Are you running a continuous "Lofi Beats" stream? Curating a non-stop channel of classic cartoons? Or perhaps you're showcasing an endless loop of product demos? If you’ve ever tried to maintain a 24/7 live stream on YouTube, you know the struggle: keeping it reliable, managing content, and battling those pesky 12-hour DVR limits.
That’s precisely why we built Pulsewave.
Pulsewave is a robust, self-hosted streaming solution designed from the ground up to empower creators and curators with a stable, automated, and easy-to-manage platform for continuous live broadcasting of video-on-demand content to YouTube. Forget about manually restarting streams or wrestling with complex server configurations – Pulsewave handles the heavy lifting, so your content can flow uninterrupted.
The Problem Pulsewave Solves
Traditional streaming tools often fall into two camps: those built for interactive, real-time "live" events (think OBS for gamers) and those designed for intricate signal routing by engineers (like some enterprise-grade restreamers). Neither is perfectly suited for the creator who simply wants to loop a playlist of pre-recorded videos, 24/7, without breaking the bank or needing a server engineering degree.
The biggest pain point? YouTube’s 12-hour DVR limit. If your stream runs longer than 12 hours, YouTube won't save the full broadcast as a VOD. This means fragmented archives and a broken viewer experience. Many "24/7" channels resort to manual restarts or expensive cloud services.
Enter Pulsewave: Set It and Forget It
Pulsewave isn't just another streaming tool; it's your dedicated, virtual linear broadcaster. Here's how it makes your life easier:
Intelligent 10-Hour Auto-Rotation: This is our killer feature. Pulsewave automatically and gracefully restarts your stream every 10 hours. This simple yet powerful logic ensures that every segment of your 24/7 broadcast is saved perfectly as a digestible VOD on your YouTube channel, giving your archives a clean, professional look.
Headless Stability: Built on Node.js and FFmpeg, Pulsewave’s backend runs independently. Once your stream is live, you can close your browser, shut down your laptop, or even disconnect from the internet – your broadcast will continue without a hitch on your self-hosted server.
Modern, Intuitive Control: Forget command-line interfaces. Our sleek React UI, powered by Vite and TailwindCSS v4, gives you a real-time analytics dashboard, drag-and-drop playlist management, and direct file uploads. Managing your 24/7 channel has never been this easy or responsive.
Self-Healing "Watchdog": Life happens, and sometimes even FFmpeg can stutter. Pulsewave includes a smart "watchdog" that constantly monitors your stream's health. If it detects a hang or an issue, it automatically restarts the process, minimizing downtime and keeping your content flowing.
Secure & Self-Contained: With JWT-based authentication, your Pulsewave instance is protected. And because you host it, you own your data and maintain full control, without monthly fees or vendor lock-in.
More Than Just a Stream: It's Your Channel
Pulsewave is more than just a relay. With upcoming features like dynamic YouTube metadata synchronization, your channel can automatically update its title and description to reflect what's currently playing, adding another layer of professionalism and interactivity for your audience.
We're incredibly excited to share Pulsewave with the open-source community. If you're a creator looking for a robust, reliable, and user-friendly way to maintain a 24/7 YouTube channel, or a developer interested in contributing to a powerful media project, Pulsewave is for you.
Ready to give your YouTube channel a steady pulse? Stay tuned for our GitHub launch and detailed setup guides!