Arlo Meeting Assistant

Build Real-Time Meeting Intelligence with Zoom RTMS

Get Started · See Demos · Features · Troubleshooting

What is Arlo?

Arlo is an open-source reference implementation that demonstrates the power of Zoom's RTMS (Real-Time Media Streams) APIs. It shows developers how to build meeting assistants that capture live transcripts without requiring a bot in the meeting.

Use This Project To

Learn how RTMS webhooks, WebSockets, and transcript streaming work
Fork and customize for your specific use case
Prototype meeting intelligence applications
Understand Zoom Apps authentication and best practices

What You'll Build

Live transcription with < 1 second latency
AI-powered summaries and action items
Full-text search across meetings
Industry-specific modes (Healthcare, Legal, Sales)

Note: This is a starting point for developers. The industry verticals are illustrative examples showing what's possible with RTMS.

See It In Action

Choose your workflow — each vertical is tailored to your industry

Video Demos

Healthcare	Sales	Support

Watch Demo	Watch Demo	Watch Demo

Legal	Notes

Watch Demo	Watch Demo

Features

Feature	Description
Live Transcription	Real-time captions via RTMS (< 1 second latency)
Voice Commands	Say "Arlo, summarize" or "Arlo, action items" during meetings
AI Insights	Summaries, action items, and next steps powered by OpenRouter
Full-Text Search	Search across all your meeting transcripts instantly
Chat with Transcripts	Ask questions about your meetings using AI
Meeting Highlights	Create bookmarks with timestamps for key moments
Export Options	Download WebVTT files or Markdown summaries
Dark Mode	Automatic OS detection with manual toggle
Industry Verticals	Specialized modes: Arlo for Notes, Healthcare, Legal, Sales, and Support

AI features work out of the box — no API key required! Arlo uses OpenRouter with free models (Gemini, Llama). Optional: add your own OPENROUTER_API_KEY for higher rate limits.

Voice Commands

Control Arlo hands-free during meetings. Just say the wake word followed by a command:

Command	What It Does
"Arlo, summarize"	Generate a meeting summary
"Arlo, action items"	Extract action items and to-dos
"Arlo, highlight this"	Create a bookmark at the current moment
"Arlo, decisions"	Show key decisions made
"Arlo, questions"	Show open/unanswered questions
"Arlo, send to chat"	Send summary to meeting chat
"Arlo, help"	Show available commands

Alternate wake words: "Hey Arlo", "Hi Arlo"

Responses appear inline in the meeting view. You can toggle response visibility in Settings.

Settings

Access settings via the gear icon in the app. Available options:

Transcription

Setting	Description
Auto-open in meetings	Automatically open Arlo when you join scheduled meetings
Auto-start transcription	Begin transcription immediately when the app opens

Demo Mode

Setting	Description
Show sample data	Display example data to demonstrate features. Turn off to only see real meeting data.

Chat Notifications

Setting	Description
Enable Chat Notifications	Send automatic messages to Zoom chat when transcription events occur
Event toggles	Choose which events trigger notifications (start, pause, resume, stop, restart)
Message templates	Customize the message text for each event. Use `[meeting-id]` as a placeholder.

Voice Commands

Setting	Description
Show Arlo Responses	Display voice command responses in the meeting view. Turn off for cleaner demos.

Developer Tools

Setting	Description
Start/Stop via REST API	Test RTMS control using Zoom's participant REST API instead of the client SDK. Useful for automation and testing.

AI Configuration

Setting	Description
AI Provider	Choose between OpenRouter (default, free), Anthropic, OpenAI, or Custom
API Key	Your API key (stored locally, never sent to Arlo's servers)
Model	Select which AI model to use for summaries and insights

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:

Requirement	Why You Need It
Node.js 20+	Runtime for backend services
Docker Desktop	Runs PostgreSQL and all services
ngrok	Creates secure tunnels for Zoom webhooks
Zoom Account	To create and configure your Zoom App

RTMS Access Required

This app requires RTMS access from Zoom. RTMS (Real-Time Media Streams) enables live transcript streaming.

Request RTMS Access — Apply early, approval may take a few days.

