Skip to main content

Getting started

MistServer can be split up in 3 steps.

  • Installation. Here we'll help you boot MistServer on your server
  • Configuration. How to set up a very basic MistServer server
  • Playback. Add a stream and get to the output.

Things handy to know before we start​

1. Stream names must always be unique​

MistServer determines which stream is which by its stream name. That means that a stream should always have an unique stream name no matter the situation.

2. Live inputs vs file inputs and push vs pull inputs​

MistServer differentiates between live and non-live inputs. Live inputs are when "something else" is going to reach out to MistServer (push) and provide a stream or when MistServer reaches out to "somewhere else" and then receives the steram (pull).

  • If you know a push method is going to be used, you can set up the stream to push:// and all pushable methods would be available.
  • For pull you generally only need to fill in the full stream url where MistServer can find the stream.
  • File inputs are best compatible with mounted storages, whether this is local or remote storage does not matter.

3. Stream push & Recording are both "pushes"​

MistServer considers a push to another server/platform the same as recording. The only difference is that a "recording" is a push to a local file path while a push to another server/platform is a push to a remote address.

4. The protocol panel determines viewer outputs and push inputs​

The protocol panel can be used to determine what outputs viewers are allowed to connect towards and what ports should be open for pushing processes to push against. It does not de-activate pull or file inputs in any way. If you remove MP4 from the protocol list you can still open & serve streams that use a MP4 as file source.

5. HTTP and HTTPS defaults are non-standard for compatibility reasons, but can be changed​

When we first started MistServer we noticed the server would often have to work side by side with a webserver. In this case you wouldn't want MistServer to claim the default HTTP port 80 or default HTTPS port 443. You can however change these in the protocol panel should you wish. HTTPS always needs a manual setting so cannot be automated, we recommend viewing our howto documentation once you feel ready adding HTTPS to MistServer.

6. The interface/API port (4242) isn't meant to be available to the public internet​

While it's not necessarily harmful to have available to anyone it's also not meant to have available to just anyone. Be aware that MistServer runs quite deep on the server and having access to the interface means having quite deep access on your server. We recommend only making this port available for addresses/applications you trust.