StreamLive Pro

How to go live on YouTube from your computer

Go live on YouTube from a computer browser: switch live on for the channel, connect it once in StreamLive Pro, pick title and visibility, press Start stream.

Updated November 5, 2026 · 5 min read

You can go live on YouTube from a computer without installing anything. Connect your YouTube channel to StreamLive Pro once, open the browser studio, tick the channel and start. StreamLive Pro creates the live event on YouTube for you, with your title, description, thumbnail and visibility. The one step only YouTube can take is switching live streaming on for your channel, and the first time that can take up to 24 hours.

Before you start

• Live streaming switched on for the channel. YouTube asks you to verify the channel and to have no live streaming restrictions in the past 90 days (YouTube Help: Get started with live streaming). YouTube also says that enabling live for the first time may take up to 24 hours (YouTube Help: Create a live stream with an encoder). Do it a day before your first broadcast.
• A StreamLive Pro account. The 7-day trial is enough for this page: it goes live from the browser studio to up to two destinations. Sending from OBS or vMix instead of the browser needs a paid plan (see the /pricing?lang=en page).
• A camera and a microphone, or a screen or window to share. YouTube publishes its own recommended upload settings on YouTube Help: Choose live encoder settings. Your computer sends one stream to StreamLive Pro, however many networks you add later.

Steps

1. Switch live on in YouTube. Open Connections and look at the YouTube card. If it says "Turn on live once. Ready within 24 hours", click Turn on: it opens YouTube, where you confirm. While YouTube works on it, the card says "YouTube is switching live on, up to 24 hours" and has a Check button.
2. Connect the channel. On the YouTube card click Connect and sign in with the Google account that owns the channel. You approve on Google's own screen; StreamLive Pro never sees your password. If that Google account has more than one channel, click Manage pages and tick the channel you want.
3. Open the browser studio. Go to Live stream and choose Browser Studio. Allow the camera and microphone when the browser asks.
4. Tick YouTube and fill in the details. In the Channels list tick your YouTube channel. Click it to give YouTube its own title, description, thumbnail and who can watch (public, unlisted or private). A title longer than YouTube accepts is shortened for you before it is sent.
5. Check the picture. Run the 10-second camera check if this is a new camera or room.
6. Go live. Press Start stream. StreamLive Pro creates the broadcast on your channel and starts sending. YouTube needs a few seconds before viewers see the picture.
7. Keep the recording if you want it. Press Record during the broadcast if you want the full recording kept in StreamLive Pro. Without it, our temporary copy is removed about two hours after the broadcast. See Recordings and storage — what is kept and for how long.
8. End the broadcast. Press Stop stream. The broadcast ends on YouTube too.

Other ways to reach YouTube

• From OBS or vMix. Choose Stream from software like OBS (RTMP / SRT) on Live stream, put the StreamLive Pro address and key into your software, and tick YouTube as before. StreamLive Pro still creates the event on YouTube. This needs a paid plan. See Streaming from OBS or vMix with RTMP.
• With YouTube's own stream key. The YouTube Live (stream key) card on Connections is for a channel you do not connect with a Google sign-in. In YouTube Studio click Create, then Go live, and on the Stream tab copy the Stream URL and the Stream key of the persistent Default stream key. That key does not change between broadcasts, so you paste it once.
• Scheduled, with a link in advance. Schedule the broadcast with Schedule broadcast and tick Pre-announce next to YouTube. A real YouTube event with a shareable link is created at once, and that same event goes live at the time you set. See Schedule a live broadcast in advance.

What can go wrong

If YouTube still does not start, see Troubleshooting the problems that come up most and Notifications: what the bell tells you, and how often.

Going further

To send the same broadcast to Facebook as well, read How to stream to YouTube and Facebook at the same time. For what every other network asks of you, see Going live on each network: what it needs. The full multistreaming walkthrough is How to live stream to several platforms at once, and the overview of the product is on /multistream?lang=en.

Frequently asked questions

Can I go live on YouTube from a computer without OBS?

Yes. The browser studio sends your camera, microphone and screen straight from Chrome or another browser, and StreamLive Pro creates the YouTube event for you.

Why can I not go live on YouTube right away?

YouTube has to switch live streaming on for the channel first. It asks for a verified channel with no live restrictions in the past 90 days, and the first time it can take up to 24 hours.

Can I choose which of my YouTube channels the live goes to?

Yes. If your Google account has several channels, click Manage pages on the YouTube card in Connections and tick the one you want.

Is the YouTube broadcast public?

Only if you choose public. For each broadcast you set who can watch on YouTube: public, unlisted or private.

Does StreamLive Pro keep a recording of my YouTube live?

Only if you press Record during the broadcast. Otherwise our temporary copy is removed about two hours after the broadcast ends.

Can I share the YouTube link before the broadcast starts?

Yes. Schedule the broadcast and tick Pre-announce next to YouTube. A YouTube event with its own link is created right away, and that same event goes live at the scheduled time.

Keep reading