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Run tmux on the remote Linux host that runs FFmpeg, start the stream inside a named tmux session, then detach with Ctrl+b followed by d. You can close SSH: the tmux session and FFmpeg process keep running on that host. Later, SSH back into the same host and account and reattach to the session.
What tmux does—and what it does not do
tmux keeps a terminal session alive when its client disconnects. It is useful when you want to leave an FFmpeg process running on a remote Linux machine and return to its output later. The tmux server must run on that same remote machine: starting tmux on your laptop does not protect a process running on a different host.
Detaching is not the same as stopping FFmpeg. But tmux is not a process supervisor: it does not restart FFmpeg if it exits, keep a stream alive through a host reboot, or repair a failed connection to YouTube. Each of those can fail independently.
Before you start
- A remote Linux host with FFmpeg and tmux installed, and an account you can reach over SSH.
- A video file accessible on that host. If it is on your computer, transfer it first or make it otherwise accessible to the remote machine.
- A YouTube channel eligible to create a live stream, with the stream URL and key available in YouTube Live Control Room.
- A stable outbound network connection from the host to YouTube and enough upload capacity for the configured stream bitrate.
YouTube recommends RTMPS, the encrypted extension to RTMP. Use the current endpoint and key shown for your stream in Live Control Room, and confirm that your FFmpeg build supports the protocol you choose. Treat the key like a password: do not publish it in scripts, screenshots, logs, or examples.
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Start FFmpeg in a named tmux session
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SSH into the machine that will stream
Connect to the remote host where the media file and FFmpeg are available. All commands below, including the tmux commands, run there.
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Create or reattach to the session
To create a new named session, run:
tmux new-session -s youtube-liveIf you may already have created it, avoid starting a second copy of the stream. Check existing sessions with
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tmux new-session -A -s youtube-liveThe
-Aoption attaches to the named session if it already exists, rather than creating a second session with that name. -
Run your FFmpeg command inside tmux
From the shell in the tmux session, run FFmpeg with your actual input file, encoding settings, and YouTube destination. FFmpeg documents this general real-time file-to-RTMP pattern:
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ffmpeg -re -i myfile -f flv rtmp://myserver/live/mystreamFor YouTube, replace the example input and destination with your file and the current stream URL and key from Live Control Room. The real key is secret; a safe illustrative destination uses a placeholder such as
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The example shows the real-time input option
-reand FLV output format; it is not a complete production encoding profile. Select codecs and bitrate for your source and desired resolution and frame rate. YouTube’s current encoder guidance recommends CBR and a two-second keyframe interval, not exceeding four seconds; recommended bitrate depends on codec, resolution, and frame rate. Check YouTube’s current settings table for the combination you plan to send rather than treating one bitrate as universal. Make sure your FFmpeg command actually sets the intended encoding and keyframe behavior.A normal file input ends when the file reaches its end. tmux does not loop it. If you need repeat playback, configure FFmpeg or a playlist workflow to loop deliberately, and verify the result before leaving the stream unattended.
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Check the stream, then detach
Wait for FFmpeg to connect and check the stream’s status and health in YouTube Live Control Room. YouTube recommends testing with representative movement and audio and monitoring stream health. Once the stream is running, press Ctrl+b, release both keys, then press d. This detaches your tmux client while leaving the session and its programs running.
Do not type
exitin the FFmpeg pane or kill the tmux session if you want the process to continue. After detaching, you can close SSH.
Reconnect and inspect the stream
- SSH into the same remote host using the same account.
- Reattach to the named session:
tmux attach-session -t youtube-live
The shorter equivalent is tmux attach -t youtube-live. You should see the existing terminal and FFmpeg output. Check YouTube Live Control Room as well; terminal output alone does not prove that viewers are receiving a healthy stream.
Troubleshoot common failures
- SSH closed and the stream stopped: Confirm that tmux was started on the remote host, FFmpeg ran inside that session, and you detached with Ctrl+b then d. If the shell or tmux session was exited or killed, detaching did not occur.
- The session cannot be found: Verify you connected to the same host and user. Check
tmux ls, and confirm that the session was not exited or killed. A different tmux socket or server configuration can also make an existing session appear unavailable. - FFmpeg cannot connect: Recheck the current URL and key in Live Control Room, and confirm that your FFmpeg build and network support the selected protocol. YouTube identifies an incorrect URL or missing RTMPS support in the encoder as possible causes of RTMPS connection problems.
- The video ends unexpectedly: A finite input file ending is normal unless you have configured looping. tmux preserves the process; it does not change FFmpeg’s playback behavior.
- The process exits or the host reboots: tmux will not restart FFmpeg after a process failure or restore it after a reboot. If those recovery behaviors matter, configure an appropriate service manager or another deliberate recovery mechanism separately.
- The output connection drops temporarily: FFmpeg documents a FIFO muxer example that can retry streaming after temporary failures. That is an FFmpeg-level recovery approach, not a feature of tmux; configure and test it separately if needed.
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