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First determine whether the container is exiting
A YouTube stream going offline can mean two different things: the encoder container stopped, or the container is still running but is no longer publishing a usable stream. Docker restart policies address the first case, not the second. Use the container’s state, exit code, and restart count before changing its policy.
- Show running and stopped containers. Run
docker ps -a, then identify the encoder container by name or ID. - Inspect its state and restart history. Replace
<container>with the container name or ID:docker inspect -f 'status={{.State.Status}} exit={{.State.ExitCode}} restarts={{.RestartCount}} started={{.State.StartedAt}}' <container> - Read recent output with timestamps.
docker logs --timestamps --since 30m <container> - Follow new output while reproducing the problem.
docker logs --follow --timestamps <container>
Docker documents docker inspect for restart-count inspection and the time filters and timestamp options for docker logs in its container logs reference and container inspect reference. These commands depend on the logging driver: a configured driver may not support reading output through docker logs.
If the container is stopped or repeatedly restarting
Investigate the process exit, exit code, startup failures, and whether the host or Docker daemon restarted. The logs just before each exit may show an application error, missing configuration, or another failure, but an exit code alone does not identify the cause. Compare the restart count and start time with the time the stream went offline.
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If the container remains Up
Read the encoder’s own output and check YouTube’s stream-health messages. A container can be running while its encoder has lost the publishing connection, is failing to reconnect, or is sending a stream YouTube cannot ingest. Changing Docker’s restart policy alone will not address a process that has not exited.
Choose a Docker restart policy for the container’s lifecycle
Docker supports four restart policies: no (the default), on-failure[:max-retries], always, and unless-stopped. They describe what Docker should do when a container stops; they are not YouTube reconnect settings.
| Policy | What it does | Useful when |
|---|---|---|
no |
Does not automatically restart the container. | You want to manage restarts yourself. |
on-failure[:max-retries] |
Restarts after a nonzero exit, optionally limiting retries. It does not restart the container just because the Docker daemon restarts. | You want retries for process failures, but not for every stop or daemon restart. |
always |
Restarts a stopped container, including after a daemon restart, subject to Docker’s manual-stop behavior. | The service should generally come back whenever it stops. |
unless-stopped |
Behaves similarly to always, but a container manually stopped by an operator remains stopped after a daemon restart. |
A long-running service should recover from exits and daemon restarts, but respect an intentional stop. |
For a long-running encoder that should return after an exit or daemon restart but stay down after an operator intentionally stops it, unless-stopped is a reasonable choice. Docker’s restart-policy documentation says the policy takes effect only after the container has started successfully for at least 10 seconds. Docker uses an initial 100-millisecond restart delay, doubles the delay for subsequent attempts, and caps it at one minute.
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Set the policy in Compose
services:
streamer:
image: your-encoder-image
restart: unless-stoppedUse the service’s actual image and any configuration it needs; the example shows only the restart setting.
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Set or update it with the Docker CLI
For a newly created container, add the policy to the docker run command:
docker run --restart unless-stopped ...For an existing container, update it with:
docker update --restart unless-stopped <container>Docker recommends restart policies for containers and cautions against combining them with host-level process managers to start containers, because the two management approaches can conflict. A policy also cannot repair an encoder that is alive but no longer connected to YouTube; investigate the encoder’s own reconnect behavior and the connection or ingestion fault.
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Compare Docker logs with YouTube stream health
Open the stream in YouTube Live Control Room and review the Stream health indicator and its error timestamps. YouTube’s stream-health guidance explains that the Live Dashboard and Live Control Room check the incoming stream and show messages by the health indicator. Critical errors appear red; moderate errors appear yellow.
YouTube lists problems including incorrect bitrate, unsupported or incorrect codecs, audio/video stream structure, and keyframe frequency. Compare the time and category of a YouTube error with Docker’s state changes and log entries:
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- If the container remains Up while YouTube reports an ingestion error, check encoder configuration and the upload path.
- If neither source explains the interruption, inspect the encoder’s connection and reconnect messages, then test the publishing path before the next live event.
Matching timestamps narrow the investigation; they do not prove that one event caused the other. Docker logs describe the container, while YouTube’s health messages describe the incoming stream.
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Verify encoder settings and the publishing connection
Check the encoder’s output against YouTube’s current encoder settings guidance. YouTube lists RTMP or RTMPS for ingestion; H.264, H.265, or AV1 video; AAC or MP3 audio; constant bitrate (CBR); and support for up to 60 frames per second. It recommends a two-second keyframe interval and says not to exceed four seconds.
Do not choose a bitrate from a generic “YouTube bitrate” number. The target depends on the ingestion codec, resolution, and frame rate. Use YouTube’s current bitrate table for the specific combination you are sending, and choose a quality your upload connection can sustain reliably. YouTube recommends RTMPS for encrypted ingestion.
Check the stream URL and key privately
The encoder needs the stream URL and stream key shown in YouTube Live Control Room. Treat the key like a credential: do not post it in public logs, screenshots, or support messages. If a third-party encoder reports a stream-key startup problem, YouTube’s live-stream troubleshooting guidance recommends getting a new key in Live Control Room and updating the encoder.
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Test before relying on the stream
YouTube recommends testing before an event with audio and movement similar to the real stream, checking stream health during the event, and choosing a quality the connection can reliably maintain. Its live-stream tips also advise checking the preview, testing encoder failover, verifying that the local archive is growing, and monitoring audio and video quality.
Check logs and disk use over time
Docker’s default json-file logging driver does not rotate logs by default, so a high-output container can consume substantial disk space. Docker documents the local logging driver as optimized for performance and disk use, with rotation and compression. Logging-driver changes made through daemon defaults apply to newly created containers; existing containers keep their logging configuration unless recreated with new settings. See Docker’s logging configuration documentation.
Disk use is worth checking if logs are large or the host is low on space, but that fact alone does not show that disk exhaustion caused a particular stream interruption. Confirm available disk space and look for corresponding errors in the container and host logs before changing logging settings.
Common symptoms and what to check next
| Symptom | What it suggests | Next check |
|---|---|---|
| Container is stopped; restart count does not increase. | No restart policy may be configured, or the configured policy may not apply to this stop. | Inspect the container’s configured policy, exit code, and logs; choose a policy that matches the intended lifecycle. |
| Container restarts repeatedly. | The process is exiting, possibly during startup or while publishing. | Read timestamped logs around each exit and inspect the exit code and restart count. |
| Container stays Up, but YouTube says the stream is offline. | The container lifecycle is not the immediate issue; the encoder, ingestion settings, or connection may be failing. | Compare encoder logs with YouTube’s Stream health errors and verify codec, bitrate, audio/video structure, keyframe interval, and connection. |
| YouTube reports a stream-key startup problem. | The encoder may not be publishing with a usable key. | Privately obtain a new stream key in Live Control Room and update the encoder; do not expose the key in logs or screenshots. |
docker logs returns no usable output. |
The configured logging driver may not expose logs through that command. | Check the container’s logging configuration and use the logging system configured for that driver. |
| Host storage is shrinking while logs grow. | Unrotated, high-volume logs can consume disk space. | Check disk use and logging configuration; consider Docker’s local driver when recreating the container with the intended logging setup. |
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