Owncast

One-click-install with Hetzner Cloud

Using the Owncast app on Hetzner Cloud you can get Owncast installed and configured with SSL support easily. Follow the below steps to get up and running.

What you need

  1. A domain name and access to your DNS settings. This is required for supporting SSL.
  2. A Hetzner Cloud account.

Create your new server

Create your server as usual using the Hetzner Cloud Console. As an alternative to the operating system image, you can choose Owncast as app that you would like to have pre-installed. It is under the ‘Apps’ tab in the ‘Images’ section.

Hetzner Cloud interface with the apps tab open and Owncast selected

Hetzner has several server types. Ranging from Intel to ARM. Owncast works on all CPU types.

Finish set-up by adding networking and SSH keys

Continue the configuration of your server with the following options:

  • Networking: Asssign an ipv4 and ipv6 address to your server. You don’t need to enable private networks.
  • SSH Keys: It’s recommended to add an ssh key to your server. If you don’t assign one you will receive the root password via email.
  • Volumes, Firewalls, Backups, Placement Groups, Labels and Cloud config: You can skip these unless you have a specific reason for them
  • Name: Give your server a logical name. For example ‘Gabe’s Owncast’
  • Click on ‘Create & Buy now’

Add DNS records for your server

For https to work you need to set-up some DNS records. You need to create an A-record for ipv4 and an AAAA-record for ipv6. You can find the ip adresses of your server on the server overview page. They are located right under the name of the server.

Close-up of the Hetzner Cloud interface with two IP address showing
  • Copy the IP Address for your new server from the new server status page.
  • Login to your DNS provider for your domain
  • Add an “A Record” pointing to the ipv4 ip address and the domain you want to run Owncast on (if you used owncast.mydomain.com then type in owncast).
  • Do the same for an ‘AAAA-record’ but use the ipv6 address now. Replace the /64 from the address that is showing in the console with a 1. So 2a01:4f8:c17:e4d3::/64 becomes 2a01:4f8:c17:e4d3::1
  • Wait no less than 5 minutes for your server setup to complete and DNS to take effect. It may take longer depending on your DNS provider.

Finish set-up via SSH

  • Login to your server by SSH’ing your new server: ssh root@yourip
  • The server will ask for ‘Your Owncast Domain’. Here you enter the hostname you added to your DNS provider above, and your email address. These are only used to configure SSL on your new server so it’ll be accessible via HTTPS.

Access your Owncast server

You should now be able to access Owncast via https://your.owncast.domain/admin with the user admin and the password abc123. You should change it via the web interface right away.