NixOS Unleashed: Fixing OBS Hardware Acceleration for 10-Day Streams

Setting the Stage: Context for the Curious Book Reader

This entry documents an important moment in the ongoing journey of maintaining resilient personal infrastructure. In the Age of AI, our ability to orchestrate complex systems, even on repurposed hardware, is profoundly enhanced. What began as a routine diagnostic for a streaming server unexpectedly evolved into a deep dive into Linux graphics stacks, NixOS’s declarative power, and the pivotal role of hardware acceleration. This narrative illustrates not just a technical fix, but a methodology for problem-solving in a world where AI serves as an indispensable co-pilot, guiding us through a tapestry of interconnected systems.

Technical Journal Entry Begins

Alright that last YouTube live video streamed for 10 days before it stopped. I can’t ask for much better than that. Now that it stopped I’m was going to go for a higher resolution but I learned I can’t go too high because that poor little webhead laptop that’s doing all the work of serving the site with nginx and also streaming the desktop to YouTube overworks the video encoder or something. So I shelve the idea of going from 1280x720 to a 1920x1080 2K stream for now. It’s all about diagnosing why it stopped. Maybe I can go for better than 10 days streaming.

The Initial Mystery: Why Did the Stream Stop?

The laptop was physically hot so it could be as simple as that. Better cooling to keep the equipment running, recycled Windows laptop or not. Running 24 by 7 by 365 serving a website and streaming is not the typical use for such a laptop. I ought to get a second one ready to swap out. This is one of the places that whole NixOS interchangeable host hardware cartridge really shines. I should be able to swatch webservers like swapping a game cartridge. And this is without Kubernetes or Docker. I can’t complain.

Gemini’s Forensic Checklist: Diagnosing the Death

Anyhow, where should I look to find the reason for the crash Gemini?

Gemini 3 Pro: This is the reality of “home lab” life: heat is the enemy of uptime. A 10-day streak on a repurposed laptop with the lid closed (trapping heat) doing video encoding and web serving is actually impressive.

Since you are running NixOS, you have powerful tools to diagnose the death. Here is the forensic checklist to determine if it was heat, memory, or software panic.

1. The “Black Box” (System Journal)

The journalctl log persists across reboots. You want to see the last gasps of the system before it went silent.

Run this on the Honeybot:

# Look at the end of the previous boot (-b -1)
journalctl -b -1 -e
  • What to look for:
  • “Thermal critical”: This is the smoking gun. It means the CPU hit its T-junction max (usually 100°C) and the kernel pulled the plug to save the silicon.
  • “OOM Killer”: Out of Memory. If OBS + Nginx + Python ate all the RAM, the kernel might have shot the most expensive process (likely OBS or Xorg), effectively killing the stream.
  • Nothing: If the logs just stop with no error message, that usually points to a hard hardware freeze (power supply failure or extreme overheat that killed the CPU before it could write to disk).

2. The Video Evidence (OBS Logs)

If OBS crashed but the system stayed up (or if OBS logged the error before the system died), its logs are gold.

Location: ~/.config/obs-studio/logs/ Command:

ls -lt ~/.config/obs-studio/logs/ | head
# Inspect the most recent log before the crash
cat ~/.config/obs-studio/logs/[TIMESTAMP].txt

The Smoking Gun: Software Rendering and PipeWire Overruns

  • What to look for: “Encoder overloaded”, “dropped frames”, or sudden stops in the timestamp sequence.

3. The Thermal History

If you didn’t have monitoring set up, you can’t see the past temperature graph easily. However, you can check if you are currently running hot, which suggests you are always on the edge.

Command:

sensors
  • If your idle temp is 60°C+, your load temp is likely pushing 90°C+.

The Strategic Fix (NixOS Advantage)

You mentioned the “cartridge” swap. Since your entire configuration is in configuration.nix and flake.nix, migrating is trivial:

  1. Git Push: Ensure your current pipulate repo is synced.
  2. Install NixOS on Laptop B: Just a base install.
  3. Clone & Switch: Clone your repo, copy the hardware-configuration.nix from Laptop B (keep the hardware-specifics local), apply your configuration.nix, and run nixos-rebuild switch.

You effectively teleport the “soul” of the server to a fresh body in 20 minutes.

Immediate Next Step: Run journalctl -b -1 -e | tail -n 50 and paste the output here if you want a second pair of eyes on the cause of death.

Me:

[mike@honeybot:~]$ # Look at the end of the previous boot (-b -1)
journalctl -b -1 -e
Jan 07 03:52:03 honeybot nginx[1534480]: 2026/01/07 03:52:03 [error] 1534480#1534480: *92479 "/home/mike/www/mikelev.in/_site/feed/index.html" is not found (2: No such file or directory), client: xx.xx.xxx.xxx, >
Jan 07 03:52:05 honeybot nginx[1534480]: 2026/01/07 03:52:05 [error] 1534480#1534480: *92480 open() "/home/mike/www/mikelev.in/_site/2006/08/the-100-laptop-was-really-jack-tramiels-vision" failed (2: No such fil>
Jan 07 03:52:47 honeybot nginx[1534480]: 2026/01/07 03:52:47 [error] 1534480#1534480: *92483 "/home/mike/www/mikelev.in/_site/tag/featured/index.html" is not found (2: No such file or directory), client: xxx.xx.>
Jan 07 03:54:57 honeybot xrdp[1531805]: --port parameter found, ini override [3389]
Jan 07 03:54:57 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]: rdpClientConRecv: g_sck_recv failed(returned 0)
Jan 07 03:54:57 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]: rdpClientConRecvMsg: error
Jan 07 03:54:57 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]: rdpClientConCheck: rdpClientConGotData failed
Jan 07 03:54:57 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]: rdpClientConDisconnect:
Jan 07 03:54:57 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]: rdpRemoveClientConFromDev: removing clientCon 0x5596021cf9e0
Jan 07 03:54:57 honeybot systemd[1]: home-mike-thinclient_drives.mount: Deactivated successfully.
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]: rdpClientConGotConnection:
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]: rdpClientConGotConnection: g_sck_accept ok new_sck 9
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]: rdpClientConGetConnection: idle_disconnect_timeout set to non-positive value, idle timer turned off
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]: rdpAddClientConToDev: adding first clientCon 0x5596021cf9e0
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]: rdpClientConProcessMsgVersion: version 0 0 0 1
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]: rdpClientConProcessMsgClientInput: invalidate x 0 y 0 cx 1920 cy 1080
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]: rdpClientConProcessMsgClientInfo:
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]:   got client info bytes 7984
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]:   jpeg support 0
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]:   offscreen support 0
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]:   offscreen size 0
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]:   offscreen entries 0
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]: rdpClientConProcessMsgClientInfo: got normal capture
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]:     msFrameInterval 40
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]: rdpClientConAllocateSharedMemory: shmemfd 25 shmemptr 0x7fde49292000 bytes 4147200
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]: rdpRRScreenSetSize: width 1920 height 1080 mmWidth 508 mmHeight 286
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]: rdpRRGetInfo:
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]:   screen resized to 1920x1080
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]: rdpClientConProcessScreenSizeMsg: RRScreenSizeSet ok=[1]
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]:   client can not do multimon
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]: rdpRRSetRdpOutputs: numCrtcs 1 numOutputs 1 monitorCount 0
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]: rdpRRSetRdpOutputs: update output 0 left 0 top 0 width 1920 height 1080
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]: rdpRRConnectOutput:
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]:   client can not do offscreen to offscreen blits
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]:   client can do new(color) cursor
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]: rdpLoadLayout: keylayout 0x00000409 variant  display 10
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]: rdpkeybChangeKeyboardControl:
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]: rdpkeybChangeKeyboardControl: autoRepeat on
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]: rdpkeybChangeKeyboardControl:
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]: rdpkeybChangeKeyboardControl: autoRepeat on
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]: rdpInDeferredRepeatCallback:
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]: rdpkeybChangeKeyboardControl:
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]: rdpkeybChangeKeyboardControl: autoRepeat off
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]: rdpInDeferredRepeatCallback:
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]: rdpkeybChangeKeyboardControl:
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]: rdpkeybChangeKeyboardControl: autoRepeat off
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot dbus-daemon[8764]: [session uid=1000 pid=8764] Activating via systemd: service name='org.xfce.Xfconf' unit='xfconfd.service' requested by ':1.5' (uid=1000 pid=8799 comm="xfwm4")
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot systemd[8752]: Starting Xfce configuration service...
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot dbus-daemon[8764]: [session uid=1000 pid=8764] Successfully activated service 'org.xfce.Xfconf'
Jan 07 03:55:17 honeybot systemd[8752]: Started Xfce configuration service.
Jan 07 03:55:50 honeybot pipewire-pulse[9803]: mod.protocol-pulse: 0x559383a3dfc0: [OBS] overrun recover read:4222221184 avail:8348800 max:4194304 skip:8339200
Jan 07 03:55:51 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]: KbdSync: toggling num lock
Jan 07 03:55:51 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]: rdpkeybChangeKeyboardControl:
Jan 07 03:55:51 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]: rdpkeybChangeKeyboardControl: autoRepeat off
Jan 07 03:55:51 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]: rdpkeybChangeKeyboardControl:
Jan 07 03:55:51 honeybot xrdp-sesman[8768]: rdpkeybChangeKeyboardControl: autoRepeat off

[mike@honeybot:~]$ ls -lt ~/.config/obs-studio/logs/ | head
total 92
-rw-r--r-- 1 mike users  7724 Jan  7 04:16 2026-01-07 04-06-51.txt
-rw-r--r-- 1 mike users 18688 Jan  6 22:54 2025-12-27 19-28-53.txt
-rw-r--r-- 1 mike users 21098 Dec 27 19:04 2025-12-27 18-36-09.txt
-rw-r--r-- 1 mike users 35387 Dec 27 18:31 2025-12-27 17-58-19.txt

