Chapter 5 GET POST

end – End Meeting

The end endpoint immediately terminates a running BigBlueButton meeting. All participants are removed from the conference, and if recording was enabled, the recording processing pipeline is triggered automatically.

Endpoint

GET/POST https://api-guide.bbbserver.com/bigbluebutton/api/end?<parameter>&checksum=replace-with-checksum

Both GET and POST methods are supported. When using POST, send parameters as application/x-www-form-urlencoded in the request body.

Required Parameters

Parameter Type Description
meetingID String Required. The meeting ID of the meeting to be ended. Must match the ID used when the meeting was created.

Optional Parameters

Parameter Type Description
password String Deprecated The moderator password. This parameter is no longer required since BigBlueButton 3.0 — the checksum alone is sufficient for authentication.

Example Request

POST Request with cURL

curl --request POST \
    --url "https://api-guide.bbbserver.com/bigbluebutton/api/end" \
  --header "Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded" \
    --data "meetingID=replace-with-meeting-id&checksum=replace-with-checksum"

Example Response

Success

<response>
  <returncode>SUCCESS</returncode>
  <messageKey>sentEndMeetingRequest</messageKey>
  <message>A request to end the meeting was sent. Please wait a few seconds,
    and then use the getMeetingInfo or isMeetingRunning API calls to verify
    that it was ended.</message>
</response>

Error — Meeting Not Found

<response>
  <returncode>FAILED</returncode>
  <messageKey>notFound</messageKey>
  <message>We could not find a meeting with that meeting ID.</message>
</response>

bbbserver.de Notes

bbbserver.de: The duration parameter in the create call does not automatically end meetings on bbbserver.de. If you need to end a meeting after a specific time, you must send an end API call manually at the desired moment (for example, via a timer or cron job in your application).

Important Behavior

The end call is asynchronous. The response confirms that the request was received, not that the meeting has fully terminated. The exact timing of the shutdown process is not officially specified.

Send the end API call to the server.

Wait a few seconds for the meeting to shut down.

Verify that the meeting has ended by calling getMeetingInfo or isMeetingRunning.

Tips

If you set the meta_endCallbackUrl parameter during create, BigBlueButton will send a callback to your specified URL when the meeting ends. Use this to trigger post-meeting workflows automatically.

  • If recording was enabled, the recording processing starts automatically after the meeting ends.
  • A meeting that has been ended cannot be resumed — you must create a new meeting.
  • Since BigBlueButton 3.0, the password parameter is no longer required. The checksum provides sufficient authentication.

Frequently Asked Questions

All participants are immediately removed from the conference. They will see a notification that the meeting has been ended by a moderator or administrator.

No. Once a meeting has been ended, it cannot be resumed. You must create a new meeting using the create API call. You may reuse the same meetingID if desired.

No. Since BigBlueButton 3.0, the password parameter is deprecated and no longer required. The checksum is sufficient for authentication. Older versions may still require the moderator password.

The end call is asynchronous. While the response is typically returned within milliseconds, the actual shutdown process may take a few seconds. The exact timing is not officially specified. Use getMeetingInfo or isMeetingRunning to verify.

If recording was enabled for the meeting, the recording processing pipeline is triggered automatically once the meeting ends. The recording will become available after processing is complete, which may take several minutes depending on the meeting length.