If your YouTube stream stops when you close SSH, first find out which process is publishing to YouTube. An FFmpeg command launched from your interactive SSH shell may exit with that session; an NGINX RTMP relay running as a system service should not normally stop merely because SSH disconnects. For a persistent FFmpeg publisher on Ubuntu, run it as a systemd service, then use its status and logs to diagnose failures.
Find out what is publishing to YouTube
NGINX RTMP and FFmpeg can play different roles. FFmpeg may publish directly to YouTube, or it may send video to NGINX, which then relays it to YouTube. The process that owns the outgoing connection to YouTube is the one whose lifetime and logs matter.
- Before disconnecting, identify the running FFmpeg and NGINX processes and the command or service that started them. Do not copy, post, or expose the stream key while inspecting command details.
- After SSH disconnects, reconnect and check whether the publisher process still exists. If the FFmpeg process is gone, establish whether it was launched from the shell, managed by a service that failed, or exited for another reason.
- If NGINX is the publisher or relay, check its system service and logs rather than assuming the SSH session owns it.
An SSH disconnect and a YouTube ingest failure are separate events until process status or logs show a connection. A process can remain alive while YouTube stops receiving a healthy stream.
Keep an FFmpeg publisher running with systemd
For a server-owned, long-running publisher on Ubuntu, create a system service that runs FFmpeg directly. An interactive shell is not a process supervisor: closing the session can take a shell-launched command with it. Ubuntu’s systemd service documentation recommends Restart=on-failure for long-running services to attempt recovery after errors. Ubuntu systemd.service manual
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1. Create a unit with your actual input and encoding arguments
Use the real FFmpeg executable path, input, encoding options, service account, and working directory for your setup. This example is a template, not a ready-to-run publishing command:
[Unit]
Description=YouTube RTMP publisher
After=network-online.target
Wants=network-online.target
[Service]
Type=simple
User=streamer
WorkingDirectory=/srv/stream
ExecStart=/usr/bin/ffmpeg [your input and encoding options] -f flv [your YouTube ingest URL]
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=5
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.targetReplace both bracketed sections with valid arguments. FFmpeg’s RTMP documentation describes URL components and gives an FLV output example; check the syntax against the installed FFmpeg version and your actual encoder configuration. Ubuntu FFmpeg protocol manual
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2. Protect the stream key
Keep the stream key in private configuration accessible only to the service account. Do not put it in a world-readable unit file, source control, or public logs. Depending on your Ubuntu and systemd versions, use a suitably permission-restricted environment file or a systemd credential mechanism. Confirm that any configuration you choose does not print the secret during startup or troubleshooting.
3. Load, enable, and check the service
Save the unit as /etc/systemd/system/youtube-publisher.service, then run:
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sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now youtube-publisher.service
sudo systemctl status youtube-publisher.service
sudo journalctl -u youtube-publisher.serviceEnabling the unit configures it to start with the system; --now starts it immediately. Use status for the current state and journalctl for recent output. If it fails, fix the specific FFmpeg error—such as an unreadable input, invalid arguments, codec issue, endpoint, key, or network problem—rather than repeatedly restarting it. Systemd applies start-rate limits, so repeated failures may stop automatic restart attempts until the underlying fault is addressed.
If NGINX RTMP is the publisher or relay
If NGINX itself pushes to YouTube, SSH should not be responsible for its lifetime when NGINX is properly running as a system service. Check the unit and its logs after reproducing the issue:
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sudo systemctl status nginx
sudo journalctl -u nginxBefore reloading a changed configuration, validate it:
sudo nginx -tIf validation succeeds, reload NGINX using the method appropriate to your installation. If it fails, correct the reported configuration error first. RTMP module installation differs by NGINX build: the cited NGINX package procedure is specifically for NGINX Plus, while the RTMP module is third-party in NGINX Open Source builds. Do not assume NGINX Plus package directions apply to an Ubuntu Open Source installation. NGINX Plus RTMP module guide NGINX RTMP module
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Check the YouTube connection separately
A running publisher does not prove that YouTube is receiving video. Check the encoder or NGINX output, YouTube Live Control Room health and status, the selected endpoint and stream key, outbound network access, and whether the input is producing data continuously.
RTMP is a transport protocol; the encoder’s output format and arguments still matter. If you choose RTMPS, use the endpoint shown in YouTube Live Control Room and confirm that your encoder supports it. YouTube describes RTMPS as RTMP over TLS/SSL; switching protocols does not keep a shell-launched process alive. YouTube Help: Stream with RTMPS
systemd or tmux: which should you use?
| Need | systemd service | tmux session |
|---|---|---|
| Survive closing SSH | Yes, when the service is correctly configured and running. | Useful for detaching an operator-managed terminal session. |
| Start automatically after reboot | Yes, when enabled. | Not by itself; it does not configure system startup. |
| Restart after a process failure | Can be configured with a restart policy such as Restart=on-failure. |
Does not by itself provide the same service restart policy. |
| Status and logs | Centralized through systemd status and the journal. | Operator attaches to the session to inspect it. |
| Best fit | A persistent server publisher. | A session an operator expects to manage interactively. |
For an always-on publisher owned by the server, systemd is the practical default. A multiplexer can keep a shell session detached, but does not replace service startup, failure recovery, and centralized lifecycle management.
Troubleshoot by symptom
- FFmpeg disappears right after logout: it may have been started in the SSH shell. Move the exact working command into the system service and inspect the unit status and journal.
- The service fails to start: check the journal for the first specific error. Verify the FFmpeg path, absolute input paths, permissions for the service account, working directory, and arguments.
- The service is active but YouTube shows no healthy stream: inspect encoder output and Live Control Room status; verify the private key and exact ingest endpoint, outbound connectivity, and continuous input.
- You use RTMPS but cannot connect: take the endpoint from YouTube Live Control Room and confirm encoder support. Changing RTMP to RTMPS does not fix process supervision.
- NGINX does not start or reload: run
nginx -t, read the reported error, and inspect the NGINX journal before changing relay directives. Check that the RTMP module is installed for your specific NGINX build. - Restarts stop after repeated failures: systemd start-rate limiting may have taken effect. Find and fix the recurring failure in the journal before trying again.
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