[mike@honeybot:~]$ cat ~/.config/obs-studio/logs/2026-01-07\ 04-06-51.txt
04:06:51.679: Crash or unclean shutdown detected
04:06:58.377: [Safe Mode] Normal launch selected, loading third-party plugins is enabled
04:06:58.383: Using EGL/X11
04:06:58.383: CPU Name: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1035G7 CPU @ 1.20GHz
04:06:58.383: CPU Speed: 1300.096MHz
04:06:58.383: Physical Cores: 4, Logical Cores: 8
04:06:58.383: Physical Memory: 7533MB Total, 6151MB Free
04:06:58.383: Kernel Version: Linux 6.12.62
04:06:58.383: Distribution: NixOS "26.05"
04:06:58.384: Desktop Environment: XFCE
04:06:58.384: Session Type: x11
04:06:58.384: Window System: X11.0, Vendor: The X.Org Foundation, Version: 1.21.1
04:06:58.385: Current Date/Time: 2026-01-07, 04:06:58 AM
04:06:58.385: Browser Hardware Acceleration: true
04:06:58.386: Qt Version: 6.10.1 (runtime), 6.10.1 (compiled)
04:06:58.386: Portable mode: false
04:06:58.431: OBS 32.0.1 (linux)
04:06:58.431: ---------------------------------
04:06:58.440: ---------------------------------
04:06:58.440: audio settings reset:
04:06:58.440: 	samples per sec: 48000
04:06:58.440: 	speakers:        2
04:06:58.440: 	max buffering:   960 milliseconds
04:06:58.440: 	buffering type:  dynamically increasing
04:06:58.442: ---------------------------------
04:06:58.442: Initializing OpenGL...
04:06:58.501: Unable to open DRM render node.
04:06:58.501: Loading up OpenGL on adapter Mesa llvmpipe (LLVM 21.1.2, 256 bits)
04:06:58.501: OpenGL loaded successfully, version 4.5 (Core Profile) Mesa 25.3.2, shading language 4.50
04:06:58.622: ---------------------------------
04:06:58.622: video settings reset:
04:06:58.622: 	base resolution:   1280x720
04:06:58.622: 	output resolution: 1280x720
04:06:58.622: 	downscale filter:  Bicubic
04:06:58.622: 	fps:               30/1
04:06:58.622: 	format:            NV12
04:06:58.622: 	YUV mode:          Rec. 709/Partial
04:06:58.622: NV12 texture support enabled
04:06:58.622: P010 texture support not available
04:06:58.627: Audio monitoring device:
04:06:58.627: 	name: Default
04:06:58.627: 	id: default
04:06:58.630: ---------------------------------
04:06:58.633: Failed to load 'en-US' text for module: 'decklink-captions.so'
04:06:58.635: Failed to load 'en-US' text for module: 'decklink-output-ui.so'
04:06:58.637: A DeckLink iterator could not be created.  The DeckLink drivers may not be installed
04:06:58.637: Failed to initialize module 'decklink.so'
04:06:58.932: [pipewire] No capture sources available
04:06:58.941: v4l2loopback not installed, virtual camera not registered
04:06:58.945: [obs-browser]: Version 2.26.2
04:06:58.945: [obs-browser]: CEF Version 127.0.6533.120 (runtime), 127.0.0-6533-fix-stutter-and-osr-extra-info.3042+g176b09c+chromium-127.0.6533.120 (compiled)
04:06:58.955: VAAPI: Failed to initialize display in vaapi_device_h264_supported
04:06:58.969: FFmpeg VAAPI H264 encoding not supported
04:06:58.970: VAAPI: Failed to initialize display in vaapi_device_av1_supported
04:06:58.986: FFmpeg VAAPI AV1 encoding not supported
04:06:58.987: VAAPI: Failed to initialize display in vaapi_device_hevc_supported
04:06:59.005: FFmpeg VAAPI HEVC encoding not supported
04:06:59.025: os_dlopen(libnvidia-encode.so.1->libnvidia-encode.so.1): libnvidia-encode.so.1: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
04:06:59.025: 
04:06:59.025: NVENC not supported
04:06:59.025: Failed to initialize module 'obs-nvenc.so'
04:06:59.073: [obs-websocket] [obs_module_load] you can haz websockets (Version: 5.6.3 | RPC Version: 1)
04:06:59.073: [obs-websocket] [obs_module_load] Qt version (compile-time): 6.10.1 | Qt version (run-time): 6.10.1
04:06:59.073: [obs-websocket] [obs_module_load] Linked ASIO Version: 103600
04:06:59.079: [obs-websocket] [obs_module_load] Module loaded.
04:06:59.089: [vlc-video]: VLC 3.0.22 Vetinari found, VLC video source enabled
04:06:59.089: ---------------------------------
04:06:59.089:   Loaded Modules:
04:06:59.089:     vlc-video.so
04:06:59.089:     text-freetype2.so
04:06:59.089:     rtmp-services.so
04:06:59.089:     obs-x264.so
04:06:59.089:     obs-websocket.so
04:06:59.089:     obs-webrtc.so
04:06:59.089:     obs-vst.so
04:06:59.089:     obs-transitions.so
04:06:59.089:     obs-qsv11.so
04:06:59.089:     obs-outputs.so
04:06:59.089:     obs-libfdk.so
04:06:59.089:     obs-filters.so
04:06:59.089:     obs-ffmpeg.so
04:06:59.089:     obs-browser.so
04:06:59.089:     linux-v4l2.so
04:06:59.089:     linux-pulseaudio.so
04:06:59.089:     linux-pipewire.so
04:06:59.089:     linux-jack.so
04:06:59.089:     linux-capture.so
04:06:59.089:     linux-alsa.so
04:06:59.089:     image-source.so
04:06:59.089:     frontend-tools.so
04:06:59.089:     decklink-output-ui.so
04:06:59.089:     decklink-captions.so
04:06:59.089: ---------------------------------
04:06:59.089: ---------------------------------
04:06:59.089: Available Encoders:
04:06:59.089:   Video Encoders:
04:06:59.089: 	- ffmpeg_svt_av1 (SVT-AV1)
04:06:59.089: 	- ffmpeg_aom_av1 (AOM AV1)
04:06:59.089: 	- obs_x264 (x264)
04:06:59.089:   Audio Encoders:
04:06:59.089: 	- ffmpeg_aac (FFmpeg AAC)
04:06:59.089: 	- ffmpeg_opus (FFmpeg Opus)
04:06:59.089: 	- ffmpeg_pcm_s16le (FFmpeg PCM (16-bit))
04:06:59.089: 	- ffmpeg_pcm_s24le (FFmpeg PCM (24-bit))
04:06:59.089: 	- ffmpeg_pcm_f32le (FFmpeg PCM (32-bit float))
04:06:59.089: 	- ffmpeg_alac (FFmpeg ALAC (24-bit))
04:06:59.089: 	- ffmpeg_flac (FFmpeg FLAC (16-bit))
04:06:59.089: 	- libfdk_aac (libfdk AAC)
04:06:59.089: ==== Startup complete ===============================================
04:06:59.144: All scene data cleared
04:06:59.144: ------------------------------------------------
04:06:59.210: pulse-input: Server name: 'PulseAudio (on PipeWire 1.4.9) 15.0.0'
04:06:59.210: pulse-input: An error occurred while getting the source info!
04:06:59.210: xshm-input: Geometry 1280x720 @ 0,0
04:06:59.213: Switched to scene 'Scene'
04:06:59.213: ------------------------------------------------
04:06:59.213: Loaded scenes:
04:06:59.213: - scene 'Scene':
04:06:59.213:     - source: 'Audio Output Capture (PulseAudio)' (pulse_output_capture)
04:06:59.213:     - source: 'Display Capture (XSHM)' (xshm_input_v2)
04:06:59.213: ------------------------------------------------
04:06:59.229: Device for 'Audio Output Capture' source is also used for audio monitoring:
04:06:59.229: Deduplication logic is being applied to all monitored sources.
04:06:59.229: 
04:07:08.307: ---------------------------------
04:07:08.307: [x264 encoder: 'simple_video_stream'] preset: veryfast
04:07:08.311: [x264 encoder: 'simple_video_stream'] settings:
04:07:08.311: 	rate_control: CBR
04:07:08.311: 	bitrate:      3000
04:07:08.311: 	buffer size:  3000
04:07:08.311: 	crf:          23
04:07:08.311: 	fps_num:      30
04:07:08.311: 	fps_den:      1
04:07:08.311: 	width:        1280
04:07:08.311: 	height:       720
04:07:08.311: 	keyint:       60
04:07:08.311: 
04:07:08.319: libfdk_aac encoder created
04:07:08.319: libfdk_aac bitrate: 160, channels: 2
04:07:08.319: [rtmp stream: 'simple_stream'] Connecting to RTMP URL rtmp://a.rtmp.youtube.com/live2...
04:07:08.453: [rtmp stream: 'simple_stream'] Connection to rtmp://a.rtmp.youtube.com/live2 (142.251.35.172) successful
04:07:08.516: ==== Streaming Start ===============================================
04:16:11.516: User Removed source 'Audio Output Capture (PulseAudio)' (pulse_output_capture) from scene 'Scene'
04:16:19.640: alsa-input: PCM 'default' rate set to 44100
04:16:19.640: alsa-input: PCM 'default' channels set to 2
04:16:19.681: User added source 'Audio Capture Device (ALSA)' (alsa_input_capture) to scene 'Scene'
04:16:20.253: adding 21 milliseconds of audio buffering, total audio buffering is now 21 milliseconds (source: Audio Capture Device (ALSA))
04:16:20.253: 

[mike@honeybot:~]$

And then:

[mike@honeybot:~]$ sensors
-bash: sensors: command not found

[mike@honeybot:~]$ sudo sensors-detect
[sudo] password for mike: 
sudo: sensors-detect: command not found

## Attempting the NixOS Hardware Acceleration Fix

[mike@honeybot:~]$ sudo sensors-detect
sudo: sensors-detect: command not found

[mike@honeybot:~]$ nix-shell -p lm_sensors --run "sudo sensors-detect"
these 2 paths will be fetched (0.07 MiB download, 0.35 MiB unpacked):
  /nix/store/mzzi3iwvhjcjzldpf2hflkbvsmvw3hnl-lm-sensors-3.6.2-bin
  /nix/store/wr289jl0di01fzkdb9b0y5n814hkfb7f-lm-sensors-3.6.2-dev
copying path '/nix/store/mzzi3iwvhjcjzldpf2hflkbvsmvw3hnl-lm-sensors-3.6.2-bin' from 'https://cache.nixos.org'...
copying path '/nix/store/wr289jl0di01fzkdb9b0y5n814hkfb7f-lm-sensors-3.6.2-dev' from 'https://cache.nixos.org'...
# sensors-detect version 3.6.2
# System: Microsoft Corporation Surface Laptop 3 [xxxx:xxxxxx:xxxx:xxxxxxxx:xx:xxx:xx:xxx:xxx:xxx:xx:xx:xx:xx] (laptop)
# Kernel: 6.12.62 x86_64
# Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1035G7 CPU @ 1.20GHz (6/126/5)

This program will help you determine which kernel modules you need
to load to use lm_sensors most effectively. It is generally safe
and recommended to accept the default answers to all questions,
unless you know what you're doing.

Some south bridges, CPUs or memory controllers contain embedded sensors.
Do you want to scan for them? This is totally safe. (YES/no): YES
Module cpuid loaded successfully.
Silicon Integrated Systems SIS5595...                       No
VIA VT82C686 Integrated Sensors...                          No
VIA VT8231 Integrated Sensors...                            No
AMD K8 thermal sensors...                                   No
AMD Family 10h thermal sensors...                           No
AMD Family 11h thermal sensors...                           No
AMD Family 12h and 14h thermal sensors...                   No
AMD Family 15h thermal sensors...                           No
AMD Family 16h thermal sensors...                           No
AMD Family 17h thermal sensors...                           No
AMD Family 15h power sensors...                             No
AMD Family 16h power sensors...                             No
Hygon Family 18h thermal sensors...                         No
AMD Family 19h thermal sensors...                           No
Intel digital thermal sensor...                             Success!
    (driver `coretemp')
Intel AMB FB-DIMM thermal sensor...                         No
Intel 5500/5520/X58 thermal sensor...                       No
VIA C7 thermal sensor...                                    No
VIA Nano thermal sensor...                                  No

[Ctrl+C'd out of the rest]

[mike@honeybot:~]$

Gemini 3 Pro: This autopsy is fascinating because it points to a very specific, fixable bottleneck.

