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Getting Started Castium Studio Docs

Easy Streaming Quickstart

Quick guide to going live in under 5 minutes with audio loopback and UPnP.

Easy Streaming Guide: Stream Without Ports Using Caddy & Free HTTPS

This beginner-friendly guide walks you step-by-step through setting up CASTIUM with a clean, professional web address (like https://myradio.duckdns.org) that has no port numbers (:9696) and free automatic HTTPS with a trusted green security lock.

Why Use This Setup?

Normally, when you stream directly from your PC:

  • Visitors have to type an ugly port number at the end of the address (e.g. http://123.45.67.89:9696).
  • Web browsers like Chrome and Safari will display a "Not Secure" warning badge because standard audio streams lack an SSL certificate.

By adding Caddy (a tiny, free, lightweight helper program) in front of CASTIUM:

  • ✅ No Port Numbers: Listeners connect on standard web ports (https://yourname.duckdns.org).
  • ✅ Automatic Free SSL Certificate: Caddy automatically requests and renews a free Let's Encrypt SSL padlock.
  • ✅ Works with CASTIUM's Web Player & Chat: Your real-time station player, live chat, visualizers, and listener song requests work seamlessly over encrypted HTTPS.

Step 1: Get a Free Domain Name (2 Minutes)

You need a web address to give to your listeners. The easiest, completely free way to get one is with DuckDNS:

  1. Go to duckdns.org.
  2. Sign in with your Google, Reddit, or GitHub account.
  3. Under domains, type a name for your station (for example, mycoolradio) and click add domain.
  4. DuckDNS will detect your public IP address automatically and link it to mycoolradio.duckdns.org.

Tip

If you already own a custom domain name (e.g., through Namecheap, Cloudflare, or GoDaddy), you can create an A record pointing radio.yourdomain.com directly to your home's public IP address instead!

Step 2: Download Caddy

Caddy is a single file program that requires no complex installation.

  1. Visit the Official Caddy Download Page (or Caddy GitHub Releases).
  2. Select the Windows (amd64) build and click Download.
  3. Create a new folder on your computer, such as C:\Caddy\.
  4. Move the downloaded caddy.exe into C:\Caddy\.

Option B: 1-Click Install via Windows Terminal / PowerShell

If you prefer using the command line, open PowerShell and run:

winget install CaddyServer.Caddy

Step 3: Create Your 3-Line Configuration File (Caddyfile)

Caddy uses a tiny text file called Caddyfile (with no file extension) to know where to direct traffic.

  1. In the same folder where caddy.exe is located (e.g. C:\Caddy\), create a new text file named Caddyfile.
  2. Open Caddyfile in Notepad and paste the following 3 lines (replace mycoolradio.duckdns.org with your actual domain name from Step 1):
mycoolradio.duckdns.org {
    reverse_proxy localhost:9696
}

Note

That's all Caddy needs! This tells Caddy: "Whenever someone visits mycoolradio.duckdns.org, automatically set up a free HTTPS certificate and forward their audio connection to CASTIUM running on port 9696 on this computer."

  1. Save the file.
  2. Open a PowerShell or Command Prompt window in your C:\Caddy\ folder and run:
caddy run

You will see Caddy start up, verify your domain name, and fetch your free SSL certificate automatically!

Step 4: Allow Traffic in Your Home Router (Port 80 and 443)

Because visitors will now connect on standard web ports instead of port 9696, you need to open web ports 80 (HTTP) and 443 (HTTPS) on your home router and direct them to your PC:

  1. Log into your home Wi-Fi router's admin panel (usually 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1 in your web browser).
  2. Look for Port Forwarding, Virtual Server, or NAT Gaming settings.
  3. Add two forwarding rules pointing to your PC's local IP address (e.g. 192.168.1.50):
    • Port 80 (TCP) → Forward to your PC's IP port 80.
    • Port 443 (TCP) → Forward to your PC's IP port 443.
  4. Save your router settings.

Tip

Not sure what your PC's local IP is? Look at CASTIUM's Network & Internet Broadcasting card—CASTIUM displays your exact local network IP right inside the console!

Step 5: Configure CASTIUM (The 30-Second Setup)

Now tell CASTIUM that you are using Caddy so that all generated links and share buttons show your clean address:

  1. Launch CASTIUM and look at the Network & Internet Broadcasting card.
  2. In the Custom Domain / Public Host box, type your domain name: 
    mycoolradio.duckdns.org
  3. Check the box for [x] Use HTTPS:
    • A green HTTPS badge will appear.
  4. Check the box for [x] Using Reverse Proxy:
    • A cyan NO PORT badge will appear.
  5. Click 🔴 ON AIR!

Step 6: Test Your Broadcast!

Look at the Outside Network URL box in CASTIUM. You will see your clean broadcast address:

https://mycoolradio.duckdns.org/
  • Test on Your Phone: Turn off Wi-Fi on your smartphone (so you are testing over mobile cellular data) and navigate to https://mycoolradio.duckdns.org/. Your CASTIUM live station player and chat should load with a secure green padlock!
  • 1-Click Share: Click Share Stream in CASTIUM's top navigation bar to copy clean https:// links for friends or post them to social media.
  • Media Player Links: VLC and Winamp stream endpoints automatically format cleanly as https://mycoolradio.duckdns.org/live (or your chosen mount point) with no port numbers needed.

Keeping Caddy Running in the Background

To make Caddy run silently whenever you boot Windows:

  1. Open PowerShell as Administrator.
  2. Navigate to your Caddy directory: 
    cd C:\Caddy
  3. Run: 
    caddy start
    caddy start launches Caddy as a background process so you can close the terminal window and your station stays online.

Troubleshooting & Quick Fixes

  • "Browser says Connection Refused / Site Cannot Be Reached":

    1. Confirm that Caddy is actively running (caddy run).
    2. Confirm that CASTIUM is ON AIR (broadcasting).
    3. Double-check that ports 80 and 443 are forwarded in your router to your PC's local IP address.
    4. Ensure Windows Defender Firewall allows incoming connections on port 80 and 443 for Caddy.

  • "My ISP uses CGNAT (Carrier-Grade NAT) and doesn't give me a public IP": If your ISP uses CGNAT and router port forwarding does not reach your home, you can use Cloudflare Tunnels (which is also free and does not require opening any router ports at all). CASTIUM's [x] Use HTTPS and [x] Using Reverse Proxy settings work identically with Cloudflare Tunnels!