You can keep FFmpeg streaming after you disconnect from SSH by running it as a supervised systemd service on your Linux VPS. The path is: configure FFmpeg to send your source to the current RTMPS endpoint and stream key from YouTube Live Control Room, test the stream, then define and verify a service for your distribution. systemd can restart a process, but it cannot fix an invalid key, a missing input, insufficient server capacity, or a YouTube-side stream problem.
How the setup works
Your media source is read by FFmpeg on the VPS; FFmpeg encodes or packages it and sends it over RTMPS to YouTube; systemd starts and supervises the FFmpeg process independently of your SSH session. The service is only one part of the chain. A process can remain active while its input is stalled or YouTube reports an unhealthy stream.
This guide applies to a Linux VPS, including an OVHcloud instance, but the exact operating system image, systemd version, FFmpeg build, and VPS capacity depend on what you selected. The available evidence does not establish an OVHcloud plan that can encode a particular resolution or sustain a particular bitrate. Check the provider’s current compute, traffic, and network terms, then test your actual workload on the chosen host.
What you need before creating a service
- A Linux VPS with systemd, and a user account permitted to install software and configure a service.
- An installed FFmpeg build that supports the input, codecs, and RTMPS output you intend to use. Package names and build capabilities vary by distribution; verify them for your image rather than assuming a package includes a particular encoder or protocol.
- A defined input: for example, a media file or a live source. File looping, capture devices, RTSP inputs, and generated media need different input options; this example does not prescribe reconnect or looping behavior for every source.
- A YouTube live event or stream, its current RTMPS server URL, and its stream key.
- Outbound connectivity from the VPS to YouTube’s RTMPS ingestion service on port 443.
Get the RTMPS URL and stream key from YouTube
- Open YouTube Live Control Room and select the live stream or event you intend to use.
- In the Stream URL field, use the lock control to reveal the RTMPS URL, then copy the URL and the stream key into your private configuration. YouTube’s instructions are at Encrypt your stream using RTMPS.
- Keep the key private: do not put a real key in a public repository, screenshot, published example, or world-readable configuration. If it is exposed, manage or replace it through YouTube Studio.
Use the exact endpoint shown for your stream, including its hostname and application path; do not guess an ingestion URL. YouTube recommends RTMPS, which carries RTMP over an encrypted connection. YouTube’s ingestion guidance specifies port 443 and requires the RTMPS hostname for TLS SNI authentication: Delivering Live YouTube Content via RTMPS.
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Choose an encoder profile before making it persistent
YouTube’s encoder guidance, checked October 3, 2026, lists RTMP/RTMPS, H.264, H.265/HEVC, and AV1; frame rates up to 60 fps; constant bitrate (CBR); and a recommended two-second keyframe interval, not exceeding four seconds. For RTMP/RTMPS, supported audio choices are AAC or MP3; 5.1 surround is supported only with AAC. YouTube lists stereo audio at 44.1 kHz and 128 Kbps, and 5.1 audio at 48 kHz and 384 Kbps. Check YouTube’s current encoder settings and bitrate table when selecting a different codec or profile.
These are YouTube-published encoding figures, not a promise about an OVHcloud VPS. The following H.264 figures are YouTube’s minimum and recommended video bitrates, respectively:
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|---|---|---|
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| 2160p (4K), 30 fps | 11 Mbps | 42 Mbps |
| 1440p, 60 fps | 8 Mbps | 34 Mbps |
| 1440p, 30 fps | 7 Mbps | 21 Mbps |
| 1080p, 60 fps | 6 Mbps | 17 Mbps |
| 1080p, 30 fps | 5 Mbps | 14 Mbps |
| 720p, 60 fps | 3 Mbps | 8 Mbps |
| 720p, 30 fps | 3 Mbps | 8 Mbps |
| 480p, 30 fps | 0.4 Mbps | 4 Mbps |
| 360p, 30 fps | 0.4 Mbps | 4 Mbps |
The AV1 and H.265 recommendations differ by resolution and frame rate. Select the matching row in YouTube’s current table rather than reusing an H.264 figure. YouTube detects resolution and frame rate by default, with manual settings available through a custom stream key.
Choose a bitrate your VPS can sustain on its outbound path with headroom for variation, and verify that the CPU can encode the selected format in real time. A speed test from home does not measure the VPS’s outbound connection; test from the server and with the workload you will actually run. Do not infer encoding performance from the provider name or plan label.
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Test FFmpeg interactively before systemd
First run FFmpeg in a controlled SSH session and confirm that YouTube receives a healthy preview. FFmpeg’s protocol documentation illustrates real-time file-to-RTMP output with ffmpeg -re -i myfile -f flv rtmp://myserver/live/mystream. That is a general RTMP example, not a complete YouTube command. For YouTube, use your actual RTMPS URL and key, and ensure the installed FFmpeg build supports the required output protocol.
