# Qualcomm IM SDK environment overview The Qualcomm IM SDK provides the development environment with upstream and Qualcomm [GStreamer](https://gstreamer.freedesktop.org/) plugins as APIs. You can use these APIs to develop and optimize applications, create pipelines, and customize plugins. The following figure shows a high-level overview of the Qualcomm IM SDK environment: Multimedia and Al/ML development environment GStreamer Framework Optimize applications Create pipelines Customize plugins Develop C/C++ and Python applications Qualcomm plugins Python bindings Upstream plugins Open source APIs Upstream Qualcomm **Figure : Qualcomm IM SDK environment** ## Next steps - [Qualcomm Intelligent Multimedia SDK (IM SDK) quickstart guide](https://docs.qualcomm.com/bundle/publicresource/topics/80-80021-51/qmi-sdk-qsg-landing-page.html) - [SDK overview](https://docs.qualcomm.com/bundle/publicresource/topics/80-80021-115/sdks.html) Last Published: Mar 26, 2026 [Previous Topic Qualcomm IM SDK documentation](https://docs.qualcomm.com/bundle/publicresource/80-80021-50/topics/qimsdk_landing_page.md) [Next Topic Run sample applications](https://docs.qualcomm.com/bundle/publicresource/80-80021-50/topics/example-applications.md)