Deployment
A deployment is the complete configuration of a Livepeer gateway, defined by three independent choices: operational mode, setup type, and node type. These axes are orthogonal - each can be selected independently of the others.Operational Mode
The operational mode determines how your gateway connects to the Livepeer network and settles payments with orchestrators. This is a product decision that affects your entire operational model.Operational mode is independent of node type. Both on-chain and off-chain gateways can route Video, AI, or Dual workloads.
Setup Type
The setup type determines what software you run and how you install it.Node Type
The node type determines what workloads your gateway routes to orchestrators.Key Terms
Deployment
Deployment
The holistic configuration of a Livepeer gateway. A deployment is defined by three independent choices: operational mode (on-chain or off-chain), setup type (go-livepeer, SDK, GWID, or hosted), and node type (Video, AI, or Dual). For example, “an off-chain go-livepeer AI gateway” describes a single deployment across all three axes.
Gateway
Gateway
The routing layer between applications and the Livepeer orchestrator network. A gateway receives requests (video streams, AI inference jobs), selects orchestrators, routes the work, and returns results. A gateway does not perform compute - it routes to orchestrators that do. No GPU is required.
Orchestrator
Orchestrator
A node that performs compute work on the Livepeer network - video transcoding, AI inference, or both. Orchestrators register on the Livepeer protocol, advertise their capabilities and pricing, and receive work from gateways.
Remote signer
Remote signer
A separate service that holds an Ethereum key and signs payment tickets on behalf of an off-chain gateway. The gateway itself holds no ETH. A community-hosted remote signer at
signer.eliteencoder.net is publicly available and free to use.Probabilistic micropayments (PM)
Probabilistic micropayments (PM)
The payment mechanism used by the Livepeer protocol. Instead of paying for every job individually, gateways send lottery tickets to orchestrators. Over time, the expected value of winning tickets equals the fair payment. This reduces on-chain transaction costs.
NaaP (Network as a Platform)
NaaP (Network as a Platform)
A reference implementation for multi-tenant gateway operation. Provides JWT-based authentication, developer API keys, and per-user usage tracking on top of a Livepeer gateway. Repository: github.com/livepeer/naap.
SPE (Special Purpose Entity)
SPE (Special Purpose Entity)
An organisation funded by the Livepeer treasury through a governance proposal. SPEs have defined mandates, budgets, and milestone accountability. Multiple gateway operators (Livepeer Cloud SPE, LLM SPE) are funded through this model.
Broadcaster (deprecated term)
Broadcaster (deprecated term)
The pre-2023 name for a gateway. Older community guides and documentation may reference
-broadcaster=true - this flag has been replaced by -gateway. The terms are functionally equivalent.Payment Clearinghouse
A Payment Clearinghouse is an abstraction implementation of a with additional commercial services including:- Multi-user support,
- API key authentication,
- Usage accounting, and
- Billing in fiat, stablecoins, or credits.
Operational Mode Asymmetry: Gateways vs Orchestrators
Gateways and orchestrators share go-livepeer but differ fundamentally in how operational modes apply:- Gateways have a genuine on-chain/off-chain fork. Off-chain gateways use a remote signer for payment operations and are a sustainable production configuration. On-chain gateways manage their own wallet. This fork affects the entire setup, payment, and monitoring journey.
- Orchestrators do not have this fork. Off-chain orchestrators (
-network offchain) cannot be discovered by the protocol, cannot earn inflation rewards, and cannot join the active set. Off-chain is a testing/development configuration for orchestrators, not a production choice. Orchestrator documentation treats on-chain as the default.