How to use MediaMTX: install, publish and read streams

What MediaMTX does

MediaMTX is described as a ready-to-use, zero-dependency live media server and media proxy. It lets you publish, read, proxy, record and play back real-time video and audio streams. The project calls itself a media router that moves streams from one end to the other.

Streams are automatically converted from one protocol to another, so a camera that publishes over RTSP can be read by a browser over WebRTC or HLS.

• Supported protocols include Media-over-QUIC, SRT, WebRTC, RTSP, RTMP, HLS, MPEG-TS and RTP.
• It can serve several streams at once in separate paths.
• It is a single executable with no dependencies or interpreter, and runs on Linux, Windows and macOS.

Install MediaMTX

The source lists the install method as a download of the application, and no prerequisites are listed. Official install instructions are on the project's documentation site at mediamtx.org/docs/kickoff/install.

The README also shows a command to clone the source repository from GitHub. Cloning gives you the source code; the project's install page covers obtaining the executable.

Publish a stream to the server

To publish, a source client such as FFmpeg, GStreamer, OBS Studio or a Raspberry Pi camera sends its stream to MediaMTX. Each stream is published to a path, and the path name is how viewers find it later.

Publishing is documented on the project's publish and read page at mediamtx.org/docs/features/publish-and-read.

• Sources include FFmpeg, GStreamer, OBS Studio, Python, Golang, Unity and web browsers.
• Use one path per stream so several cameras or sources can run at the same time.

Read a stream from the server

Viewers connect to the same path using a protocol their player supports. Browsers can read over WebRTC or HLS, while VLC, FFmpeg and GStreamer can read over RTSP, SRT and other supported protocols.

Because conversion is automatic, you publish once and let viewers pick the format they can play.

• Browser viewing is typically done over WebRTC or HLS.
• Desktop players such as VLC are listed as supported readers.

Use recording, always-available streams and hooks

MediaMTX can record streams to disk in fMP4 or MPEG-TS format and play them back later. Always-available streams keep a path active even when the publisher is offline.

Hooks run external commands when clients connect, disconnect, read or publish. Authentication can use internal, HTTP or JWT methods, and the Control API and Prometheus-compatible metrics help you monitor the server.

• Record to disk: fMP4 or MPEG-TS.
• Authentication: internal, HTTP or JWT.
• Monitoring: Control API and Prometheus-compatible metrics.
• Hot reload: change configuration without disconnecting existing clients.

Limits to know before you start

MediaMTX is designed for routing and proxying, not editing. The README does not describe transcoding or video editing features, so plan a separate tool for those jobs.

Because it is self-hosted, you run and secure the server yourself. Setup assumes you are comfortable with network ports, configuration files and streaming protocols.