# Individual recording (/en/realtime-media/on-premise-recording/build/record-audio-and-video/individual-mode/linux-java)

> For AI agents: see the complete documentation index at [llms.txt](/llms.txt).

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](/en/api-reference/faq/integration/recording_mode) to decide which mode you should use.

## 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 individual recording

The implementation of individual 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/individual-recording-logic-cpp.svg)
</details>

To implement individual recording mode, configure the recorder and use the appropriate APIs as follows:

1. Initialize the recorder with [`enableMix`](/en/api-reference/api-ref/on-premise-recording#initialize) set to `false`.
2. Subscribe to the audio and video streams of the users you want to record.
3. Join the channel and listen for the [`onUserJoined`](/en/api-reference/api-ref/on-premise-recording#onuserjoined) callback to get the `userId` of each remote user.
4. Configure individual recording for each user:
   * Use [`setRecorderConfigByUid`](/en/api-reference/api-ref/on-premise-recording#setrecorderconfigbyuid) to define recording options.
   * Optionally, call [`enableAndUpdateVideoWatermarksByUid`](/en/api-reference/api-ref/on-premise-recording#enableandupdatevideowatermarksbyuid) to apply watermarks.
5. Start and stop the recording for each user:
   * Call [`startSingleRecordingByUid`](/en/api-reference/api-ref/on-premise-recording#startsinglerecordingbyuid) to start recording.
   * Call [`stopSingleRecordingByUid`](/en/api-reference/api-ref/on-premise-recording#stopsinglerecordingbyuid) to stop recording.

Refer to the following code to implement these steps:

```java
// Initialize the recorder with individual recording mode enabled
agoraMediaRtcRecorder.initialize(agoraService, false);

// Subscribe to all audio and high-quality 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()
);

// In the onUserJoined callback, configure individual recording for the user
MediaRecorderConfiguration config = new MediaRecorderConfiguration();
config.setFps(recorderConfig.getVideo().getFps());
config.setWidth(recorderConfig.getVideo().getWidth());
config.setHeight(recorderConfig.getVideo().getHeight());
config.setChannelNum(recorderConfig.getAudio().getNumOfChannels());
config.setSampleRate(recorderConfig.getAudio().getSampleRate());

// Set a unique file name based on UID and timestamp
String curTime = getCurrentTimeAsString();
String storagePath = recorderConfig.getRecorderPath() + uid + "_" + curTime + ".mp4";
config.setStoragePath(storagePath);
config.setStreamType(Constants.MediaRecorderStreamType.STREAM_TYPE_BOTH);
config.setMaxDurationMs(recorderConfig.getMaxDuration() * 1000);

// Apply the configuration for the specific UID
agoraMediaRtcRecorder.setRecorderConfigByUid(config, uid);

// Apply a watermark (optional)
agoraMediaRtcRecorder.enableAndUpdateVideoWatermarksByUid(watermarks, uid);

// Start recording for the specific UID
agoraMediaRtcRecorder.startSingleRecordingByUid(uid);

// ...

// Stop recording for the specific UID
agoraMediaRtcRecorder.stopSingleRecordingByUid(uid);
```

## 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

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

* [`setRecorderConfig`](/en/api-reference/api-ref/on-premise-recording#setrecorderconfig)
* [`enableAndUpdateVideoWatermarks`](/en/api-reference/api-ref/on-premise-recording#enableandupdatevideowatermarks)
* [`setVideoMixingLayout`](/en/api-reference/api-ref/on-premise-recording#setvideomixinglayout)
* [`startRecording`](/en/api-reference/api-ref/on-premise-recording#startrecording)
* [`stopRecording`](/en/api-reference/api-ref/on-premise-recording#stoprecording)