To find an SRS publish error, capture one failed publishing attempt and correlate the publisher’s message with SRS log lines from the same time and session. Then check the publish destination, any enabled on_publish authorization callback, and—only if the log indicates stalled input—the configured packet timeouts. There is no single log path or universal error-to-fix mapping: both depend on your SRS release and deployment.
Start with the right version and log source
SRS documentation currently labels version 6.0 stable. The log path and exact message text can differ by release and by whether SRS was built from source, installed as a package, or run in a container. The example command tail -n 30 -f ./objs/srs.log appears in the SRS 7 getting-started guide; treat it as an example, not a universal path. Check your configuration, working directory, package or container output, and instructions for the installed version. SRS 6 introduction · SRS 7 getting started
Record the environment before reproducing
- SRS version and deployment method.
- The configuration file in use.
- Publishing protocol and client, such as RTMP with FFmpeg or OBS.
- Destination host, port, application, and stream name.
- The reproduction time and time zone, plus the publisher’s own error output.
These details help distinguish a server-side publish rejection from a publisher connection issue or a later playback problem.
Capture and correlate one failed publish attempt
- Open the log sink used by your installation. On a source-build setup matching the SRS 7 guide, the documented example is
tail -n 30 -f ./objs/srs.log. For a package or container, inspect its configured log destination instead. - Start the log capture, then make one controlled publish attempt and note its start and failure times.
- Read the publisher’s client-side message alongside the SRS lines for that time window. If the log provides a session or client identifier, follow it across lines rather than relying on one isolated error.
- Record the sequence: connection and handshake, application or vhost, publisher and stream identification, incoming metadata or packets, and disconnect or rejection.
The SRS 4 log guide illustrates session-correlated traces with details such as client IP, handshake, vhost, publisher, stream name, metadata, and disconnect. These are useful clues, but the examples are historical: exact labels and strings may differ in your installed release. SRS 4 log guide
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Check the publish destination and stream identity
Compare the destination configured in the encoder with the SRS server address and the intended application and stream. SRS documentation gives rtmp://localhost/live/livestream as a sample publish target: localhost is only appropriate when the publisher and SRS are on the same machine. Substitute your real server, app, and stream details. SRS documents FFmpeg and OBS as publishing clients. SRS 6 introduction · SRS getting started
Check what the logs show the server actually received, not only what the encoder form displays. A connection reaching SRS does not by itself prove that the intended stream was accepted, and a successful publish does not guarantee that a viewer can play it. Keep publish-side evidence separate from downstream playback symptoms.
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Inspect authorization if an on_publish callback is enabled
An SRS on_publish callback can intentionally reject a publisher. The documented callback behavior requires an HTTP 200 response and an error value of zero for success; a non-200 HTTP status or nonzero error value causes disconnection. The detailed callback page is for SRS 5, so verify configuration and behavior against your deployed release. SRS HTTP Callback
- Confirm whether
on_publishis configured for the relevant vhost or stream. - Check whether SRS can reach the callback endpoint and inspect the corresponding request at the callback service.
- Review the authorization decision and response body, including the error value.
- Verify the actual HTTP status returned to SRS; a policy that intends to allow publishing can still fail if the endpoint responds incorrectly.
Review packet timeouts only when input is stalled
If the evidence points to a publisher that connects but sends no packets or stops sending them, compare the observed packet timing with SRS’s configured publish timeouts. SRS 6 special-control documentation lists defaults of 20000 ms for the first-packet timeout and 5000 ms for the normal packet timeout; configuration can change them. These values are not a general remedy for publish failures. SRS 6 Special Control
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- If no first packet arrives in time, inspect the publisher’s output and whether it is sending to the expected SRS endpoint.
- If packets start and then stall, compare the gaps in the log or client output with the configured normal timeout.
- Change a timeout only when observed timing and the application’s requirements justify it; increasing it will not fix an incorrect destination or a callback rejection.
Use status and metrics as supporting evidence
SRS 6 describes an HTTP API for querying system and stream status, a Prometheus exporter, and session-level traceable logs. Where these are already available, use them alongside the session log to check whether the stream appeared and how server status changed during the attempt. They are complementary observability options, not prerequisites for diagnosing a publish error. The SRS 6 introduction describes session-level traceable logs as a way to reduce system maintenance costs. SRS 6 introduction
Verify the fix with the same reproduction
- Repeat the same publish attempt with the same client and destination so the before-and-after evidence is comparable.
- Confirm that the log shows the expected publishing progression rather than another rejection or disconnect.
- Check the stream using the matching app and stream name. Use a playback protocol enabled in your own SRS configuration; the getting-started guide shows example RTMP, HTTP-FLV, and HLS playback URLs, but not every deployment enables all of them. SRS getting started
- If publishing succeeds but playback does not, troubleshoot the playback path separately from the original publish failure.
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