OvenMediaEngine

A self-hosted live streaming server that delivers sub-second latency video over WebRTC and Low Latency HLS, for teams replacing a paid streaming platform.

3.3k stars, 1.1k forks C++ On GitHub since June 2018

Visit website View on GitHub How to run it

OvenMediaEngine at a glance

Open sourceYes, AGPL-3.0No paid parts in the repository
Health66 of 100Actively developed
Self-hostingDockerCompose file, 2 services
InterfaceEnglish onlyNo translation files found
Issue repliesWithin ~8 daysMedian first reply; 73% of recent issues answered

What is OvenMediaEngine?

OvenMediaEngine (OME) accepts live video over WebRTC, WHIP, SRT, RTMP, MPEG-2 TS or RTSP, transcodes it into adaptive bitrate renditions with its built-in encoder, and delivers it to viewers over WebRTC or Low Latency HLS. It includes an embedded TURN and signalling server, DVR, DRM with Widevine, FairPlay and PlayReady, WebVTT subtitles, recording, thumbnails and re-streaming to other endpoints. Origin-edge clustering spreads load across servers, and a REST API, admission webhooks and signed policies control access. Companion projects OvenPlayer and OvenLiveKit cover playback and browser encoding.

Good fit if

  • You build a product where viewers need near real-time video, with viewers reacting to what happens on screen.
  • You need to scale one live source across several edge servers that you control.

Look elsewhere if

  • You want a simple relay between protocols with little setup: MediaMTX.
  • You want a ready streaming site with chat for a single channel: Owncast.
  • You prefer a permissively licensed media server: SRS.

Before you adopt it

OME switched from GPL-3.0 to AGPL-3.0 in February 2022, and other license terms are available from OvenMedia Labs by email. Contributors must sign a CLA. No paid parts are in the repository, though the company sells an enterprise edition. Ten authors committed in the last 90 days. Building from source needs libstdc++ 10 or newer; the Docker image is the easy route on older distributions.

Drafted with AI from the project's README and repository data, then checked against that data on 7 November 2026. Report a correction

How to run OvenMediaEngine yourself

Docker
Dockerfile or compose file in the repository
Compose file
docker-compose.yml: 2 services
Setup effort
2 of 5, judged from the compose file
Kubernetes
No Helm chart in the repository
Desktop and mobile
No app builds in GitHub releases
Interface languages
English only

Install instructions: ovenmedia.com or the README on GitHub.

OvenMediaEngine health: is it still maintained?

66 of 100, actively developed

Release rhythmEvery ~2 months3 releases in 12 months; latest v0.21.0
Issue repliesWithin ~8 daysMedian first reply; 73% of recent issues answered
Bus factorLow riskThe most active of 10 authors wrote 29% of recent commits
  • Activity
    79 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 6 November 2026.
    23 / 30
  • Contributors
    10 people wrote the 79 commits of the last 90 days; the most active wrote 29% of them.
    14 / 20
  • Releases
    3 releases in the last 12 months; the latest, v0.21.0, on 13 August 2026.
    15 / 20
  • Replies to issues
    Maintainers answered 73% of recent issues, with a median first reply after 8 days.
    9 / 20
  • Security practices
    No OpenSSF Scorecard for this repository yet, so this part gets a neutral score.
    5 / 10

Read from GitHub on 7 November 2026. How the score works

OvenMediaEngine license: is it open source?

OvenMediaEngine uses AGPL-3.0, an open-source license approved by the OSI. Contributors sign a contributor license agreement, which lets the owner relicense their work later.

  1. June 2018First published on GitHub under GPL-3.0.
  2. 9 February 2022Changed to AGPL-3.0. Commit: Change the license to AGPLv3
  3. TodayAGPL-3.0. A contributor license agreement is required.

OvenMediaEngine for developers

Written in

  • C++ 96%
  • CMake 1%
  • C 1%
  • Shell <1%
  • Go <1%
  • Other <1%

Getting involved

Contributing guideYesCONTRIBUTING.mdOpen issues12On GitHub
Authors, 90 days10Of 79 commits
Donations2 waysGitHub Sponsors, Open Collective

Language shares are GitHub’s count of the code in the repository.

Alternatives to OvenMediaEngine

  • SRSSRS is a simple, high-performance, AI-driven real-time media server supporting RTMP, WebRTC, HLS, HTTP-FLV,… 74 health · MIT · 29.4k stars
  • MediaMTXReady-to-use Media-over-QUIC / SRT / WebRTC / RTSP / RTMP / LL-HLS / MPEG-TS / RTP live media server and… 80 health · MIT · 20.6k stars
  • OwncastTake control over your live stream video by running it yourself. Streaming + chat out of the box. 72 health · MIT · 11.6k stars
  • koelMusic streaming solution that works. 74 health · MIT · 17.3k stars
  • AzuraCastA self-hosted web radio management suite, including turnkey installer tools for the full radio software… 54 health · AGPL-3.0 · 4.1k stars

All 28 projects in Media servers & streaming

Questions about OvenMediaEngine

Is OvenMediaEngine open source?

Yes. OvenMediaEngine is published under AGPL-3.0, an OSI-approved open-source license.

Is OvenMediaEngine still maintained?

Its health score is 66 of 100 (actively developed). It had 79 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 6 November 2026, and its latest release came out on 13 August 2026.

Did OvenMediaEngine change its license?

Yes. It moved from GPL-3.0 to AGPL-3.0 on 9 February 2022.

How do I run OvenMediaEngine?

You can run it with Docker. The README on GitHub has the exact steps.

What is OvenMediaEngine written in?

OvenMediaEngine is written mainly in C++ (96% of the code), by GitHub’s count of the repository.

What are the alternatives to OvenMediaEngine?

Close alternatives in the Media servers & streaming category include SRS, MediaMTX, Owncast.