Installing and running Sapsan¶

This page describes how to install Sapsan, activate it with a license, run it with a minimal configuration, and verify that the server works.

Before installation¶

Sapsan does not run without a license: the license.txt file is required before the first start, and the server needs internet access for online activation. See licensing for details.

Installing from the deb package¶

Sapsan is distributed as the sapsan deb package from the Flussonic repository:

curl -sSf http://apt.flussonic.com/binary/gpg.key > /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/flussonic.gpg
echo "deb http://apt.flussonic.com binary/" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/flussonic.list
apt update
apt install sapsan

The package installs the /usr/sbin/sapsan binary, the sapsan.service systemd unit, the default config at /etc/sapsan/sapsan.yaml, and creates the state directory /var/lib/sapsan.

Activation¶

Before starting, put the license file you received next to the config:

cp license.txt /etc/sapsan/license.txt
chmod 600 /etc/sapsan/license.txt

On the first start Sapsan activates online and writes activation artifacts to the state directory /var/lib/sapsan:

See licensing for license states and how to check them.

Minimal configuration¶

Sapsan reads its configuration from sapsan.yaml (the path can be overridden with the CONFIG_PATH environment variable). A minimal config is one HTTP port and one stream:

listeners:
  http:
    - port: 80

streams:
  - name: demo
    inputs:
    - syntetic: {}
    transcoder:
      output:
      - source: !content video
        codec: !set h264
      - source: !content audio
        codec: !set aac

streams is a list: each stream is an item with its own name. To move on to real video, see video ingest.

Running in Docker¶

The official image is flussonic/sapsan. Map the ports and mount the config, the license, and the state directory:

mkdir -p config data
# put config/sapsan.yaml and config/license.txt in place

docker run --rm -p 80:80 -p 554:554 -p 1935:1935 \
  -v "$(pwd)/config/sapsan.yaml:/etc/sapsan/sapsan.yaml:ro" \
  -v "$(pwd)/config/license.txt:/etc/sapsan/license.txt:ro" \
  -v "$(pwd)/data:/var/lib/sapsan" \
  flussonic/sapsan:latest

The data directory (/var/lib/sapsan) must be writable and persist across restarts — it holds server.id, activation files, and the keys/ directory. The CONFIG_PATH and SERVER_ID_PATH paths are already set in the image.

Starting and stopping¶

When installed from the deb package, the server is managed by systemd:

systemctl start sapsan     # start
systemctl status sapsan    # status
systemctl stop sapsan      # stop
systemctl enable sapsan    # start on boot

Reload the configuration without interrupting streaming with a signal:

kill -HUP "$(systemctl show -p MainPID --value sapsan)"

Health check¶

Make sure the process is running:

systemctl status sapsan

Check that the license is activated:

curl http://localhost/streamer/api-v4/license/status

The Licensed state means Sapsan is installed, activated, and ready. Also open the test stream playlist:

curl http://localhost/streaming/v/demo/index.m3u8

If the server returns a playlist, the demo stream works. Next, configure real video ingest.