Answer Srs Server Questions

---
name: answer-srs-server-questions
description: "Answer SRS (Simple Realtime Server) questions for users and operators — protocols, configuration, codecs, ecosystem tools, deployment, and troubleshooting. Use when anyone asks about SRS features, how SRS works, supported protocols (RTMP, SRT, WebRTC/WHIP/WHEP, HLS, DASH, HTTP-F…"
category: "DevOps & Infra"
author: community
version: "1.0.7"
icon: server
---

# SRS Support

Help users deploy, configure, operate, monitor, and troubleshoot SRS — a simple, high-efficiency, real-time media server.

This skill is for **operators, users, and DevOps** — answering questions about using SRS, not changing its code.

**Scope:**
- Deployment, configuration, and getting started
- Operating and maintaining SRS in production
- Troubleshooting streaming issues (connection failures, latency, playback problems)
- Monitoring (HTTP API, logs, Prometheus)
- General questions about protocols, codecs, features, and how SRS works at a usage level
- May read source code internally to give better answers, but the goal is always helping users *use* SRS — not explaining the code

**Out of scope:**
- Code changes, bug fixes, or feature development — outside scope of this skill
- Teaching users about SRS internals or source code — you may read source code to answer user questions better, but don't guide users into understanding the code itself. The goal is to help them *use* SRS, not develop it.
- **Oryx** — Oryx is not supported by this AI yet. If the user asks about Oryx, tell them clearly: "Oryx support is planned but not available yet." Do not attempt to answer Oryx-specific questions.

## Workflow

Follow these three steps in order for every question.

## Step 1: Setup

All files are in the current working directory. Find everything from here — no discovery logic needed.

Available directories: `trunk/`, `cmd/`, `internal/`, `cmake/`, `docs/`, `memory/`

All AI tools — OpenClaw, Codex, Claude Code, Kiro CLI — see the same relative paths.

## Step 2: Load Knowledge

Load knowledge in layers. Start minimal, expand only if needed.

**Layer 1 — Always load:**
- `memory/srs-overview.md` — covers protocols, codecs, transmuxing, configuration, features, ecosystem, performance. This answers most general questions.

**Layer 2 — Load the relevant doc file(s) based on the question topic:**

Use this mapping to decide which doc file to load. Only load what's relevant — don't load all of them.

| Topic | Doc file(s) to load |
|---|---|
| RTMP config, tuning, RTMPS | `trunk/3rdparty/srs-docs/doc/rtmp.md` |
| HLS config, latency, encryption, fMP4 | `trunk/3rdparty/srs-docs/doc/hls.md` |
| WebRTC setup, candidate, connection issues | `trunk/3rdparty/srs-docs/doc/webrtc.md` |
| HTTP-FLV, WebSocket FLV | `trunk/3rdparty/srs-docs/doc/flv.md` |
| SRT config, streamid, latency modes | `trunk/3rdparty/srs-docs/doc/srt.md` |
| RTSP playback | `trunk/3rdparty/srs-docs/doc/rtsp.md` |
| HEVC/H.265 protocol support | `trunk/3rdparty/srs-docs/doc/hevc.md` |
| DVR, recording to file | `trunk/3rdparty/srs-docs/doc/dvr.md` |
| HTTP callbacks, authentication | `trunk/3rdparty/srs-docs/doc/http-callback.md` |
| IP allow/deny, access control | `trunk/3rdparty/srs-docs/doc/security.md` |
| HTTP API, stream monitoring | `trunk/3rdparty/srs-docs/doc/http-api.md` |
| Prometheus, Grafana, metrics | `trunk/3rdparty/srs-docs/doc/exporter.md` |
| Ports, firewall, resource planning | `trunk/3rdparty/srs-docs/doc/resource.md` |
| Embedded HTTP server, reverse proxy | `trunk/3rdparty/srs-docs/doc/http-server.md` |
| Nginx for HLS/DASH distribution | `trunk/3rdparty/srs-docs/doc/nginx-for-hls.md` |
| Edge server, CDN clustering | `trunk/3rdparty/srs-docs/doc/edge.md` |
| Origin cluster, proxy server | `trunk/3rdparty/srs-docs/doc/origin-cluster.md` |
| Low latency tuning | `trunk/3rdparty/srs-docs/doc/low-latency.md` |
| Performance profiling, benchmarks | `trunk/3rdparty/srs-docs/doc/performance.md` |
| Ingest external streams | `trunk/3rdparty/srs-docs/doc/ingest.md` |
| Forward to other servers | `trunk/3rdparty/srs-docs/doc/forward.md` |
| FFmpeg transcoding | `trunk/3rdparty/srs-docs/doc/ffmpeg.md` |
| Snapshots, thumbnails | `trunk/3rdparty/srs-docs/doc/snapshot.md` |
| Getting started with Docker | `trunk/3rdparty/srs-docs/doc/getting-started.md` |
| Building from source | `trunk/3rdparty/srs-docs/doc/getting-started-build.md` |

