The Settings Drawer

The Settings drawer slides out to the right of the main dashboard window when you click the ⚙ Settings button. It gives you everything you need to configure your stream without taking over the screen. All changes save automatically — there’s no Save button to click.

Opening and Closing

Click ⚙ Settings on the dashboard to open the drawer. Click it again (or close the drawer using any back button inside it) to close it. The drawer does not obscure the main face, so you can watch your VU meters while adjusting settings.

Settings Fields

Station Name

A label that appears on the dashboard face in gold spaced capitals. It has no effect on your stream — it’s just there so the console feels like it belongs to your station. Press Return after typing to see it update immediately on the dashboard.

Audio Source

Choose where SignalCaster gets its audio. The options are Local Player, TCP Input (AutoCast), and App Capture. Changing this setting immediately switches the active audio pipeline — you don’t need to restart anything. See the Audio Sources section for details on each mode.

When you select App Capture, an additional picker appears below the source selector listing every audio-producing app currently running on your Mac. Choose the app you want to capture from the list.

Stream Using

Choose your streaming destination: YouTube Live, Facebook Live, Kick, RTMP (Other), or Icecast. The fields below this selector change depending on what you pick, showing only what’s relevant for that service.

Stream Key / Server URL

The connection credentials for your chosen streaming mode. What exactly appears here depends on the mode — see the individual streaming setup pages for field-by-field instructions. All credential fields auto-save as you type; there’s a short debounce so SignalCaster doesn’t hammer the disk with every keystroke.

Bitrate

The AAC audio bitrate for your stream. Options are 96, 128, 192, 256, and 320 kbps. The right choice depends on your streaming target and your upload bandwidth.

BitrateBest for
96 kbpsSpoken word, talk radio, or tight upload bandwidth
128 kbpsMusic, required minimum for YouTube Live and Facebook
192 kbpsGood quality music — solid all-around choice
256 kbpsHigh quality — use this if your upload can handle it
320 kbpsMaximum quality — appropriate for Icecast or RTMP (Other)
⚠️

YouTube Live and Facebook Live enforce a minimum of 128 kbps. If you select a lower bitrate and stream to either of those services, SignalCaster automatically raises it to 128 kbps. The Activity Log will note this.

Station Path

The path to your TuneTracker Station folder. SignalCaster uses this to find the Music subfolder for the Local Player, and the Misc/System/ folder for now-playing text and crawler files. Click Browse to select the folder from a standard file dialog.

Audio Output

Choose which audio output device the Local Player uses for local monitoring. This lets you listen to what SignalCaster is playing through a specific output (like a dedicated monitor mix) without affecting what gets streamed. Select System Default to use whatever output macOS currently has selected.

Sub-Drawers

Appearance

Opens a second level of the drawer with controls for the video overlay — Now Playing font, spectrum visualizer settings, crawler, and image schedule. Only visible when your stream mode is RTMP-based (not Icecast, which is audio-only). See the Appearance section for details.

Activity

Opens the Activity Log — a full timestamped session log inside the drawer. Useful for diagnosing connection problems without opening a separate window.