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18. YouTube Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting issues specific to streaming to YouTube.

18.1 Common Issues

Issue Description
Stream Not Visible Stream connects but is not visible on your YouTube channel
Stream Latency Excessive delay between OBS and YouTube viewers
Encoding Warnings YouTube Studio shows encoding or quality warnings
Stream Not Appearing OBS shows streaming but nothing appears on YouTube
Debug Logs How to check YouTube-specific logs and error messages

18.2 Stream Not Visible

Issue: Stream connects but not visible on channel

Check: 1. YouTube Studio → Live dashboard 2. Verify "Stream status" shows "Live" 3. Check stream visibility settings (Public/Unlisted/Private)

Solution: - Set visibility to "Public" in YouTube Studio - Wait 30-60 seconds for stream to appear - Refresh browser page

18.3 Stream Latency

Issue: Excessive delay between OBS and YouTube

Check: YouTube Studio → Stream settings → Latency

Options: - Normal latency: 8-12 seconds (default) - Low latency: 4-8 seconds - Ultra-low latency: 2-4 seconds

Note: Lower latency may affect stream quality for viewers with slow connections.

18.4 Encoding Warnings

Issue: YouTube shows encoding warnings

Check: YouTube Studio → Live dashboard → Stream health

Common warnings: - "Audio not synced with video" - Check OBS audio settings - "Resolution mismatch" - Ensure OBS output matches expected resolution - "Bitrate too low" - Increase OBS bitrate

Solution: YouTube prefers high bitrate for best quality (15-20 Mbps recommended).

18.5 Stream Not Appearing

18.5.1 Symptoms

  • OBS shows "Streaming" but stream doesn't appear on YouTube
  • No errors in OBS

18.5.2 Possible Causes

18.5.2.1 1. Service Not Enabled

Check: Look at container logs during startup:

docker compose logs relay | grep -i "configured and enabled"

Expected output: 

YouTube configured and enabled.

Solution: If YouTube is missing: - Verify YOUTUBE_KEY is set in env/relay.env - Restart container after setting the key

18.5.2.2 2. Invalid Stream Key

Check: Look for authentication errors in logs:

docker compose logs relay | grep -i "error\|auth\|publish"

Solution: - Verify stream key is correct in env/relay.env - Check for extra spaces or quotes around key - Get fresh key from YouTube Studio

18.5.2.3 3. Platform-Specific Issues

  • Verify you've scheduled a live stream or enabled "Stream now"
  • Check YouTube Studio for stream health warnings
  • Confirm account is verified for live streaming

18.6 Debug Logs

18.6.1 Enable Detailed Logging

For YouTube-specific issues, check logs:

# YouTube-specific logs
docker compose logs relay | grep -i youtube

18.6.2 Common Log Messages

Success messages: 

YouTube configured and enabled.

Error messages: 

ERROR: YOUTUBE_KEY is not set
ERROR: Failed to validate YOUTUBE_KEY

18.7 See Also