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Restreaming YouTube

XC_VM can take a YouTube live broadcast as a stream source and restream it to your lines like any other channel. You add the YouTube page link as the source; the panel turns it into a playable stream with the bundled yt-dlp and pulls it with ffmpeg.

For this to work on a server in a data center you need an HTTP proxy for each YouTube stream. This page explains why, how to set it up, and how to troubleshoot it.

Why a proxy is required

YouTube blocks data-center IP addresses. Without a proxy, a stream from a hosting server fails with:

ERROR: [youtube] ...: Sign in to confirm you're not a bot.

Two things decide how the proxy must be used:

  • The playable link is tied to one IP. The link YouTube hands out only plays from the IP that asked for it. The panel therefore sends both steps through the same proxy: getting the link (yt-dlp) and downloading the video (ffmpeg).
  • YouTube limits each IP. Every start, restart and source check asks YouTube again, and the video itself is downloaded through the proxy. A few streams on one IP are enough to get that IP blocked. Give each YouTube stream its own proxy IP.

Proxy requirements

Requirement Why
HTTP proxy (http://) ffmpeg cannot use SOCKS proxies. A socks5:// proxy lets the panel get the link, but the video download then goes out directly and fails.
Not a hosting / data-center IP YouTube blocks data-center ranges. Use a residential or mobile proxy, or a server on a home connection.
One IP per stream Spreads YouTube's per-IP limit. With a residential provider, use a separate sticky session per stream.
Sticky, not rotating per request The link must be downloaded from the IP that got it, for as long as the stream runs (the link lives about 6 hours).
Enough traffic All video goes through the proxy: about 3–6 Mbit/s for a 1080p stream. Residential proxies are usually billed per GB.

Accepted formats for the proxy value:

ip:port
http://ip:port
http://user:password@host:port

A value without a scheme (ip:port) is treated as http://ip:port.

Finding working proxies: Proxy Checker

Tools → Proxy Checker checks a whole list of proxies the way a YouTube stream uses them, so you can pick working ones out of hundreds or thousands.

  1. Paste a link to a YouTube broadcast that is live right now.
  2. Paste the proxies, one per line (ip:port or http://user:password@host:port).
  3. Set how many proxies to check at once (default 5, up to 20) and press Start.

Each proxy gets one of these results:

Result Meaning
OK The proxy answers, YouTube accepts it, and the video plays through it. Ready to use.
Blocked by YouTube The proxy works, but YouTube refuses its IP ("Sign in to confirm you're not a bot").
Does not play YouTube gave a link, but the video does not play through the proxy, usually because it is a SOCKS proxy or changes IP on every request.
Not responding The proxy did not answer within 10 seconds, or the login is wrong.

The IP Address column shows each proxy's exit IP. Several proxies with the same exit IP count as one IP to YouTube, so such proxies are marked (duplicate). Copy working (one per IP) copies one working proxy per exit IP, ready to put into your streams. Over plain http, where the browser has no clipboard access, the list is put into the proxy box instead.

The check runs on the main server, and every proxy asks YouTube once. Checking a large list repeatedly makes YouTube block those IPs sooner. A proxy that passes can still get blocked later under load, so re-check your list from time to time.

Setting up a YouTube stream

  1. Open Streams → Add Stream.
  2. On the Details tab, give the stream a name and category as usual.

  3. On the Sources tab, add the YouTube link of the live broadcast, for example:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFZHOHl-L8A

    Supported link forms are https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=... and https://youtu.be/....

  4. On the Advanced tab, fill in HTTP Proxy with this stream's proxy, for example:

    http://user:password@proxy.example.com:8080

  5. On the same Advanced tab, leave Direct Source off. With direct source the panel sends viewers to the YouTube link itself, which does not play outside the proxy's IP.

  6. Choose the server(s) on the Servers tab and save. Start the stream.

The stream is resolved and downloaded on the server that runs it. On a load balancer the same proxy is used from that node, so every node that runs YouTube streams needs to be able to reach the proxy. To check a stream before going live, use the command in Troubleshooting on the server that will run it.

What is supported

  • YouTube live broadcasts: supported. The panel picks a single stream that carries both video and audio (up to 1080p).
  • Regular (non-live) YouTube videos: not supported for now. YouTube refuses their download links to the panel's yt-dlp without a JavaScript runtime, even through a proxy.
  • Other platforms resolved the same way: Twitch, Vimeo, Dailymotion, Facebook, Livestream, Ustream and CNN links also go through yt-dlp and use the stream's proxy the same way.

yt-dlp is updated automatically on every server once a day, so changes on YouTube's side are usually picked up without a panel update.

Troubleshooting

The quickest check is to run yt-dlp on the server the way the panel does, as the xc_vm user and with the stream's proxy:

sudo -u xc_vm /home/xc_vm/bin/yt-dlp \
  --proxy 'http://user:password@proxy.example.com:8080' \
  --extractor-args 'youtube:player_client=default,android_vr' \
  -q --get-url --skip-download -f best \
  'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID'

A working setup prints one https://manifest.googlevideo.com/... link.

Symptom Cause Fix
Sign in to confirm you're not a bot No proxy on the stream, or the proxy's IP is blocked or flagged as hosting. Set HTTP Proxy on the stream; use a residential/home IP; give the stream an IP no other stream uses.
Requested format is not available The panel version predates YouTube restream support. Update the panel.
The link is found, but the stream does not start or segments fail (403 Forbidden, Failed to open segment) The video is downloaded from a different IP than the link was fetched from, usually because the proxy is SOCKS. Use an HTTP proxy.
Works for a while, then stops for several streams at once Several YouTube streams share one proxy IP and it got rate-limited. One proxy IP per stream.
Unable to connect to proxy / timeouts The proxy is unreachable from this server or the login is wrong. Test it with curl -x 'http://user:password@host:port' https://api.ipify.org on the server; it should print the proxy's IP.

Note

The proxy login and password are stored in the stream's settings and appear in the ffmpeg command line on the server (visible in ps). Use credentials dedicated to this purpose.