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Can an OVHcloud VPS Keep a YouTube Live Stream Running After You Log Out?

A remote tmux session can keep an encoder alive after SSH disconnect, but it will not restart a crash, survive a reboot, or prove YouTube ingest is healthy.

By DocumentaryTube Team 4 min read
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Yes—if the encoder is running on the OVHcloud VPS inside a persistent server-side session such as tmux, closing your local SSH client does not necessarily stop it. Logging out of SSH is not the same as stopping the encoder, rebooting the VPS, or losing YouTube ingest. A persistent session addresses only the first case; it does not automatically restart a crashed process or restore a failed stream.

What logging out of SSH does—and does not—do

SSH is the connection you use to control the remote VPS. If the encoder runs inside a tmux session on that VPS, you can detach from the session and close SSH while the encoder continues running server-side. A secondary guide describes this workflow, but it is not an OVHcloud guarantee for every operating system, encoder, or configuration.

Keep these separate failure modes in mind:

  • SSH disconnect: your control connection closes. A process in a persistent server-side session can continue.
  • Encoder crash: the process stops. tmux does not restart it.
  • VPS reboot: the server and its processes stop. tmux alone does not bring the encoder back after startup.
  • YouTube ingest failure: the encoder may still be running while YouTube is no longer receiving a healthy broadcast.

OVHcloud’s VPS security guidance covers administration and SSH security; it does not promise that an encoder will persist after logout.

Run the stream on the VPS and verify it reaches YouTube

  1. Connect to the VPS and start a persistent session. Create a tmux session on the remote server, then start the encoder inside it. The exact commands and encoder configuration depend on your Linux distribution and streaming setup; validate them for your environment.
  2. Configure YouTube ingest. In YouTube Live Control Room, open the stream settings and get the current server URL and stream key. YouTube’s RTMPS guidance says to provide the RTMPS URL and key to the encoder. Keep the key private: do not expose it in screenshots, public logs, or unprotected shared command history.
  3. Detach from tmux before disconnecting. Detach from the remote tmux client, then close the SSH connection. Do not terminate the encoder or its tmux session as part of the logout.
  4. Check the stream from both sides. Reconnect to the VPS to inspect the session or process, and check the broadcast status in YouTube Live Control Room. An active tmux session or process does not prove that YouTube is receiving the stream.
  5. Add separate recovery if you need it. For recovery after encoder crashes or VPS reboots, configure and test process supervision and restart behavior. The right setup depends on the server and encoder; there is no universal service file or command for an unspecified stream.

Choose the ingest protocol your encoder and stream support

Process persistence and ingest configuration are separate concerns. Use the protocol supported by your encoder and the settings selected for the YouTube stream; do not copy settings from one protocol into another.

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RTMPS

YouTube’s RTMPS instructions direct creators to retrieve the RTMPS server URL from Live Control Room and enter it, along with the stream key, in the encoder. When troubleshooting the SSL or connection issues covered there, verify that you selected the RTMPS URL and protocol rather than RTMP.

HLS

YouTube describes HLS ingest for HDR or codecs that RTMP does not support. Its HLS setup guidance requires TS segments sent with HTTPS POST/PUT, a rolling playlist with no more than five outstanding segments, and segment durations of one to four seconds. YouTube also notes that HLS has higher latency than a continuous RTMP stream.

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DASH

For DASH, Google’s YouTube Live Streaming API documentation says the multiplexed stream must contain audio and video tracks, use closed GOPs, and use a GOP size around two seconds and under eight seconds. These are requirements from the DASH protocol guide, not general recommendations for every ingest method.

Plan for the actual stream, not just the VPS label

There is no established mapping here from a particular OVHcloud VPS plan to a safe encoding workload or YouTube bitrate. Capacity depends on the media, codec, resolution, bitrate, and whether the VPS is encoding or relaying the stream, as well as its available CPU, memory, and network resources. Choose and validate a plan against your specific configuration; do not infer that a process surviving SSH logout proves the server can sustain the stream.

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Likewise, there is no single FFmpeg command that fits every source and ingest setup. Confirm the encoder’s input, output codec and profile, stream URL, key handling, and YouTube protocol settings before leaving a broadcast unattended.

Troubleshoot the failure you actually have

Symptom Likely distinction to check Next step
The stream stops when SSH closes The encoder may have been started in a session that ended with the SSH connection rather than a persistent server-side session. Start it inside a remote tmux session, detach before disconnecting, then reconnect and verify both the process and YouTube status.
The tmux session exists, but YouTube shows no healthy stream A running process does not establish successful ingest; the encoder may have failed or its destination settings may be wrong. Inspect the encoder output and confirm the current YouTube URL, stream key, and selected protocol in Live Control Room.
The encoder reports SSL or connection trouble The selected URL or protocol may not match the RTMPS configuration. Follow YouTube’s RTMPS guidance and check that the encoder uses the RTMPS URL and protocol: Encrypt your stream using RTMPS.
The stream does not return after a crash or reboot tmux preserves a session across ordinary SSH logout; it is not a process supervisor or boot-time restart mechanism. Set up and test separate supervision and startup behavior for the VPS and encoder.
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