Centova Cast uses Liquidsoap as the AutoDJ: the program that plays your uploaded music when nobody is broadcasting live. When Liquidsoap cannot start, the stream will not come up and Centova Cast shows:
Stream could not be started: Application liquidsoap exited immediately after startup.
A related symptom: the AutoDJ settings on the Mount Points tab cannot be changed or saved. This guide covers the common causes and their fixes, starting with the quickest.
Quick answer
- Open the account's AutoDJ log in Centova Cast and read the last lines: they usually name the problem.
- If the account has no music or an empty playlist, upload some tracks and rebuild the playlist.
- If the log is empty or the Mount Points settings will not save, re-register Liquidsoap with Centova Cast as root:
/usr/local/centovacast/sbin/enable_package LIQUIDSOAP /usr/local/centovacast/liquidsoap/bin/liquidsoap
- Keep Centova Cast updated: recent versions include several Liquidsoap fixes.
What you need: admin access to Centova Cast, and root SSH access to the server for the command-line fixes.
1. Read the AutoDJ log
Log in to the affected account, click Logs under Statistics, then AutoDJ Log at the top right. The log runs from oldest to newest, so go to the last page to see what happened most recently. Centova FAQ
2. Check that there is something to play
The most common cause is simple: the AutoDJ has nothing to play. It stops straight away if the account has no media or no valid playlist. Upload some tracks (for example MP3 files), rebuild the playlist, and start the stream again.
If the station only broadcasts live and does not need an AutoDJ, turn off the AutoDJ (server-side source) for the stream instead, then start it.
3. Re-register Liquidsoap with Centova Cast
If the log is empty, or the Mount Points tab will not save AutoDJ settings, Centova Cast may have the wrong Liquidsoap version or path on record. This can happen after an update, on a new install, or when Liquidsoap was installed by hand.
First check which Liquidsoap program Centova Cast is set to use:
grep _BIN /usr/local/centovacast/etc/cc-control.conf
Look for the LIQUIDSOAP_BIN= line. Then tell Centova Cast to detect that Liquidsoap again and update its settings. This is Centova's documented command for registering streaming software: Centova Cast manual
/usr/local/centovacast/sbin/enable_package LIQUIDSOAP /usr/local/centovacast/liquidsoap/bin/liquidsoap
Use the path from your LIQUIDSOAP_BIN= line if it is different, for example when Liquidsoap was installed manually somewhere else.
Then go back to Centova Cast. Open the stream's settings and click Update (even without changing anything) so the settings are saved again with the detected version, and restart the stream.
4. Update Centova Cast
Several Liquidsoap problems were fixed in recent releases. Version 3.3.3 (April 2026), for example, speeds up Liquidsoap startup and fixes track skipping with Liquidsoap 2.4.4. Centova Cast 3.3.3 release notes Update with:
/usr/local/centovacast/sbin/update
Centova Cast never updates itself, so a server that has not been updated by hand may be several versions behind. The update also updates the streaming software it manages, including Liquidsoap.
Still not starting?
- The port is already in use. If another program uses the stream's port, the stream cannot start. Pick a free port in the stream settings.
- File permissions. If files in the account were copied or restored by hand, wrong ownership can stop Liquidsoap from reading them. Centova's Disaster Recovery article has a section on fixing permissions.
- Reinstall Liquidsoap. As a last step, let Centova Cast reinstall it:
/usr/local/centovacast/sbin/update --add liquidsoap, then restart the stream.