YouTube Live uses RTMP with a fixed ingest server — you only need to paste in your stream key. SignalCaster handles the server address automatically, so there’s nothing to look up or type there.
Log into YouTube Studio, click Go Live in the top-right corner, then choose Stream from the left sidebar. Under the Stream Settings panel you’ll find your stream key. Copy it — you won’t see it in full again once you navigate away, but you can always reveal or reset it from the same panel.
If you plan to stream regularly, use the Persistent stream key option in YouTube Studio. That way the same key works every time and you only need to paste it into SignalCaster once.
Open the Settings drawer, set Stream Using to YouTube Live, and paste your key into the Stream Key field. The server URL is shown as a read-only note below the mode selector — it’s rtmp://a.rtmp.youtube.com/live2, and SignalCaster fills it in for you.
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Stream Using | YouTube Live |
| Stream Key | Your YouTube stream key from YouTube Studio |
| Bitrate | 128 kbps minimum; 192 or 256 kbps recommended for music |
Once you’ve entered your stream key, click Start Streaming on the dashboard. SignalCaster will connect, complete the RTMP handshake, and begin sending audio. Check the status line at the bottom of the dashboard — when it reads Connected to stream | YouTube, you’re live.
Separately, make sure your YouTube stream is set to Public or Unlisted in YouTube Studio, and that it’s scheduled or set to go live. SignalCaster sends the signal regardless — YouTube decides when to show it to viewers.
YouTube requires at least 128 kbps. If you have a lower bitrate selected, SignalCaster will raise it to 128 kbps automatically and note this in the Activity Log.
If the connection drops, SignalCaster automatically attempts to reconnect. YouTube streams resume cleanly on reconnect — your viewers may see a brief buffering pause, but the stream continues rather than ending. See Auto-Reconnect for the full details on how this works.