A safe command shape is shown below. Replace every placeholder locally; never paste a real key into a public example or shell history that other users can read. The exact video and audio options must match your input, installed encoders, and chosen YouTube profile.
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ffmpeg -re -i /path/to/input-file
-c:v libx264 -b:v 14M -maxrate 14M -bufsize 28M
-r 30 -g 60 -keyint_min 60 -sc_threshold 0
-c:a aac -b:a 128k -ar 44100
-f flv "YOUR_RTMPS_URL/YOUR_STREAM_KEY"This illustrative profile is H.264 at 1080p30 with a 14 Mbps video target, AAC stereo settings, and a 60-frame GOP corresponding to two seconds at 30 fps. It does not scale an arbitrary input to 1080p, and it is not appropriate unchanged for another resolution, frame rate, codec, audio layout, or FFmpeg build. Adjust the parameters deliberately and inspect FFmpeg’s output as well as YouTube’s stream health. YouTube says: “Make sure to test before you start your live stream.”
The general FFmpeg RTMP example and RTMPS protocol notes are documented at FFmpeg Protocols Documentation. RTMPS is encrypted RTMP; the real server URL and credentials must still come from Live Control Room.
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Create and validate the systemd service
Service-file syntax, restart policy, environment-file handling, and hardening choices must be checked against the systemd manual and your distribution’s service conventions. They were not established by the technical sources cited here, so there is no universal, verified unit file to copy across distributions. Before enabling a service, confirm the syntax and behavior for the systemd version on your VPS and use a dedicated service account with access only to the input and configuration it needs.
- Decide how the service will obtain the RTMPS endpoint and secret without embedding a live key in a publicly readable file. Verify ownership and restrictive permissions for any configuration or environment file against your distribution’s documentation.
- Build the service’s execution command from the FFmpeg command that passed your interactive test. Use stable absolute paths to the executable and input; ensure the service account can read the media and required configuration.
- Set the unit’s execution and restart behavior only after checking the applicable systemd documentation. A restart policy can relaunch a process that exits, but repeated retries will not repair a bad key, invalid input, blocked network route, or rejected stream.
- Validate the unit with the distribution-appropriate systemd verification procedure, then start it and inspect its status and logs using the commands documented for that system.
- Disconnect from SSH, reconnect, and verify both that the service remains active and that YouTube Live Control Room shows an incoming, healthy stream.
Preflight checks for the first broadcast
- The selected YouTube event is the intended destination, and the key is current and private.
- The endpoint is copied exactly from Live Control Room, uses RTMPS, and is reachable from the VPS over port 443.
- The installed FFmpeg build supports the chosen input, codec, and output protocol.
- The selected resolution, frame rate, bitrate, keyframe interval, and audio settings match YouTube’s current encoder guidance.
- A test with representative motion and audio runs at real time without exhausting the server’s measured CPU or outbound capacity.
- YouTube’s preview and stream-health messages are healthy before the public event begins.
Troubleshooting: separate service failures from stream failures
| Symptom | Likely area | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| The service exits immediately | Unit configuration or execution environment | Inspect the service manager’s status and logs; check executable and input paths, account permissions, unit syntax, and whether the interactive command works under the service account. |
| FFmpeg stays running but YouTube receives no stream | Endpoint, credentials, or network path | Re-copy the current RTMPS URL and key from Live Control Room, confirm the hostname and path, and verify outbound port 443 reachability from the VPS. |
| An SSL or TLS connection error appears | Protocol or endpoint mismatch | Confirm both the protocol and server are correct and use the RTMPS endpoint, not a guessed RTMP URL. YouTube’s RTMPS ingestion guidance specifies port 443; its help page also advises trying port 443 when an SSL error persists. |
| YouTube reports poor stream health or dropped frames | Bitrate, compute, or network capacity | Compare the selected codec/profile with YouTube’s table, measure the VPS outbound path, and observe CPU load while encoding representative content. Lower the profile if the host cannot sustain it; a service restart alone does not resolve undersized capacity. |
| Video arrives without expected audio, or audio is rejected | Input mapping or audio encoding | Check that the input actually contains audio, that FFmpeg maps it, and that the selected codec, channel layout, sample rate, and bitrate fit YouTube’s current guidance. |
| The stream fails after changing keys or event settings | Stale stream configuration | Update the service’s private configuration with the current Live Control Room URL and key, then restart using the target system’s documented service procedure and confirm a fresh preview. |
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If the goal is simply to keep uploaded video looping on a YouTube channel, StreamNeo avoids maintaining an FFmpeg process and VPS: upload a recording or build a playlist, add your YouTube stream key once, and go live. The stream runs from the cloud, so your home computer does not have to stay on. It streams the upload as made, up to 4K 60fps, at one flat price per slot, with automatic recovery if YouTube drops the stream. The first day is free with no card. Monthly pricing is $9.99 per month. See StreamNeo, or start the free first day.
Quick Recap
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