How to Stream on YouTube with OBS Studio: Step by Step

The short answer

To stream to YouTube with OBS Studio, create a stream in YouTube Studio, copy its stream URL and stream key, paste them into Settings, Stream in OBS, match YouTube's encoder settings, and click Start Streaming. YouTube lists OBS Studio among its verified encoders and describes it as open source software for video recording and live streaming at no charge. This guide follows YouTube Help and the OBS Project's own guides, as of October 5, 2026.

Before you open OBS

• Enable live streaming. YouTube says you need no live streaming restrictions in the past 90 days and a verified channel, and that enabling it for the first time may take up to 24 hours.
• Install OBS Studio. The OBS System Requirements page lists Windows 10 or 11, macOS 11 or later, and Linux, and says CPU needs vary with encoder, resolution, frame rate and scene complexity.
• Know your upload speed. YouTube says your total bitrate cannot exceed your upload bandwidth and recommends leaving about 20% of room. Use the bandwidth calculator.

Step 1: create the stream in YouTube Studio

1. Open YouTube Studio, click Create, then Go Live.
2. In the Live Control Room, open the Stream tab and create a stream.
3. Copy the Stream URL (the RTMP server) and the Stream key. Keep the key private: see YouTube stream key and what is a stream key.
4. For an encrypted connection, YouTube says to click the lock icon next to the Stream URL to show the RTMPS URL, because the default view shows plain RTMP. Your OBS version may also have a built-in YouTube RTMPS preset, which YouTube suggests checking for first.

Step 2: connect OBS Studio

1. In OBS open Settings, Stream.
2. Choose the YouTube service if your version lists one, or Custom…, then paste the Server and Stream Key from YouTube.
3. Open Settings, Video and set the base (canvas) resolution to your screen or scene, the output (scaled) resolution to what viewers should see and the frame rate to 30 or 60.
4. Open Settings, Output. Switch Output Mode to Advanced to reach rate control, bitrate and keyframe interval, and set them from the table below.
5. Add your sources (see below), then click Start Streaming.

OBS Studio builds your picture from Sources. The Quick Start Guide lists Display Capture or Window Capture for your screen, Screen Capture on macOS, Game Capture (Windows only) and Video Capture Device for a webcam. The Audio Mixer captures desktop audio and your microphone by default, and you can change the devices in Settings, Audio. If you are unsure where to begin, the guide points to the Auto-Configuration Wizard under the Tools menu, which considers your goal, hardware and network.

Step 3: match YouTube's encoder settings

YouTube publishes bitrate ranges by resolution and frame rate. These are the H.264 figures, from minimum to recommended:

The bitrate recommender lists the same figures beside the other platforms, and best OBS settings for streaming shows how to pick one value that suits your upload speed. YouTube says it detects the resolution and frame rate you send, so the output resolution you set in OBS is what viewers get.

Step 4: preview, go live and end

When you start in OBS, YouTube creates the watch page and shows a preview in the Live Control Room. Check video and audio there, then click Go live. YouTube advises starting your encoder at least 15 minutes before the event and setting up the stream at least 2 hours ahead. When you finish, end the stream in the Live Control Room and then stop OBS. YouTube says streams under 12 hours are archived automatically.

Run a test before every important show. The OBS Project's Quick Start Guide says to test your settings in Settings, Output and then use Start Streaming or Start Recording, and it strongly encourages running a test for a few minutes. Make that test private (or Practice mode on Instagram) so no audience sees it.

If something goes wrong

The OBS Project's Stream Connection Troubleshooting page says dropped frames mean your connection to the server is not stable or you cannot keep up with your bitrate. Its suggestions include trying a different server in Settings, Stream, lowering the video bitrate in Settings, Output (it calls 75% of your total upload speed a good starting point), using a wired connection instead of Wi-Fi and checking security software or a VPN. For an encoding overloaded warning, the Encoding Performance page suggests closing other GPU-heavy programs, lowering the output resolution or frame rate (try 30 instead of 60) and simplifying scenes. For YouTube RTMPS errors, YouTube suggests checking that the URL starts with rtmps and, if you see a certificate error, adding port 443 to the URL.

Streaming to YouTube and elsewhere

OBS can send to YouTube alone, or to a relay that sends to YouTube and other platforms from one upload. See how to multistream with OBS Studio, features and pricing, and the go live on YouTube from a PC guide for the webcam route.

Sources

• YouTube Help: Create a YouTube live stream with an encoder
• YouTube Help: Choose live encoder settings, bitrates, and resolutions
• YouTube Help: Encrypt your stream using RTMPS
• YouTube Help: Streaming tips
• OBS Project: Quick Start Guide (page dated 2021-08-25)
• OBS Project knowledge base: Stream Connection Troubleshooting (page dated 2024-09-30; cited by name, the OBS Project asks people not to link to knowledge base pages)
• OBS Project knowledge base: Encoding Performance Troubleshooting (page dated 2021-06-12; cited by name)
• OBS Project knowledge base: System Requirements (page dated 2021-08-25; cited by name)

Platform figures were checked on October 5, 2026. Platforms change their recommendations, so confirm against the current documentation before you go live.