Question
People commonly ask on the Zoom Developer Forum:
Why aren’t my account-level settings (e.g., auto cloud recording, disable waiting room, allow join before host) being applied to meetings created via the API—especially when meetings are created by a third‑party scheduler on a sub‑account? The host still sees a waiting room and recording doesn’t start.
Answer
Account and group defaults can be overridden by how the Create Meeting API request is constructed and by the host’s own settings. Also, Basic (type: 1) users cannot record, which prevents auto-recording regardless of settings.
To troubleshoot and enforce the intended behavior:
- Verify the host’s license
- Users created as type: 1 (Basic) can’t record. Assign a licensed user so cloud auto‑recording can start.
- Control waiting room vs. join before host
- waiting_room: true overrides join_before_host. Set waiting_room: false and join_before_host: true.
- When join_before_host is true, set jbh_time explicitly (e.g., jbh_time: 0) to allow joining at any time.
- Ensure API request parameters don’t revert to defaults
- The Create Meeting defaults include join_before_host: false and auto_recording: none. Specify settings: { auto_recording: 'cloud' } and join_before_host: true in the request.
- Check host-level settings and third‑party behavior - Even with correct API params, the host’s Zoom settings can override fields. Confirm the host’s settings allow join before host and disable the waiting room. - If a third‑party scheduler controls the API call, test locally by creating meetings yourself with the desired parameters to confirm the correct behavior, then work with the provider if their integration is overriding or omitting needed fields.
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