Forward: Reject RTMPS destinations with clear error message.

.augment-guidelines

@@ -896,3 +896,18 @@ documentation:
     When looking for documentation or need to update docs, check this directory for markdown
     files and documentation structure. Do not search ossrs.io or ossrs.net for documentation,
     use the local files instead.
+faq:
+  rtmps_forward:
+    question: "Why doesn't SRS support RTMPS in the forward feature? Why does SRS only support RTMPS server but not forwarding to RTMPS endpoints?"
+
+    answer: |
+      SRS doesn't support RTMPS (RTMP over SSL/TLS) in the forward feature because:
+      1. SRS SSL is designed for server-side only (accepting connections), not client-side (initiating connections)
+      2. Forward feature uses SrsSimpleRtmpClient which only supports plain RTMP protocol
+      3. Adding RTMPS client support would add significant complexity for a rare use case
+
+      Recommended solution: Use FFmpeg with SRS HTTP Hooks
+      - on_publish event: Automatically start FFmpeg to relay stream to RTMPS destination (e.g., AWS IVS)
+      - on_unpublish event: Automatically stop FFmpeg process when stream ends
+      - This provides fully automated, production-ready RTMPS relay without adding complexity to SRS core
+

trunk/src/app/srs_app_forward.cpp

@@ -75,6 +75,12 @@ srs_error_t SrsForwarder::initialize(ISrsRequest *r, string ep)
     // the ep(endpoint) to forward to
     ep_forward_ = ep;
 
+    // Check if the forward destination is RTMPS URL
+    // SRS forward only supports plain RTMP protocol, not RTMPS (RTMP over SSL/TLS)
+    if (ep_forward_.find("rtmps://") != string::npos) {
+        return srs_error_new(ERROR_NOT_SUPPORTED, "forward does not support RTMPS destination=%s", ep_forward_.c_str());
+    }
+
     // Remember the source context id.
     source_cid_ = _srs_context->get_id();
 

trunk/src/utest/srs_utest_ai14.cpp

@@ -2892,6 +2892,38 @@ VOID TEST(AppOriginHubTest, CreateBackendForwardersTypicalScenario)
     srs_freep(mock_hooks);
 }
 
+// Unit test for SrsForwarder RTMPS detection
+VOID TEST(AppForwarderTest, RejectRtmpsDestination)
+{
+    srs_error_t err;
+
+    // Create mock origin hub
+    MockLiveSourceForOriginHub *mock_source = new MockLiveSourceForOriginHub();
+    SrsUniquePtr<SrsOriginHub> hub(new SrsOriginHub());
+    hub->source_ = mock_source;
+
+    // Create forwarder
+    SrsUniquePtr<SrsForwarder> forwarder(new SrsForwarder(hub.get()));
+
+    // Create mock request
+    SrsUniquePtr<MockHlsRequest> req(new MockHlsRequest());
+
+    // Test the hostport spliting
+    std::string server;
+    int port = SRS_CONSTS_RTMP_DEFAULT_PORT;
+    srs_net_split_hostport("rtmps://fake.demo.ossrs.io:443/app", server, port);
+    EXPECT_STREQ("rtmps://fake.demo.ossrs.io:443/app", server.c_str());
+
+    // Test 1: RTMPS URL should be rejected
+    HELPER_ASSERT_FAILED(forwarder->initialize(req.get(), "rtmps://fake.demo.ossrs.io:443/app"));
+
+    // Test 2: Plain RTMP URL should be accepted
+    HELPER_EXPECT_SUCCESS(forwarder->initialize(req.get(), "127.0.0.1:1935"));
+
+    // Cleanup
+    srs_freep(mock_source);
+}
+
 VOID TEST(SrsLiveSourceTest, OnAggregateSelectionTypical)
 {
     srs_error_t err;