This script allows you to stream live to Facebook, Youtube and Twitch at once without the bandwidth issues.
The code is designed to setup a restreaming server and will produce a custom RTMP streaming URL which is meant to be inserted into your local live streaming software like Open Broadcaster (OBS).
You'll no longer need an expensive paid account on restreaming platforms like Restream.io and can have total control over your broadcast.
The beauty of this streaming method is the server is ephemeral, meaning once the stream has ended you can destroy the server. This saves money and prevents malicious actors from tampering with your setup.
You will need to visit each platform to obtain your stream key and stream URL. Each time you live stream will require a new stream key and a rerunning this script.
Facebook's stream key and url are provided on the Live page after selecting "Use Stream Key". The stream key is valid for 7 days according to Facebook.
Youtube's key and url are shown in the classic live control room.
Twitch supplies a permanent stream key at https://dashboard.twitch.tv/u/yourusername/settings/channel. The Twitch url can be obtained on their Ingests page. Choose the location closest to your streaming server for best performance.
With these credentials gathered, update the variables in /roles/streaming/defaults/main.yml.
You can choose which platforms to stream on by setting true or false in the stream_to_servicename variable.
It's tested with OBS from macOS using the smallest Digital Ocean Droplet.
Terraform is an orchestration tool used to let Digital Ocean we'd like a new server with certain specs at a certain data center. It's easy to install on macOS using Homebrew.
brew install terraform
Ansible is a configuration management tool that installs all the software and configurations we need to make the streaming server operate. Again, we'll install Ansible with Homebrew
brew install ansible
You will need a Digital Ocean account.
Create a DO personal access token
Clone this repository from your terminal and enter the new directory.
git clone [email protected]:mikeydiamonds/streaming.git && cd streaming
The streaming credentials and DO token are sensitive data. Take care not to expose them.
Alter the stream keys, stream urls and select true or false on your desired platforms in roles/streaming/defaults/main.yml.
Add your Digital ocean API token to terraform.tfvars.
Now we can run the server script. Once this script is run you will incur costs from Digital Ocean.
This script is set to use a $5/mo ($0.007/hour) DO droplet in NYC but feel free to make alterations in
main.tf.
terraform plan && terraform apply --auto-approve
The Terraform orchestrator will automatically call the Ansible provisioning scripts. The entire setup takes less than 5 minutes.
When you're done with the server/live stream you can destroy the droplet and stop incurring costs.
terraform destroy -auto-approve
The script will output the url to add to OBS or similar streaming software after all the provisioning is complete. It will look something like:
digitalocean_droplet.streaming (local-exec): TASK [streaming : What Now?]
digitalocean_droplet.streaming (local-exec): ok: [192.168.1.143] => {
digitalocean_droplet.streaming (local-exec): "msg": [
digitalocean_droplet.streaming (local-exec): "Stream to rtmp://192.168.1.143:1935/stream/hello",
rtmp://192.168.1.143:1935/stream/ is the stream url and hello is the key you'll use in your local streaming software.
Note: hello is just a placeholder and can be changed to anything you'd like.
Once your live stream is started from your local streaming software it will appear on your chosen platforms; your Facebook timeline, Youtube channel and Twitch channel.
When you're done with the server/live stream destroy the droplet and stop incurring costs.
terraform destroy -auto-approve
This was a fun project I worked on to show off the power of automation as a guest lecturer at a local high school.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, some may find this helpful to get their message online.
I hope someone finds it useful.
