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When a devotional livestream drops from YouTube and the VPS behind it has run out of disk space, the encoder usually cannot write the files it needs, so it stops sending video. To recover, confirm the cause on the server, free space only from files you have identified as disposable, restart the encoder, and then check YouTube’s own health messages before you assume the channel is back.
Public guidance does not give a universal disk threshold, a log path for every distribution, or a restart command for every VPS, so the steps below use standard Linux commands and ask you to substitute your own service and folder names where they differ.
Why a full disk takes a YouTube stream offline
An encoder that loops a bhajan, kirtan or katha video from a VPS typically writes something to disk while it runs: temporary segments, a log, a buffer, or a local recording. Each new write needs free bytes and a free inode, which is the index entry that tracks each file. When either runs out, the write fails with No space left on device. Depending on the software, the encoder then either exits or keeps running with no output. In the second case, the process looks alive on the server while YouTube receives nothing. YouTube’s API health reference lists an issue type called videoIngestionStarved, which is the kind of signal to look for when the encoder seems to be running but video stops arriving.
Step 1: Decide whether the problem is on your server or with viewers
Before you touch the VPS, establish where the failure is. YouTube’s troubleshooting guidance (YouTube Help, “Troubleshoot your YouTube live stream”) says that a report from a single viewer may point to that viewer’s connection, while reports from viewers on different connections point more strongly to the encoder.
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- One viewer reports the stream is down, others see it: check that viewer’s connection first and move on.
- Several viewers on different networks see it down: continue with the VPS checks below.
- Open Live Control Room from YouTube Studio and note the timestamps of any health errors. Then run
dateon the VPS and compare the server clock with those timestamps. If the server clock is off, the timeline will mislead you.
Step 2: Check bytes and inodes on the right filesystem
Look at the filesystem the encoder actually uses, not only /. Run df -h /path/to/encoder to see which mount holds its working directory, and then the full view with df -h. Use df -i to check inodes.
Free bytes
The Use% column of df -h shows bytes. A value of 100% on the encoder’s mount means new writes will fail there, regardless of what other mounts show.
Inodes
Run df -i. An IUse% of 100% means the filesystem cannot create new files even when df -h still shows free bytes. This happens when a process writes many small files, such as per-segment logs or thumbnails, that never get cleaned up.
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What is using the space
Run sudo du -xh --max-depth=1 / | sort -rh | head -n 15. The -x flag keeps du on one filesystem so it does not wander into other mounts. Repeat the command inside the largest directory it reports. On a large disk the scan can take several minutes.
Deleted files still held open
Run sudo lsof +L1. This lists files that have been deleted from their directory but are still held open by a running process. Their space is not released until that process closes them or restarts, which is one common reason df reports more used space than du can account for.
When df and du disagree
A Huawei Cloud troubleshooting write-up on a full Linux filesystem (publication year not stated) gives an example of this mismatch: a filesystem with 89 MB total, 87 MB used and 0 MB available, while du reported 5.9 MB for the directory it inspected. The example illustrates the discrepancy only; it does not describe your VPS. When the numbers disagree, check three things in order: deleted files held open (lsof +L1), files hidden under a mount point that was not mounted when they were written, and reserved blocks. On ext4, 5% of blocks are reserved for root by default, so a non-root user can see zero available space while root can still write. Do not reduce the reserve unless you understand the trade-off.
Step 3: Find the failure in the encoder log
Search the logs for the write error and note the time of the first occurrence:
- Systemd services:
journalctl --since "2 hours ago" | grep -i "no space left" - File-based logs:
sudo grep -ri "no space left" /var/log | tail -n 20
If the first write error comes before the first YouTube health error, the disk is the likely origin. If the health error came first, look at the network and encoder settings in Step 6 before you blame storage.
Step 4: Free space without deleting what you need
Do not run a blind rm against a folder you have not identified. The sources available do not identify your distribution, disk layout, log manager or retention obligations, so work through these steps in order.
- Map the consumers from Step 2 to their purpose. Mark the encoder’s current input file, the recording it is writing now, any recordings you must keep, and anything under
/etc,/usr,/bootor package directories as off-limits. - Clear logs through their supported method. Check the systemd journal with
sudo journalctl --disk-usage, then cap it withsudo journalctl --vacuum-size=500M. The 500M figure is an example; choose a size that fits your disk. For application logs, runsudo logrotate -f /etc/logrotate.confonly if your rotation configuration covers them. - Move recordings you need off the VPS. Copy with
rsync -av source/ destination/, confirm the copy is complete, and only then delete the original. - Remove disposable generated files you have confirmed are not in use, such as temporary segments that your encoder setup creates and never reuses.
- Restart any process holding deleted files open (Step 2), since the space returns only when the process closes them.
- If the disk is genuinely too small for the workload, expand it or move the encoder to larger storage using your provider’s documented resize process. Provider steps differ, so follow the provider’s own documentation rather than a generic procedure.
Step 5: Restart the encoder and confirm it is writing
Find the service name first if you do not know it: systemctl list-units --type=service --state=running. Then restart it with sudo systemctl restart followed by that unit name. If the encoder runs inside tmux or screen, attach to that session and restart the command. If your hosting control panel manages the process, use its restart control.
After the restart, expect the following:
df -handdf -ishow stable usage on the encoder’s mount, not a climb.journalctl -fshows normal encoder output and no newNo space left on devicelines.
Step 6: Confirm YouTube is receiving the stream and check ingest settings
In Live Control Room, look for health messages with timestamps after your restart. YouTube’s guidance (YouTube Help, “Troubleshoot your YouTube live stream”) recommends checking the encoder version, whether the stream appears in the encoder, encoder errors, CPU load, and the strength of the outbound connection. If the encoder looks healthy but YouTube reports a problem, test the VPS’s upload capacity against your stream bitrate.
