# cisco/openh264

Open Source H.264 Codec

Repository: https://github.com/cisco/openh264
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/openh264
Language: C++
License: BSD-2-Clause
License Family: permissive
Last push: 2026-08-25T08:42:10+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 74/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 28, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4693, "days_push": 8, "days_rel": 539, "gap_med": 61.5, "n_releases_24m": 3}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 6138, forks 1917 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:36.438026+00:00)

## What it is
OpenH264 is a BSD-licensed C++ library implementing H.264/AVC video encoding and decoding, suitable for real-time applications like WebRTC. It supports constrained baseline profile up to Level 5.2, temporal scalability, simulcast, and runs across many platforms and architectures.

## Use cases
- encode video to h264 in real time
- decode h264 streams in a webrtc application
- embed an open-source h264 codec in a mobile app
- transcode video with rate control and adaptive quantization
- add temporal scalability to a video conferencing system

## When to choose
- you need a permissively licensed (BSD) H.264 codec
- you are building real-time communication like WebRTC
- you need cross-platform support including mobile (Android/iOS)
- you need features like LTR frames, simulcast, or temporal scalability

## When to avoid
- you need advanced profiles like High Profile or HEVC/H.265
- you need hardware-accelerated encoding via GPU APIs
- you need AVX-optimized assembly (not yet supported)
- you prefer a full multimedia framework rather than a codec library

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: stable
- function: video-processing, image-processing
- domain: media, web-development
- platform: windows, cpp, cross-platform
- tags: h264, codec, encoder, decoder, webrtc, multimedia, video, macos, linux, android, ios

## Member repositories
- cisco/openh264 (main) score 74

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:36.438026+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:47:34.836094+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/cisco/openh264 (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:36.438026+00:00, sha 7f437da692b4)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.