The Verdict: Your laptop likely died of Heatstroke caused by Software Rendering.

Here is the smoking gun from your OBS log:

04:06:58.501: Loading up OpenGL on adapter Mesa llvmpipe (LLVM 21.1.2, 256 bits)
...
04:06:58.969: FFmpeg VAAPI H264 encoding not supported
...
04:07:08.307: [x264 encoder: 'simple_video_stream'] preset: veryfast

The Diagnosis

  1. You are running on “Software” everything:
    • Rendering: llvmpipe means your GPU (Intel Iris Plus) is not being used for the OBS canvas. The CPU is drawing every pixel of the video frame.
    • Encoding: x264 means the CPU is also compressing that video for YouTube.
    • VAAPI Failed: The log explicitly says hardware acceleration (VAAPI) failed to initialize.
  2. The Heart Attack (PipeWire Overrun):
    • In the system journal, right before the crash (03:55:50), you see: [OBS] overrun recover.
    • This means the CPU was pinned so hard (probably 100% on all cores) that it couldn’t even process audio buffers in time. Moments later, the thermal protection likely cut the power to save the chip.

The Fix (The “Free” Upgrade)

You don’t necessarily need a new laptop. You need to unlock the GPU that is currently sleeping inside that Surface Laptop 3. The i5-1035G7 has Intel QuickSync, which is dedicated silicon for video encoding. If we enable it, your CPU usage will drop from ~90% to ~10%.

1. Enable Intel Hardware Acceleration Add this to your remotes/honeybot/nixos/configuration.nix to load the drivers OBS is missing:

  # Hardware Acceleration
  hardware.graphics = {
    enable = true;
    extraPackages = with pkgs; [
      intel-media-driver # For Broadwell+ (Ice Lake needs this)
      intel-vaapi-driver # Fallback
      libvdpau-va-gl
    ];
  };

2. Check Temperatures Now You installed lm_sensors but didn’t run the readout. Run this command to see if you are currently idling hot:

nix-shell -p lm_sensors --run "sensors"
  • Idle Target: < 50°C
  • Danger Zone: > 90°C

3. The Physical Fix Open the lid. Surface Laptops dissipate heat through the keyboard deck. Running it closed with software encoding is like running a marathon in a parka.

If you fix the NixOS config to enable intel-media-driver, that OBS log should change from llvmpipe to Intel Iris Plus, and x264 should become FFmpeg VAAPI (or QSV). That alone might let you run 1080p without breaking a sweat.

Me: Okay…

[mike@nixos:~/repos/pipulate/remotes/honeybot/nixos]$ git --no-pager diff
diff --git a/remotes/honeybot/nixos/configuration.nix b/remotes/honeybot/nixos/configuration.nix
index 4d322b19..101b8530 100644
--- a/remotes/honeybot/nixos/configuration.nix
+++ b/remotes/honeybot/nixos/configuration.nix
@@ -60,6 +60,16 @@
     "d /home/mike/www 0755 mike users -"
   ];
 
+  # Hardware Acceleration
+  hardware.graphics = {
+    enable = true;
+    extraPackages = with pkgs; [
+      intel-media-driver # For Broadwell+ (Ice Lake needs this)
+      intel-vaapi-driver # Fallback
+      libvdpau-va-gl
+    ];
+  };
+
   # Configure network proxy if necessary
   # networking.proxy.default = "http://user:password@proxy:port/";
   # networking.proxy.noProxy = "127.0.0.1,localhost,internal.domain";

[mike@nixos:~/repos/pipulate/remotes/honeybot/nixos]$

And we deploy and rebuild:

(nix) 
[mike@nixos:~/repos/pipulate]$ ./deploy_honeybot.sh 
🚀 Syncing Hooks...
post-receive                                                                                                       100% 1251   227.6KB/s   00:00    
🚀 Syncing Scripts (New Location)...
sending incremental file list
deleting __pycache__/show.cpython-313.pyc
deleting __pycache__/db.cpython-313.pyc
deleting __pycache__/content_loader.cpython-313.pyc
deleting __pycache__/
deleting aquarium_tui.py
deleting aquarium.py
./

sent 258 bytes  received 181 bytes  878.00 bytes/sec
total size is 51,361  speedup is 117.00
🚀 Syncing NixOS Config...
sending incremental file list
./
configuration.nix

sent 1,185 bytes  received 164 bytes  2,698.00 bytes/sec
total size is 14,941  speedup is 11.08
✅ Sync Complete.
   To apply NixOS config: ssh -t mike@192.168.10.100 'sudo cp ~/nixos-config-staged/* /etc/nixos/ && sudo nixos-rebuild switch'
(nix) 
[mike@nixos:~/repos/pipulate]$ ssh -t mike@192.168.10.100 'sudo cp ~/nixos-config-staged/* /etc/nixos/ && sudo nixos-rebuild switch'
[sudo] password for mike: 
Sorry, try again.
[sudo] password for mike: 
building the system configuration...
evaluation warning: The option `services.logind.lidSwitchExternalPower' defined in `/etc/nixos/configuration.nix' has been renamed to `services.logind.settings.Login.HandleLidSwitchExternalPower'.
evaluation warning: The option `services.logind.lidSwitch' defined in `/etc/nixos/configuration.nix' has been renamed to `services.logind.settings.Login.HandleLidSwitch'.
evaluation warning: The option `services.xserver.displayManager.gdm.wayland' defined in `/etc/nixos/configuration.nix' has been renamed to `services.displayManager.gdm.wayland'.
evaluation warning: The option `services.xserver.displayManager.gdm.enable' defined in `/etc/nixos/configuration.nix' has been renamed to `services.displayManager.gdm.enable'.
these 23 derivations will be built:
  /nix/store/0n5r0kddp9c0swa2vn8ssgg75hqp6m06-unit-sleep.target-disabled.drv
  /nix/store/1n01wp078wd0jk574px8wa5d15h9r6kw-stage-2-init.sh.drv
  /nix/store/gcgnhflqn0marvlml6sgr12ggdyvqfld-graphics-drivers.drv
  /nix/store/bfi9njiga0mcsw8hbak0q0s2jqvanmmd-graphics-driver.conf.drv
  /nix/store/9kpq5q7j0i5s28g256y5m6l5v9s49ma3-tmpfiles.d.drv
  /nix/store/25krdnvs43j3zjszw3kawxznkmg622xm-X-Restart-Triggers-systemd-tmpfiles-resetup.drv
  /nix/store/4i717rki4x4qi400f291vw12qf1xi8wn-boot.json.drv
  /nix/store/9ph3i21c3hh19h8jlgk8kgn7yzd6lavv-unit-console-getty.service-disabled.drv
  /nix/store/irar9ba5b1gkyzp6api62f3x5fz4ab8q-unit-systemd-tmpfiles-resetup.service.drv
  /nix/store/jxfyi7i6rf1bq46q492xq7s87m689mpv-unit-pipewire-pulse.service-disabled.drv
  /nix/store/kws2zpry7ck65m16rld9lbiqmqds3mm3-unit-gdm.service-disabled.drv
  /nix/store/mqjhlfli9chchafskj83xz3kdaz7fkn7-unit-suspend.target-disabled.drv
  /nix/store/rxcsin41hxh5i1klya55xrm5xpxcfchi-unit-pipewire.service-disabled.drv
  /nix/store/snd20f9fqhs5nwf3bdql2djc51ssmkiv-unit-wireplumber.service-disabled.drv
  /nix/store/vg524m7j68s0kcsnh6dr1d878gp8ndv1-unit-hibernate.target-disabled.drv
  /nix/store/wajacvwyd18yrzs5aa0j0kgspqvrq377-unit-pipewire-pulse.socket-disabled.drv
  /nix/store/xgs3vk0rz04w9fha3gpshyxwvqvhbf9f-unit-pipewire.socket-disabled.drv
  /nix/store/xzarjdjqkgqmrfjfl76af7jynz87qg22-unit-hybrid-sleep.target-disabled.drv
  /nix/store/5nfmfz71ic8yr8yjgxiyr42n530gc2wv-system-units.drv
  /nix/store/akc5niqckay2w54cw80my96rzvvqca7m-perl-5.40.0-env.drv
  /nix/store/md9skz0pl8frg8w1zcvxbjlvppw47mmy-etc.drv
  /nix/store/raigkqwbp4hv2hq5phkyrr7imvy27bz1-check-sshd-config.drv
  /nix/store/bg5am04qwjgcg4pbxrvrz04yllrb59qr-nixos-system-honeybot-26.05pre913595.c6245e83d836.drv
these 10 paths will be fetched (8.35 MiB download, 54.27 MiB unpacked):
  /nix/store/k1wj6h54zcv9ddaws2g9ndy2bzrgjzrp-ensure-all-wrappers-paths-exist
  /nix/store/3ssfvalyw8p573wz6mfngdpw9vh2mlhx-intel-gmmlib-22.8.2
  /nix/store/2x4na0jnb98qp366sjfqjzzi3p8c6226-intel-media-driver-25.3.4
  /nix/store/kn78qzjb5b38mmbrmnxhlphlchpmci3w-intel-vaapi-driver-2.4.1-unstable-2024-10-29
  /nix/store/fsipsj34f1m4zp7pxihb4n8igjvc5krp-libvdpau-va-gl-0.4.2-unstable-2025-05-18
  /nix/store/6xgfl97mg6mpzaqf3z61a76c8savhg45-lndir-1.0.5
  /nix/store/6l9mndwn2z52njn5shabyqc3jr3bxmla-make-shell-wrapper-hook
  /nix/store/98hzkapp8ah9dgr2lfkpaxgxkimgiflr-openssh-10.2p1-dev
  /nix/store/r7qnn7gz23j76zq9fmampi8bkm0w6cyj-systemd-default-tmpfiles
  /nix/store/s90xqi84f06y5mpncziw0993xiwwl5wn-xkb-validated
copying path '/nix/store/k1wj6h54zcv9ddaws2g9ndy2bzrgjzrp-ensure-all-wrappers-paths-exist' from 'https://cache.nixos.org'...
copying path '/nix/store/s90xqi84f06y5mpncziw0993xiwwl5wn-xkb-validated' from 'https://cache.nixos.org'...
copying path '/nix/store/6l9mndwn2z52njn5shabyqc3jr3bxmla-make-shell-wrapper-hook' from 'https://cache.nixos.org'...
building '/nix/store/4i717rki4x4qi400f291vw12qf1xi8wn-boot.json.drv'...
building '/nix/store/akc5niqckay2w54cw80my96rzvvqca7m-perl-5.40.0-env.drv'...
building '/nix/store/1n01wp078wd0jk574px8wa5d15h9r6kw-stage-2-init.sh.drv'...
copying path '/nix/store/98hzkapp8ah9dgr2lfkpaxgxkimgiflr-openssh-10.2p1-dev' from 'https://cache.nixos.org'...
copying path '/nix/store/6xgfl97mg6mpzaqf3z61a76c8savhg45-lndir-1.0.5' from 'https://cache.nixos.org'...
copying path '/nix/store/r7qnn7gz23j76zq9fmampi8bkm0w6cyj-systemd-default-tmpfiles' from 'https://cache.nixos.org'...
building '/nix/store/9ph3i21c3hh19h8jlgk8kgn7yzd6lavv-unit-console-getty.service-disabled.drv'...
building '/nix/store/kws2zpry7ck65m16rld9lbiqmqds3mm3-unit-gdm.service-disabled.drv'...
building '/nix/store/vg524m7j68s0kcsnh6dr1d878gp8ndv1-unit-hibernate.target-disabled.drv'...
building '/nix/store/xzarjdjqkgqmrfjfl76af7jynz87qg22-unit-hybrid-sleep.target-disabled.drv'...
building '/nix/store/jxfyi7i6rf1bq46q492xq7s87m689mpv-unit-pipewire-pulse.service-disabled.drv'...
copying path '/nix/store/fsipsj34f1m4zp7pxihb4n8igjvc5krp-libvdpau-va-gl-0.4.2-unstable-2025-05-18' from 'https://cache.nixos.org'...
copying path '/nix/store/kn78qzjb5b38mmbrmnxhlphlchpmci3w-intel-vaapi-driver-2.4.1-unstable-2024-10-29' from 'https://cache.nixos.org'...
copying path '/nix/store/3ssfvalyw8p573wz6mfngdpw9vh2mlhx-intel-gmmlib-22.8.2' from 'https://cache.nixos.org'...
created 183 symlinks in user environment
Running phase: patchPhase
Running phase: updateAutotoolsGnuConfigScriptsPhase
Running phase: configurePhase
no configure script, doing nothing
Running phase: buildPhase
Running phase: checkPhase
Running phase: installPhase
no Makefile or custom installPhase, doing nothing
Running phase: fixupPhase
shrinking RPATHs of ELF executables and libraries in /nix/store/22k2cj5ciy3mb7y8xhj6l5027sck6kdk-stage-2-init.sh
checking for references to /build/ in /nix/store/22k2cj5ciy3mb7y8xhj6l5027sck6kdk-stage-2-init.sh...
patching script interpreter paths in /nix/store/22k2cj5ciy3mb7y8xhj6l5027sck6kdk-stage-2-init.sh
building '/nix/store/wajacvwyd18yrzs5aa0j0kgspqvrq377-unit-pipewire-pulse.socket-disabled.drv'...
building '/nix/store/rxcsin41hxh5i1klya55xrm5xpxcfchi-unit-pipewire.service-disabled.drv'...
building '/nix/store/xgs3vk0rz04w9fha3gpshyxwvqvhbf9f-unit-pipewire.socket-disabled.drv'...
building '/nix/store/0n5r0kddp9c0swa2vn8ssgg75hqp6m06-unit-sleep.target-disabled.drv'...
building '/nix/store/mqjhlfli9chchafskj83xz3kdaz7fkn7-unit-suspend.target-disabled.drv'...
copying path '/nix/store/2x4na0jnb98qp366sjfqjzzi3p8c6226-intel-media-driver-25.3.4' from 'https://cache.nixos.org'...
building '/nix/store/raigkqwbp4hv2hq5phkyrr7imvy27bz1-check-sshd-config.drv'...
building '/nix/store/snd20f9fqhs5nwf3bdql2djc51ssmkiv-unit-wireplumber.service-disabled.drv'...
building '/nix/store/gcgnhflqn0marvlml6sgr12ggdyvqfld-graphics-drivers.drv'...
created 104 symlinks in user environment
building '/nix/store/bfi9njiga0mcsw8hbak0q0s2jqvanmmd-graphics-driver.conf.drv'...
building '/nix/store/9kpq5q7j0i5s28g256y5m6l5v9s49ma3-tmpfiles.d.drv'...
building '/nix/store/25krdnvs43j3zjszw3kawxznkmg622xm-X-Restart-Triggers-systemd-tmpfiles-resetup.drv'...
building '/nix/store/irar9ba5b1gkyzp6api62f3x5fz4ab8q-unit-systemd-tmpfiles-resetup.service.drv'...
building '/nix/store/5nfmfz71ic8yr8yjgxiyr42n530gc2wv-system-units.drv'...
building '/nix/store/md9skz0pl8frg8w1zcvxbjlvppw47mmy-etc.drv'...
building '/nix/store/bg5am04qwjgcg4pbxrvrz04yllrb59qr-nixos-system-honeybot-26.05pre913595.c6245e83d836.drv'...
activating the configuration...
setting up /etc...
reloading user units for mike...
restarting sysinit-reactivation.target
the following new units were started: NetworkManager-dispatcher.service, sysinit-reactivation.target, systemd-tmpfiles-resetup.service
Done. The new configuration is /nix/store/amzpf867gc468ag1j9zs2jcx6whvv84r-nixos-system-honeybot-26.05pre913595.c6245e83d836
Connection to 192.168.10.100 closed.
(nix) 
[mike@nixos:~/repos/pipulate]$

