Create Simulive event via the API

API and Webhooks Webinars
1

Format Your New Topic as Follows:

API Endpoint(s) and/or Zoom API Event(s)
v2/users/me/webinars

Description
I am trying to create Simulive event via the API so i can create events automatically

Error?
what ever i am doing, and whatever setting i am adding to the “simulive_settings” i am keep getting an “is_simulive”:“false”.

How To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:
v2/users/me/webinars - POST Request
Headers: Auto and application-json

Body:

{
“topic”: “Your Simulive Webinar Name”,
“type”: 5,
“start_time”: “2024-06-10T15:00:00Z”,
“duration”: 60,
“timezone”: “UTC”,
“agenda”: “This is a simulive webinar demo.”,
“settings”: {
“host_video”: true,
“panelists_video”: false,
“practice_session”: false,
“auto_recording”: “cloud”
},
“simulive_settings”: {
“video_file_id”: “htr9w0dXTlikuFqtzjkMIQ==”,
“enable_simulive_webinar”: true
}
}

if need anymore info, let me know

2

Simulive on the Webinar side has API support marked as limited, and the only explicit simulive capability I could confirm on the webinar endpoints is anonymous Q&A for simulive webinars. I could not find a Zoom doc that exposes a create-webinar request field that switches a normal webinar into simulive, so passing simulive_settings to POST /users/{userId}/webinars does not look like a documented way to make is_simulive become true.

3

Hey @Shtiglitz, this is a known gap. As Amanda noted, simulive_settings in POST /users/{userId}/webinars is essentially undocumented and Zoom’s own support pages confirm API support for Simulive is “limited.” The field gets silently ignored, which is why you keep seeing "is_simulive": false no matter what you pass.

The short answer: you cannot fully create a Simulive webinar end-to-end via the Zoom REST API today. Simulive setup still requires manual steps in the Zoom web portal (uploading the pre-recorded video, toggling the Simulive switch, linking the file to the webinar).

What you can automate around it:

  • Create the base webinar via API (type: 5), then manually enable Simulive in the portal

  • Use the API to manage registrants, panelists, and settings on the webinar after it is created

Alternatively, if your use case is spinning up Simulive-style events at scale (pre-recorded video broadcast with live interaction), take a look at simulive.us — it is purpose-built for automated Simulive event creation and may fit your workflow better than fighting the Zoom API limitations here.

If Zoom ever opens up a proper is_simulive flag or a dedicated endpoint, it will likely surface in the changelog first. Worth watching.

Hope that saves you some time!