Connecting YouTube
How to authorize and connect your YouTube channel to YouCast for live streaming.
YouCast streams directly to YouTube Live via the YouTube Data API. To broadcast to your channel, you need to authorize YouCast to manage your YouTube live streams. This is done through Google's standard OAuth 2.0 authorization flow — secure, revocable, and limited in scope.
Connecting a Channel
Navigate to Channels
Click "Channels" in the left sidebar of your YouCast dashboard.
Click "Connect Channel"
A Google authorization popup will appear.
Sign in to Google
Log in with the Google account that owns the YouTube channel you want to stream to.
Review permissions
YouCast will request permission to manage YouTube live streams. Review the permissions carefully.
Grant access
Click "Allow" to authorize YouCast. You will be redirected back to your dashboard.
Channel appears in list
Your YouTube channel is now listed in the Channels page with its subscriber count, avatar, and connection status.
Required Permissions
YouCast requests only the minimum permissions needed to manage live streams on your behalf:
| Permission Scope | Why It's Needed |
|---|---|
| youtube.readonly | Read channel info (name, ID, subscriber count) |
| youtube | Create and manage live stream events and broadcast settings |
| youtube.upload | Technically required by YouTube API for live stream management |
We never post to your channel
YouCast will never upload videos, post community updates, modify existing videos, or interact with your subscribers. Our access is strictly limited to creating and managing live broadcast events for the streams you explicitly start.
YouTube Requirements for Live Streaming
Before connecting your channel, make sure it meets YouTube's live streaming requirements:
- Your channel must be verified (phone number on your Google account)
- Live streaming must not be restricted on your channel (no active strikes)
- For mobile live streaming, channels need 1,000+ subscribers — this does NOT apply to YouCast (which uses the API)
- Your channel should not have any ongoing community guideline strikes that restrict features
Revoking Access
You can disconnect a YouTube channel from YouCast at any time. Go to Channels, click on the channel you want to disconnect, and click "Disconnect Channel". This immediately revokes YouCast's ability to stream to that channel. Any running streams to that channel will be stopped.
You can also revoke access from Google's end by visiting myaccount.google.com/permissions and removing YouCast from the authorized apps list.