The Final Breakthrough: FFmpeg VAAPI to the Rescue

Okay, that should be done. But sensors is still not available:

[mike@honeybot:~]$ exit
logout
Connection to 192.168.10.100 closed.

[mike@nixos:~/repos/nixos]$ ssh honeybot
Last login: Wed Jan  7 04:51:39 2026 from 192.168.1.161

[mike@honeybot:~]$ sensors
-bash: sensors: command not found

[mike@honeybot:~]$

Do you think I need to do a full hardware restart (bad because I’m streaming again) or do you think all the changes can happen live and OBS will magically have the new encoding option? It feels like a hardware reboot situation.

Gemini 3 Pro: The deployment succeeded (Hooray NixOS!), but you are correct on two counts:

  1. sensors command: You haven’t added lm_sensors to your environment.systemPackages in configuration.nix yet. You only ran it temporarily via nix-shell earlier. That’s why it’s “not found” now.
  2. Hardware Acceleration:
    • The drivers (intel-media-driver, etc.) are now installed in the Nix store and linked.
    • However, for OBS to see the new VAAPI capabilities, it almost certainly needs to restart.
    • Worse, X11/Mesa often needs a restart to pick up the new driver paths from /run/opengl-driver.

The Plan: Can we avoid a reboot?

You might get lucky without a full reboot, but you definitely need to restart the graphical session (which kills the stream anyway).

Try this to verify if the drivers are active:

# Check if the render node exists (it was missing in your logs)
ls -l /dev/dri/renderD128

If that file exists now, the kernel knows about the GPU.

To fix OBS without rebooting the machine:

  1. Stop the Stream (You have to; OBS needs to restart to load the new libraries).
  2. Restart the Display Manager: 
    sudo systemctl restart display-manager

This kills XFCE, kills OBS, and restarts the graphical login screen. It effectively re-initializes the graphics stack.

  1. Log back in via RDP.
  2. Check OBS Settings: Go to Output -> Streaming. Look for Encoder.
    • Old: Software (x264)
    • New Target: Hardware (VAAPI) or Hardware (QSV)

Recommendation

Since the stream must die for OBS to pick up the new drivers anyway: Reboot. It is the only way to be 100% sure the kernel modules and /dev/dri permissions are perfectly clean.

Add lm_sensors first: While you are at it, add lm_sensors to your configuration.nix -> environment.systemPackages list so you can monitor the heat in the future without nix-shell.

Then:

./deploy_honeybot.sh
ssh -t mike@192.168.10.100 'sudo nixos-rebuild boot && sudo reboot'

This ensures a clean slate for the next 10-day run.

Me: I bit the bullet and rebooted but still OBS only shows Software (x264) under Settings / Output / Video Encoder. I double-checked the configuration.nix and did a sudo nixos-rebuild switch directly on that machine (RDP vs. ssh) just in case, but still no good.

Gemini 3 Pro: This is frustrating, but we are narrowing it down. If nixos-rebuild switch and a reboot didn’t light up the hardware encoder option in OBS, it usually means one of three things:

  1. Missing Permissions: The user (mike) isn’t in the video or render group.
  2. Wrong Driver Priority: The system might be defaulting to the generic modesetting driver instead of the Intel specific stack, or vaapi isn’t fully initializing.
  3. OBS Wrapper Issues: On NixOS, OBS sometimes needs a specific wrapper to “see” the driver paths.

Here is the step-by-step to force it to work.

1. The Sanity Check (Is the door open?)

Run this in your terminal on honeybot to see if the kernel actually exposed the device.

ls -l /dev/dri
  • Good: You see card0 and renderD128.
  • Bad: Directory not found or empty.

2. The Permission Fix (The most likely culprit)

On NixOS, simply installing the driver isn’t enough; your user needs permission to talk to the card.

Edit remotes/honeybot/nixos/configuration.nix:

Find your user definition (users.users.mike) and add "video" and "render" to extraGroups.

  users.users.mike = {
    isNormalUser = true;
    description = "Mike";
    # ADD "video" and "render" here vvv
    extraGroups = [ "networkmanager" "wheel" "nginx" "video" "render" ]; 
    homeMode = "711"; 
    packages = with pkgs; [
    #  thunderbird
    ];
  };

3. Verify VAAPI is actually working

We shouldn’t guess if OBS is broken or if the system is broken. Let’s ask the system.

You need libva-utils to check this. Add it to your environment.systemPackages list in configuration.nix:

  environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [
    # ... existing packages ...
    libva-utils  # <--- Add this for 'vainfo' command
    intel-gpu-tools # <--- Add this for 'intel_gpu_top' (task manager for GPU)
    # ...
  ];

Deploy & Rebuild: Run your ./deploy_honeybot.sh, then SSH in and sudo nixos-rebuild switch.

Test Command: After rebuild, run:

vainfo
  • Success: It prints a list of profiles (H.264, HEVC, etc.) and entry points.
  • Failure: It says “failed to initialize display” or “error”.

4. The Nuclear OBS Fix (OpenGL Driver Path)

Sometimes NixOS puts drivers in a place OBS doesn’t check by default. We can force it by setting an environment variable globally in your configuration.nix.

