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FFmpeg

How to Route a Liquidsoap Radio Stream into YouTube Live

A practical guide to sending Liquidsoap radio audio and a video track to YouTube Live, protecting the stream key, choosing encoder settings and fixing common ingest problems.

By DocumentaryTube Team 6 min read
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Use Liquidsoap’s output.youtube.live.rtmp output, but give it both your radio audio and a video track: YouTube Live expects a video broadcast, even when the picture is only a station still. Encode the audio and video, supply your YouTube stream key, then confirm the incoming preview and stream health in YouTube Live Control Room before relying on the broadcast.

What you need before configuring Liquidsoap

  • A working Liquidsoap radio source.
  • A video source to accompany the audio, such as a static station image or an audio-reactive visual.
  • A Liquidsoap build with the required FFmpeg support. Liquidsoap’s FFmpeg integration uses an external OCaml-FFmpeg binding package, so operator and codec availability depend on how Liquidsoap was installed.
  • A YouTube Live stream and its stream URL and key from Live Control Room.
  • Enough stable outbound bandwidth for the combined audio and video bitrate, plus headroom.

Liquidsoap’s documented destination is output.youtube.live.rtmp. Its reference lists a required key, encoder and source; the URL defaults to rtmp://a.rtmp.youtube.com/live2, and start defaults to true. The reference describes it as a way to “Stream to youtube using RTMP.” See the Liquidsoap Source / Output reference.

Liquidsoap’s current development documentation is labeled 2.5.x, while a 2.2.5 reference also exists. Treat examples as version-specific: use documentation matching your installed release and check that your build provides the operators and codecs used below. See Liquidsoap FFmpeg Support and the Liquidsoap project site.

Build the audio-and-video source

Your radio source supplies audio, but not necessarily video. Add a video source before encoding and muxing the two tracks. For a simple radio broadcast, that could be a still image; an animated or audio-reactive visual is another option if your production needs and processing capacity allow it. Liquidsoap’s documentation demonstrates combining an audio source with a video source using source.mux.video, then encoding audio and video for the YouTube output.

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The official Liquidsoap site shows a YouTube-oriented encoder in this form: %ffmpeg(%video(codec="libx264"), %audio(codec="aac")). This identifies H.264 video and AAC audio as example choices, not a complete, release-independent configuration. For the detailed muxing and FFmpeg examples, see Liquidsoap FFmpeg Support.

For one destination, a direct FFmpeg encoder is the simpler arrangement to reason about. Liquidsoap also documents sharing encoded data across outputs, but doing so can introduce container and global-header considerations. Its FFmpeg guide discusses handling global headers when encoded data is shared between containers; follow that guidance only if your setup actually needs shared output.

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Configure the YouTube output

  1. Prepare the source. Ensure the source supplied to the output contains both the radio audio and the video track. A working audio-only source alone does not provide the picture YouTube Live needs.
  2. Select an encoder. Configure the audio/video encoder supported by your Liquidsoap build. Liquidsoap’s YouTube examples use H.264 video and AAC audio; confirm the relevant FFmpeg operators and codecs exist in your installed version.
  3. Get the ingest details. In YouTube Live Control Room, create or select the stream and copy its stream URL and key. YouTube explains that the key tells the encoder where to send the feed and allows YouTube to accept it; see its Live streaming setup guidance.
  4. Call output.youtube.live.rtmp. Pass the composed source, encoder and key. The Liquidsoap reference documents the default RTMP URL as rtmp://a.rtmp.youtube.com/live2; specify a different URL only when your chosen output path and installed version support it.
  5. Start and validate. Start the output and wait for the incoming preview in Live Control Room. Check stream health and audio/video before announcing the event or depending on it.

Keep the stream key out of public scripts, screenshots, logs and source control. Liquidsoap’s book demonstrates keeping it in a separate youtube-key file and trimming surrounding whitespace with string.trim(file.contents(...)). Match that file-reading syntax to your Liquidsoap version. Treat the key like a password; if it is exposed, reset it in Live Control Room and update your configuration. See the Liquidsoap book and YouTube’s stream management guidance.

Set encoder values for YouTube Live

YouTube’s live encoder help, checked on 2026-10-03 (the page does not display a publication year), lists RTMP/RTMPS ingest; H.264, H.265/HEVC or AV1 video; AAC or MP3 audio; CBR; and frame rates up to 60 fps. These are live-stream recommendations, not the separate settings for uploading a recorded video. Check YouTube’s current live encoder settings when choosing a codec and bitrate.

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Setting YouTube guidance checked 2026-10-03 How to apply it
Keyframe interval 2 seconds recommended; do not exceed 4 seconds. Set this in the encoder’s live output configuration.
Stereo audio bitrate 128 kbps recommended for AAC or MP3. Use this as the stated stereo recommendation, not as a universal target for every audio arrangement.
H.264 video bitrate 5 Mbps for 1080p30; 3 Mbps for 720p30. These figures apply to the listed H.264 resolution and frame-rate combinations; use the live table for other settings and codecs.
Rate control CBR is listed. Use constant bitrate for a straightforward live configuration where supported.

YouTube recommends RTMPS for encrypted transport. Liquidsoap’s documented output is an RTMP operator with an RTMP default URL, so do not assume an RTMPS URL works in every Liquidsoap version or output path. Check support in the documentation for your installed release and validate the connection before going live.

Test the broadcast before relying on it

  1. Run a representative test with the actual audio source, video source and encoder settings.
  2. Confirm that Live Control Room receives the feed and shows the intended picture and audio.
  3. Read the stream-health messages and correct any encoder warnings before treating the stream as ready.
  4. Monitor audio/video and connection stability during the broadcast. YouTube advises testing before going live and monitoring stream health in its live encoder guidance.

Check upload capacity, not download speed. YouTube’s streaming tips recommend keeping upload capacity above the stream’s total bitrate and leaving 20% headroom. If the outbound connection is unstable, reduce bitrate or resolution using YouTube’s codec- and frame-rate-specific table, and confirm that the connection remains stable. See YouTube’s streaming tips.

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Troubleshoot common Liquidsoap-to-YouTube problems

Symptom What to check Fix
No incoming feed Stream URL and key; whether the Liquidsoap output is running; whether the installed build has the required FFmpeg support. Re-copy the correct ingest details, verify the output and confirm the relevant operators and codecs are available in your build.
Audio arrives but the picture is missing Whether the source passed to the output includes a video track as well as audio. Add and mux a video source with the radio audio before encoding.
YouTube reports an encoder problem Codec, frame rate, bitrate and keyframe interval against YouTube’s live requirements. Correct the live encoder settings using the current live guidance; do not substitute upload-video settings.
Ingest is unstable Outbound bandwidth, bitrate and connection stability. Lower the stream bitrate if needed, preserve upload headroom and monitor the connection.
The key may have been exposed Whether the key appeared in a public script, screenshot, log or shared configuration. Reset the key in Live Control Room and replace it in Liquidsoap.

Or let it run in the cloud

If your goal is to keep a prerecorded radio visual live on YouTube without maintaining a Liquidsoap host, StreamNeo is a separate cloud option: upload a recording or build a playlist, add your YouTube stream key once, and go live. It plays uploaded videos rather than broadcasting from a camera.

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