# How to Vibe Code Your Own SquadCast (and Stop Paying for It) > The Remote Recording Studio That Your Audience Will Love - Site: https://squadcast.fm - Category: Media & Audio Production - Verdict: **Serious undertaking** (42/100 vibecodeable) - Estimated effort: 3-4 months of dedicated part-time engineering ## Verdict Build a basic local-recording prototype or keep paying, as syncing multi-device uncompressed streams without drift requires deep WebRTC and MediaRecorder expertise. Attempting to clone SquadCast as a solo developer exposes you to brutal engineering challenges. While building a standard WebRTC video chat wrapper is straightforward, capturing uncompressed local audio/video tracks via MediaRecorder, chunking them into IndexedDB, progressively uploading them to cloud storage, and ensuring zero audio drift across distributed machines over a 1-hour session will break most AI coding loops. You will spend weeks debugging browser memory limits, codec incompatibilities, and socket state drops. ### What you can't replicate - Patented progressive upload fault-tolerance architecture - Native automated integration into Descript's editing timeline - Enterprise stability across thousands of varying user hardware configurations ## What it does A cloud-based remote recording studio designed for creators and podcasters to capture studio-quality multi-participant local audio and video with progressive cloud uploads. ### Core features - In-browser studio rooms with WebRTC video/audio communication - Local multi-track uncompressed WAV audio and 1080p/4K video recording via MediaRecorder API - Progressive chunked background uploads to cloud storage (IndexedDB buffers) - Green Room equipment testing and Backstage off-camera participant roles - Role permissions (Owners, Org Admins, Show Managers, Talent, File Managers) - Downloadable isolated WAV and MP4 tracks post-session ## The business ### Pricing - Free: $0 - Hobbyist: $16/mo - Creator: $24/mo - Business: $50/mo Founded 2017. Team size: 10 to 50 employees historically. ## The hard parts - Sample-accurate audio/video synchronization across separate client local recordings to prevent drift - Fault-tolerant progressive chunking and background uploads to survive network drops without data loss - WebRTC SFU mesh routing for low-latency peer monitoring while local tracks record independently - Dynamic bandwidth adaptation over poor connections without crashing local recording threads ## How to vibe code SquadCast ### Prerequisites - Node.js (free): Required runtime for building the full-stack web application. - GitHub (free): Version control and repository hosting for your AI coding agents. ### Recommended AI tools - Claude Code: Best-in-class agentic coding tool for scaffolding multi-file WebRTC and storage pipelines. - Cursor: Ideal for fine-tuning complex frontend React components and WebRTC hooks. ### Stack - Frontend: Next.js - Backend: Next.js API Routes / Node WebSocket server - Database: Turso - Auth: better-auth - Payments: none - Other: LiveKit SDK for WebRTC signaling and rooms, Tailwind CSS ### Hosting - Fly.io (Hosting the WebRTC signaling and LiveKit SFU media server container): $5-10/mo - Vercel (Hosting the Next.js frontend web application and API routes): $0/mo - Cloudflare R2 (Storing recorded local WAV and MP4 files with zero egress fees): $0-5/mo ### Build guide 1. **Scaffold Next.js App with Turso and Better-Auth** — Initialize the Next.js project structure, configure Turso database connections, and set up better-auth for user accounts and organization workspaces. ``` Create a new Next.js project using Tailwind CSS and TypeScript. Set up Turso database connectivity using Drizzle ORM. Implement better-auth supporting email/password login and organization workspaces with roles (Owner, Org Admin, Show Manager, Talent, File Manager). Create the initial database schema for users, organizations, shows, and recording sessions. ``` 2. **Build Studio Room and WebRTC Signaling** — Integrate LiveKit or custom WebRTC signaling to handle multi-participant video and audio room connections with Green Room pre-check UI. ``` Build a Studio Room interface in Next.js. Implement a pre-check Green Room screen allowing participants to test their webcam, select audio input devices, and check microphone levels before entering the main stage. Integrate LiveKit WebRTC client SDK to handle real-time audio/video peer connections, mute toggles, and Backstage participant states where users are off-camera/off-mic. ``` 3. **Implement Local MediaRecorder and Chunking Pipeline** — Capture uncompressed audio (48kHz/16-bit WAV) and video locally on each client device using the browser MediaRecorder API. ``` Write a robust client-side recording hook using the browser MediaRecorder API that captures isolated audio tracks at 48kHz/16-bit WAV and video streams up to 1080p. Implement chunking logic that slices the active recording stream every 5 seconds and buffers chunks locally into IndexedDB to protect against browser crashes or network drops. ``` 4. **Develop Progressive Upload and Cloud Sync** — Build background worker logic to progressively upload IndexedDB recording chunks to Cloudflare R2 object storage during the live session. ``` Implement a progressive upload background service worker that reads chunks from IndexedDB and uploads them securely via presigned URLs to Cloudflare R2 object storage in real time. Handle network interruption edge cases by queuing failed uploads with exponential backoff and retrying once connectivity is restored. ``` 5. **Build Post-Session Dashboard and Track Downloads** — Create the host dashboard to review completed sessions, assemble isolated tracks, and download raw media files. ``` Build a recording management dashboard in Next.js that lists past sessions for each show. Display session metadata, participant lists, and upload statuses. Provide a download interface allowing hosts to retrieve isolated WAV and MP4 files for each participant directly from Cloudflare R2 storage. ``` ### Cost vs paying **Starting costs (one-time):** - Custom Domain: $12 one-time - AI Coding Tools Subscription: $20 one-time - Total: ~$32 one-time **Ongoing costs (monthly):** - Fly.io (LiveKit SFU hosting): $7/mo - Cloudflare R2 (Recording storage): $3/mo - Total: ~$10/mo - Paying for the SaaS instead: $24 - $50 / person / month - Build time: 80-120 hours - AI tool credits: $20 (Claude Pro / Cursor) - Break-even: N/A (Built for personal control and learning) ## Sources - [SquadCast Official Website & Pricing](https://squadcast.fm) - [Descript Acquires SquadCast Announcement](https://soundsprofitable.com)