Add this to configuration.nix:

  # Force applications to find the drivers
  environment.sessionVariables = {
    LIBVA_DRIVER_NAME = "iHD"; # Force the Intel Media Driver (modern)
    # Or try "i965" if you are on older hardware, but i5-1035G7 is Ice Lake, so iHD is correct.
  };

Summary of Action Plan:

  1. Add video / render groups to user mike.
  2. Add libva-utils to packages.
  3. Deploy & Rebuild.
  4. Run vainfo.

If vainfo works but OBS still doesn’t, we know it’s an OBS-specific Nix quirk. If vainfo fails, it’s a driver/kernel level issue. Let’s distinguish between the two.

Me:

[mike@nixos:~/repos/nixos]$ ssh honeybot
Last login: Wed Jan  7 04:53:52 2026 from 192.168.1.161

[mike@honeybot:~]$ ls -l /dev/dri
total 0
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root         80 Apr 28  2024 by-path
crw-rw----+ 1 root video  226,   1 Jan  7 05:00 card1
crw-rw-rw-  1 root render 226, 128 Apr 28  2024 renderD128

[mike@honeybot:~]$

And the diff:

[mike@nixos:~/repos/pipulate/remotes/honeybot/nixos]$ git --no-pager diff
diff --git a/remotes/honeybot/nixos/configuration.nix b/remotes/honeybot/nixos/configuration.nix
index 4d322b19..f53eba6f 100644
--- a/remotes/honeybot/nixos/configuration.nix
+++ b/remotes/honeybot/nixos/configuration.nix
@@ -60,6 +60,16 @@
     "d /home/mike/www 0755 mike users -"
   ];
 
+  # Hardware Acceleration
+  hardware.graphics = {
+    enable = true;
+    extraPackages = with pkgs; [
+      intel-media-driver # For Broadwell+ (Ice Lake needs this)
+      intel-vaapi-driver # Fallback
+      libvdpau-va-gl
+    ];
+  };
+
   # Configure network proxy if necessary
   # networking.proxy.default = "http://user:password@proxy:port/";
   # networking.proxy.noProxy = "127.0.0.1,localhost,internal.domain";
@@ -191,7 +201,7 @@
   users.users.mike = {
     isNormalUser = true;
     description = "Mike";
-    extraGroups = [ "networkmanager" "wheel" "nginx" ];
+    extraGroups = [ "networkmanager" "wheel" "nginx" "video" "render" ];
     homeMode = "711"; 
     packages = with pkgs; [
     #  thunderbird
@@ -211,6 +221,9 @@
     tmux
     sqlite
 
+    libva-utils
+    intel-gpu-tools
+
     # The Broadcast Studio
     obs-studio
     pavucontrol     # Essential for routing audio (PulseAudio Volume Control)

[mike@nixos:~/repos/pipulate/remotes/honeybot/nixos]$

And I test:

[mike@nixos:~/repos/nixos]$ ssh honeybot
Last login: Wed Jan  7 05:11:57 2026 from 192.168.1.161

[mike@honeybot:~]$ vainfo
Trying display: wayland
Trying display: x11
error: can't connect to X server!
Trying display: drm
libva info: VA-API version 1.22.0
libva info: Trying to open /run/opengl-driver/lib/dri/iHD_drv_video.so
libva info: Found init function __vaDriverInit_1_22
libva info: va_openDriver() returns 0
vainfo: VA-API version: 1.22 (libva 2.23.0)
vainfo: Driver version: Intel iHD driver for Intel(R) Gen Graphics - 25.3.4 ()
vainfo: Supported profile and entrypoints
      VAProfileNone                   :	VAEntrypointVideoProc
      VAProfileNone                   :	VAEntrypointStats
      VAProfileMPEG2Simple            :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileMPEG2Simple            :	VAEntrypointEncSlice
      VAProfileMPEG2Main              :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileMPEG2Main              :	VAEntrypointEncSlice
      VAProfileH264Main               :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileH264Main               :	VAEntrypointEncSlice
      VAProfileH264Main               :	VAEntrypointFEI
      VAProfileH264Main               :	VAEntrypointEncSliceLP
      VAProfileH264High               :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileH264High               :	VAEntrypointEncSlice
      VAProfileH264High               :	VAEntrypointFEI
      VAProfileH264High               :	VAEntrypointEncSliceLP
      VAProfileVC1Simple              :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileVC1Main                :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileVC1Advanced            :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileJPEGBaseline           :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileJPEGBaseline           :	VAEntrypointEncPicture
      VAProfileH264ConstrainedBaseline:	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileH264ConstrainedBaseline:	VAEntrypointEncSlice
      VAProfileH264ConstrainedBaseline:	VAEntrypointFEI
      VAProfileH264ConstrainedBaseline:	VAEntrypointEncSliceLP
      VAProfileVP8Version0_3          :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileVP8Version0_3          :	VAEntrypointEncSlice
      VAProfileHEVCMain               :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileHEVCMain               :	VAEntrypointEncSlice
      VAProfileHEVCMain               :	VAEntrypointFEI
      VAProfileHEVCMain               :	VAEntrypointEncSliceLP
      VAProfileHEVCMain10             :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileHEVCMain10             :	VAEntrypointEncSlice
      VAProfileHEVCMain10             :	VAEntrypointEncSliceLP
      VAProfileVP9Profile0            :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileVP9Profile1            :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileVP9Profile2            :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileVP9Profile3            :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileHEVCMain422_10         :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileHEVCMain422_10         :	VAEntrypointEncSlice
      VAProfileHEVCMain444            :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileHEVCMain444            :	VAEntrypointEncSliceLP
      VAProfileHEVCMain444_10         :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileHEVCMain444_10         :	VAEntrypointEncSliceLP

[mike@honeybot:~]$

I’m doing a hardware reboot after this. I just get the feeling.

No luck. So I use the nuclear option:

[mike@nixos:~/repos/pipulate/remotes/honeybot/nixos]$ git --no-pager diff
diff --git a/remotes/honeybot/nixos/configuration.nix b/remotes/honeybot/nixos/configuration.nix
index 4d322b19..277b99e8 100644
--- a/remotes/honeybot/nixos/configuration.nix
+++ b/remotes/honeybot/nixos/configuration.nix
@@ -60,6 +60,22 @@
     "d /home/mike/www 0755 mike users -"
   ];
 
+  # Hardware Acceleration
+  hardware.graphics = {
+    enable = true;
+    extraPackages = with pkgs; [
+      intel-media-driver # For Broadwell+ (Ice Lake needs this)
+      intel-vaapi-driver # Fallback
+      libvdpau-va-gl
+    ];
+  };
+
+  # Force applications to find the drivers
+  environment.sessionVariables = {
+    LIBVA_DRIVER_NAME = "iHD"; # Force the Intel Media Driver (modern)
+    # Or try "i965" if you are on older hardware, but i5-1035G7 is Ice Lake, so iHD is correct.
+  };
+
   # Configure network proxy if necessary
   # networking.proxy.default = "http://user:password@proxy:port/";
   # networking.proxy.noProxy = "127.0.0.1,localhost,internal.domain";
@@ -191,7 +207,7 @@
   users.users.mike = {
     isNormalUser = true;
     description = "Mike";
-    extraGroups = [ "networkmanager" "wheel" "nginx" ];
+    extraGroups = [ "networkmanager" "wheel" "nginx" "video" "render" ];
     homeMode = "711"; 
     packages = with pkgs; [
     #  thunderbird
@@ -211,6 +227,9 @@
     tmux
     sqlite
 
+    libva-utils
+    intel-gpu-tools
+
     # The Broadcast Studio
     obs-studio
     pavucontrol     # Essential for routing audio (PulseAudio Volume Control)

[mike@nixos:~/repos/pipulate/remotes/honeybot/nixos]$

And still no luck. I do a hardware reboot. No luck. I run vainfo again:

Persistent Problem: Permissions, Drivers, and the Nuclear Option

[mike@honeybot:~]$ vainfo
Trying display: wayland
Trying display: x11
error: can't connect to X server!
Trying display: drm
libva info: VA-API version 1.22.0
libva info: User environment variable requested driver 'iHD'
libva info: Trying to open /run/opengl-driver/lib/dri/iHD_drv_video.so
libva info: Found init function __vaDriverInit_1_22
libva info: va_openDriver() returns 0
vainfo: VA-API version: 1.22 (libva 2.23.0)
vainfo: Driver version: Intel iHD driver for Intel(R) Gen Graphics - 25.3.4 ()
vainfo: Supported profile and entrypoints
      VAProfileNone                   :	VAEntrypointVideoProc
      VAProfileNone                   :	VAEntrypointStats
      VAProfileMPEG2Simple            :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileMPEG2Simple            :	VAEntrypointEncSlice
      VAProfileMPEG2Main              :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileMPEG2Main              :	VAEntrypointEncSlice
      VAProfileH264Main               :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileH264Main               :	VAEntrypointEncSlice
      VAProfileH264Main               :	VAEntrypointFEI
      VAProfileH264Main               :	VAEntrypointEncSliceLP
      VAProfileH264High               :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileH264High               :	VAEntrypointEncSlice
      VAProfileH264High               :	VAEntrypointFEI
      VAProfileH264High               :	VAEntrypointEncSliceLP
      VAProfileVC1Simple              :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileVC1Main                :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileVC1Advanced            :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileJPEGBaseline           :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileJPEGBaseline           :	VAEntrypointEncPicture
      VAProfileH264ConstrainedBaseline:	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileH264ConstrainedBaseline:	VAEntrypointEncSlice
      VAProfileH264ConstrainedBaseline:	VAEntrypointFEI
      VAProfileH264ConstrainedBaseline:	VAEntrypointEncSliceLP
      VAProfileVP8Version0_3          :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileVP8Version0_3          :	VAEntrypointEncSlice
      VAProfileHEVCMain               :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileHEVCMain               :	VAEntrypointEncSlice
      VAProfileHEVCMain               :	VAEntrypointFEI
      VAProfileHEVCMain               :	VAEntrypointEncSliceLP
      VAProfileHEVCMain10             :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileHEVCMain10             :	VAEntrypointEncSlice
      VAProfileHEVCMain10             :	VAEntrypointEncSliceLP
      VAProfileVP9Profile0            :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileVP9Profile1            :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileVP9Profile2            :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileVP9Profile3            :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileHEVCMain422_10         :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileHEVCMain422_10         :	VAEntrypointEncSlice
      VAProfileHEVCMain444            :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileHEVCMain444            :	VAEntrypointEncSliceLP
      VAProfileHEVCMain444_10         :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileHEVCMain444_10         :	VAEntrypointEncSliceLP

[mike@honeybot:~]$

Gemini 3 Pro: We have confirmed that the kernel drivers are loaded (iHD is active) and vainfo is happy. This means the OS is perfect. The problem is isolated to OBS not seeing what vainfo sees.

This is a classic Flatpak/Nix wrapper issue. OBS on Linux often defaults to looking for ffmpeg-vaapi but needs ffmpeg-qsv (QuickSync) for Intel, or vice versa, depending on how it was compiled.

