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Velocity3.8

Open-source web conferencing system for online learning

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BigBlueButton's 4.0 beta swaps out its own media stack — LiveKit is now the default, SIP.js is gone.

open-source-conferencinglivekit-migrationmedia-stackself-hostedlayout-redesignrelease-train
◆Current state
Two lines run in parallel. The stable 3.0 branch gets maintenance iterations every few weeks — security fixes, breakout-room and screenshare repairs, audio fixes against LiveKit — while 4.0 betas carry the structural work. The latest beta makes LiveKit the default media stack and deletes the legacy SIP.js audio bridge, replaces the shared notes engine with BlockNote, and moves the JVM services to Java 21. The layout system was rebuilt one beta earlier, with the Unified layout promoted to default.
◆Where it's heading
This is a multi-year replacement of the plumbing under a conferencing platform, done in public and in order: introduce LiveKit alongside the old bridge, fix audio against it across 3.0 point releases, then cut the old path out in a 4.0 beta. The same pattern shows in the client — the Unified layout arrived opt-in in 3.0.19 and became the default in beta.3. Around the core swap, the surface is being tidied: app gallery search and pinning, notification redesign, a request-to-present flow, configurable plugin buttons.
◆Prediction
With the legacy audio bridge removed and Java 21 in place, expect the remaining 4.0 betas to be stabilization rather than new subsystems, and expect self-hosters to hit LiveKit deployment issues that generate a run of point releases after 4.0 lands.

◆Recent moves

  1. 19d ago

    4.0 beta.4: LiveKit becomes the default media stack, SIP.js bridge removed

    ⚡ SPARK

    The media stack defaults to LiveKit and the legacy SIP.js audio bridge is deleted outright, ending the migration that 3.0's audio fixes have been rehearsing for months. BlockNote becomes the shared notes engine with Markdown import and export, and the JVM services move to Java 21.

    View source ↗
  2. 2mo ago

    4.0 beta.3: layout system rebuilt, Unified layout becomes default

    The layout system is rebuilt with the Unified layout promoted to default, plus refined camera sorting, a dual-sidebar mode, a WASM audio processor on the mic stream, user search, a three-state presenter policy, and a request-to-become-presenter flow. The client half of the 4.0 work, landing one beta before the media-stack cut.

    View source ↗
  3. 4mo ago

    3.0.23: breakout-room fixes, security patches, renamed bbb-web properties

    A 3.0 maintenance iteration weighted toward breakout rooms, with several security fixes and two renamed bbb-web properties that administrators need to account for on upgrade. Routine for the stable branch, but the config rename makes it more than a drop-in update.

    View source ↗
  4. 6mo ago

    3.0.22: client and core fixes, security patches

    A routine 3.0 iteration of client and core fixes plus a couple of security patches. Keeps the stable branch healthy while the structural work happens in the 4.0 betas.

    View source ↗
  5. 6mo ago

    3.0.21: security fixes and minor client improvements

    Another stable-branch maintenance drop — a couple of security fixes with minor client and core improvements, flagged for prompt administrator update. No user-visible change of consequence.

    View source ↗
  6. 6mo ago

    3.0.20: LiveKit audio fixes and security patches

    Several LiveKit audio fixes land on the stable branch alongside security patches. Read against the 4.0 beta, this is the migration being de-risked in production before the old bridge was removed.

    View source ↗