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Triggering renders from PHP

To trigger a Lambda render using PHP, you need to use the AWS SDK directly. Below you find a snippet showing the sample call to the AWS SDK. Note the following:

  • You first need to complete the Lambda setup.
  • Unstable API: The format that Remotion Lambda accepts can change in every version. You need to consult the history of this page to see the changes over time. This page always shows the latest version of the payload.
  • Sending large input props (>200KB) is not supported with PHP at the moment.
remotion.php
php
<?php
// We'll assume you use Composer, which will add autoload.php
require_once __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';
use Aws\Lambda\LambdaClient;
<?php
// Specify your environment variables in a .env file
$dotenv = Dotenv\Dotenv::createImmutable(__DIR__);
$dotenv->load();
// Specify the region you deployed to, for example "us-east-1"
$region = $_ENV['REMOTION_APP_REGION'];
// Specify your S3 bucket name
$bucketName = $_ENV['REMOTION_APP_BUCKET'];
// Specify the function you would like to call
$functionName = $_ENV['REMOTION_APP_FUNCTION_NAME'];
// Specify the URL to your Webpack bundle
$serveUrl = $_ENV["REMOTION_APP_SERVE_URL"];
$credentials = null;
// If you don't have credentials but want to retrieve them using STS, use the AssumeRole feature
if ($_ENV["REMOTION_APP_IS_ASSUME_ROLE"] === true) {
    $credentials = assumeRole($_ENV["REMOTION_APP_REGION"],
        $_ENV["REMOTION_APP_ROLE_ARN"], $_ENV["REMOTION_APP_ROLE_SESSION_NAME"]);
}
$client = LambdaClient::factory([
    'version' => 'latest',
    'region' => $region,
    'credentials' => $credentials,
]);
// Specify your input props here
$data = array("data" => "");
$input = serializeInputProps(
    $data,
    $region,
    "video-or-audio",
    null
);
// Note that the payload format may change in any version.
// This is the structure of the latest version.
$params = array(
    "serveUrl" => $serverUrl,
    "inputProps" => $input,
    "composition" => "main",
    "type" => "start",
    "codec" => "h264",
    // Specify the Remotion version you are using
    "version" => "3.3.82",
    "codec" => "h264",
    "imageFormat" => "jpeg",
    "crf" => null,
    "envVariables" => array(),
    "quality" => 80,
    "maxRetries" => 1,
    "privacy" => 'public',
    "logLevel" => 'info',
    "frameRange" => null,
    "outName" => null,
    "timeoutInMilliseconds" => 30000,
    "chromiumOptions" => array(),
    "scale" => 1,
    "everyNthFrame" => 1,
    "numberOfGifLoops" => 0,
    "concurrencyPerLambda" => 1,
    "downloadBehavior" => array(
        "type" => "play-in-browser",
    ),
    "muted" => false,
    "overwrite" => false,
    "audioBitrate" => null,
    "videoBitrate" => null,
    "webhook" => null,
    "forceHeight" => null,
    "forceWidth" => null,
    "bucketName" => null,
    "audioCodec" => null,
    "forceBucketName" => $bucketName,
    "dumpBrowserLogs" => false,
);
try {
    // Invoke the Lambda function
    $result = $client->invoke([
        'InvocationType' => 'RequestResponse',
        'FunctionName' => $functionName,
        'Payload' => json_encode($params),
    ]);
    $json_response = $result['Payload']->getContents();
    echo $json_response;
} catch (AwsException $e) {
    // Handle the exception
    echo $e->getMessage();
}
function serializeInputProps($inputProps, string $region, string $type, ?string $userSpecifiedBucketName): array
{
    try {
        $payload = json_encode($inputProps);
        $hash = randomHash();
        $MAX_INLINE_PAYLOAD_SIZE = 200000;
        if (strlen($payload) > $MAX_INLINE_PAYLOAD_SIZE) {
            throw new Exception(
                sprintf(
                    "Warning: inputProps are over %dKB (%dKB) in size.\n This is not currently supported.",
                    round($MAX_INLINE_PAYLOAD_SIZE / 1000),
                    ceil(strlen($payload) / 1024)
                )
            );
        }
        return [
            'type' => 'payload',
            'payload' => $payload,
        ];
    } catch (Exception $e) {
        throw new Exception(
            'Error serializing inputProps. Check it has no circular references or reduce the size if the object is big.'
        );
    }
}
function assumeRole($region, $ARN, $sessionName)
{
    try {
        $stsClient = new Aws\Sts\StsClient([
            'region' => $region,
            'version' => 'latest',
        ]);
        $result = $stsClient->AssumeRole([
            'RoleArn' => $ARN,
            'RoleSessionName' => $sessionName,
        ]);
        return [