Quick Start

1. Clone & Set Up ngrok

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/zoom/arlo.git
cd arlo

Start ngrok to create a public URL for Zoom webhooks:

# Option A: Static domain (recommended - free, doesn't change)
ngrok http 3000 --domain=your-name.ngrok-free.app

# Option B: Random domain (changes each restart)
ngrok http 3000

Tip: Get a free static domain at ngrok dashboard → Domains to avoid reconfiguring Zoom settings.

Keep this terminal running and note your URL (e.g., https://your-name.ngrok-free.app).

2. Create Your Zoom App

Go to Zoom Marketplace → Develop → Build App
Select General App → name it (e.g., "Arlo Meeting Assistant")
Copy your Client ID and Client Secret

3. Configure Environment

cp .env.example .env

Edit .env with your values:

# From Zoom Marketplace (Step 2)
ZOOM_CLIENT_ID=your_client_id
ZOOM_CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret

# Your ngrok URL (Step 1)
PUBLIC_URL=https://your-name.ngrok-free.app

# Generate secrets (run these commands, paste the output)
SESSION_SECRET=       # node -e "console.log(require('crypto').randomBytes(32).toString('hex'))"
REDIS_ENCRYPTION_KEY= # node -e "console.log(require('crypto').randomBytes(16).toString('hex'))"

4. Configure Zoom App Settings

In Zoom Marketplace → Your App:

Basic Information

Setting	Value
OAuth Redirect URL	`https://YOUR-NGROK-URL/api/auth/callback`
OAuth Allow List	`https://YOUR-NGROK-URL`

Scopes

Add these OAuth scopes:

meeting:read — Read meeting details
user:read — Read user profile

Features → Zoom App SDK

Click Add APIs and enable required capabilities
Enable RTMS → Transcripts (requires RTMS approval)

Features → Surface

Setting	Value
Home URL	`https://YOUR-NGROK-URL`
Domain Allow List	`https://YOUR-NGROK-URL`

Features → Event Subscriptions

Setting	Value
Event notification endpoint	`https://YOUR-NGROK-URL/api/rtms/webhook`
Events to subscribe	`meeting.rtms_started`, `meeting.rtms_stopped`

Replace YOUR-NGROK-URL with your actual ngrok URL (e.g., your-name.ngrok-free.app)

5. Start the Application

docker-compose up --build

Wait for all services to start:

PostgreSQL database
Backend API (port 3000)
Frontend (port 3001)
RTMS service (port 3002)

6. Test in Zoom

Start or join a Zoom meeting
Click Apps in the toolbar
Find and open your app
Click "Start Arlo" to begin transcription
Watch live transcripts appear in the Transcript tab
Switch to Arlo Assist to try AI features:
- Generate meeting summaries
- Extract action items
- Ask questions about your meeting

Industry Verticals

Arlo includes specialized modes demonstrating RTMS capabilities for different industries. Each vertical shows how real-time transcription can power domain-specific features.

Arlo for Notes

Full-Featured Note-Taking — Meeting summaries, key decisions, action items, and open questions tracked automatically.

Arlo for Healthcare

Clinical Documentation — SOAP notes auto-generation, medication and symptom detection, clinical terminology highlighting.

Arlo for Legal

Deposition Assistance — Real-time contradiction detection, billable time tracking with export, and exhibit management.

Arlo for Sales

Deal Intelligence — BANT qualification tracking (Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline), competitor mentions, and commitment detection.

Arlo for Support

Agent Assistance — Live customer sentiment meter with trend analysis and emotional shift tracking.

Building your own vertical? Fork this repo and customize the frontend components in frontend/src/features/ for your specific use case.

Troubleshooting

Database / Prisma Errors

"Cannot find module '.prisma/client'"

docker-compose exec backend npx prisma generate
docker-compose restart backend

"Can't reach database server"

docker-compose restart postgres backend

Tables don't exist

docker-compose exec backend npx prisma db push

Clean Restart

If you're having persistent issues:

# Stop everything and remove volumes
docker-compose down -v

# Rebuild with fresh node_modules
docker-compose up --build -V

ngrok Issues

App stops working after restarting ngrok?

If using a random domain:

Copy the new ngrok URL
Update PUBLIC_URL in .env
Update all URLs in Zoom Marketplace settings
Restart: docker-compose restart backend

Pro tip: Use a static ngrok domain (free) to avoid this!

