YouTube request

[dreemur-e]

not an issue, would be nice if a youtube fork is made
appreciate your work

[Necrosiak]

Hi, and thanks a lot for the kind words! 🦴

Good news: rather than a separate fork, we're going to rework BoneCast itself to add YouTube alongside Twitch. One plugin for both is going to be even better: same QAM, same overlays, and you pick the platform.

To help us decide what to build first, what would you use the most?

• Going live on YouTube from Gaming Mode (one button in the QAM, like the Twitch go-live)
• YouTube live chat overlay drawn over the game while you stream
• Watching YouTube lives over your game (like the Twitch "Watch" tab)
• Talking in your own YouTube chat from the QAM
• Something else?

Just tell us what matters most to you and we'll prioritize that.

[dreemur-e]

the ability to monitor the stream/quality etc
choosing the wanted bitrate etc

the ability to quickly restart? if possible

thanks for the quick replies!
i can't wait for this as i regularly stream from my steamdeck! will be such a life savior <3

[dreemur-e]

as for the most important, it's to go live ofc ✨

[Necrosiak]

Thanks for the priorities, they helped a lot! The most important one is in: v0.4.0 adds a YouTube tab, and you can go live on YouTube straight from the QAM.

What's there now:

• Go live on YouTube with your stream key (YouTube Studio → Go live → Stream → Stream key). It works just like Twitch: pause screen, live mic mute, local recording and Discord audio.
• Choosing your bitrate: YouTube has its own settings (YouTube → Settings), separate from Twitch: resolution, fps, video/audio bitrate, keyframe interval and encoder.
• YouTube chat overlay over the game, no account needed: type your channel (@yourhandle) in YouTube → Chat.
• Twitch and YouTube never run at the same time, so you can't start both by accident.

Coming in the next update:

• Logging in with your YouTube account (stream key and title set automatically, writing in your chat), as easy as the Twitch login.
• Monitoring the stream/quality and a quick restart. I'm keeping both on the list.

It should reach you through the built-in updater, or through the ⚙ tab → check for updates. I'm leaving this issue open until the rest lands. Let me know how your first YouTube live from the Deck goes!

[dreemur-e]

greetings thanks for how quick you responded and released,

i tried it but it fails to go live both YouTube and twitch
this is on a steamdeck oled

[Necrosiak]

Thanks for testing it so quickly, and for the photo: it shows exactly what's wrong.

To hand the game image to the encoder, BoneCast currently goes through a virtual video device (/dev/video42). That device comes from a kernel module, v4l2loopback, which SteamOS doesn't load. On a stock Steam Deck, BoneCast therefore can't go live at all, on Twitch or YouTube. That's on BoneCast, not on your setup. The message you got didn't help either: it came out in French, and its sudo pacman suggestion is a bad idea on SteamOS, so please don't run it.

I'm reworking the capture so BoneCast sends the image straight to the encoder, with no virtual device, nothing to install and no sudo. It's my top priority now, ahead of the YouTube login.

One thing that would help in the meantime: from Desktop Mode, open Konsole and paste the output of:

modinfo v4l2loopback | head -3

It tells me whether SteamOS even ships the module, so I know which Decks were affected. I'll post here as soon as the fix is out.

One small note: I saw the screenshots and questions about BoneCast you sent on Discord. That server isn't meant for my SteamOS-related projects (BoneCast, Steamcord, SkullKey and the others), so please keep everything about them here on GitHub, in issues like this one. That way nothing gets lost, and anyone with the same problem can find the answer too. Thanks!

[Necrosiak]

The fix is out: v0.4.1.

BoneCast no longer needs v4l2loopback at all. The game image now goes straight to the encoder through a pipe, so there's nothing to install and no sudo, which should make it work on a stock Steam Deck. I tested it live on both Twitch and YouTube, and with a local recording including the pause screen.

