You can send a local video from OBS Studio on your Mac to YouTube Live by entering a YouTube stream key in OBS, adding the file as a Media Source and turning on Loop. Before the broadcast is public, start the encoder and check the incoming preview in YouTube’s Live Control Room.
First confirm that your channel has live-stream access. The key is a credential, not a label: keep it private, and reset it in YouTube Studio if it is exposed.
Check YouTube live-stream access first
YouTube’s eligibility guidance says a channel must be verified and must not have had live-streaming restrictions in the previous 90 days. Access is not automatic just because OBS is installed or your channel can upload videos. Open YouTube Studio and choose Create > Go Live to check whether you can reach the Live Control Room. If the option is unavailable or YouTube shows an eligibility notice, follow the current instructions shown for your account rather than trying to work around the restriction.
Verification and live access can take time to become available, so do this before you prepare a scheduled broadcast. The channel owner or a manager with the appropriate permission may need to handle account-level settings. If you manage a channel for a local business, temple, school or community group, confirm that your own channel permissions are sufficient before you copy or reset its key.
A video loop also needs a plan for the broadcast itself. A local file sent through OBS is still an encoder-based live stream; the video does not become a YouTube upload simply because it is prerecorded. If your goal is a repeating class schedule rather than one repeating file, the considerations in this guide to a YouTube Live playlist that repeats overnight may help you decide how to organise the content.
Open the Live Control Room and select the stream
Once you have live access, open YouTube Studio > Create > Go Live. The Live Control Room is where you select or configure an encoder stream, see whether YouTube is receiving it, and manage a scheduled event. Interface wording can change, so follow the current labels on your account if they differ slightly.
For an existing or scheduled stream, select the intended event and open its Stream tab. For a new broadcast, create the stream or event first, then locate the stream settings. A scheduled event and an encoder connection are related but distinct: OBS sends the video feed, while the Live Control Room is where you confirm that the feed has arrived and, when appropriate, make the event live.
If you are comparing the primary and backup ingest addresses shown by YouTube, do not treat them as interchangeable stream keys. The address tells the encoder where to send data; the key identifies which stream configuration to use. Our explanation of YouTube RTMP ingest servers and primary versus backup URLs covers that distinction. For this basic Mac setup, use the server and key presented for the stream you intend to run, and avoid changing endpoints without a reason.
Copy the stream key and keep it private
In the Live Control Room’s Stream tab, find the stream key associated with the selected stream. YouTube may let you select an existing key or create a custom one for reuse. Copy the displayed value using the control provided by YouTube; do not type it from a screenshot or share it in a public chat, document, or support post.
YouTube Help explains that “Stream keys are like your YouTube stream’s password and address.” Treat the key as a password. Anyone who obtains it may be able to send a feed to the associated stream, so do not publish it beside the video link or include it in a screenshot of OBS settings. A screenshot with the key field visible can disclose it even if you do not intend to share account access.
For a shared channel, agree who is authorised to access the key and where it will be stored. Avoid leaving a copied key in an open note or sending it through an untrusted group chat. OBS needs the key to connect, but there is no need to expose it to viewers or collaborators who are only checking the programme’s content.
YouTube’s official Manage live stream settings page describes stream-key management, including creating and resetting keys. Account screens can vary, so use the current Live Control Room display rather than relying on an old screenshot or a key from a different event.
Set the YouTube server and key in OBS on macOS
Open OBS Studio on your Mac and choose OBS > Settings > Stream from the menu bar. In the service field, select YouTube if it is available. If OBS offers a sign-in or account connection route, use the option appropriate for your setup; this article’s key-based workflow uses the stream key from YouTube’s Live Control Room.
If the service selection exposes separate fields, choose YouTube as the service, select the YouTube server address provided for the stream, and paste the copied key into Stream Key. If YouTube is not listed as a service, use the custom server option and enter the server URL and key that YouTube displays. Do not paste the key into the server field: the server is the destination address, and the key belongs in the credential field.
Prefer an RTMPS endpoint when YouTube makes one available. YouTube describes RTMPS as RTMP encrypted using TLS/SSL. Encryption protects the connection in transit; it does not make a publicly exposed key safe, and it does not replace checking the actual incoming preview. See YouTube’s RTMPS connection guidance for its current setup details.
OBS’s overview guide explains the Stream settings area and how scenes and sources fit together. Interface names may move slightly between OBS versions, but the job remains the same: configure the destination and key, then build a scene that contains the local video. After entering the key, choose Apply or OK to save the setting. Keep the Settings window private while the key is present.
Avoid tuning every encoder setting at once. YouTube’s published guidance recommends CBR and a two-second keyframe interval, with a maximum interval of four seconds, while appropriate bitrate depends on resolution and frame rate. Your upload capacity and the file’s characteristics matter too; a number copied from someone else’s channel is not a guarantee of a stable feed. If you need to plan the data side of a long broadcast, this article on data use for a prerecorded YouTube Live stream gives the relevant context.