            'key' => $result['Credentials']['AccessKeyId'],
            'secret' => $result['Credentials']['SecretAccessKey'],
            'token' => $result['Credentials']['SessionToken'],
        ];
    } catch (AwsException $e) {
        // Handle the exception
        echo $e->getMessage();
        return null;
    }
}
remotion.php
php
<?php
// We'll assume you use Composer, which will add autoload.php
require_once __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';
use Aws\Lambda\LambdaClient;
<?php
// Specify your environment variables in a .env file
$dotenv = Dotenv\Dotenv::createImmutable(__DIR__);
$dotenv->load();
// Specify the region you deployed to, for example "us-east-1"
$region = $_ENV['REMOTION_APP_REGION'];
// Specify your S3 bucket name
$bucketName = $_ENV['REMOTION_APP_BUCKET'];
// Specify the function you would like to call
$functionName = $_ENV['REMOTION_APP_FUNCTION_NAME'];
// Specify the URL to your Webpack bundle
$serveUrl = $_ENV["REMOTION_APP_SERVE_URL"];
$credentials = null;
// If you don't have credentials but want to retrieve them using STS, use the AssumeRole feature
if ($_ENV["REMOTION_APP_IS_ASSUME_ROLE"] === true) {
    $credentials = assumeRole($_ENV["REMOTION_APP_REGION"],
        $_ENV["REMOTION_APP_ROLE_ARN"], $_ENV["REMOTION_APP_ROLE_SESSION_NAME"]);
}
$client = LambdaClient::factory([
    'version' => 'latest',
    'region' => $region,
    'credentials' => $credentials,
]);
// Specify your input props here
$data = array("data" => "");
$input = serializeInputProps(
    $data,
    $region,
    "video-or-audio",
    null
);
// Note that the payload format may change in any version.
// This is the structure of the latest version.
$params = array(
    "serveUrl" => $serverUrl,
    "inputProps" => $input,
    "composition" => "main",
    "type" => "start",
    "codec" => "h264",
    // Specify the Remotion version you are using
    "version" => "3.3.82",
    "codec" => "h264",
    "imageFormat" => "jpeg",
    "crf" => null,
    "envVariables" => array(),
    "quality" => 80,
    "maxRetries" => 1,
    "privacy" => 'public',
    "logLevel" => 'info',
    "frameRange" => null,
    "outName" => null,
    "timeoutInMilliseconds" => 30000,
    "chromiumOptions" => array(),
    "scale" => 1,
    "everyNthFrame" => 1,
    "numberOfGifLoops" => 0,
    "concurrencyPerLambda" => 1,
    "downloadBehavior" => array(
        "type" => "play-in-browser",
    ),
    "muted" => false,
    "overwrite" => false,
    "audioBitrate" => null,
    "videoBitrate" => null,
    "webhook" => null,
    "forceHeight" => null,
    "forceWidth" => null,
    "bucketName" => null,
    "audioCodec" => null,
    "forceBucketName" => $bucketName,
    "dumpBrowserLogs" => false,
);
try {
    // Invoke the Lambda function
    $result = $client->invoke([
        'InvocationType' => 'RequestResponse',
        'FunctionName' => $functionName,
        'Payload' => json_encode($params),
    ]);
    $json_response = $result['Payload']->getContents();
    echo $json_response;
} catch (AwsException $e) {
    // Handle the exception
    echo $e->getMessage();
}
function serializeInputProps($inputProps, string $region, string $type, ?string $userSpecifiedBucketName): array
{
    try {
        $payload = json_encode($inputProps);
        $hash = randomHash();
        $MAX_INLINE_PAYLOAD_SIZE = 200000;
        if (strlen($payload) > $MAX_INLINE_PAYLOAD_SIZE) {
            throw new Exception(
                sprintf(
                    "Warning: inputProps are over %dKB (%dKB) in size.\n This is not currently supported.",
                    round($MAX_INLINE_PAYLOAD_SIZE / 1000),
                    ceil(strlen($payload) / 1024)
                )
            );
        }
        return [
            'type' => 'payload',
            'payload' => $payload,
        ];
    } catch (Exception $e) {
        throw new Exception(
            'Error serializing inputProps. Check it has no circular references or reduce the size if the object is big.'
        );
    }
}
function assumeRole($region, $ARN, $sessionName)
{
    try {
        $stsClient = new Aws\Sts\StsClient([
            'region' => $region,
            'version' => 'latest',
        ]);
        $result = $stsClient->AssumeRole([
            'RoleArn' => $ARN,
            'RoleSessionName' => $sessionName,
        ]);
        return [
            'key' => $result['Credentials']['AccessKeyId'],
            'secret' => $result['Credentials']['SecretAccessKey'],
            'token' => $result['Credentials']['SessionToken'],
        ];
    } catch (AwsException $e) {
        // Handle the exception
        echo $e->getMessage();
        return null;
    }
}

