By default, OBS Studio can stream to only one platform at a time. With the free Multiple RTMP outputs plugin (obs-multi-rtmp), you can go live on YouTube, Twitch, Facebook and other RTMP platforms at the same time from one PC. In this guide I show you how to install the plugin, add your platforms and start the stream.
OBS Website Multistream Plugin
GitHub page of the plugin: https://github.com/sorayuki/obs-multi-rtmp. Only download it from GitHub or from the OBS forum page above. The plugin is free, so never pay anyone for it.
In this article
What you need
- OBS Studio, the free streaming software from the official website (https://obsproject.com).
- The Multiple RTMP outputs plugin (download buttons above).
- A stream key for every platform you want to use, for example YouTube and Twitch.
- Enough upload speed. Every platform receives its own copy of your stream, so your upload speed must cover all of them together. Two streams at 6,000 Kbps need more than 12 Mbps of upload.
Step 1: Download and install OBS Studio
Go to the official OBS website and download the latest version for your operating system. When the download is complete, run the installer and follow the instructions.
Step 2: Set up your scene in OBS
Open OBS and take a minute to look around. It can look complicated at first, but you only need a few things to start:
- Create a scene. A scene is the layout your viewers see. Right-click in the Scenes box, select Add and give the scene a name.
- Add sources. Sources are the parts of your scene, such as your webcam, your screen, an image or a media file. Right-click in the Sources box, select Add and pick the source you want. You can add as many sources as you need.
- Arrange your sources. Drag the sources to place them in the preview. You can also resize, crop or add filters to each source.
- Check your audio and video settings. Click Settings in the lower-right corner of OBS and open the Audio and Video tabs. Make sure the right microphone and webcam are selected.
Step 3: Install the Multiple RTMP outputs plugin
Close OBS before you install the plugin. If OBS was open during the installation, restart it so it loads the plugin.
Automatic installation (recommended)
- Open the plugin’s GitHub page and go to the latest release.
- On Windows, download the file that ends in
windows-x64-Installer.exeand run it. - Keep the default install folder. The plugin author asks you not to change it.
The release page also has a .pkg installer for macOS and .deb and Flatpak packages for Linux.
Manual installation on Windows (ZIP file)
- Download the file that ends in
windows-x64.zipfrom the same release page. - Open your OBS installation folder. By default it is
C:\Program Files\obs-studio\. - Extract the ZIP into that folder. The ZIP contains an
obs-pluginsfolder and adatafolder, and they must merge with the folders that are already there. - Start OBS.
Step 4: Set up your main stream
Your first platform uses the normal OBS stream settings:
- In OBS, go to Settings > Stream.
- Choose your main platform under Service, for example YouTube.
- Connect your account or paste the stream key from that platform, then click OK.
OBS itself only accepts one platform here. All the other platforms go into the plugin in the next step.
Step 5: Add your other platforms to the plugin
After the installation you will see a new dock in OBS called Multiple output.
- In the Multiple output dock, click Add new target.
- Give the target a Name, for example Twitch.
- Enter the RTMP server address of the platform. For Twitch, you can use the default server below, or pick the server closest to you from the Twitch list.
- Paste your stream key. On Twitch you find it in the Creator Dashboard under Settings > Stream. Never share your stream key with anyone.
- Under the encoder settings, choose Reuse the streaming encoder as OBS. This saves CPU and GPU power because OBS encodes the video only once.
- If you want every target to go live and stop together with your main stream, tick Sync start with OBS and Sync stop with OBS.
- Click OK. Repeat these steps for every extra platform.
Default Twitch RTMP server:
rtmp://live.twitch.tv/app/Stream on a Twitch server close to you with the official list:
Step 6: Go live on all platforms
- Check your preview first. The preview window in OBS shows exactly what your viewers will see. Fix everything before you go live, because Start Streaming makes you live right away.
- Start your main stream. Click Start Streaming in OBS.
- Start the other platforms. If you did not tick Sync start with OBS, click Start next to each target, or Start all, in the Multiple output dock. The status changes to Streaming when a platform is connected.
- Talk to your viewers. Keep the chat of each platform open and reply to your viewers. It makes the stream more personal.
- End the stream. Click Stop Streaming in OBS. If the targets are not synced, also click Stop all in the dock.
Troubleshooting
The Multiple output dock is missing
First check the Docks menu in OBS. The plugin author also says that switching to Studio Mode can bring the dock back. If it is still missing, close OBS, open %appdata%\obs-studio, open global.ini in a text editor, delete the line that starts with DockState= and save the file.
A target shows an error
Error: incorrect RTMP address means the server address is wrong. Failed to connect to server usually means a wrong server or stream key. Click Modify on the target and check both.
How to uninstall the plugin
Use the uninstaller of the plugin. If the plugin is still there afterwards, delete the folder C:\ProgramData\obs-studio\plugins\obs-multi-rtmp. The ProgramData folder is hidden by default, so type %programdata% in the Run box (Windows + R) to open it.
More OBS guides
- How to make video tutorials for YouTube with the OBS screen recorder
- Video encode and decode GPU support matrix (NVIDIA NVENC) for OBS
That is all you need to stream to several platforms at once with OBS, for free. If something does not work for you, tell me in the comments which platform and which error you see.