More Help

See the full Troubleshooting Guide for additional issues.

Documentation

Document	Description
Architecture	System design and data flow
Project Status	Roadmap and current progress
Specification	Feature spec and milestones
Troubleshooting	Common issues and fixes
CLAUDE.md	Quick reference for AI assistants

Development

Project Structure

arlo/
├── backend/           # Express API server + Prisma ORM
├── frontend/          # React Zoom App (CRA)
├── rtms/              # RTMS transcript ingestion service
├── docs/              # Documentation
└── docker-compose.yml # Development environment

Common Commands

docker-compose up                    # Start all services
docker-compose logs -f backend       # View backend logs
docker-compose restart backend       # Restart a service
docker-compose down -v               # Stop and remove volumes
npm run db:studio                    # Open Prisma database GUI

Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Frontend	React 18, Zoom Apps SDK, Base UI
Backend	Node.js 20, Express, Prisma
Database	PostgreSQL 15
AI	OpenRouter (free models available)
Real-time	WebSocket + RTMS SDK

Contributing

This is an open-source starter kit designed to be forked and customized!

Fork this repository
Customize for your use case
Share improvements via pull request

Ideas for Extension

Multi-language transcription support
Custom AI models (local LLMs)
Team workspaces and sharing
Calendar integration
Video replay with transcript sync

Zoom for Government

This application supports Zoom for Government (ZfG) deployments:

# In your .env file
ZOOM_HOST=zoomgov.com

Create your app in the Zoom for Government Marketplace
Use ZfG-specific URLs in your configuration

Note: RTMS availability on ZfG may differ. Contact your Zoom representative for ZfG-specific access.

Production Deployment

This reference implementation is designed for learning and prototyping. Before production deployment:

Area	Development	Production Recommendation
Credentials	`.env` file	Secrets manager (AWS, Vault, Azure)
Tokens	PostgreSQL + AES	Add encryption at rest
Sessions	In-memory	Redis or database-backed
HTTPS	ngrok tunnel	Load balancer with TLS
WebSockets	Single instance	Redis pub/sub for scaling

See Known Limitations for additional considerations.

Known Limitations

This is a reference implementation with intentional simplifications:

Pattern	Current	Production Recommendation
PKCE Storage	In-memory Map	Redis with TTL
WebSocket Scaling	Single-instance	Redis pub/sub adapter
Retry Logic	Basic 401 retry	Exponential backoff
Webhook Processing	Synchronous	Queue-based async
Input Validation	Basic checks	Schema validation (Zod)

Resources

Support

Issues: GitHub Issues
Discussions: GitHub Discussions
RTMS Access: Request Form
Zoom Developer Forum: devforum.zoom.us

License

MIT License — See LICENSE for details.

Ready to build your own meeting assistant?

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Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 140 Commits
.github		.github
backend		backend
docs		docs
frontend		frontend
rtms		rtms
scripts		scripts
tests		tests
.dockerignore		.dockerignore
.env.example		.env.example
.gitignore		.gitignore
CLAUDE.md		CLAUDE.md
CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md		CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
CONTRIBUTING.md		CONTRIBUTING.md
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md
ROADMAP.md		ROADMAP.md
SPEC.md		SPEC.md
docker-compose.yml		docker-compose.yml
package-lock.json		package-lock.json
package.json		package.json
zoom-app-manifest.json		zoom-app-manifest.json

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Arlo Meeting Assistant

What is Arlo?

Use This Project To

What You'll Build

See It In Action

Video Demos

Features

Voice Commands

Settings

Transcription

Demo Mode

Chat Notifications

Voice Commands

Developer Tools

AI Configuration

Prerequisites

RTMS Access Required

Quick Start

1. Clone & Set Up ngrok

2. Create Your Zoom App

3. Configure Environment

4. Configure Zoom App Settings

5. Start the Application

6. Test in Zoom

Industry Verticals

Arlo for Notes

Arlo for Healthcare

Arlo for Legal

Arlo for Sales

Arlo for Support

Troubleshooting

Documentation

Development

Project Structure

Common Commands

Tech Stack

Contributing

Ideas for Extension

Zoom for Government

Production Deployment

Known Limitations

Resources

Support

License

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Code of conduct

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