icecastv2Independent technical reference

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Publish a stream to a directory deliberately

Configure directory publication for the correct Icecast version, verify advertised URLs and diagnose listing failures through source and server data.

Version scope: Icecast 2.5.0Source review: 2026-10-23
On this page
  1. Configure the server and source together
  2. Check the advertised URL
  3. Diagnose delayed rejection

A stream directory is a public catalogue. Listing is a separate operation from accepting listeners: a playable stream can be unlisted, and a submitted listing may later be removed if its advertised URL is unreachable. Choose publication intentionally.

Configure the server and source together

For Icecast 2.5.0, the shipped example uses this fragment directly inside <icecast>:

xml · Code example
<yp-directory url="https://dir.xiph.org/cgi-bin/yp-cgi">
  <option name="timeout" value="15"/>
</yp-directory>

The old <directory><yp-url>… form appears in earlier manuals and is handled as an obsolete layout by the 2.5 parser. Do not copy an old HTTP directory address simply because an archived manual prints it. Use the endpoint currently specified by the directory operator and the syntax for your server.

Icecast needs the relevant directory support in its build. The source normally indicates public availability using its Icecast public setting; a mount’s public override can prevent or require publication. A forced public flag alone does not supply missing stream name, description, format or contact information.

Check the advertised URL

Inspect the stream’s listenurl in administration. It must refer to the Icecast server that listeners can actually reach, not to a programme homepage or localhost. Check DNS, port, firewall and both advertised IP families. Multiple listening sockets can affect which address is announced; test the exact generated URL rather than a different working address.

Set real technical contact information for your own server when the directory requires it. This is server configuration, not permission to publish invented operator details on this information portal.

Diagnose delayed rejection

Start the stream and inspect directory-related messages in the error log. Distinguish an initial submission from subsequent update/touch failures. A directory can accept a submission and remove it after a deferred reachability check. For a short planned diagnostic window, increase logging and compare the source’s public flag, the generated URL and the directory’s response. Restore normal logging afterwards. A directory entry is not evidence of audio quality or server capacity.

Sources