Camera and streaming features depend on the connected glasses model. Mentra Live has a camera; G2 does not. Gate UI by SDK status and model capability before exposing photo, video, or stream controls.

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Photo Upload

Photo upload sends a JPEG from supported glasses to a webhook URL. In the starter apps, the default Camera flow starts a receiver on the phone and sends the photo from the glasses to that phone URL. Turn on Use cloud server only when you want to send the upload to an external endpoint, such as your production API, a staging API, or the optional starter-kit helper. 
await BluetoothSdk.requestPhoto(
  `photo-${Date.now()}`,
  'com.example.app',
  'medium',
  'https://api.example.com/mentra/photo',
  'optional-token',
  'medium',
  true,
);
The webhook should accept multipart form data with a photo file and requestId. If authToken is provided, the uploader adds Authorization: Bearer <token>. The camera light is always enabled for photo capture.

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Streaming

Streaming sends camera video from supported glasses to an ingest URL. In the starter apps, the default Stream flow uses the phone as the receiver where the platform example supports it. Turn on Use cloud server when you want the glasses to stream to an external RTMP, SRT, or WHIP/WebRTC ingest endpoint. Use your own server in production; the local helper below is only a demo convenience for testing external endpoints from the starter apps. 
const streamId = `stream-${Date.now()}`;

await BluetoothSdk.startStream({
  type: 'start_stream',
  streamUrl: 'http://192.168.1.42:8889/mentra-live/whip',
  streamId,
});

await BluetoothSdk.keepStreamAlive({
  type: 'keep_stream_alive',
  streamId,
  ackId: `ack-${Date.now()}`,
});

await BluetoothSdk.stopStream();
Use rtmp:// or rtmps:// for RTMP, srt:// for SRT, and http:// or https:// for WHIP/WebRTC ingest. Send keep-alives about every 15 seconds while streaming. The camera light is always enabled while streaming.

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Optional Local Demo Helper

The starter kit includes a local helper server so developers can try the Use cloud server path without first deploying their own webhook or streaming service: 
git clone https://github.com/Mentra-Community/Mentra-Bluetooth-SDK-Starter-Kit.git
cd Mentra-Bluetooth-SDK-Starter-Kit
python3 examples/local-demo-cloud/server.py
In the starter apps, leave Use cloud server off for the default glasses-to-phone flow. Turn it on when you want to test an external endpoint, then paste the printed LAN /upload URL into the Camera screen or the printed RTMP, SRT, or WHIP publish URL into the Stream screen. You can skip this helper entirely when you already have reachable upload and streaming endpoints.
Do not use localhost from the mobile app. The glasses, phone, and computer must be on a network where the glasses can reach the printed LAN address.

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Direct Phone Capture And Streaming

The starter kit examples also include direct phone photo and WebRTC receive flows:
  • Android can receive photos directly on the phone and host a GStreamer WHIP receiver.
  • iOS can receive photos directly on the phone and host a GStreamer WHIP receiver.
  • React Native includes local native companion modules for Android and iOS direct phone photo and WebRTC demos.
Use real hardware for these flows. Keep the glasses Wi-Fi active and make sure the phone and glasses are on a reachable local network.

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Stream Status

Subscribe to stream status before starting a stream. Treat stream start as accepted, then drive UI from status events: 
import {useBluetoothEvent} from '@mentra/bluetooth-sdk/react';

export function StreamStatusLogger() {
  useBluetoothEvent('stream_status', (event) => {
    console.log(event);
  });

  return null;
}
Status values include initializing, streaming, stopped, reconnecting, and error states.