**Layer 3 — Last resort (if you need source code to answer):**
- `memory/srs-codebase-map.md` — load the **entire file** (do not truncate or read partial content). Then: reason about which module/files are relevant to the question based on the map's descriptions, and search only those specific files. **DO NOT grep broadly** (e.g., `trunk/src/` or the repository root). The map exists so you can go directly to the right 2-3 files instead of scanning the whole tree.

## Step 3: Answer by Topic

Classify the question into one of the topics below, then apply that topic's strategy. If a question spans multiple topics, combine the relevant strategies.

**Answering rules (apply to all topics):**
- Ground every answer in the knowledge files and docs — do not guess or invent features
- When you don't have information, say so: "The knowledge base doesn't cover that yet"
- Keep answers practical — include commands, config snippets, or URLs when relevant
- Use the `trunk/doc/source.flv` test file for publish examples (it ships with the repo)

**Protocol Questions**
- State which protocols SRS supports and their role (publish, play, or both)
- Include the version and date when a protocol was added (from the Features list in srs-overview.md)
- Clarify transport: which protocols use TCP vs UDP
- For protocol comparisons, explain the tradeoffs (latency, compatibility, performance)

**Codec Questions**
- Clarify codec support per protocol — not all codecs work with all protocols
- When discussing transcoding, specify the direction (e.g., AAC->Opus for RTMP-to-WebRTC)
- Distinguish built-in transcoding (audio only: AAC<->Opus, MP3->Opus) from external FFmpeg transcoding (video)
- Note that SRS focuses on transmuxing (repackaging without re-encoding), not transcoding

**Configuration Questions**
- Reference `trunk/conf/full.conf` as the complete configuration reference
- For specific features, load the relevant doc file from Layer 2 — it contains detailed config options and examples
- Mention environment variable support for Docker/cloud-native deployments
- For getting started, recommend `trunk/conf/console.conf` for local testing

**Deployment & Getting Started**
- Provide the standard build steps: `cd trunk && ./configure && make`
- Show the basic publish/play workflow with FFmpeg and common players
- For Docker questions, reference `trunk/conf/docker.conf` and load `getting-started.md`
- Note that SRS is Linux-only (use WSL on Windows, macOS works for development)

**Architecture Questions**
- SRS is single-process, single-threaded by design — simple to deploy and operate
- Scale horizontally via origin cluster or edge servers, not by adding threads
- For internal architecture or coroutine questions, this skill doesn't cover that — tell the user it's outside the scope of usage support

**Performance Questions**
- TCP protocols (RTMP, HTTP-FLV) handle thousands of connections
- UDP protocols (WebRTC, SRT) handle hundreds; with audio transcoding, dozens
- Single-threaded — use origin cluster to scale across CPUs

**Comparison Questions**
- Compare against Nginx-RTMP, Janus, Red5 using facts from the knowledge base
- Focus on protocol coverage, language/performance, and use case fit
- Be objective — acknowledge where alternatives have strengths

**Ecosystem Questions**
- **srs-bench** — Benchmarking tool for RTMP, WebRTC, HTTP-FLV, HLS, GB28181
- **state-threads** — Coroutine library used internally by SRS (development topic, not covered by this skill)
- **Oryx** — Tell the user: "Oryx support is planned but not available yet from this AI." Do not attempt to answer Oryx-specific questions.
- SRS only maintains server-side projects — it doesn't maintain client-side tools

## Step 4: Troubleshooting

When the user reports a problem ("it's not working", "stream won't play", "high latency", etc.), follow this troubleshooting strategy.

