2. Subscribe to the audio and video streams of the users you want to record.
    3. Join the channel using [`joinChannel`](/en/api-reference/api-ref/on-premise-recording#joinchannel).
    4. After joining the channel:
       * Use [`setRecorderConfig`](/en/api-reference/api-ref/on-premise-recording#setrecorderconfig) to set video resolution, frame rate, duration, and output path.
       * Optionally, use [`enableAndUpdateVideoWatermarks`](/en/api-reference/api-ref/on-premise-recording#enableandupdatevideowatermarks) to apply video watermarks.
       * Use [`setVideoMixingLayout`](/en/api-reference/api-ref/on-premise-recording#setvideomixinglayout) to configure the layout of multiple video streams.
    5. Start and stop recording using:
       * [`startRecording`](/en/api-reference/api-ref/on-premise-recording#startrecording)
       * [`stopRecording`](/en/api-reference/api-ref/on-premise-recording#stoprecording)

    Refer to the following code to implement these steps:

    ```java
    // Initialize the recorder in composite recording mode
    agoraMediaRtcRecorder.initialize(agoraService, true);

    // Subscribe to all audio and video streams
    agoraMediaRtcRecorder.subscribeAllAudio();
    VideoSubscriptionOptions options = new VideoSubscriptionOptions();
    options.setEncodedFrameOnly(false);
    options.setType(Constants.VideoStreamType.VIDEO_STREAM_HIGH);
    agoraMediaRtcRecorder.subscribeAllVideo(options);

    // Join the channel
    agoraMediaRtcRecorder.joinChannel(
        recorderConfig.getToken(),
        recorderConfig.getChannelName(),
        recorderConfig.getUserId()
    );

    // Configure the recorder
    agoraMediaRtcRecorder.setRecorderConfig(recorderConfig);
    agoraMediaRtcRecorder.enableAndUpdateVideoWatermarks(watermarks); // Optional
    agoraMediaRtcRecorder.setVideoMixingLayout(layout);

    // Start recording
    agoraMediaRtcRecorder.startRecording();

    // ...

    // Stop recording
    agoraMediaRtcRecorder.stopRecording();
    ```

    ## Reference [#reference-1]

    This section contains content that completes the information on this page, or points you to documentation that explains other aspects to this product.

    ### Considerations [#considerations-1]

    The composite recording mode supports a specific set of APIs. Calling unsupported methods in the wrong mode has no effect. When using the composite recording mode, the following methods do not work:

    * [`setRecorderConfigByUid`](/en/api-reference/api-ref/on-premise-recording#setrecorderconfigbyuid)
    * [`enableAndUpdateVideoWatermarksByUid`](/en/api-reference/api-ref/on-premise-recording#enableandupdatevideowatermarksbyuid)
    * [`startSingleRecordingByUid`](/en/api-reference/api-ref/on-premise-recording#startsinglerecordingbyuid)
    * [`stopSingleRecordingByUid`](/en/api-reference/api-ref/on-premise-recording#stopsinglerecordingbyuid)

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