--- "@context": https://schema.org "@type": TechArticle "@id": https://www.twilio.com/docs/video/node-best-practices#article headline: Node.js Media SDK best practices description: Recommendations for building reliable server-side media apps with the Video Media SDK for Node.js. url: https://www.twilio.com/docs/video/node-best-practices inLanguage: en dateModified: 2026-09-29T17:35:01.000Z author: "@type": Organization name: Twilio Developer Education Team publisher: "@type": Organization name: Twilio --- # Node.js Media SDK best practices > \[!IMPORTANT] > > The Video Media SDK for Node.js is currently available as a Public Beta product and the information contained in this document is subject to change. This means that some features are not yet implemented and others may be changed before the product is declared as Generally Available. Public Beta products are not covered by the Twilio Support Terms or [Twilio Service Level Agreement][sla]. > > The Video Media SDK for Node.js is not a US [*Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act* (HIPAA)][hipaa] Eligible Service or [*Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard* (PCI DSS)][pci] compliant and should not be enabled in workflows that are subject to HIPAA or PCI. [hipaa]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_Insurance_Portability_and_Accountability_Act [pci]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payment_Card_Industry_Data_Security_Standard [sla]: https://help.twilio.com/articles/115002413087-Twilio-Beta-product-support To help you build reliable server-side media apps with the Video Media SDK for Node.js, review these best practices on pacing frames, managing resources, and tuning delivery. ## Pace frames and avoid back pressure Push frames at their real frame rate and keep timestamps moving forward. Check the return values of `LocalVideoTrack.write()` and `LocalAudioTrack.write()`. A return value of `false` always means the SDK doesn't send the frame: * **Video**: The SDK rejects the frame, most often because you write it before `connect()` resolves. Video has no send queue, so don't retry the same frame. Send the next frame instead. * **Audio**: The frame doesn't fit in the bounded publish queue, which holds about 500 ms of audio by default. The SDK doesn't queue any part of that write. If the input is invalid, `write()` throws a `TypeError` or `RangeError` exception instead of returning `false`. Audio has extreme time-sensitivity. If you write frames on a plain `setInterval`, playback might drift and click. Pace the playback using a drift-compensated writer that drains a buffer queue at exactly 48 kHz. To review a working example, see [`audio_push.js`][] and its [`helpers/paced-audio-writer.js`][] in the [SDK repository][]. When you receive frames, the `frames()` queues are bounded and drop frames when your code falls behind. By default, video keeps only the newest frame, and audio buffers up to 10 frames. If your processing is slow, expect to skip video frames. To change this behavior, pass the `mode`, `maxQueue`, and `drop` options to `frames()`. To count drops, listen for the `frameDropped` event on the track. ## Manage memory around frame buffers A busy Room produces many large video frames. A 720p video track at 30 frames per second delivers about 41 MB of frame data each second. * Each received frame is your own copy, so you can hold it across an `await` or pass it to a worker thread. Holding many frames keeps that memory in use. * When you finish with a frame, call its `close()` method to release the plane buffers without waiting for garbage collection. After you call `close()`, reading the frame's plane data throws an error. * The `write()` method copies your buffers before it returns, so you can reuse the buffers you send immediately. ## Manage connection state Write checks for events about the connection state. * To track connection state, listen for the `reconnecting` and `reconnected` events. * To release its native resources when the Room emits `disconnected`, call `room.dispose()`. ## Clean up resources ### Stop a track To stop using a track while you stay in the Room, do either of the following: * To stop receiving a remote track's frames, exit its `frames()` loop with a `break` statement. * To stop publishing a local track, call the `LocalTrackPublication.unpublish()` method. ### Release room When you finish with a Room, follow these steps: 1. Stop any ongoing push loops. 2. Leave the Room with the `room.disconnect()` method. Any `frames()` loops end on their own. 3. Release the Room's native resources with the `room.dispose()` method. Until you do, the Node.js process doesn't exit. ## Log and handle errors While developing with `setLogLevel()`, set the native log level. This method accepts a level name from `off` through `all`. * If the connection fails, `connect()` rejects with a `TwilioError`. After you connect, the `disconnected` event passes a `TwilioError` when the Room disconnects because of an error. Branch on its subclass, such as `AccessTokenInvalidError`, `RoomNotFoundError`, or `SignalingConnectionError`. * The `ErrorCode` enum lists the Twilio Video error codes. [SDK repository]: https://github.com/twilio/twilio-video-node/tree/main/examples [`helpers/paced-audio-writer.js`]: https://github.com/twilio/twilio-video-node/blob/main/examples/helpers/paced-audio-writer.js [`audio_push.js`]: https://github.com/twilio/twilio-video-node/blob/main/examples/audio_push.js