RTMP Server for Twitch, YouTube, Kick and VK Video Live: Server Addresses and Stream Key

An RTMP server is the address your OBS or any other streaming software sends your video to, and the stream key is the password that tells the platform the video belongs to your channel. Both are found in your channel settings: on Twitch in the Creator Dashboard under Settings → Stream, on YouTube in YouTube Studio on the Stream tab, on Kick in the creator dashboard under Stream URL and Key, and on VK Video Live in the Studio under Keys and widgets. Trovo ended live streaming on June 30, 2026, so you can no longer stream there. For Twitch you usually do not need to enter a server by hand: in OBS pick the Twitch service and the Auto server.

What RTMP, RTMPS, the server address and the key are

RTMP is the protocol your streaming software uses to send picture and sound to the platform's ingest server. Such a server is called an ingest server or ingest point. After that the platform transcodes the stream itself and delivers it to viewers.

RTMPS is the same RTMP wrapped in an encrypted TLS connection, just like a regular website over HTTPS. The video does not change, but nobody on the way can read your key or your stream.

To go live, the software needs two strings:

Server URL — for example, rtmps://a.rtmps.youtube.com:443/live2. It is the same for many streamers and is not a secret.
Stream key — a long string of letters and digits that is personal to your channel. Technically the software glues the two into a single address in the form server/key, which is why the key protects your whole broadcast.

If OBS has a ready-made profile for the platform (Twitch, YouTube), it is enough to pick the service and paste the key: the address is filled in automatically. For platforms without a profile, such as Kick or VK Video Live, choose the Custom service and paste both strings by hand.

Table: server addresses and where to get the key

The addresses were checked against the platforms' help pages and the built-in service list of OBS Studio. Where a platform does not publish an address, we do not invent one: take it from your own dashboard.

Platform	Server address	Where the key is
Twitch	in OBS — Auto; manually rtmp://code.contribute.live-video.net/app/, general fallback rtmp://ingest.global-contribute.live-video.net/app	dashboard.twitch.tv → Settings → Stream → Primary Stream Key
YouTube	rtmps://a.rtmps.youtube.com:443/live2, backup rtmps://b.rtmps.youtube.com:443/live2?backup=1; old variant rtmp://a.rtmp.youtube.com/live2	YouTube Studio → Create → Go live → Stream tab
Kick	RTMPS, the Kick help page gives rtmps://fa723fc1b171.global-contribute.live-video.net:443/app; check it against your own dashboard	dashboard.kick.com → Channel → Stream URL and Key
VK Video Live	VK does not publish a common address, the URL is copied from the Studio	Studio → Settings → Keys and widgets
Trovo	streaming stopped on 30.06.2026	not needed

Twitch: stream key and automatic server choice

The key is in the Creator Dashboard: open dashboard.twitch.tv, choose Settings → Stream on the left and copy the Primary Stream Key. Next to it there is a Reset button: once you press it, the old key stops working and you have to paste the new one into OBS again.

Twitch servers look like rtmp://code.contribute.live-video.net/app/. The built-in OBS list has 13 of them: Frankfurt (euc10), Stockholm (eun10), Paris (euw30), Ireland (euw10), the USA, Asia, Sao Paulo. There is no separate server in Russia or the CIS, and the closest ones to Moscow are the European ones.

The Auto (Recommended) option in OBS works like this: when the stream starts, the program asks Twitch for the current list of servers through ingest.twitch.tv and takes the first one. If the list fails to load, the general address rtmp://ingest.global-contribute.live-video.net/app is used. Twitch does not publish how exactly it sorts this list, but you should pick a server by hand in only one case: your stream keeps dropping and it is more stable with another server.

You can test a server without going live. Twitch supports the ?bandwidthtest=true parameter: add it to the end of the key in OBS, start the stream for a couple of minutes and check its stability at inspector.twitch.tv. Viewers will not see such a stream. After the test remove the suffix, otherwise your real broadcast will not show up on the channel either.

The OBS profile for Twitch lists the targets: up to 6000 kbps of H.264 video, up to 320 kbps of audio, a keyframe every 2 seconds. For more on choosing the numbers, see our article on stream bitrate.

YouTube: stream key, RTMPS and the backup server

In YouTube Studio click Create → Go live and open the Stream tab. There are two fields: the stream key and the stream URL. If you have streamed before, YouTube fills in the previous settings together with the key, and you do not need to change anything in OBS.

By default the URL field shows a plain RTMP address. To get RTMPS, click the lock icon next to the field. In OBS it is simpler: choose the service YouTube - RTMPS, the Primary server, and paste the key. The backup server with ?backup=1 is needed if you send a second, safety stream from another computer or another connection.

YouTube also has a third way, HLS: in OBS it is the YouTube - HLS service. It delivers video in chunks over HTTPS and supports H.264 and HEVC, but its latency is higher than that of RTMP. For gaming streams with chat, stay on RTMPS: through it OBS sends H.264, HEVC and AV1 to YouTube.