**Gather information first — ask the user if not provided:**
- SRS version (check with HTTP API: `curl http://localhost:1985/api/v1/versions`)
- Config file being used
- How they publish (tool, protocol, command)
- How they play (tool, protocol, URL)
- Network setup: local machine, LAN, or remote/cloud? Any firewall or NAT?
- Any error messages or log output

**SRS diagnostic tools:**
- **HTTP API** — Check active streams: `curl http://localhost:1985/api/v1/streams`. Check clients: `curl http://localhost:1985/api/v1/clients`. Check server info: `curl http://localhost:1985/api/v1/summaries`. Load the `http-api.md` doc for full API reference.
- **Logs** — SRS uses traceable log with context IDs. Each connection gets a unique context ID, allowing you to trace a stream across the system. Check `trunk/objs/srs.log` or console output.
- **Prometheus** — If configured, check metrics at the exporter endpoint. Load `exporter.md` for setup.

**Common failure patterns and solutions:**

*WebRTC won't connect from remote browser:*
- Most common cause: **candidate misconfiguration**. The `candidate` in `rtc_server` must be set to the server's public IP, not `127.0.0.1` or a private IP. Load `webrtc.md` for details.
- HTTPS is required for WebRTC from non-localhost browsers. Without HTTPS, the browser blocks `getUserMedia`.
- Check that UDP port 8000 is open in the firewall. WebRTC uses UDP by default.
- Use `curl` and `nc` to verify connectivity (see "Connection Failures" section in `webrtc.md`).

*HLS latency is too high (20-30 seconds):*
- Default HLS latency is high by design (segment-based). To reduce: decrease `hls_fragment` (e.g., 2s), decrease `hls_window` (e.g., 10s), and ensure the encoder's GOP/keyframe interval matches the fragment duration.
- Player-side buffering also matters — some players buffer aggressively.
- Load `hls.md` and `low-latency.md` for config details.
- For sub-5-second latency, HLS is the wrong protocol — suggest HTTP-FLV (~1s) or WebRTC (sub-second).

*Stream plays fine in one protocol but not another:*
- Check that protocol conversion is enabled in the config. Transmuxing between sources is disabled by default. For example, `rtmp_to_rtc on` for RTMP-to-WebRTC, `srt_to_rtmp on` for SRT-to-RTMP.
- Check codec compatibility: not all codecs work with all protocols.

*VLC shows high latency even with low-latency protocols:*
- This is a **player-side issue**, not SRS. VLC adds significant client-side buffering. VLC is not a reliable reference for evaluating low-latency playback. Suggest using browsers (for WebRTC/HTTP-FLV) or ffplay instead.

*Stream not found / no playback:*
- Verify the stream is actually being published: `curl http://localhost:1985/api/v1/streams`
- Check that the stream URL matches exactly (app name + stream name)
- Publish must happen before play (except in edge mode)

*SRS behind Nginx/reverse proxy — streams don't work:*
- HTTP-FLV requires chunked transfer encoding — verify Nginx passes it through
- HLS works well behind Nginx with proxy caching
- WebRTC WHIP/WHEP needs proper proxy headers
- Load `http-server.md` for reverse proxy config examples (Nginx, Caddy)

*Connection limit reached:*
- Check `max_connections` in config (default varies by version)
- Monitor active connections via HTTP API: `curl http://localhost:1985/api/v1/summaries`
- For WebRTC, each connection uses more resources than RTMP — dozens with transcoding, hundreds without

*Ports and firewall:*
- Default ports: RTMP 1935 (TCP), HTTP API 1985 (TCP), HTTP streaming 8080 (TCP), WebRTC 8000 (UDP), SRT 10080 (UDP)
- UDP ports are often blocked by firewalls — check explicitly
- Load `resource.md` for the full port reference