---
title: Configuration
description: Set up Twitch and YouTube, choose your channels and find where Up Next keeps its files.
---

Up Next reads two files from `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/upnext`, which is usually `~/.config/upnext`. Only `upnext serve` reads them; every other command talks to the daemon socket.

If you used twitch-notifications, Up Next imports its config on first run. See [Migrating from twitch-notifications](/from-twitch-notifications).

## config.yml

```yaml
notify_on_startup: true
sound_file: /usr/share/sounds/freedesktop/stereo/message-new-instant.oga
twitch:
  client_id: ${TWITCH_CLIENT_ID}
  client_secret: ${TWITCH_CLIENT_SECRET}
  poll_interval: 60
youtube:
  api_key: ${YOUTUBE_API_KEY}
  poll_interval: 600
```

Every setting is optional.

- `notify_on_startup`: notify about channels that are already live when the daemon starts. Defaults to `true`.
- `sound_file`: a sound to play with each notification.
- `twitch.client_id` and `twitch.client_secret`: your Twitch application's credentials.
- `twitch.poll_interval`: seconds between checks for channels that live notifications don't cover. Defaults to 60.
- `youtube.api_key`: a YouTube Data API key. Without one, Up Next still shows new uploads, but can't tell which videos are live or upcoming.
- `youtube.poll_interval`: seconds between YouTube checks. Defaults to 600.

Values can use `$VAR` or `${VAR}` to read environment variables, so you can keep secrets out of the file.

## Twitch

Up Next needs a Twitch application of your own:

1. Register one in the [Twitch developer console](https://dev.twitch.tv/console/apps).
2. Add `http://localhost:8080/oauth/callback` as an OAuth redirect URL.
3. Put its client ID and secret in `config.yml` under `twitch`.
4. Restart the daemon, then run `upnext auth twitch`.

`upnext auth twitch` asks the daemon to open Twitch's sign-in page in your browser and waits until you've finished. The daemon listens on port 8080 only while you sign in. It keeps the tokens in `state.json` and refreshes them itself.

If the tokens stop working, the Twitch status in the feed changes to `auth-required` and a notification asks you to sign in again. Clicking it runs `upnext auth twitch`.

Live notifications are only for channels in `channels.yml`. Twitch's live events cover up to 10 of them, so those show up within seconds. The rest are checked every `poll_interval`. Another app using the same Twitch account's live events, such as twitch-notifications, can use up that allowance, and Up Next then relies on polling until it's free.

## YouTube

Up Next reads each channel's RSS feed, which needs no account. Uploads from the last 7 days show in the feed, and new ones are announced.

With `youtube.api_key`, Up Next also looks the videos up in the YouTube Data API, so live streams show as live, scheduled streams as upcoming, and you're notified when one goes live. Create a key in the [Google Cloud console](https://console.cloud.google.com/apis/credentials) with the YouTube Data API v3 enabled. Each check costs one unit of quota per 50 videos.

Add channels by ID, which starts with `UC`, or paste the channel's `/channel/` URL:

```bash
upnext channel add youtube UCxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
```

A channel you've just added doesn't announce its existing uploads.

## channels.yml

```yaml
twitch:
  - name: some_streamer
    open: true
  - name: another_streamer
youtube:
  - id: UCxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
```

- `twitch`: Twitch logins. Up Next also shows every channel you follow that's live, even if it isn't listed here.
- `youtube`: YouTube channel IDs, the part after `/channel/` in a channel's URL.
- `open`: open the channel in your browser as soon as it goes live. Defaults to `false`.

`upnext channel add` and `upnext channel remove` change this file for you.

If you keep `channels.yml` in a dotfiles repository and link it into place with stow, Up Next writes changes through the link, so your repository stays the source.

## State

The daemon keeps files it writes for itself in `$XDG_STATE_HOME/upnext/state.json`, which is usually `~/.local/state/upnext/state.json`: Twitch tokens, videos you've marked watched and your watch-later queue. You don't need to edit it.

The config and state directories are only readable by you (`0700`) and the files by you (`0600`).

## Socket path

Commands find the daemon socket in this order:

1. `--socket <path>`
2. `$UPNEXT_SOCK`
3. `$XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/upnext/upnext.sock`
4. `$TMPDIR/upnext-$USER/upnext.sock`, falling back to `/tmp` and `default`

`upnext serve` uses the same order to decide where to listen, so the defaults always match.