Add a local video and enable looping
Create or select a scene in OBS, then use the Sources dock’s + button and choose Media Source. Give the source a clear name, such as “Main loop”, so you can identify it later. In its properties, choose the local video file on your Mac and enable Loop. The option tells OBS to replay the file after playback finishes.
OBS documents Media Source on macOS and lists common formats such as MP4 and MOV. If the file does not appear, or plays without sound, check that the file is accessible and that OBS can decode it on your version of macOS. The format extension alone does not establish that every encoding inside the file will work smoothly. Test the actual file rather than assuming it will behave like another MP4 or MOV.
For one video, Media Source is the direct route. OBS also has a VLC Video source that can handle a playlist and a Loop Playlist option, but that route requires VLC to be installed. The choice is practical: use Media Source for a single repeating file, and consider the VLC source only if you need to cycle through multiple files. If the content consists of separate clips that need to run continuously, a guide to streaming a continuous YouTube news replay channel from recorded clips may help you think through the playlist workflow.
Check how the image sits in the OBS canvas. A vertical phone video, a wide film or a square graphic may not fill the canvas in the way you expect. Select the source and use OBS’s transform controls to fit it to the canvas if needed; inspect the preview for black bars, cropping, overlays or text hidden at an edge. Do not assume the YouTube preview will repair a composition that is already wrong in OBS.
Check the audio meters while the file plays. If the video contains speech, bhajans, music or ambient sound, listen through the Mac’s output as well as looking at the meter. A moving meter confirms that OBS sees audio, but it does not prove the level is comfortable or that the intended audio is coming from the file. If a loop has silence at the end or a sharp transition at its beginning, notice that during testing rather than after viewers have joined.
Start the encoder and confirm the incoming preview
Before starting, confirm that the correct scene is selected, the file is visible in the OBS preview and audio is moving as expected. Then choose Start Streaming in OBS. This begins sending the encoder feed; it does not necessarily make a scheduled YouTube event public by itself.
Return to the Live Control Room and wait for the incoming stream preview and status information. Confirm that the image is moving, the correct video is arriving, and audio is present. YouTube’s encoder workflow and live-stream tips recommend checking the preview and monitoring stream quality before going live. If you have scheduled the event, use the Live Control Room’s Go live control when you are satisfied and ready for viewers to see it.
Test with the exact file, scene and audio arrangement you intend to use. A short test can catch a wrong scene, an old stream key, a muted source, a crop, or a file that stops instead of repeating. OBS recommends testing before a first broadcast; YouTube also advises checking the incoming picture and sound. A result on one Mac and one network does not guarantee the same outcome under a different workload or connection.
If YouTube does not show an incoming preview, work through the connection rather than repeatedly changing unrelated settings. Check that OBS still has the intended server and key, that the stream key belongs to the selected Live Control Room stream, and that OBS reports streaming. Then look at the Sources dock and preview to confirm the Media Source is active. If OBS is sending but YouTube does not receive a picture, confirm the network is available and check YouTube’s current encoder status and help guidance.
If the preview arrives but the broadcast is not meant to be public yet, do not click Go live. Keep the event in its scheduled or waiting state while you check picture and sound. When finished, stop sending from OBS, then confirm the broadcast has ended in the Live Control Room before closing OBS. For scheduled streams, use YouTube’s End Stream control as appropriate to the event. YouTube documents automatic archiving for some streams under 12 hours, but archive behaviour is subject to YouTube’s workflow and current policy; do not rely on it as your only copy of the source file.
Reset a compromised key and update OBS
If the key was exposed in a screenshot, message or public post, treat it as compromised. In YouTube Studio’s Live Control Room, reset the key associated with the stream. YouTube says the channel owner or a manager with the necessary permission can reset it, so ask an authorised person if the control is unavailable to you.
After resetting, return to OBS > Settings > Stream and replace the old value with the newly displayed key. Save the change, then make a test connection and confirm that the incoming preview appears in the correct Live Control Room stream. The old key should no longer be used; updating OBS is necessary because it may still hold the previous credential.
If several Macs or OBS profiles have been configured for the channel, check each one that could send to the stream and update or remove saved credentials as appropriate. Do not paste the replacement key into a public troubleshooting post while asking why a connection failed. Share the error description and relevant non-sensitive settings instead.
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FAQ
How do I find my YouTube stream key?
Open YouTube Studio, choose Create > Go Live, and select the intended stream in the Live Control Room. The key is in the stream’s settings, usually under the Stream tab. Copy the current displayed value and keep it private.
Where do I put the stream key in OBS on a Mac?
In OBS Studio, open OBS > Settings > Stream and select YouTube if available. Paste the key into the Stream Key field; if using a custom service setup, enter YouTube’s server URL separately from the key.
How do I loop a video in OBS?
Add the local file as a Media Source from the Sources dock, open its properties and enable Loop. Check that it plays in the OBS preview and listen for the transition at the end of the file before you stream.
Why is YouTube not receiving video from OBS?
Confirm that OBS is streaming to the server and key for the same stream selected in the Live Control Room. Check that the correct scene and active Media Source appear in OBS, then verify the network and consult the current YouTube encoder status if the incoming preview still does not appear.