StreamLive Pro

RTMP and stream keys: where to find them, what breaks

RTMP, RTMPS, SRT, WHIP and RTSP in plain words, where the stream key is on YouTube, Facebook, Twitch and Kick, how to reset it, and the usual errors.

Updated November 4, 2026 · 9 min read

To send video from OBS, vMix or a hardware encoder to YouTube, you need two strings: a server address that starts with rtmp:// or rtmps://, and a long random stream key. The address says where the video goes. The key says which channel it belongs to. Anyone who has both can broadcast on your channel, which is why the key is treated like a password and why every platform has a reset button for it.

This guide explains the protocols in plain words (RTMP, RTMPS, SRT, WHIP, and RTSP, which is a different thing), where to find the key on YouTube, Facebook, Twitch and Kick, what is different about Instagram and TikTok, and the errors that stop a stream from connecting.

The protocols, in plain words

A protocol is the agreed way two machines talk. For live video you meet five of them.

RTMP (Real-Time Messaging Protocol) is old, simple and supported by everything. It runs over TCP, so lost data is resent, which is reliable on a good line but causes stalls on a bad one.

RTMPS is RTMP wrapped in the same encryption as HTTPS. It does two useful things: nobody on the network path can read your key, and it usually runs on port 443, which almost no network blocks. If a platform offers both, use RTMPS.

SRT (Secure Reliable Transport) runs over UDP and resends lost packets within a time window you choose (the latency setting). On a shaky mobile or long-distance link it recovers from packet loss better than RTMP. The cost is a few hundred milliseconds of extra delay and slightly more setup. In SRT, the "key" is often part of the address itself (a streamid parameter), not a separate field.

WHIP sends video using WebRTC, the same technology video calls use. Latency is very low. Encoder support is newer: recent OBS versions have it, many tools do not yet.

RTMP vs RTSP

These are often confused because the names are close. They solve opposite problems.

• RTMP pushes. Your encoder starts the connection and sends video to a server (YouTube, a relay, a media server).
• RTSP pulls. A player or a recorder connects to a camera and asks it for its stream. Security cameras and many PTZ and IP cameras expose an rtsp:// address for this.

You cannot paste an RTSP camera address into YouTube. Something in the middle has to pull the RTSP feed and push it out as RTMP or SRT: OBS (add the camera as a media source), vMix, a media server, or an encoder box. If your camera has both an RTSP address and an "RTMP push" setting, the RTMP push can go straight to a platform or relay.

Server URL and stream key

Every platform gives you the same two parts:

• Server URL. For example, YouTube's looks like rtmp://a.rtmp.youtube.com/live2. Note the path after the host name ("/live2", "/app", "/rtmp/"): it is part of the address and must be copied whole.
• Stream key. A long random string. In OBS: Settings, Stream, choose the service (or Custom), paste the server into Server and the key into Stream Key.

Some encoders take one combined URL (server + "/" + key). If yours does, join them with exactly one slash and no spaces.

Persistent keys vs per-event keys

• Persistent (reusable) key. The same key every time. Convenient for a weekly show: set the encoder once and go live whenever you start it. Risk: if it leaks, it keeps working until you reset it.
• Per-event key. A new key for each broadcast. Safer, more steps. Instagram works this way: the key changes for every live.

YouTube lets you create reusable custom keys. Facebook's keys are single-use unless you turn on a persistent key. Twitch and Kick give each channel one key that stays until you reset it.

Why a stream key is a password

The key is the only thing that ties an incoming stream to your channel. There is no second check. If it ends up in a screenshot, a shared OBS profile, a public repository or a tutorial you recorded, anyone can broadcast on your channel, including content that gets the channel struck.

What to do:

1. Never show it on screen. OBS and most tools mask it; do not click "Show" while recording or streaming your screen.
2. Do not send it in group chats. If an operator needs it, give it to them directly, and reset it when they stop working with you.
3. Reset it if it may have leaked. Then update every encoder that used it.

Resetting on YouTube, per YouTube's help: in YouTube Studio click Create, then Go live, open the Stream tab, find the stream key section and click Reset next to the hidden key. Copy the new key into your encoder. Only channel owners and managers can reset a key; editors and viewers cannot. Source: Manage live stream settings.

Where to find the key on each platform

Checked on each platform's own help pages, 4 November 2026. Menus move, so if a label differs, look for "stream key" in the platform's settings.

A note on Facebook: Meta's help page did not load in full for us, so the Facebook row is based on Meta's own help and developer pages as indexed on 4 November 2026; check the labels in Live Producer itself.

Instagram and TikTok

Neither lets an outside app start a live for you. Both can receive a stream sent to a key they issue, but only to accounts they choose.

• Instagram issues the key on instagram.com for professional (Creator or Business) accounts, one key per live, and the live only becomes visible after you press Go live in the Instagram tab as well.
• TikTok decides who gets a stream key. Its LIVE Safety Guide says creators must be at least 18 to go LIVE and that the account needs "a certain number of followers, which may vary by market". We do not quote a follower number here because TikTok does not publish one on that page. If the stream key option is not in your TikTok, the account does not have access, and no third-party tool can give it.

The full steps, with pictures, are in Live on Instagram and TikTok with a stream key.

SRT for bad networks

Use SRT when the line between you and the server is the weak point: a mobile connection at an outdoor event, a venue's shared Wi-Fi, a long international path. Set the latency to a few times the round-trip time to the server (many encoders show the round trip once connected); more latency gives SRT more time to recover lost packets. On a good office line, RTMP or RTMPS is simpler and works just as well.

SRT needs the destination to support it. YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok publish RTMP or RTMPS ingest addresses for encoders, so SRT usually goes to a relay or a media server, which then sends RTMP onward.

What goes wrong

Where StreamLive Pro fits

If you want one encoder to reach several networks, StreamLive Pro gives every broadcast its own address and key in RTMP, RTMPS and SRT (and WHIP in beta). You set OBS, vMix or Streamlabs to that one key, and our servers fan the stream out to the networks you connected: YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, LinkedIn, Twitch, Kick, or any RTMP or SRT server. Your computer uploads one stream regardless of how many destinations. The keys for each destination are stored per destination, and Instagram and TikTok keys are saved encrypted and never shown again in full.

Limits worth knowing: external encoders open on a paid plan, not in the trial; the number of destinations at once depends on the plan, listed on the pricing page; and Instagram and TikTok still need a key from those networks for each live. More on the multistream page, and the setup in Streaming from OBS or vMix with RTMP.

Frequently asked questions

What is an RTMP server?

It is the address your encoder sends live video to, such as rtmp://a.rtmp.youtube.com/live2. Together with a stream key it tells the platform where the video goes and which channel it belongs to.

What is the difference between RTMP and RTSP?

RTMP pushes video from an encoder to a server. RTSP lets a player or recorder pull video from a camera. Platforms like YouTube take RTMP, so an RTSP camera needs OBS, vMix or an encoder in between.

Where is my YouTube stream key?

In YouTube Studio, click Create, then Go live, and open the Stream tab. The key is there with a copy button, and a Reset button if it may have leaked.

Can I get a TikTok stream key?

Only if TikTok has given your account stream key or LIVE Studio access. TikTok says creators must be 18 or older and that the follower requirement varies by market; no outside tool can grant access.

What should I do if my stream key leaked?

Reset it on the platform right away, then paste the new key into every encoder that used the old one. Until you reset it, anyone with the key can broadcast on your channel.

My stream fails at the office but works at home. Why?

Office networks often block port 1935, which plain RTMP uses. Use the platform's RTMPS address, which usually runs on port 443.

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