Gateway Navigator

Not sure where to start? Use this decision guide to find the right path for your goals, gateway type, and experience level.

What’s your goal?

Build an AI product

You want to route AI inference (text-to-image, image-to-video, LLM, live AI) through Livepeer’s GPU network - no ETH required.

Your path:

1. - what gateways do and don’t do
2. - gateway running in minutes via Docker
3. - supported models, request formats, capabilities
4. - business models for AI gateway operators

Off-chain gateways use a remote signer for payments - zero crypto knowledge needed at the gateway layer.

Transcode video

You want to run an on-chain gateway for RTMP video ingest and HLS transcoding output.

Your path:

1. - the original broadcaster function
2. - ETH funding, wallet setup, Arbitrum bridging
3. - Docker, Linux binary, or Windows
4. - RTMP ingest, profiles, output formats
5. - deposit + reserve on Arbitrum

Video gateways require ~0.095 ETH on Arbitrum (deposit + reserve). Budget for gas fees too.

Build a platform

You want to wrap Livepeer as a managed service - multi-tenant API, billing, customer dashboards.

Your path:

1. - margin capture, pricing independence
2. - tenant isolation, auth flows, billing integration
3. - rate limiting, routing, orchestrator tiering
4. - scaling, reliability, monitoring
5. - get funded to build

The NaaP (Network as a Platform) model is how operators like Livepeer Studio and Cloud SPE serve thousands of customers through a single gateway.

Evaluate first

You want to understand what gateways are and whether running one makes sense for you - before committing to setup.

Your path:

1. - the role explained with analogies
2. - every workload type gateways can route
3. - how operators earn revenue
4. - see what others have built
5. - how the pieces fit together

Operational Mode

“On-chain” and “off-chain” describe your gateway’s operational mode - how it integrates with the Livepeer protocol. All workloads run off-chain on orchestrator hardware.

Running both video and AI workloads from a single node (“dual configuration”) is a workload setup choice, not an operational mode. An on-chain gateway supports all workload types. See for details.

Your journey through the docs

The gateway documentation follows a six-section structure. Each section builds on the previous one - but you can jump to any section that matches where you are.

Guides by topic

Each guides subsection covers a specific operational area. Expand any topic to see what’s inside.

Setup Paths

Compare on-chain vs off-chain, SDK alternatives, and dual-gateway configuration. Helps you pick the right setup approach before starting installation.

AI & Job Pipelines

Understand every workload type gateways can route - video transcoding, AI inference, BYOC custom pipelines, and pipeline configuration.

Payments & Pricing

How payments flow, funding requirements, pricing strategy, clearinghouse operations, and remote signer setup.

Monitoring & Tooling

Health checks, Prometheus/Grafana monitoring, on-chain metrics, available tools and dashboards, and troubleshooting guides.

Advanced Operations

Orchestrator selection strategy, scaling, middleware, and publishing a gateway to the network.

Opportunities

Business models, NaaP platform building, SPE grant funding, and the ecosystem of gateway operators.

Tutorials

Step-by-step walkthroughs for specific tasks - from BYOC CPU pipelines to full gateway-orchestrator setups.

Find your entry point by persona

Persona	Start here	Continue with	Reference when needed
AI app developer	Quickstart	AI pipelines	Pricing strategy
Video platform	Requirements	Video config	Troubleshooting
Platform builder	Business model	NaaP guide	Middleware
Evaluating	Gateway role	Capabilities	Ecosystem
Existing operator	Orchestrator selection	Scaling	Health checks
Grant applicant	SPE model	Opportunities	Community

Quick links

Quickstart

Zero to gateway in minutes.

Gateway Role

What gateways are and how they work.

Business Model

How operators earn revenue.

AI Pipelines

Supported models and request formats.

Payments

How payment flows work.

Ecosystem

Who’s building on Livepeer today.