Reference applications​

2 reference projects are available:

  • php-remotion. This is an application that invokes the Remotion Lambda function containing the minimum parameters to render a video.
  • remotion-laravel is an application that serves a REST endpoint using Laravel PHP framework. This endpoint invokes the Remotion lambda function with the necessary parameters to render a video.

Both use remotion-app, which includes a Remotion composition and utility scripts for deploying and deleting Remotion Lambda infrastructure in AWS.

Bare PHP​

Ensure that remotion-app is already deployed on your AWS Account.

The php-remotion application will call Remotion Lambda to render a video and contains the bare minimum parameters for Remotion's Lambda arguments. Once the parameters are constructed, they will be passed on to the AWS Lambda Client using the AWS PHP SDK. This project imitates the operation of rendermediaonlambda and uses composer.

1
Clone or download the project

Clone the project using:

bash
git clone https://github.com/alexfernandez803/php-remotion
bash
git clone https://github.com/alexfernandez803/php-remotion

2
Traverse to remotion-serverless/php-remotion 

bash
cd remotion-serverless && cd php-remotion
bash
cd remotion-serverless && cd php-remotion

3
Install dependencies using Composer

bash
php composer.phar update
bash
php composer.phar update
note

If you don't have Composer installed, follow this guide to install it.

4
Configure environment variables

The application has a .env file that needs to be populated for the video render to work properly. An .env.example has been included in the project containing example values.

