Owncast Recording Webhook

Automatic recording for Owncast live streams using FFmpeg.

Overview

This script enables automatic recording of live streams from Owncast by utilizing FFmpeg and webhooks. It listens for stream events and starts or stops recording accordingly.

Steps to Set Up Automatic Recording with FFmpeg

1. Enable Webhooks in Owncast

Owncast provides webhooks that notify you of events such as when a stream starts or stops. You can use the STREAM_STARTED and STREAM_STOPPED webhooks to trigger the FFmpeg recording.

• Access the Owncast Admin Panel:

  • URL: http://myserver:8080/admin

• Navigate to:

  • Server Config > Webhooks

• Add a New Webhook:

  • Provide a URL for the server where you’ll host your recording script (e.g., http://myserver/owncast_recording.php).
  • Select the events that will be sent to this webhook:
    • When a stream starts
    • When a stream stops

2. Upload the Webhook Listener on Your Server

Upload the webhook listener script to your server. Ensure the webhook URL points to the server where your owncast_recording.php script is located.

3. Configure Recording Settings

In the owncast_recording.php file, configure any necessary recording settings, such as file paths and FFmpeg options.

4. Test the Setup

Start a stream in Owncast and monitor the logs to verify that recording starts and stops correctly according to the stream events.

Example Log Output

You can monitor the output in the designated log file to confirm that the recording process is functioning as intended.

2024-10-11 12:04:07 - Stream started event received.
2024-10-11 12:04:07 - Recording started: /path/to/recordings/owncast_live_2024-10-11_12-04-07.ts
2024-10-11 12:04:51 - Stream stopped event received.
2024-10-11 12:04:51 - Recording stopped. FFmpeg PID: <pid>

Additional Notes

• Ensure that your server has FFmpeg installed and accessible via command line.
• You may need to adjust permissions and configurations on your server for the script to execute properly.