Requirements and native builds

Parlora requires Elixir 1.18 or later (1.x) and Erlang/OTP 27 or later. Use a compatible Elixir/OTP pair and a current patch release. Suitable pairings include Elixir 1.18/OTP 27, Elixir 1.19/OTP 28, and Elixir 1.20/OTP 29.

Choose native bindings before compiling

Both native features are enabled by default, regardless of the channel you select at runtime. A default build needs prerequisites for local audio devices and libopus 1.6.1, even if you only intend to use local audio or telephony.

In your host application's config/config.exs, select the bindings you need before running mix compile or mix run:

Begin config/config.exs with import Config. These flags only disable Parlora's bindings; WebRTC dependencies still build their transport bindings and need a C build toolchain and OpenSSL development files. Native settings belong in the host application, not runtime configuration or the dependency's config.

Parlora's native bindings use Rust 1.92.0. Install it with rustup for your machine's architecture. The Opus installer and example launchers also need Python 3. OrderDesk enables both bindings because it supports local and browser calls. The tutorial for your first session selects local audio only.

macOS

Install Xcode command-line tools, then the system libraries:

xcode-select --install
brew install pkgconf srtp
# Also install Opus for a default or browser-enabled build:
brew install opus

For a default build or a build with browser audio enabled, check pkg-config --modversion opus: it must report 1.6.1. If your package manager supplies a different version, use the instructions for a custom prefix below. In the host application's config/config.exs, select system SRTP:

import Config

if :os.type() == {:unix, :darwin} do
  config :bundlex, :disable_precompiled_os_deps, apps: [:ex_libsrtp]
end

After changing an existing build, run mix deps.compile ex_libsrtp --force in each Mix environment you use. Your release host also needs the SRTP/OpenSSL libraries. Local audio requires microphone permission; headphones help prevent feedback.

Linux

For a default build on systems compatible with Ubuntu:

sudo apt-get install build-essential pkg-config libasound2-dev libpulse-dev libssl-dev curl python3

Local audio also needs a running service compatible with PulseAudio, such as PipeWire. Default builds and builds with browser audio enabled also need libopus 1.6.1. Run the build script below if your distribution does not provide that exact development version. Builds for browser audio only or phone audio only can omit libasound2-dev and libpulse-dev.

Install libopus in a custom prefix

From your host application, after running mix deps.get:

sh deps/parlora/scripts/install_opus.sh "$HOME/.local/parlora-opus"
export PKG_CONFIG_PATH="$HOME/.local/parlora-opus/lib/pkgconfig${PKG_CONFIG_PATH:+:$PKG_CONFIG_PATH}"
export OPUS_LIB_DIR="$HOME/.local/parlora-opus/lib"
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH="$HOME/.local/parlora-opus/lib${LD_LIBRARY_PATH:+:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH}"

Keep the prefix available when building and running the application. On macOS, use the platform's search configuration for shared libraries if your deployment requires it. Verify discovery with pkg-config --modversion opus before compiling Parlora.

Rebuild and deploy

After changing native flags in an existing host build, run mix deps.compile parlora --force in each Mix environment you use. Do not disable a binding for a channel you will select: LocalAudio requires native_audio, and Browser requires native_opus.

Build releases for the target OS/architecture and provide their shared libraries at runtime. The assembled release includes the compiled NIFs and does not need Rust or Mix on the target host. When switching Elixir/OTP versions, use separate build directories or rebuild dependencies.