Developer Blog

Announcing SkypeKit for Desktop with Video Calling

We opened up SkypeKit in June to accelerate Skype's presence in the consumer electronics industry. While the response from developers was overwhelmingly positive, there were still calls for SkypeKit to allow for the development of desktop applications with integrated Skype functionality.

We have heard your feedback and are pleased to announce that, with today's release of the Developer Preview of SkypeKit 4.02, we are now beginning to extend our developer initiative to include desktop applications. To this end, we are now offering not one, but two ways for partners to integrate Skype into their Windows, Mac and Linux desktop applications:

• SkypeKit for Desktop, which is intended to add native Skype functionality directly into partner applications


• Skype Desktop API, previously known as the Skype API or Public API, which allows developers to extend the functionality of Skype for Windows, Skype for Mac and Skype for Linux.

If you are interested in seeing how some developers are using SkypeKit for Desktop and the Skype Desktop API, we've posted some case studies on the Skype Developer Web site.

Central to our efforts to bring Skype's functionality to desktop applications is the introduction of Video APIs to the new SkypeKit for Desktop. These Video APIs will, for the first time, allow developers to bring their desktop applications to life using video calling, with the goal of making their applications feel less isolated and more human. Imagine the possibilities of Skype Video Calling directly in one or more of the desktop applications you use each and every day - be it office productivity software or games.

As part of our focus on the desktop, we've also built an all-new Skype App Directory that provides developers with a proper distribution channel for the Skype-enabled apps they are building. This App Directory will serve as the single place where millions of Skype users around the world can find free or commercial apps built on top of Skype.

Visit the Skype Developer Web site for more information about SkypeKit for Desktop.

SkypeKit now available for Mac and Windows developers

A few weeks ago, we announced SkypeKit, a new software development kit that enables hardware and software makers to add Skype functionality to their devices and applications. At that time, we introduced a version of SkypeKit that was compatible with the Linux operating system, and we promised that Windows and Mac versions wouldn’t be far behind.

Today, Skype is taking the next step by announcing a new version of the SkypeKit Beta SDK that works on Windows (x86) and Mac OS X. Now multiple desktop applications can offer Skype conversations — including video, voice, and text — without the need for users to separately download Skype software.

The enthusiastic response from developers and device makers to SkypeKit has delighted me and my team. To date, we’ve received thousands of SkypeKit beta requests from forward-thinking manufacturers and software makers, and we hope they will build many new innovative devices and applications using SkypeKit.

To request access to SkypeKit beta releases, please visit Skype Developer, our new developer portal. Please note, however, that Skype is issuing only a limited number of invitations to the beta program.