Shaka Packager
Shaka Packager is available in the NetActuate Marketplace as a one-click, open-source appliance you can deploy into any NetActuate PoP. Headless DASH and HLS packaging with Widevine CENC encryption, driven over SSH. It is grouped under the Media & Streaming category.
What It Does
Shaka Packager is a fast, production-grade media packaging and DRM tool from the Shaka project, used across the streaming industry to prepare on-demand and live content for adaptive playback. This appliance installs the official static Linux x64 release binaries and gives you a ready-to-use packaging box you drive over SSH.
Key features
- Package mp4 and webm sources into MPEG-DASH and HLS for adaptive streaming
- CENC common encryption for Widevine, PlayReady, and raw keys
- Live and on-demand (VOD) segmenting, including fMP4 and TS outputs
- Ships the official, unmodified packager and mpd_generator binaries
- A small co-located landing page documents the command line and runs a first-boot version self-check, so you can confirm the box is healthy
- No web console and no credentials to manage: pure command-line workflow
Use cases
- Prepare DASH and HLS renditions and manifests for a player or CDN origin
- Apply Widevine or PlayReady DRM to protected catalogs
- Run packaging jobs in a PoP close to your encoders or object storage
Why run it on the NetActuate edge Running the packager in a PoP near your source media and origin shortens the path for large mezzanine and segment transfers and keeps your packaging pipeline on infrastructure you control.
Deployed from the NetActuate marketplace, the appliance boots with the binaries installed and the landing page serving on the instance IP. SSH in, point packager at your inputs, and write DASH or HLS output. A tiny sample MP4 ships on the box so you can run a demo packaging job immediately.
Vendor and Project
Shaka Packager is an open-source project, offered here under the Open Source listing with best-effort community support.
- Project home: shaka-project.github.io
NetActuate supports the underlying infrastructure. Application-level support follows the listing SLA class (open-source, best effort).
Sizing
| vCPU | RAM | Disk | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | 1 | 1 GB | 20 GB |
| Recommended | 2 | 4 GB | 50 GB |
No VPU (hardware acceleration) is required for this appliance. Choose a size at deploy based on your expected load.
Configuration Fields
When you deploy, you provide these fields. They are written into the appliance at first boot.
| Field | Required | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landing page port | No | 8080 | TCP port for the co-located nginx landing/instructions page, published on the instance IP (default 8080). The packager tools themselves are driven over SSH. |
Using the Appliance
Package your first stream in minutes
- Confirm the box is up. Browse to http://YOUR_VM_IP:8080/ for the instructions page (HTTP 200), or http://YOUR_VM_IP:8080/health to see the packager version self-check. There is no web console.
- SSH in and run a demo. A sample input ships at /usr/share/shaka-packager/samples/sample.mp4 . Try: packager 'in=/usr/share/shaka-packager/samples/sample.mp4,stream=video,output=video.mp4' 'in=/usr/share/shaka-packager/samples/sample.mp4,stream=audio,output=audio.mp4' --mpd_output demo.mpd
- Package your content. Use packager for DASH and HLS and add --enable_widevine_encryption or --enable_raw_key_encryption for CENC DRM. The landing page lists ready-to-copy DASH, HLS, and Widevine examples.
Exposure posture: the landing page serves plain HTTP on the landing port and is informational only. Drive the packager over SSH; put access control in front of the box before exposing it on an untrusted network.
FAQ
Is there a software license fee? No. Shaka Packager is open source and free to run. You pay only for the NetActuate infrastructure and bandwidth.
Where is the web interface?
On port 8080 at path /health by default.
Who supports it? NetActuate operates the underlying infrastructure. The application itself is community-supported open source (best-effort SLA class).
Version and Changelog
| Version | Status | Released |
|---|---|---|
| 3.9.0 | Current (default) | 2026-07-14 |
Deploy
- Deploy in the portal: Deploy Shaka Packager
- View the listing: portal.netactuate.com/platform/marketplace/l/shaka-packager
- Public listing: netactuate.com/marketplace/shaka-packager
Need Help?
Contact support@netactuate.com or open a support ticket from the portal.