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There are two ways to stream to YouTube with Streamloop. This page covers the managed connection, where you link your channel once and Streamloop runs the whole broadcast for you. If you’d rather paste a stream key from YouTube yourself, see YouTube via RTMP stream key.

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Why use the managed connection

With a managed connection, Streamloop talks to YouTube through the official YouTube API, so it can:
  • Create and run the broadcast for you — no copying stream keys.
  • Let you set the title, description, privacy, thumbnail, and schedule from inside Streamloop.
  • Keep the YouTube broadcast in sync if you reschedule or stop the loop.

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Connect your channel

1

Open the destination picker

In your loop’s General tab, find the destination section and click Connect a destination (or Add destination if your loop has a destination list).
2

Choose YouTube (Connect channel)

In the provider grid, pick YouTube · Connect channel (marked recommended). This starts Google sign-in.
3

Sign in and grant access

Complete the Google popup. On the consent screen, leave every box checked — including the YouTube permission.
Google shows the YouTube permission as an optional checkbox. If you untick it, sign-in still succeeds but Streamloop gets no access to your channel and the connection silently fails. Keep all boxes checked.
4

Confirm it's connected

Your channel appears with a Connected badge. Pick it as the loop’s destination and you’re ready to set up the broadcast.
A loop can stream to one YouTube channel at a time. To reach other platforms as well, add them as extra destinations. See Multistream.

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Backup stream

YouTube accepts a primary and a backup feed for the same broadcast. In the loop’s General tab, turn on Run backup stream for higher redundancy under Backup stream. Streamloop then sends your stream to both at the same time, so YouTube can switch to the backup if the primary drops. The backup stream doubles your streaming cost while live. It’s off by default, and it’s only offered for YouTube destinations. See Billing.

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Set up the broadcast

Once a YouTube channel is connected, the loop’s YouTube tab unlocks. From there you control how the broadcast appears on your channel:
  • Title, description, category, language, and tags.
  • Visibility — Public, Unlisted, or Private.
  • Thumbnail — automatic (the first frame of your video) or a custom image.
  • Recording and DVR, plus a latency mode (normal, low, or ultra-low).
  • Publish upcoming broadcast on YouTube when scheduled — when on, scheduling the loop also creates the upcoming broadcast on your channel and keeps it in sync.
See YouTube broadcast controls for the full list.

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Reconnect when access expires

If Google’s authorization expires, the destination shows YouTube needs reauthorization. Click Reconnect and complete sign-in again to keep streaming. Your stream keys and authorization are encrypted at rest.

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Managed connection vs stream key

Ready to go live? Connect your channel on streamloop.app, or follow the quickstart.