.env
bash
REMOTION_APP_IS_ASSUME_ROLE="false"
REMOTION_APP_REGION="ap-southeast-2"
REMOTION_APP_BUCKET="remotionlambda-apsoutheast2-xxxxxx"
REMOTION_APP_FUNCTION_NAME="remotion-render-3-3-78-mem2048mb-disk2048mb-240sec"
REMOTION_APP_SERVE_URL="https://remotionlambda-apsoutheast2-qv16gcf02l.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/sites/remotion-render-app-3.3.78/index.html"
REMOTION_APP_ROLE_ARN="arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/xaccounts3access"
REMOTION_APP_ROLE_SESSION_NAME="remotion_session_name"
.env
bash
REMOTION_APP_IS_ASSUME_ROLE="false"
REMOTION_APP_REGION="ap-southeast-2"
REMOTION_APP_BUCKET="remotionlambda-apsoutheast2-xxxxxx"
REMOTION_APP_FUNCTION_NAME="remotion-render-3-3-78-mem2048mb-disk2048mb-240sec"
REMOTION_APP_SERVE_URL="https://remotionlambda-apsoutheast2-qv16gcf02l.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/sites/remotion-render-app-3.3.78/index.html"
REMOTION_APP_ROLE_ARN="arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/xaccounts3access"
REMOTION_APP_ROLE_SESSION_NAME="remotion_session_name"

  • REMOTION_APP_REGION Is the AWS region you are using, e.g us-east-1.

  • REMOTION_APP_IS_ASSUME_ROLE accepts either true or false. When set to true the application the application calls the AWS STS AssumeRole command, retrieve the key, secret and token and pass those credentials in LambdaClient::factory. Ensure that REMOTION_APP_ROLE_ARN and REMOTION_APP_ROLE_SESSION_NAME are provided when using this flag. This approach is appropriate if you want to deploy this application in AWS EC2. Roles are required to be set up for the application. Please refer to the Authenticating Lambda with EC2 guide and follow steps 1 to 4.

    Assume role
    bash
    $credentials = NULL;
    if ($_ENV["REMOTION_APP_IS_ASSUME_ROLE"] === true) {
        $credentials = assumeRole($_ENV["REMOTION_APP_REGION"],
            $_ENV["REMOTION_APP_ROLE_ARN"], $_ENV["REMOTION_APP_ROLE_SESSION_NAME"]);
    }
    $client = LambdaClient::factory([
        'version' => 'latest',
        'region' => $region,
        'credentials' => $credentials,
    ]);
    Assume role
    bash
    $credentials = NULL;
    if ($_ENV["REMOTION_APP_IS_ASSUME_ROLE"] === true) {
        $credentials = assumeRole($_ENV["REMOTION_APP_REGION"],
            $_ENV["REMOTION_APP_ROLE_ARN"], $_ENV["REMOTION_APP_ROLE_SESSION_NAME"]);
    }
    $client = LambdaClient::factory([
        'version' => 'latest',
        'region' => $region,
        'credentials' => $credentials,
    ]);

The following variables can be retrieved by completing the Lambda setup:

  • REMOTION_APP_BUCKET - Your bucket name
  • REMOTION_APP_FUNCTION_NAME - The name of your deployed function. Note that it changes on every Remotion version.
  • REMOTION_APP_SERVE_URL is where your Webpack bundle is hosted.

When you use Remotion on an AWS EC2 instance, set the following env variables. To set up the required roles, please refer to the Authenticating Lambda with EC2 guide and follow steps 1 to 4.

  • REMOTION_APP_ROLE_ARN represents the ARN of the role which the application assume to render the video, for this instance it is remotion-ec2-executionrole ARN from step 2 on this guide.
  • REMOTION_APP_ROLE_SESSION_NAME a name to uniquely identify the role session when the same role is assumed by different principals.

5
Running the application

Run the application by executing the command below:

Run application
bash
php lambda-remotion-render.php
Run application
bash
php lambda-remotion-render.php
Sample application response
bash
{"bucketName":"remotionlambda-apsoutheast2-xxxx","renderId":"b2xhi715yn"}
Sample application response
bash
{"bucketName":"remotionlambda-apsoutheast2-xxxx","renderId":"b2xhi715yn"}

Once the execution is successful, the API will responsd with the bucketName and renderId. These are metadata required to get the status the video render or retrieving video.

Laravel​

This application can be executed on a local machine or computing instance, such as AWS EC2, to call Remotion Lambda and render a video. It includes the minimum parameters required for Remotion's Lambda arguments from a REST endpoint.