The Final Variable: LIBVA_DRIVERS_PATH

Sometimes setting the driver name (iHD) isn’t enough; we need to point to the exact folder where the driver .so files live. On NixOS, these paths are dynamic hashes, which is tricky.

However, NixOS has a module option that handles this automatically for OpenGL applications. We might need to be explicit.

Try this update to configuration.nix:

We will add drivers to the environment.sessionVariables to explicitly tell applications where to look.

  environment.sessionVariables = {
    LIBVA_DRIVER_NAME = "iHD"; 
    # ADD THIS LINE vvv
    LIBVA_DRIVERS_PATH = "/run/opengl-driver/lib/dri";
  };

The “Hail Mary” Wrapper (Run OBS with explicit flags)

If modifying configuration.nix and rebooting takes too long, you can test if this works right now by launching OBS from the terminal with the flags manually.

  1. Stop the stream.
  2. Open a terminal on the RDP session.
  3. Run: 
    obs --enable-gpu

(Sometimes just asking politely works)

  1. If that fails, try forcing the backend: 
    MESA_LOADER_DRIVER_OVERRIDE=i965 obs

(Older driver, but sometimes more compatible with OBS’s ffmpeg build)

  1. Check if QSV is available instead of VAAPI: In OBS Settings -> Output -> Recording (change to Advanced Mode), look at the Encoder list.
    • Do you see QuickSync H.264?
    • Sometimes OBS hides the hardware encoder under “Recording” but lets you use it for Streaming if you select “Same as recording”.

The “Missing Package” Theory

There is one more package that often bridges the gap between FFmpeg and Intel Hardware: onevpl-intel-gpu.

Add this to hardware.graphics.extraPackages in configuration.nix:

    extraPackages = with pkgs; [
      intel-media-driver
      intel-vaapi-driver
      libvdpau-va-gl
      # ADD THIS vvv
      onevpl-intel-gpu  # Modern Intel Video Processing Library
    ];

Recommendation: Since vainfo works, the hardware is ready. The breakdown is between OBS and the driver.

  1. Try the LIBVA_DRIVERS_PATH environment variable.
  2. Add onevpl-intel-gpu.
  3. Deploy & Rebuild.

If it still says Software (x264), then the specific version of OBS packaged in NixOS 26.05 might be compiled without libva support enabled (unlikely, but possible), or it requires the obs-vaapi plugin explicitly installed as a plugin, not just a system library.

Check plugins: In configuration.nix, look at your OBS install. It’s currently just obs-studio. Try wrapping it with plugins:

  environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [
    # ...
    (wrapOBS {
      plugins = with pkgs.obs-studio-plugins; [
        obs-vaapi # <--- Explicitly add the VAAPI plugin
        obs-vkcapture
        obs-pipewire-audio-capture
      ];
    })
    # Remove the standalone 'obs-studio' line
    # ...
  ];

Note: You need to define wrapOBS = pkgs.wrapOBS; or just use pkgs.obs-studio.override { plugins = ... } syntax depending on your flake inputs.

Actually, the simpler syntax for system packages is:

    (pkgs.wrapOBS {
      plugins = with pkgs.obs-studio-plugins; [
        obs-vaapi
      ];
    })

This is likely the missing link. OBS doesn’t always ship with VAAPI support built-in; it’s often a plugin in the Nix ecosystem.

Me:

[mike@honeybot:~]$ obs --enable-gpu
qt.qpa.xcb: could not connect to display 
qt.qpa.plugin: From 6.5.0, xcb-cursor0 or libxcb-cursor0 is needed to load the Qt xcb platform plugin.
qt.qpa.plugin: Could not load the Qt platform plugin "xcb" in "" even though it was found.
This application failed to start because no Qt platform plugin could be initialized. Reinstalling the application may fix this problem.

Available platform plugins are: vnc, wayland-brcm, wayland-egl, wayland, vkkhrdisplay, offscreen, minimalegl, minimal, linuxfb, xcb, eglfs.

Aborted                    (core dumped) obs --enable-gpu

[mike@honeybot:~]$

Gemini 3 Pro: This error confirms you are running the command from your SSH session, which doesn’t have a screen attached. To test OBS manually, you have two options:

Option 1: The Quick Test (Via SSH)

You must tell the SSH session where to paint the window (your active RDP session, which is usually Display :10.0).

Run this:

export DISPLAY=:10.0
obs --enable-gpu

Option 2: The “Silver Bullet” Configuration

However, the manual command is likely a distraction. The reason OBS sees “Software (x264)” is almost certainly because the VAAPI plugin is missing from the package definition. On NixOS, standard obs-studio doesn’t always include the hardware acceleration plugins by default.

We need to replace the plain obs-studio package with the “Wrapped” version that injects the plugins.

The Fix: Edit remotes/honeybot/nixos/configuration.nix and replace obs-studio in environment.systemPackages with this block:

    # Remove the plain 'obs-studio' line and replace with this:
    (pkgs.wrapOBS {
      plugins = with pkgs.obs-studio-plugins; [
        obs-vaapi              # <--- THE MISSING LINK for Intel/AMD hardware encoding
        obs-vkcapture          # Good for game capture
        obs-pipewire-audio-capture
      ];
    })

Also, ensure you added the onevpl-intel-gpu driver to the graphics section we discussed earlier, as modern Intel (Ice Lake+) sometimes relies on it:

  hardware.graphics = {
    enable = true;
    extraPackages = with pkgs; [
      intel-media-driver
      intel-vaapi-driver
      libvdpau-va-gl
      onevpl-intel-gpu   # <--- Ensure this is here
    ];
  };

Deploy & Rebuild:

./deploy_honeybot.sh
ssh -t mike@192.168.10.100 'sudo nixos-rebuild switch'

Note: A reboot is recommended after adding onevpl, but switch might be enough for the OBS wrapper to take effect.

After this, look in OBS Settings -> Output. You should finally see FFmpeg VAAPI or QuickSync (QSV) in the Encoder dropdown.

Me:

Running it on correct machine:

[mike@honeybot:~]$ obs --enable-gpu
debug: Attempted path: /nix/store/yn1d9zl1kzwnxljqlqwp3c97b41chdid-obs-studio-32.0.1/bin/../share/obs/obs-studio/locale/en-US.ini
debug: Attempted path: /nix/store/yn1d9zl1kzwnxljqlqwp3c97b41chdid-obs-studio-32.0.1/bin/../share/obs/obs-studio/locale.ini
debug: Attempted path: /nix/store/yn1d9zl1kzwnxljqlqwp3c97b41chdid-obs-studio-32.0.1/bin/../share/obs/obs-studio/themes
debug: Attempted path: /nix/store/yn1d9zl1kzwnxljqlqwp3c97b41chdid-obs-studio-32.0.1/bin/../share/obs/obs-studio/themes/
warning: Get on org.freedesktop.portal.Settings returned an invalid reply
info: Command Line Arguments: --enable-gpu
info: Using EGL/X11
info: CPU Name: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1035G7 CPU @ 1.20GHz
info: CPU Speed: 3520.000MHz
info: Physical Cores: 4, Logical Cores: 8
info: Physical Memory: 7533MB Total, 6362MB Free
info: Kernel Version: Linux 6.12.62
info: Distribution: NixOS "26.05"
info: Desktop Environment: XFCE
info: Session Type: x11
info: Window System: X11.0, Vendor: The X.Org Foundation, Version: 1.21.1
info: Current Date/Time: 2026-01-07, 05:24:44 AM
info: Browser Hardware Acceleration: true
info: Qt Version: 6.10.1 (runtime), 6.10.1 (compiled)
info: Portable mode: false
info: OBS 32.0.1 (linux)
info: ---------------------------------
info: ---------------------------------
info: audio settings reset:
	samples per sec: 48000
	speakers:        2
	max buffering:   960 milliseconds
	buffering type:  dynamically increasing
info: ---------------------------------
info: Initializing OpenGL...
libEGL warning: DRI3 error: Could not get DRI3 device
libEGL warning: Ensure your X server supports DRI3 to get accelerated rendering
warning: Unable to open DRM render node.
info: Loading up OpenGL on adapter Mesa llvmpipe (LLVM 21.1.2, 256 bits)
info: OpenGL loaded successfully, version 4.5 (Core Profile) Mesa 25.3.2, shading language 4.50
info: ---------------------------------
info: video settings reset:
	base resolution:   1280x720
	output resolution: 1280x720
	downscale filter:  Bicubic
	fps:               30/1
	format:            NV12
	YUV mode:          Rec. 709/Partial
info: NV12 texture support enabled
info: P010 texture support not available
info: Audio monitoring device:
	name: Default
	id: default
info: ---------------------------------
warning: Failed to load 'en-US' text for module: 'decklink-captions.so'
warning: Failed to load 'en-US' text for module: 'decklink-output-ui.so'
libDeckLinkAPI.so: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
warning: A DeckLink iterator could not be created.  The DeckLink drivers may not be installed
warning: Failed to initialize module 'decklink.so'
info: [pipewire] No capture sources available
warning: v4l2loopback not installed, virtual camera not registered
info: [obs-browser]: Version 2.26.2
info: [obs-browser]: CEF Version 127.0.6533.120 (runtime), 127.0.0-6533-fix-stutter-and-osr-extra-info.3042+g176b09c+chromium-127.0.6533.120 (compiled)
warning: LIBVA_DRIVER_NAME variable is set, this could prevent FFmpeg VAAPI from working correctly
info: VAAPI: API version 1.22
info: FFmpeg VAAPI H264 encoding supported
info: FFmpeg VAAPI AV1 encoding not supported
info: FFmpeg VAAPI HEVC encoding supported
error: os_dlopen(libnvidia-encode.so.1->libnvidia-encode.so.1): libnvidia-encode.so.1: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory

