How to Install Owncast on Clear Linux

Introduction

Owncast is a self-hosted live video streaming server that allows users to stream their content on their own servers. It is an open-source project that can be installed on different operating systems. In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Owncast on Clear Linux.

Prerequisites

Before you start, you need:

A Clear Linux installation with a user account that has sudo permissions
Basic knowledge of Clear Linux CLI commands
Access to the Internet

Step 1: Update Clear Linux

Before installing any package or software, make sure your Clear Linux is up to date by running the command:

sudo swupd update

Step 2: Install Dependencies

Owncast requires a combination of packages to be installed. We will install them one by one.

Go: Owncast is built using Go language. We can install go with the following command:
```
sudo swupd bundle-add go-basic
```
FFmpeg: Owncast requires FFmpeg to stream video. We can install FFmpeg with:
```
sudo swupd bundle-add ffmpeg
```
NGINX: Owncast web server uses NGINX. To install it, run the command:
```
sudo swupd bundle-add nginx
```
Let's Encrypt: Owncast supports HTTPS and SSL certificates using Let's Encrypt. Run the command below to install it:
```
sudo swupd bundle-add package-utils
sudo clrtrust generate
sudo -u _acme-client -H /usr/bin/echo
```

Step 3: Install Owncast

Now that we have the dependencies installed, we can proceed to install Owncast.

First, download the latest release of Owncast from its official website (https://owncast.online/download):
```
wget https://github.com/owncast/owncast/releases/download/v0.0.11/owncast-linux-amd64-v0.0.11.zip
```
We have downloaded version v0.0.11, but you can check the Owncast website for the latest version and adjust the command accordingly.
Extract the downloaded file:
```
unzip owncast-linux-amd64-v0.0.11.zip
```

Move the Owncast executable to the /usr/local/bin directory:

sudo mv owncast-linux-amd64-v0.0.11/owncast /usr/local/bin/

Step 4: Configure Owncast

Now that we have Owncast installed, we need to configure it.

Create a configuration file:

sudo mkdir /etc/owncast
sudo touch /etc/owncast/owncast.yaml

Open the Owncast configuration file with your favorite text editor:
```
sudo nano /etc/owncast/owncast.yaml
```

Copy the default configuration from Owncast official website:

---
# Your stream key.  This should never be shared.
# It's recommended to set the KEY envrionment variable in your OS or shell and reference it here.
# https://owncast.online/docs/security/environment-variables/
key: <YOUR STREAM KEY>

# The name the of your stream.  Will be displayed on the web player.
# Example: My Stream
name: <YOUR STREAM NAME>

# A list of all possible server ingest URLs.  You only need to specify the one you use.
ingest:
  - url: rtmp://localhost:1935/live # Customizable

# Web server configuration
webServer:
  # The port for the http server.  The web player will be served on this port.
  # Example: 8080
  port: 80

  # A boolean flag to enable HTTPS and redirect any non-https requests to https.  Requires a valid cert and key.
  https: true

  # The full path to the cert in pem format
  cert: /path/to/cert

  # The full path to the key in pem format
  key: /path/to/key

# Enable/Disable anonymous broadcasts.
allowAnon: false

# Log output configuration
logging:
  # - console (stdout)
  # - json (logs.json)
  # - mute (turn off logging)
  output: console

  # Debug mode.  Enables finer grained logging output.
  debug: false

# Update information
update:
  url: https://owncast.online/releases/latest?platform=linux

Change the values of <YOUR STREAM KEY> and <YOUR STREAM NAME> with your stream key and name. Also, modify the cert and key fields with the appropriate SSL certificate path, which we generated with Let's Encrypt in Step 2. Save and close.

Step 5: Running Owncast

After completing the configuration, we can run Owncast with the command:

owncast start

By default, Owncast runs on port 8080. You can access your live stream from your browser by visiting http://<YOUR IP ADDRESS>:8080. If you specified HTTPS in the configuration file, you can access your live stream by visiting https://<YOUR IP ADDRESS>.

Step 6: Autostart Owncast

To make sure that Owncast starts automatically upon system boot, we need to create a system service.

Create a file named owncast.service:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/owncast.service

Add the following content:

[Unit]
Description=Owncast live streaming server
After=network.target

[Service]
User=root
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/owncast start
Restart=on-failure

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Save and close.

Reload the system services using the command:
```
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
```
Enable the Owncast service:
```
sudo systemctl enable owncast
```

You have successfully installed and configured Owncast on Clear Linux. You can now stream your content on your self-hosted server. Enjoy!

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we explored how to install Owncast on Clear Linux by following simple steps. Owncast is a great option for live streaming your content privately and securely on your own servers. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to share them in the comment section.