After constructing the parameters, they will be passed on to the AWS Lambda Client using the AWS PHP SDK. It also contains Laravel boilerplate code for setting up a REST endpoint that calls the Remotion Lambda. This project imitates the operation of renderMediaOnLambda() and uses Composer.

1
Clone or download the project

bash
git clone https://github.com/alexfernandez803/remotion-laravel
bash
git clone https://github.com/alexfernandez803/remotion-laravel

2
Traverse to remotion-serverless/remotion-laravel 

bash
cd remotion-serverless && cd remotion-laravel
bash
cd remotion-serverless && cd remotion-laravel

3
Install dependencies using Composer

bash
php composer.phar update
bash
php composer.phar update

4
Setup environment variables

Refer to the bare PHP example for setting up the environment variables.

5
Seed the database

The application requires a database, and for this application, SQLLite is used. Therefore, the configuration details from the .env file need to be provided.

.env (continued)
bash
DB_CONNECTION=sqlite
DB_DATABASE=database.sqlite
.env (continued)
bash
DB_CONNECTION=sqlite
DB_DATABASE=database.sqlite
  • DB_CONNECTION is the connection type that represents which database to use ie, MYSQL
  • DB_DATABASE is the database name, for this instance this represents the absolute URL path of the SQLite database.

Create the database and table in SQLite defined in DB_DATABASE by executing the command below:

Create a database and table
bash
php artisan vendor:publish --tag=sanctum-migrations
Create a database and table
bash
php artisan vendor:publish --tag=sanctum-migrations

6
Running the application

Run the application by executing the command below:

Run application
bash
php artisan serve
Run application
bash
php artisan serve

7
Register with the application

Send register request
bash
curl --location 'http://127.0.0.1:8000/api/register' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data-raw '{
      "name": "John Doe",
      "email": "testuser@example.com",
      "password": "L3tm3in@@",
      "confirm_password": "L3tm3in@@"
  }'
Send register request
bash
curl --location 'http://127.0.0.1:8000/api/register' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data-raw '{
      "name": "John Doe",
      "email": "testuser@example.com",
      "password": "L3tm3in@@",
      "confirm_password": "L3tm3in@@"
  }'

8
Login to the application

Log into the application
bash
curl --location 'http://127.0.0.1:8000/api/login' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data-raw '{
    "email": "alex.frndz@gmail.com",
    "password": "L3tm3in@@"
  }'
Log into the application
bash
curl --location 'http://127.0.0.1:8000/api/login' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data-raw '{
    "email": "alex.frndz@gmail.com",
    "password": "L3tm3in@@"
  }'
Sample response
json
{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "token": "2|ykXXPxXXX86pO4rXXXF49VhVXX34yGupU",
    "name": "John Doe"
  },
  "message": "User login successfully."
}
Sample response
json
{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "token": "2|ykXXPxXXX86pO4rXXXF49VhVXX34yGupU",
    "name": "John Doe"
  },
  "message": "User login successfully."
}

9
Use token to render video

Render video request
bash
curl --location --request POST 'http://127.0.0.1:8000/api/renders' \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer 2|ykXXPxXXX86pO4rXXXF49VhVXX34yGupU'
Render video request
bash
curl --location --request POST 'http://127.0.0.1:8000/api/renders' \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer 2|ykXXPxXXX86pO4rXXXF49VhVXX34yGupU'
Example response
json
{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "bucketName": "remotionlambda-apsoutheast2-xxxxx",
    "renderId": "745b9itxb2"
  },
  "message": "Render Successful."
}
Example response
json
{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "bucketName": "remotionlambda-apsoutheast2-xxxxx",
    "renderId": "745b9itxb2"
  },
  "message": "Render Successful."
}

Checking progress​

For retrieving the progress of a Lambda render, you need to send another request to the Lambda function. Currently we do not have instructions for it, as a reference you may see here for the payload that is being sent by the TypeScript SDK.

See also​