5 Free Linux Live Streaming Software
Linux users are able to stream on Twitch, YouTube, Kick, Owncast, etc. This isn't obvious with the many "How to Stream on Kick" and "How to Stream on Twitch" guides excluding Linux ... like I'm going to do with BSD. Below are the only free open source software you'll need to to live stream and edit videos on demand (VODs).
Open Broadcaster Software (OBS)
OBS and the Streamlabs fork - sometimes referred to as SLOBS - are the most popular live broadcasting applications today. OBS doubles as a screencast recorder for offline work, making it a worthy replacement for SimpleScreenRecorder. Easy to use, learn, and find documentation when you need help.
OBS is available via Flatpak, source code, and many Linux distro repositories.
kdenlive Video Editor
kdenlive is my preferred video editor because of the multimedia effects and mixing functions. Here's my video showing the workflow:
kdenlive can be downloaded from Flatpak, AppImage, and distro repos.
If you prefer to write custom subtitle (SRT) files, there are many free Linux subtitle editors.
Ardour Audio Editor
Ardour is the best open-source digital audio workstation (DAW) I've used. Ardour can record, edit, and mix audio with a bundle of sound effects (SFX). If you want less features, there are other audio editors. Some may opt for Audacity which is great for simpler functions such as cutting bloopers and noise removal. However, there were Audacity spyware claims in 2021 which still repel some security-conscious users.
Ardour is readily available in most repos.
Aitum Multistream Plugin
If you primarily do YouTube or Twitch streaming and want to try TikTok or Kick streaming, OBS users can install the free Aitum Multistream plugin. It claims to allow different encoding settings per platform.
Its available via Flatpak or source code.
GIMP Image Editor
GIMP, short for "GNU Image Manipulation Program," is my primary tool for editing thumbnails and image sources for a video. I prefer Krita over Inkscape for any digital painting, but both are great.
Do your due diligence before installing any software for Linux system security. If you encounter issues, there's always free community support.
Tags: linux, IT, free-open-source-software