It also keeps the stream at a steady 30 fps when the game screen doesn't change (paused menus, loading screens), which used to leave the stream without video.

It should arrive through the built-in updater (or ⚙ tab → check for updates). Could you try going live from your Deck again and tell me how it goes? If anything still fails, a photo of the message or the BoneCast log (~/homebrew/logs/BoneCast/) is perfect. The YouTube login and the stream monitoring/quick restart are next on the list.

[dreemur-e]

works perfectly!
tested everything and it runs smoothly, minimum battery use even with background recording active

i have aome requests

1 give the stream a title/the ability to change it

2 the ability to order what shows first in the plugin, twitch or YouTube, for me i want YouTube to show first so it would be less buttons to press during a live stream

3 the ability to choose what window to capture, just incase some games/apps don't register or appear

4 experimental, a way to make custom notifications pop up? would be nice on silent commenting during live stream maybe using a shortcut of sorts
for example

GG
HAHA
EZ
and so on, customizable notifications toasters etc

not needed, but would be a fun addition

thanks for the quick responses!
i'll always be happy to share my feedback

looking forward the next update

[Necrosiak]

@dreemur-e That's great news, thanks for testing everything so thoroughly, and good to hear the battery holds up even with background recording!

Here's where your requests stand:

1. Stream title: on Twitch you can already set it in the Live tab. For YouTube, the next update adds Log in with YouTube: you sign in once with a code, and BoneCast then creates the live for you with your title and visibility (public, unlisted or private), and lets you write in your chat from the plugin. A stream key keeps working if you'd rather not log in.
2. Twitch or YouTube first: instead of changing the order, BoneCast will now reopen on the platform you used last. If you stream on YouTube, it stays on YouTube.
3. Choosing what to capture: in Gaming Mode, BoneCast captures whatever is on screen, so games and apps don't need to "register" to show up. If you ever hit one that comes out black or doesn't appear, tell me which one and I'll look into it.
4. Custom notifications (GG, EZ…): fun idea! I've noted it for later, once the YouTube side is complete.

One heads-up for the YouTube login: if your channel has never streamed through the API, YouTube may first ask you to enable live streaming at youtube.com/features, which can take up to 24 hours the first time. BoneCast will tell you when that's the case.

Thanks again for the feedback, it really helps!

[dreemur-e]

Thanks for thr heads up!

i love how tidy and responsive this is,
breakthrough plugins like this add so much more to users like me you have my absolute gratitude!

the ability to one click stream has saved me the effort of setting up other apps and dealing with two open apps that frequently crash, brilliant idea and handling on your part!

and i appreciate you accepting new requests, i will do my best to make sure everyone knows about this plugin and steamcord! and ivll be happy to suggest any new ideas i have

i'll always be looking for updates and improvements
much love <3

[Necrosiak]

@dreemur-e That's great news, thanks for testing everything so thoroughly, and good to hear the battery holds up even with background recording!

Here's where your requests stand:

1. Stream title: on Twitch you can already set it in the Live tab. For YouTube, the next update adds Log in with YouTube: you sign in once with a code, and BoneCast then creates the live for you with your title and visibility (public, unlisted or private), and lets you write in your chat from the plugin. A stream key keeps working if you'd rather not log in.
2. Twitch or YouTube first: instead of changing the order, BoneCast will now reopen on the platform you used last. If you stream on YouTube, it stays on YouTube.
3. Choosing what to capture: in Gaming Mode, BoneCast captures whatever is on screen, so games and apps don't need to "register" to show up. If you ever hit one that comes out black or doesn't appear, tell me which one and I'll look into it.
4. Custom notifications (GG, EZ…): fun idea! I've noted it for later, once the YouTube side is complete.

One heads-up for the YouTube login: if your channel has never streamed through the API, YouTube may first ask you to enable live streaming at youtube.com/features, which can take up to 24 hours the first time. BoneCast will tell you when that's the case.

Thanks again for the feedback, it really helps!