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Use Liquidsoap’s output.youtube.live.rtmp output to send your radio stream to YouTube Live. Because YouTube Live is a video broadcast, pair the radio audio with a video track—often a static station image—then encode and mux the audio and video, provide YouTube’s stream key, and confirm the feed in Live Control Room before relying on it.
How the Liquidsoap-to-YouTube route works
The path is: your existing Liquidsoap radio source, a video source, an encoder that produces compatible audio and video, and Liquidsoap’s YouTube RTMP output. The official Liquidsoap homepage shows a concise YouTube example using H.264 video and AAC audio. The more detailed Liquidsoap FFmpeg guide demonstrates combining audio and video with source.mux.video, encoding them, and sending the result through output.youtube.live.rtmp.
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The Liquidsoap Source / Output reference describes output.youtube.live.rtmp as an RTMP output for YouTube. Its documented arguments include a required stream key, an encoder, a source, and a url that defaults to rtmp://a.rtmp.youtube.com/live2; start defaults to true. Treat these as version-specific documentation, not a promise that every installed Liquidsoap build accepts the same syntax or options.
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Check your Liquidsoap and FFmpeg support
The linked development documentation is labeled 2.5.x dev; Liquidsoap’s 2.2.5 reference has differences in optional arguments. Use the documentation matching the version installed on your server, and check which operators and codecs that build provides. Liquidsoap’s FFmpeg integration depends on an external OCaml-FFmpeg binding package, so the presence of Liquidsoap alone does not establish that the necessary FFmpeg support is installed.
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- Confirm the installed Liquidsoap version and use its matching reference.
- Check that your build includes the FFmpeg integration and supports the encoders you intend to use.
- Verify that your source reaching the output contains both audio and video, not audio alone.
Prepare the audio and video sources
Keep your existing radio audio
Start with the working Liquidsoap source that carries your station’s audio. You do not need to turn the station into a camera broadcast: a still image can provide the video track required for a conventional YouTube Live stream. An animated or audio-reactive visual is another option, but it may require more processing. Liquidsoap’s documentation establishes audio/video composition; it does not prescribe a visual design.
Pair the sources before sending them to YouTube
Use Liquidsoap’s documented audio/video composition approach, such as source.mux.video, to produce a source with both tracks. Then encode the audio and video and pass that composed source, encoder, and key to output.youtube.live.rtmp. The official FFmpeg guide’s example uses AAC audio and H.264 video. Adapt its code to your installed version rather than pasting development-doc syntax into an older build unchanged.
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For one output, a direct inline FFmpeg encode is generally easier to reason about. If you share encoded streams across multiple outputs, account for the container and global-header handling described in Liquidsoap’s FFmpeg guide; compatibility details can matter when encoded data is reused across containers.
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Set live encoder parameters for YouTube
YouTube’s live encoder help, checked 2026-10-03 (the page does not display a publication year), lists RTMP and RTMPS ingestion; H.264, H.265/HEVC, and AV1 video; AAC or MP3 audio; constant bitrate (CBR); and frame rates up to 60 fps. Liquidsoap’s YouTube examples use H.264 and AAC, both listed by YouTube. Consult YouTube’s live encoder settings for its current codec- and frame-rate-specific recommendations.
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| Setting | YouTube guidance checked 2026-10-03 | How to apply it |
|---|---|---|
| Keyframe interval | 2 seconds recommended; 4 seconds maximum | Set the encoder’s keyframe interval accordingly. |
| Stereo audio bitrate | 128 kbps recommended for AAC or MP3 | Use this as YouTube’s stated stereo recommendation, not a guarantee of suitability for every source. |
| H.264 video bitrate examples | 5 Mbps at 1080p30; 3 Mbps at 720p30 | These figures apply to the listed resolutions and frame rate; consult YouTube’s table for other combinations and codecs. |
| Rate control | CBR is listed | Configure constant bitrate when supported by your selected encoder. |
YouTube recommends RTMPS for encrypted transport. Liquidsoap’s reference documents an RTMP output and an RTMP default URL; do not assume an RTMPS URL works with your version and output path. Check the matching Liquidsoap documentation and validate the protocol before using it.
These are YouTube help-page recommendations, not permanent values or a substitute for a connection test. Keep outbound upload capacity above the total stream bitrate. YouTube’s live streaming tips recommend 20% headroom; measure upload capacity rather than relying on download speed alone.
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Create and protect the YouTube stream key
- Open YouTube Live Control Room and create or select the stream you intend to send.
- Copy the stream URL and stream key shown for that stream, then configure the Liquidsoap output with the correct URL and key.
- Keep the key secret: YouTube uses it to identify where the encoder sends the feed and to accept that feed.
- Prefer storing the key separately from the main script. The Liquidsoap book demonstrates reading it from a separate
youtube-keyfile and trimming surrounding whitespace withstring.trim(file.contents(...)). Confirm that exact file-reading syntax against your installed Liquidsoap version. - If the key is exposed, reset it in Live Control Room and replace the value used by Liquidsoap.
Do not put a real key in a public script, screenshot, log, or example. YouTube’s stream management guidance covers managing the stream and its key.
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- Start the Liquidsoap output with representative audio and the intended video source.
- Open the stream’s preview in Live Control Room and wait for YouTube to receive the feed.
- Check that both picture and sound are present, then review YouTube’s stream-health messages.
- Listen and watch for a practical test period before announcing or depending on the broadcast; monitor the health indicators during the event.
YouTube advises testing before going live and monitoring stream health. A successful Liquidsoap process by itself does not confirm that YouTube is receiving a usable, healthy audio/video feed.
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Troubleshoot common failures
| Symptom | Likely checks and fixes |
|---|---|
| YouTube shows no incoming feed | Confirm the output is running, check the copied stream URL and key, and verify that the installed Liquidsoap build has the required FFmpeg support. |
| Audio arrives but the picture is missing | Check that the source passed to the output has a video track as well as audio; confirm the video source is included in the mux. |
| YouTube reports an encoder issue | Compare the selected codec, frame rate, bitrate, CBR setting, and keyframe interval with YouTube’s live encoder guidance. Do not substitute settings intended for uploaded videos. |
| Ingest is unstable or drops | Check outbound bandwidth and connection stability, reduce the stream bitrate if needed, and retain upload headroom. Watch YouTube’s stream-health status while testing. |
| The key may have been exposed | Reset it in Live Control Room, then update the Liquidsoap configuration to use the replacement key. |
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