# Discourse Live: new name, redesigned rooms, reactions, and local recording 🎙

**URL:** <https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-live-new-name-redesigned-rooms-reactions-and-local-recording/416105>\
**Category:** Announcements\
**Tags:** live\
**Created:** [October 29, 2026, 5:21pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-live-new-name-redesigned-rooms-reactions-and-local-recording/416105 "2026-10-29T17:21:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Falco](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/falco/32/179432_2.png) [@Falco](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Falco)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2026, 5:21pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-live-new-name-redesigned-rooms-reactions-and-local-recording/416105/1 "2026-10-29T17:21:40Z")

</div>

Live started life as **Re** senha, so it felt right that this round of updates is all about **Re** : it’s been **re** named, **re** designed, **re** -rendered, and it now has **re** actions and **re** cording. It’s been a few weeks since we [bundled Live with Discourse](https://meta.discourse.org/t/411337), so here’s a quick tour.

- **Re** named Voice to Live
- **Re** actions available on calls and included in the transcriptions
- **Re** cording a meeting locally on your device is now available
- **Re** design of room and chat integration
- **Re** ndering improvements for multiple video tiles

## 🏷 Voice is now Live

The plugin is now called **Discourse Live** , or just Live. Settings moved from `voice_*` to `live_*`, and existing rooms and settings carry over on their own, so there’s nothing to do on your side.

Special thanks to @angus, the [first to suggest](https://meta.discourse.org/t/live-discord-style-voice-and-video-rooms-now-bundled-with-discourse/411337/39) this new name 🍻.

## Reactions

React without unmuting: pick an emoji from the call controls and it floats, animated, over everyone’s call. The set follows your site’s post reactions, including any emoji when your site allows it. Reactions are also captured in recorded transcripts.

![demo](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/3/d/e/3dead5086e2111d54a8837e28fc2b4c104643bde.avif)

## ⏺ Record to your device

Anyone in a group listed in `live_local_recording_allowed_groups` can now pick **Record to this device** from the room menu (disabled by default). The recording happens entirely in the browser and downloads when you stop, so it works on peer-to-peer rooms without any recording server. Everyone in the call sees the recording indicator.

 ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/a/8/9/a8906f6a7f7243bce51a78525786ecd25c17d66b.png)

## 💬 Redesigned rooms and chat

Room pages now look and feel like chat channels: the same header (click the room name for room info), and the room chat opens as a side panel, just like a chat thread. The floating call widget is now a proper picture-in-picture.

### Before

 ![CleanShot 2026-10-26 at 17.21.29@2x](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/7/1/e/71ea2a7e19c1a4b260e7f7ec7afffc9410dceaba.png) CleanShot 2026-10-26 at 17.21.29@2x

 ![CleanShot 2026-10-26 at 17.21.11@2x](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/c/d/7/cd7bbc66ef810b6a5c77f7db73bf37f3e1cba4b6.png) CleanShot 2026-10-26 at 17.21.11@2x

 ![CleanShot 2026-10-26 at 17.22.31@2x](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/1/9/0/1902cf448cd51725089349d4e32979cb05643540.png) CleanShot 2026-10-26 at 17.22.31@2x

### After

 ![CleanShot 2026-10-26 at 13.53.36@2x](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/4/3/1/4318df452f523de19d8712af86a45f600c37b1da.png) CleanShot 2026-10-26 at 13.53.36@2x

 ![CleanShot 2026-10-26 at 13.53.51@2x](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/6/b/5/6b5bd0ce1635f48e81af31be8d69575029e0e477.png) CleanShot 2026-10-26 at 13.53.51@2x

 ![CleanShot 2026-10-26 at 17.23.03@2x](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/1/5/1/1519c7e26a9ca21ea6028db271cc6079ac0548fe.png) CleanShot 2026-10-26 at 17.23.03@2x

## 🖼 Better video layout

Video tiles now fill the stage as a uniform grid instead of leaving empty bands around them. In one-to-one calls, the other person takes the full stage and your own camera floats in a corner. Screen shares and portrait feeds are never cropped.

 ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/5/d/a/5da5e4e9888f530ac9a782008cffa03ae869c50c.jpeg)

* * *

As always, feedback is welcome here or, preferably, in a [new topic](https://meta.discourse.org/new-topic?title=Feedback%20on%20Live&category=feature&tags=live). ❤