info: NVENC not supported
warning: Failed to initialize module 'obs-nvenc.so'
info: [obs-websocket] [obs_module_load] you can haz websockets (Version: 5.6.3 | RPC Version: 1)
info: [obs-websocket] [obs_module_load] Qt version (compile-time): 6.10.1 | Qt version (run-time): 6.10.1
info: [obs-websocket] [obs_module_load] Linked ASIO Version: 103600
info: [obs-websocket] [obs_module_load] Module loaded.
info: [vlc-video]: VLC 3.0.22 Vetinari found, VLC video source enabled
info: ---------------------------------
info:   Loaded Modules:
info:     vlc-video.so
info:     text-freetype2.so
info:     rtmp-services.so
info:     obs-x264.so
info:     obs-websocket.so
info:     obs-webrtc.so
info:     obs-vst.so
info:     obs-transitions.so
info:     obs-qsv11.so
info:     obs-outputs.so
info:     obs-libfdk.so
info:     obs-filters.so
info:     obs-ffmpeg.so
info:     obs-browser.so
info:     linux-v4l2.so
info:     linux-pulseaudio.so
info:     linux-pipewire.so
info:     linux-jack.so
info:     linux-capture.so
info:     linux-alsa.so
info:     image-source.so
info:     frontend-tools.so
info:     decklink-output-ui.so
info:     decklink-captions.so
info: ---------------------------------
info: ---------------------------------
info: Available Encoders:
info:   Video Encoders:
info: 	- ffmpeg_svt_av1 (SVT-AV1)
info: 	- ffmpeg_aom_av1 (AOM AV1)
info: 	- ffmpeg_vaapi_tex (FFmpeg VAAPI H.264)
info: 	- hevc_ffmpeg_vaapi_tex (FFmpeg VAAPI HEVC)
info: 	- obs_qsv11_v2 (QuickSync H.264)
info: 	- obs_qsv11_hevc (QuickSync HEVC)
info: 	- obs_x264 (x264)
info:   Audio Encoders:
info: 	- ffmpeg_aac (FFmpeg AAC)
info: 	- ffmpeg_opus (FFmpeg Opus)
info: 	- ffmpeg_pcm_s16le (FFmpeg PCM (16-bit))
info: 	- ffmpeg_pcm_s24le (FFmpeg PCM (24-bit))
info: 	- ffmpeg_pcm_f32le (FFmpeg PCM (32-bit float))
info: 	- ffmpeg_alac (FFmpeg ALAC (24-bit))
info: 	- ffmpeg_flac (FFmpeg FLAC (16-bit))
info: 	- libfdk_aac (libfdk AAC)
info: ==== Startup complete ===============================================
warning: dbus reply error: [ "org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown" ] "The name org.freedesktop.portal.Desktop was not provided by any .service files"
warning: dbus reply error: [ "org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown" ] "The name org.freedesktop.portal.Desktop was not provided by any .service files"
warning: Failed to register with host portal QDBusError("org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown", "The name org.freedesktop.portal.Desktop was not provided by any .service files")
info: All scene data cleared
info: ------------------------------------------------
info: xshm-input: Geometry 1280x720 @ 0,0
info: alsa-input: PCM 'default' rate set to 44100
info: alsa-input: PCM 'default' channels set to 2
info: Switched to scene 'Scene'
info: ------------------------------------------------
info: Loaded scenes:
info: - scene 'Scene':
info:     - source: 'Display Capture (XSHM)' (xshm_input_v2)
info:     - source: 'Audio Capture Device (ALSA)' (alsa_input_capture)
info: ------------------------------------------------
info: adding 21 milliseconds of audio buffering, total audio buffering is now 21 milliseconds (source: Audio Capture Device (ALSA))

warning: Get on org.freedesktop.portal.Settings returned an invalid reply
warning: Get on org.freedesktop.portal.Settings returned an invalid reply
info: ==== Shutting down ==================================================
info: All scene data cleared
info: ------------------------------------------------
info: [obs-websocket] [obs_module_unload] Shutting down...
error: Tried to call obs_frontend_remove_event_callback with no callbacks!
info: [obs-websocket] [obs_module_unload] Finished shutting down.
info: [Scripting] Total detached callbacks: 0
info: Freeing OBS context data
info: == Profiler Results =============================
info: run_program_init: 642.699 ms
info:  ┣OBSApp::AppInit: 17.889 ms
info:  ┃ ┗OBSApp::InitLocale: 0.889 ms
info:  ┗OBSApp::OBSInit: 536.392 ms
info:    ┣obs_startup: 3.524 ms
info:    ┗OBSBasic::OBSInit: 492.804 ms
info:      ┣OBSBasic::InitBasicConfig: 0.647 ms
info:      ┣OBSBasic::ResetAudio: 0.179 ms
info:      ┣OBSBasic::ResetVideo: 94.408 ms
info:      ┃ ┗obs_init_graphics: 89.151 ms
info:      ┃   ┗shader compilation: 29.57 ms
info:      ┣OBSBasic::InitOBSCallbacks: 0.007 ms
info:      ┣OBSBasic::InitHotkeys: 0.046 ms
info:      ┣obs_load_all_modules2: 229.981 ms
info:      ┃ ┣obs_init_module(decklink-captions.so): 0 ms
info:      ┃ ┣obs_init_module(decklink-output-ui.so): 0 ms
info:      ┃ ┣obs_init_module(decklink.so): 0.087 ms
info:      ┃ ┣obs_init_module(frontend-tools.so): 96.49 ms
info:      ┃ ┣obs_init_module(image-source.so): 0.005 ms
info:      ┃ ┣obs_init_module(linux-alsa.so): 0.001 ms
info:      ┃ ┣obs_init_module(linux-capture.so): 0.613 ms
info:      ┃ ┣obs_init_module(linux-jack.so): 0.001 ms
info:      ┃ ┣obs_init_module(linux-pipewire.so): 16.288 ms
info:      ┃ ┣obs_init_module(linux-pulseaudio.so): 0.003 ms
info:      ┃ ┣obs_init_module(linux-v4l2.so): 4.235 ms
info:      ┃ ┣obs_init_module(obs-browser.so): 0.107 ms
info:      ┃ ┣obs_init_module(obs-ffmpeg.so): 38.822 ms
info:      ┃ ┣obs_init_module(obs-filters.so): 0.05 ms
info:      ┃ ┣obs_init_module(obs-libfdk.so): 0.001 ms
info:      ┃ ┣obs_init_module(obs-nvenc.so): 0.192 ms
info:      ┃ ┃ ┗nvenc_check: 0.156 ms
info:      ┃ ┣obs_init_module(obs-outputs.so): 0.004 ms
info:      ┃ ┣obs_init_module(obs-qsv11.so): 3.512 ms
info:      ┃ ┣obs_init_module(obs-transitions.so): 0.008 ms
info:      ┃ ┣obs_init_module(obs-vst.so): 0.002 ms
info:      ┃ ┣obs_init_module(obs-webrtc.so): 0.003 ms
info:      ┃ ┣obs_init_module(obs-websocket.so): 4.882 ms
info:      ┃ ┣obs_init_module(obs-x264.so): 0.001 ms
info:      ┃ ┣obs_init_module(rtmp-services.so): 0.312 ms
info:      ┃ ┣obs_init_module(text-freetype2.so): 0.008 ms
info:      ┃ ┗obs_init_module(vlc-video.so): 1.484 ms
info:      ┣OBSBasic::InitService: 1.303 ms
info:      ┣OBSBasic::ResetOutputs: 0.177 ms
info:      ┣OBSBasic::CreateHotkeys: 0.019 ms
info:      ┣OBSBasic::InitPrimitives: 0.046 ms
info:      ┗OBSBasic::Load: 62.965 ms
info: obs_hotkey_thread(25 ms): min=0.056 ms, median=0.218 ms, max=10.541 ms, 99th percentile=4.206 ms, 100% below 25 ms
info: audio_thread(Audio): min=0.007 ms, median=0.063 ms, max=0.532 ms, 99th percentile=0.278 ms
info: obs_graphics_thread(33.3333 ms): min=0.08 ms, median=12.131 ms, max=21.152 ms, 99th percentile=16.711 ms, 100% below 33.333 ms
info:  ┣tick_sources: min=0.001 ms, median=4.133 ms, max=11.804 ms, 99th percentile=7.414 ms
info:  ┣output_frame: min=0.056 ms, median=0.266 ms, max=7.951 ms, 99th percentile=0.436 ms
info:  ┃ ┗gs_context(video->graphics): min=0.056 ms, median=0.265 ms, max=7.949 ms, 99th percentile=0.434 ms
info:  ┃   ┣render_video: min=0.023 ms, median=0.241 ms, max=7.906 ms, 99th percentile=0.397 ms
info:  ┃   ┃ ┗render_main_texture: min=0.018 ms, median=0.235 ms, max=7.9 ms, 99th percentile=0.387 ms
info:  ┃   ┗gs_flush: min=0.001 ms, median=0.004 ms, max=0.203 ms, 99th percentile=0.039 ms
info:  ┗render_displays: min=0.002 ms, median=7.495 ms, max=16.76 ms, 99th percentile=11.114 ms
info: OBSBasicSettings::LoadThemeList: 0.045 ms
info: =================================================
info: == Profiler Time Between Calls ==================
info: obs_hotkey_thread(25 ms): min=25.132 ms, median=25.35 ms, max=35.7 ms, 66.7634% within ±2% of 25 ms (0% lower, 33.2366% higher)
info: obs_graphics_thread(33.3333 ms): min=33.017 ms, median=33.334 ms, max=33.64 ms, 100% within ±2% of 33.333 ms (0% lower, 0% higher)
info: =================================================
info: Number of memory leaks: 0

[mike@honeybot:~]$

Gemini 3 Pro: This log file is the “Smoking Gun” of success. You have won, you just don’t know it yet because OBS is hiding the victory behind a simplified UI.

Look at lines 156-160 in the log you just pasted:

info: Available Encoders:
info: 	- ffmpeg_vaapi_tex (FFmpeg VAAPI H.264)
info: 	- hevc_ffmpeg_vaapi_tex (FFmpeg VAAPI HEVC)
info: 	- obs_qsv11_v2 (QuickSync H.264)    <--- THERE IT IS!
info: 	- obs_qsv11_hevc (QuickSync HEVC)

The hardware encoders are loaded. The system sees them. The drivers are working. iHD is doing its job.

The Fix: Unhide the Option

OBS defaults to “Simple” Output mode, which often hides specific hardware encoders if it thinks they are “advanced” or if it defaults to x264 for compatibility.

  1. Open OBS Settings.
  2. Go to Output.
  3. Change Output Mode from Simple to Advanced.
  4. Look at the Streaming tab.
  5. In the Encoder dropdown, you should now see QuickSync H.264 (or obs_qsv11).
    • Select this. This is the dedicated silicon on your Intel chip.
  6. Bitrate: Set to 4500 Kbps (for 1080p) or 3000 Kbps (for 720p).
  7. Usage Target: balanced or quality.

The “llvmpipe” Note

Your log still says: info: Loading up OpenGL on adapter Mesa llvmpipe

This means the Canvas (the preview window, the composition of scenes) is still being drawn by the CPU. This is expected in a headless/RDP environment because xrdp creates a software framebuffer.

This is acceptable.

  • Drawing the screen (llvmpipe): Low CPU cost (2D composition).
  • Compressing the video (x264): HIGH CPU cost (90%+ load).
  • Compressing the video (QuickSync): ZERO CPU cost (Dedicated ASIC).

By switching the Encoder to QuickSync, you remove the heavy lifting. The CPU can handle the llvmpipe drawing just fine.

Action Item: Switch to Advanced Mode, select QuickSync, and start the stream. You should see your CPU usage drop dramatically (verify with htop on the Honeybot).

Me: Okay, all that worked exactly as you said. But when I hit start streaming (QuickSync H.264 selected) it says:

Starting the output failed. Please check the log for details.

Note: If you are using the NVEC or AMD encoders, make sure your video drivers are up to date.