If the encoder cannot start at all and reports a stream key error, generate a new stream key in Live Control Room and update the encoder with it. This is a separate branch: the sources do not connect a stream key failure to a full disk.
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Ingest settings to check
YouTube’s live streaming error messages (YouTube Help, “Live streaming error messages”) name the specific settings that cause ingest problems. Check the value that each message names rather than a generic target.
| Setting | What YouTube documents | How to check on the VPS |
|---|---|---|
| Video codec | H.264 video is among the documented ingest expectations. An unsupported video codec is flagged in the API health reference. | Run ffprobe -v error -show_streams source.mp4 on the file the encoder loops, and check codec_name. |
| Audio codec | AAC audio is among the documented ingest expectations. | Same ffprobe output: check the audio codec_name. |
| Keyframe interval | YouTube’s configuration guidance asks for a keyframe every 2 seconds, which is every 60 frames at 30 fps. | In FFmpeg, set the group-of-pictures size with -g (for example -g 60 at 30 fps). Check your encoder’s own keyframe setting if it is not FFmpeg. |
| Bitrate | Bitrate problems appear as named errors in Live Control Room; the threshold is the one the message reports. | Read the encoder’s video bitrate setting and compare it with the value in the error message. |
| Resolution | Unsupported resolutions are flagged in the error messages. | Confirm the width and height in the ffprobe output match the resolution named in the message. |
| Backup ingest | Primary and backup streams must use matching settings. | Compare both encoder outputs if you run a backup ingest. |
Troubleshooting: symptom, cause and fix
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
Encoder log shows No space left on device; df -h shows 100% on the encoder’s mount |
Bytes exhausted | Follow Step 4, then restart in Step 5. |
df -h shows free bytes but writes still fail |
Inodes exhausted (df -i at 100%) |
Find the directory with the most files: sudo find /path -xdev -type f -printf "%hn" | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -n 10. Clean up disposable files there. |
df and du disagree |
Deleted files held open, or files hidden under an unmounted mount point | Run sudo lsof +L1, restart the holding process, then recheck. |
| Zero available for a normal user, but root can still write | ext4 reserved blocks | Free space normally. Change the reserve only if you understand the trade-off. |
| Encoder runs; health reports video ingestion starved after restart | The encoder is not sending video | Check the process and its log for new errors, then recheck Live Control Room timestamps. |
| Health reports an unsupported video codec or resolution | Output does not match YouTube’s documented ingest settings | Re-encode the output to H.264 and the resolution named in the message, then restart. |
| Encoder won’t start; stream key error | Stream key problem | Generate a new stream key in Live Control Room and update the encoder. |
| Encoder healthy, viewers on several networks still see problems | Outbound connection too weak for the bitrate | Test upload from the VPS and lower the bitrate or move to a better network path. |
Prevent the next outage
A full disk is a slow failure with a long warning period, so measure it. Track free bytes now and again after 24 hours. Divide the free space by the daily growth to estimate the days left. For example, 40 GB free with 2 GB of growth per day leaves about 20 days; that figure is arithmetic on your own numbers, not a benchmark. Set your alert threshold from that measurement.
A simple check script run from cron every five minutes covers both bytes and inodes:
#!/bin/sh
LIMIT=80 # choose this after measuring your growth rate
USED=$(df -P /var | awk 'NR==2 {gsub("%","",$5); print $5}')
INODES=$(df -Pi /var | awk 'NR==2 {gsub("%","",$5); print $5}')
[ "$USED" -ge "$LIMIT" ] && logger "disk alert: /var at ${USED}% bytes"
[ "$INODES" -ge "$LIMIT" ] && logger "disk alert: /var at ${INODES}% inodes"Replace /var with the mount your encoder writes to. Then bound what grows:
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/etc/systemd/journald.confwithSystemMaxUse=, then restartsystemd-journald. - Use logrotate with a size limit for application logs, so rotation happens by size as well as by date.
- Put recordings on their own mount or directory, so a runaway log cannot fill the same filesystem as the encoder’s working files.
- When an alert fires, check stream health in Live Control Room at the same time. A disk alert followed by a health error points to storage; a health error with a healthy disk points to the network or the ingest settings.
Or let it run in the cloud
The method above keeps the stream running only while the VPS has free space, a working network path and a running encoder. StreamNeo (https://streamneo.com) is a cloud service made by Yorker Media that keeps a YouTube channel live 24/7 from uploaded videos. It plays your uploaded video or playlist from its own cloud, so your VPS is no longer in the path. StreamNeo streams to YouTube only, and it plays uploaded videos rather than going live from a camera.
- Upload your video recording or build a playlist in StreamNeo.
- Add your YouTube stream key once.
- Go live.
The reasons this matters for a devotional channel:
- Nothing has to stay on at home or on the VPS. No computer, OBS or home connection has to run for the loop to continue.
- Whatever you upload streams as you made it, up to 4K 60fps, with no re-encode and no quality tiers, at one flat price per slot. Each slot includes 10 GB of storage, pooled across your active slots, so you still decide what to keep.
- Automatic recovery if YouTube drops the stream.
- The first day is free with no card, once per account.
- The Monthly plan is $9.99 per month. Daily, weekly, six-month and yearly options are on the pricing page. UPI works for payment in India, and cards work for checkout worldwide.
If you run a bhajan, kirtan or other devotional channel from an Indian VPS, you can start with the free day and see whether a cloud loop removes the disk-space risk from your schedule. Start your free day at app.streamneo.com/register.
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