Owncast
Owncast is available in the NetActuate Marketplace as a one-click, open-source appliance you can deploy into any NetActuate PoP. Own your Twitch channel: single-binary live streaming + chat. It is grouped under the Media & Streaming category.
What It Does
Owncast is an open-source, self-hosted live streaming and chat platform that gives a creator complete control over their broadcast, audience, and moderation. It ships as a single Go binary with a built-in web player, real-time chat, and an admin dashboard, and it works with any RTMP encoder like OBS or Streamlabs.
Key features
- All-in-one live video streaming plus real-time chat in one binary
- Works with standard RTMP encoders (OBS, Streamlabs, Restream, and others)
- HLS output that plays in any modern browser, no plugins needed
- Web-based admin dashboard for configuration, moderation, and stats
- Full ownership of branding, interface, chat, and audience data
- ActivityPub and Fediverse federation to notify followers when you go live
- Self-hosted and privacy-respecting, with no third-party dependency
- Easy to run: single binary or container, minimal setup
Use cases
- Independent creators running their own Twitch or YouTube-style channel
- Communities and organizations hosting private or branded live events
- Federated streaming that plugs into Mastodon and the Fediverse
- Self-hosted streaming where content ownership and privacy matter
Why run it on the NetActuate edge Hosting Owncast in a PoP near your viewers shortens the HLS delivery path, lowering latency and rebuffering for a smoother watch. An edge location close to your encoder tightens the RTMP ingest hop, keeping the broadcast stable before it reaches the audience.
Best for: Creators, Self-hosted live, Community.
Vendor and Project
Owncast is an open-source project, offered here under the Open Source listing with best-effort community support.
- Project home: owncast.online
NetActuate supports the underlying infrastructure. Application-level support follows the listing SLA class (open-source, best effort).
Sizing
| vCPU | RAM | Disk | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | 1 | 1 GB | 20 GB |
| Recommended | 2 | 4 GB | 50 GB |
No VPU (hardware acceleration) is required for this appliance. Choose a size at deploy based on your expected load.
Configuration Fields
When you deploy, you provide these fields. They are written into the appliance at first boot.
| Field | Required | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Admin Password | No | generated | Stored write-only in your account secret list |
| Stream Key | No | generated | Stored write-only in your account secret list |
| Server Name | No | Owncast |
Using the Appliance
Deploy in minutes
- Connect. SSH as
ubuntu@YOUR_VM_IPwith the password or SSH key you set at deploy. - Open the admin. Browse to
http://YOUR_VM_IP:8080/adminand sign in with the admin password you supplied at deploy. - Go live. In OBS, stream to
rtmp://YOUR_VM_IP:1935/liveusing the stream key you set at deploy. - Share. Send viewers to
http://YOUR_VM_IP:8080/for the public watch page and chat.
FAQ
Is there a software license fee? No. Owncast is open source and free to run. You pay only for the NetActuate infrastructure and bandwidth.
Where is the web interface?
On port 8080 at path /admin by default.
Who supports it? NetActuate operates the underlying infrastructure. The application itself is community-supported open source (best-effort SLA class).
Version and Changelog
| Version | Status | Released |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0.0 | Current (default) | 2026-07-09 |
Deploy
- Deploy in the portal: Deploy Owncast
- View the listing: portal.netactuate.com/platform/marketplace/l/owncast
- Public listing: netactuate.com/marketplace/owncast
Need Help?
Contact support@netactuate.com or open a support ticket from the portal.