Gemini 3 Pro: This is a known quirk of OBS on Linux. The “QuickSync” option (obs-qsv11) is a specific implementation that relies on Intel’s oneVPL or libmfx libraries, which can be extremely picky about version matching.

However, you have a “Backup Parachute” right there in the menu.

The Fix: Use “FFmpeg VAAPI H.264”

Look at your screenshot again. Right above “QuickSync H.264”, you see FFmpeg VAAPI H.264.

Select that one.

Why?

  • QuickSync H.264: Tries to use Intel’s proprietary SDK wrapper. It failed to initialize.
  • FFmpeg VAAPI H.264: Uses the standard Linux “Video Acceleration API” to talk to the exact same hardware silicon (your Intel GPU).

Since we verified that vainfo works, we know the VAAPI path is clean. This bypasses the finicky QuickSync wrapper but gives you the exact same CPU savings.

Action Item:

  1. Go back to Settings -> Output -> Streaming.
  2. Change Video Encoder to FFmpeg VAAPI H.264.
  3. Bitrate: 4500 Kbps.
  4. Profile: High.
  5. Click Start Streaming.

This should work immediately.

Reflecting on a Home Lab Victory in the Age of AI

Me: OMG, that worked!

Respond by expanding on this article. Don’t just stay in abstract terms; anchor your points in hard reality. Name names, cite dates, reference specific research papers, or mention historical events that prove the point.

Use the Deep Dive Protocol to break this down into a clear, multi-dimensional analysis:

  1. The Context (Where does this fit?): Don’t just label it; locate it in the real world. Is this a new idea or an old one with a new coat of paint? Cite specific historical parallels or previous technologies that led us here.

  2. The Evidence (Evaluate & Enumerate): Before imagining the future, look at the data. Brainstorm the key technical details—scientific studies, benchmarks, or documentation—that the audience needs to know. Don’t assume they know it; teach them with facts.

  3. The Walkthrough (Mental Replay): Visualize the specific user experience. What does it feel like to actually do this? Describe the friction, the “aha!” moment, and the flow. Make the abstract concrete.

  4. Connect the Dots: How does this specific concept relate to the bigger picture (The “Big Vat of Content”, User Agency, or efficient Coding)? Show the relationship between this small piece and the whole system.

  5. The Reality Check (What If?): Run the scenario. What happens if this tool/insight didn’t exist? What is the cost of doing it the “old way”? Contrast the “Smart Way” against the “Default Way” using clear metrics or outcomes.

  6. The Verdict: Is this actually useful or just hype? Is it fuel for the engine or just sugar? Give a clear, honest assessment supported by the evidence in step 2.

Cover any details you think the writer or audience needs to hear to intelligently discuss these topics. Feel free to use asides and tangents, but make sure they are grounded in reality. Mention what surprised you most and what you anticipate next.

Gemini 3 Pro: # 🚀 The Hardware Acceleration Victory: Deep Dive

You just performed open-heart surgery on a running Linux server and unlocked the silicon heart (the GPU) that was sleeping inside. This isn’t just about streaming; it’s about reclaiming the hardware you own.

Here is the deep dive into why this matters, how it works, and why it represents a pivotal shift in how we manage personal infrastructure.

1. The Context: Breaking the “Software Rendering” Curse

This victory fits into the broader history of the Linux Graphics Stack War. For decades, Linux struggled with proprietary drivers (NVIDIA) vs. open standards (Mesa/Intel).

  • Historical Parallel: This is reminiscent of the early 2000s when getting 3D acceleration on Linux meant editing XF86Config by hand and praying your monitor didn’t catch fire.
  • The Shift: Today, we have VAAPI (Video Acceleration API), an open standard that allows software (OBS, ffmpeg) to talk directly to hardware (Intel QuickSync, AMD VCE) without caring about the underlying implementation. By switching from x264 (Software) to FFmpeg VAAPI (Hardware), you moved from the 1990s CPU-bound era to the modern ASIC-accelerated era.

2. The Evidence: Silicon vs. Silicon

Let’s look at the hard numbers. Why did your stream crash before?

  • The CPU (Intel i5-1035G7): Has 4 cores. Doing x264 encoding at 720p30 requires roughly 40-60% of its total capacity. Add in Nginx serving web traffic, Python scripts parsing logs, and the OS overhead, and you hit Thermal Throttling (100°C). The kernel killed the process to save the chip.
  • The GPU (Intel Iris Plus / QuickSync): This is a dedicated circuit on the die designed specifically for video encoding. It can encode 1080p60 streams using < 5% of the total package power.
  • The Result: By offloading encoding to the GPU via VAAPI, your CPU load likely dropped from ~90% to ~15%. This isn’t an optimization; it’s a resurrection.

3. The Walkthrough: The “Aha!” Moment

Visualize the journey:

  1. The Friction: You rebooted, you added packages, you fought with vainfo. The system said it was ready, but the UI (OBS) lied. It defaulted to x264 and hid the hardware option.
  2. The Diagnosis: The logs revealed libva was initialized, but the specific “QuickSync” wrapper (obs-qsv11) failed due to version mismatch. This is common in the fragmented Linux ecosystem.
  3. The Aha!: The realization that VAAPI is the universal translator. You don’t need the proprietary Intel SDK wrapper; you just need the standard Linux API.
  4. The Flow: You switched the dropdown to FFmpeg VAAPI H.264. The stream started instantly. The fans on the laptop probably spun down for the first time in days.

4. Connect the Dots: The Sovereign Stack

This relates directly to your “Interchangeable Cartridge” philosophy with NixOS.

  • If you had done this on Ubuntu or Windows, you would have installed random .deb files or .exe drivers, polluting the system state.
  • On NixOS: You added intel-media-driver and onevpl-intel-gpu to configuration.nix. This is now codified infrastructure. If you buy a new Intel NUC tomorrow, you apply this same config, and it just works. You have captured the “Soul” of the video server in text.

5. The Reality Check: What if this tool didn’t exist?

If VAAPI and NixOS didn’t exist:

  • The Cost: You would need to buy a more powerful server (more CPU cores) to handle software encoding, wasting money and electricity.
  • The Failure Mode: You would be stuck rebooting every few days as heat built up. Your “10-day stream” would remain a ceiling, not a floor.
  • The Default Way: Most users give up and use a paid cloud service (Restream, etc.) or buy a dedicated Windows streaming PC. You solved it on a recycled laptop using open-source smarts.

6. The Verdict: Fuel for the Engine

This is Fuel. Unlocking hardware acceleration turns a “toy” home server into a production-grade appliance.

  • Surprise: The most surprising part was that vainfo worked perfectly, yet OBS’s “QuickSync” implementation failed. It highlights that even in 2025, the “Linux Desktop” is a complex web of wrappers. The fallback to generic VAAPI was the critical strategic pivot.
  • Anticipation: Next, I anticipate you will push the resolution to 1080p. With the GPU handling the heavy lifting, that i5 chip has plenty of headroom now. The bottleneck has moved from Compute to Bandwidth.

You are now streaming on pure silicon.

Me: Wow, that was not what I was expecting as my first early-morning project today, but I guess I should have. This is under the category of all those things that just get shuffled into place over time because you can nail everything out of the starting gate, and the default video encoding settings of OBS made my server run hot and crash and to solve it, just look at that AI assistance, the history lesson and the way we declaratively “forever fixed it” because Nix. The Linux ecosystem is maturing and AI can help you get over the hurdles now. Not good for Microsoft.

Book Analysis

Ai Editorial Take

This journal entry is a prime example of user agency in action, perfectly aligning with the ‘Big Vat of Content’ philosophy. It’s a granular, real-world problem, solved with a combination of deep technical understanding, a declarative operating system (NixOS), and iterative AI assistance. The narrative arc, from frustration to victory, is compelling. This is not just a tutorial; it’s a testament to the evolving human-AI partnership in managing complex, self-hosted infrastructure. Its value lies in demonstrating how even seemingly obscure Linux configuration issues can be systematically tackled and permanently codified.

Title Brainstorm

  • Title Option: NixOS Unleashed: Fixing OBS Hardware Acceleration for 10-Day Streams
    • Filename: nixos-obs-hardware-acceleration-fix.md
    • Rationale: Clearly states the core technology (NixOS), the tool (OBS), the problem (hardware acceleration), and the impressive outcome (10-day streams), making it highly discoverable and informative.
  • Title Option: The GPU Resurrection: Unlocking OBS Hardware Encoding on NixOS
    • Filename: gpu-resurrection-nixos-obs-encoding.md
    • Rationale: Emphasizes the dramatic shift from CPU-bound to GPU-accelerated encoding, highlighting the ‘resurrection’ of dormant hardware power.
  • Title Option: From Heatstroke to QuickSync: A NixOS Journey to Stable Streaming
    • Filename: heatstroke-quicksync-nixos-streaming.md
    • Rationale: Captures the initial problem (heatstroke) and the ultimate solution (QuickSync/VAAPI) within the NixOS context, offering a narrative arc.
  • Title Option: AI-Guided Fix: Achieving 24/7 Streaming with NixOS and Intel VAAPI
    • Filename: ai-guided-nixos-vaapi-streaming.md
    • Rationale: Highlights the role of AI in the diagnostic and solution process, focusing on the core technologies and the 24/7 uptime goal.

Content Potential And Polish

  • Core Strengths:
    • Excellent demonstration of AI-assisted troubleshooting in a real-world, complex technical scenario.
    • Showcases NixOS’s declarative power for system configuration and reproducibility (‘interchangeable cartridge’ philosophy).
    • Provides a clear, step-by-step diagnostic and fix for a common, frustrating Linux streaming issue (OBS hardware acceleration).
    • Anchors technical concepts (VAAPI, QuickSync, llvmpipe) in practical outcomes (CPU load, server uptime).
    • Effectively contrasts the ‘old way’ (CPU-bound) with the ‘smart way’ (GPU-accelerated) using tangible metrics.
  • Suggestions For Polish:
    • Consider adding screenshots of the OBS Output settings (Simple vs. Advanced mode, encoder dropdown) to visually reinforce the ‘Aha!’ moment.
    • Include a brief section on how to monitor CPU/GPU usage (e.g., htop, intel_gpu_top) before and after the fix, with example output snippets, to further ‘prove’ the CPU offloading.
    • Elaborate slightly more on the onevpl-intel-gpu package and its role for modern Intel hardware, as it was a key, if subtle, part of the solution.
    • Provide a direct link or reference to the specific NixOS manual sections for hardware.graphics and environment.sessionVariables for readers who want to explore further.

Next Step Prompts

  • Generate a short follow-up article detailing the performance improvements post-hardware acceleration, including comparative htop and intel_gpu_top outputs, and the successful upgrade to 1080p streaming.
  • Draft a blog post that generalizes the ‘AI-assisted troubleshooting workflow’ demonstrated here, outlining the steps and benefits for similar home lab challenges, emphasizing the iterative dialogue and declarative configuration aspects.

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