Kick, VK Video Live and what happened to Trovo

Kick

The key and address are in the Kick creator dashboard at dashboard.kick.com, under Channel → Stream URL and Key. OBS has no ready-made Kick profile, so the service is Custom. Kick works over RTMPS on port 443, and the address in its help page looks like rtmps://fa723fc1b171.global-contribute.live-video.net:443/app. The old key is not stored after a reset, so you will have to update it in all your programs. Step-by-step setup is in our guide on how to stream on Kick.

VK Video Live

Open the Studio from the menu under your avatar, go to Settings → Keys and widgets and copy the server URL and the stream key. In OBS the service is Custom. VK warns directly: if you give the key to outsiders, your channel may be blocked. For a broadcast on regular VKontakte (the Video section of a community or profile) the path is different: Live → App, where you also choose a one-time or a permanent key.

Trovo

Tencent announced the closure of Trovo in March 2026, and all streaming features were switched off on June 30, 2026. The Trovo profile is still in the OBS service list, but a broadcast through it will not go out. If you used to stream on Trovo, move your audience to Twitch, Kick or VK Video Live.

RTMPS or RTMP, and which ports you need

Plain RTMP goes over TCP port 1935 by default, which is why the port is not written in Twitch addresses. RTMPS on YouTube and Kick works over port 443, the same as HTTPS. This is handy: 443 is almost never blocked at home, in the office or on a mobile network, while 1935 is sometimes closed in corporate networks and dormitories.

What to choose:

If the platform offers RTMPS, use it. The key is sent encrypted, and the load on your computer barely changes.
For Twitch, OBS uses RTMP: both the built-in server list and Twitch's official list of ingest points give rtmp:// addresses.
An error about an invalid SSL certificate usually means that the address still has rtmp instead of rtmps or the port 443 is not specified. This is what the YouTube help page advises.
If OBS does not connect at all, check your antivirus and firewall, update the program and try RTMPS instead of RTMP if the platform supports it.

Drops during a broadcast are more often caused not by the protocol but by your upload speed. How much you need for 720p and 1080p we calculated in the article on what internet speed you need for streaming.

SRT and WHIP in brief

SRT is a protocol on top of UDP that survives packet loss better than RTMP, which is why it is popular for IRL streams and for sending video between studios. In OBS, SRT is set in the Custom service with an address like srt://IP:port, the key field stays empty, and the delay is set with the latency parameter in microseconds. Twitch, YouTube, Kick and VK Video Live do not describe SRT ingest for ordinary streamers in their help pages. In practice SRT is used to send video to your own server or to a relay service, and from there RTMP goes to the platform.

WHIP is a way of sending a stream over WebRTC with very low latency. It is in OBS starting from version 30: the WHIP service, the Server field and the Bearer Token field, which replaces the key. The OBS help page lists Twitch among the services with WHIP support, but we found no instructions for streamers from Twitch itself, so RTMP is more reliable for a regular broadcast.

Multistream: several outputs in OBS

Out of the box OBS sends one main stream. To broadcast to two or three platforms at once, there are two ways.

The Multiple RTMP outputs plugin (obs-multi-rtmp) is free and adds a separate dock to OBS where you set your own server and key for each platform. Pick the plugin version that matches your OBS version. The main limit is upload speed: three streams of 6000 kbps need three times the bandwidth of one.
A relay service such as Restream: you send one stream to its server and it distributes it to the platforms. You need bandwidth for just one stream, but the free Restream plan is limited to two channels.

Check the platforms' rules before launching. Since October 2023 Twitch allows simultaneous broadcasts to other services. On Kick, multistreaming is available only to partner program members, and payouts for such broadcasts are halved.

How to protect your stream key

The key is in effect the password to your broadcast. Whoever knows it can go live on your channel without the login and password of your account. Your channel will answer for someone else's stream if it breaks the rules.

Do not show the key on stream or in videos: do not open the OBS settings and the creator dashboard while screen capture is on.
Do not send the key to moderators, video editors or promotion helpers. Promotion services do not need the key: a link to the channel is enough for them.
If you sent the settings as a screenshot or the key could have leaked, immediately press Reset in the platform dashboard and paste the new key into OBS.
Turn on two-factor protection for your account: without access to the account, a key cannot be reset or viewed again.
Use RTMPS wherever it exists: on public Wi-Fi the key is sent in plain text over ordinary RTMP.

When you are already live

The right server and key solve the technical side, but a first stream with zero viewers holds few people. If you need a starting online, it can be built for your platform: for Twitch, Kick or VK Video Live, with viewers arriving smoothly through the viewer control panel. The stream key is not needed for this, only the link to your channel.

Frequently asked questions

Can I stream to two platforms with one key?

No. A key is tied to a channel on a specific platform, and each platform has its own. For multistreaming you need a separate output for each platform with its own server and key, or a relay service.

Does the Twitch key change by itself?

No, the primary Twitch key works until you reset it. After a reset the old key stops working, and you have to paste the new one into OBS.

Which Twitch server should I choose from Russia?

Leave Auto: OBS will request the current list from Twitch itself. Twitch has no servers in Russia, and the closest are Stockholm and Frankfurt. If the stream drops, check them one by one with the ?bandwidthtest=true parameter.

Why does OBS show an SSL certificate error?

Most often the address starts with rtmp when rtmps is needed, or port 443 is not specified. Copy the URL again from the platform dashboard and update OBS to the latest version.