Learn the details for building great Roku channels
We've pulled together standalone guides that show the core concepts for building Roku channels. Follow any of these guides to add core features to your channels.
Roku Ad Framework - The Roku Ad Framework (RAF) integrates advanced video ad functionality directly into the Roku Channels, and enables developers and publishers to monetize their audience.
Billing - Walk through on setting up an in-channel product and how to purchase from within a sample Roku channel. For developers new to billing, make sure to review our Roku Billing Services guide first.
Roku Web Services - The Roku Web Services API enables publishers to verify purchases, issue refunds, and cancel subscriptions, and more. Learn the basics of interacting with our cloud backend.
Remote Control APIs - To launch channel content from Roku Search or building custom remote controls, ECP (external control protocol) enables control of Roku devices over a local area network through a collection of commands.
Screensavers Guide - Screensavers are basic channels designed to be customizable display screens that can be played in the background of channels and in the Roku OS settings.
Deep Linking - Launching channels and media content through Display ads, Roku search results, and Roku My Feed. The following guide details how to integrate deep linking in your Roku channel.
Authentication and Linking - Understanding a standard "rendezvous" pattern for account creation, this guide walks through registering and linking a device to an existing backend API service using a registration code.
Channel Packaging - Channels consist of source code, images, and fonts that are "packaged" to protect developer's intellectual property on Roku devices. Learn about encrypted packages and how they are securely distributed on our platform.
Debugging - Testing Roku Channels involves using a telnet console access to a variety of ports. The debug console provides a window into the runtime environment and provides features such as crash logs, stack-traces and much more.
Private channels - Private channels are useful for testing and staging your channels before submitting to begin the Roku Channel Store certification process.
Performance - To ensure that your content can reach the entire Roku audience watching on the whole range of devices we offer, you should use this guide to help provide a smooth, lag-free experience for users on even the lowest end devices.
Sample channels and Roku SDK examples - We've pulled together all samples for building Roku channels in one repo collection. Upload them to your Roku device and test out fully working channels for learning how to develop specific types of apps.