How to Set Up Nginx RTMP for Live Video Streaming

Nginx's RTMP module lets you run your own live video streaming server — accepting a stream from broadcasting software (like OBS Studio) and distributing it to viewers, without depending on a third-party platform.

What RTMP Streaming Enables

Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP) is the standard protocol broadcasting software uses to send a live video stream to a server — your own RTMP server can then re-distribute that stream to viewers, giving you full control over your live streaming infrastructure.

Prerequisites

Ubuntu 22.04/24.04 VPS: 4 vCPU, 4 GB RAM minimum (more for transcoding multiple quality levels)

Step 1 — Install Nginx with the RTMP Module

sudo apt install libnginx-mod-rtmp -y

Step 2 — Configure the RTMP Block

sudo nano /etc/nginx/nginx.conf

rtmp {
    server {
        listen 1935;
        chunk_size 4096;

        application live {
            live on;
            record off;
        }
    }
}

Step 3 — Restart Nginx

sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl restart nginx

Step 4 — Allow the RTMP Port

sudo ufw allow 1935/tcp

Step 5 — Configure Broadcasting Software

See How to Stream Live Video with OBS Studio to a Self-Hosted RTMP Server for the client-side configuration, pointing at:

rtmp://YOUR_SERVER_IP/live

Step 6 — Enable HLS Output for Browser Playback

application live {
    live on;
    hls on;
    hls_path /var/www/hls;
    hls_fragment 3;
    hls_playlist_length 60;
}

Converts the incoming RTMP stream into HLS (HTTP Live Streaming), playable directly in web browsers via a standard video player — see How to Set Up HLS Streaming with Nginx for the full HLS-specific configuration.

Serving the HLS Output

server {
    listen 80;
    location /hls {
        root /var/www;
        add_header Cache-Control no-cache;
        add_header Access-Control-Allow-Origin *;
    }
}

Restricting Who Can Publish a Stream

application live {
    live on;
    allow publish 127.0.0.1;
    deny publish all;
}

By default, anyone who discovers your RTMP URL could start streaming to it — restrict publishing to specific trusted IPs, or implement a stream key validation mechanism for broader authorized access.

Recording Streams (Optional)

application live {
    live on;
    record all;
    record_path /var/recordings;
}

Common Errors

OBS connects but no video appears for viewers — verify the HLS output path is correctly configured and being written to, and that the web server can actually serve files from that path.

High CPU usage during streaming — if transcoding to multiple quality levels, this is expected; monitor and size your VPS accordingly (see VPS Requirements for Media Streaming Servers).

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