Streaming

Table of contents

  1. One-time OBS setup
    1. 1. Install OBS Studio
    2. 2. Import the FlyAround scene collection
    3. 3. Enable OBS’ WebSocket server
    4. 4. Connect your channel(s)
  2. Streaming from a separate PC
  3. Going live
    1. Planning a stream in advance
  4. Notes

FlyAround can broadcast your flight live to YouTube and Twitch, driving OBS Studio for you — no manual scene switching or clicking Start Streaming.

Streaming is available on accounts with the Stream feature enabled.

One-time OBS setup

1. Install OBS Studio

Download and install OBS Studio (free) if you don’t already have it.

2. Import the FlyAround scene collection

In FlyAround, open Settings → Streaming and click Download the OBS scene — this saves flyaround-scene.json.

In OBS: Scene Collection → Import → select the downloaded file → activate it under Scene Collection.

The scene, named FlyAround, contains:

Source Purpose
Sim (Window Capture) Captures your simulator window (MSFS / X-Plane)
FlyAround Overlay A browser source showing the in-game overlay (http://localhost:30500/share/#/streaming by default)
Desktop Audio Sim sound

FlyAround detects your running simulator window and fills in the Window Capture target each time you download the scene, so it’s ready to go without picking the window yourself in OBS. If no sim is running yet when you download it, start your sim first and re-download, or set the capture window manually under that source’s Properties in OBS.

The overlay is served by FlyAround’s own embedded server on port 30500, at the /share/#/streaming path (not just /streaming — the overlay is mounted under /share and uses hash-based routing). If it isn’t reachable there, double-click FlyAround Overlay in OBS and set the URL to http://localhost:30500/share/#/streaming. The background is transparent so it composites cleanly over the game.

3. Enable OBS’ WebSocket server

FlyAround controls OBS — setting the stream target and starting/stopping the stream — over obs-websocket v5, which ships built into modern OBS but is off by default.

In OBS: Tools → WebSocket Server Settings:

  • ✅ Enable WebSocket server
  • Port: 4455 (default)
  • Newer OBS versions turn on authentication and generate a random password by default — leave it, or set your own

If a password is set, enter it under FlyAround’s Settings → Streaming → OBS connection so it can connect — without it, “Go Live” fails with “Can’t reach OBS”. Host and port default to ws://127.0.0.1:4455, matching OBS’ defaults; only change the address there if OBS isn’t reachable at that default.

4. Connect your channel(s)

Still in Settings → Streaming, connect the platform(s) you broadcast to:

  • YouTube — required to go live.
  • Twitch — optional, for simulcasting.

Streaming from a separate PC

The automatic setup above relies on FlyAround reaching OBS over obs-websocket on localhost — it only works when OBS and FlyAround run on the same PC. If OBS runs on a dedicated streaming/encoding PC instead, use your account’s permanent relay credentials:

  1. Connect at least one platform under Settings → Streaming (see step 4 above) — this mints a Stream key for your account, shown in the Stream to OBS Studio card that appears once you’ve connected one.
  2. Copy the Server and Stream key from that card.
  3. On the OBS PC, open Settings → Stream, set Service to Custom…, and paste them in.
  4. From then on, click Start Streaming/Stop Streaming in OBS yourself when you go live in FlyAround — the key doesn’t change per flight, so this is a one-time setup.

This stream key is permanent and works across every flight — treat it like a password. If it leaks, regenerate it from the same Stream to OBS Studio card; any OBS still configured with the old key will stop being able to go live until you paste in the new one.

FlyAround can’t start/stop OBS for you in this setup — it has no obs-websocket connection to reach OBS across the network. You control OBS’ Start/Stop Streaming directly.

Going live

Once OBS is set up and a channel is connected:

  1. Start (or open) an active flight.
  2. Use the Go Live button in the navbar, or the live-stream panel on the flight view.
  3. FlyAround points OBS at the stream relay and starts streaming — you don’t touch OBS’ own Start Streaming button.
  4. Use Mark moment while live to drop a highlight marker on your flight’s route at your current position.
  5. Stop streaming ends the broadcast and stops OBS.

Planning a stream in advance

When scheduling a flight from the Calendar, you can also plan a stream for it — pick platforms, visibility, and an optional cover image ahead of time. The stream starts automatically when you go live for that flight.

Notes

  • Running OBS on the same PC as FlyAround? Don’t set a Stream key under OBS’ own Settings → Stream — FlyAround sets a custom target programmatically each time you go live. Running OBS on a separate PC? See Streaming from a separate PC above — that flow sets the key manually and permanently instead.
  • Background music can trigger copyright claims on your channel — use license-safe audio.
  • See Settings for the full Streaming tab reference.