OScam config explained: readers, users and what each line does

Published August 2026

OScam's config files look intimidating until you know that only two of them matter. Here is what a reader is, what a user is, and why the group number is the thing that usually breaks.

OScam has a reputation for being complicated, and it is not really deserved. It ships with several config files, but on a normal receiver only two of them matter: oscam.server, which says where decryption comes from, and oscam.user, which says who is allowed to ask for it. Everything else is either global settings you never touch or features you are not using.

The two files, in one sentence each

A reader in oscam.server is an outbound connection, your box reaching out to a server. A user in oscam.user is an inbound permission, your box allowing something to request decryption from it. On a single receiver watching TV, you are both ends: one reader pointing at your provider, one user representing your own box.

That is the mental model people miss. They edit the reader, see CONNECTED in the log, and cannot understand why nothing decrypts. The reader is only half the config.

The reader block

Open the file. The path depends on your image, so try both:

nano /usr/local/etc/oscam.server
# some images use:
# nano /etc/tuxbox/config/oscam.server

A reader pointing at a cccam.io line looks like this:

[reader]
label                         = cccam_io
protocol                      = cccam
device                        = server1.cccam.io,12000
user                          = <username>
password                      = <password>
group                         = 1
audisabled                    = 1

The fields worth understanding: protocol is how it talks, device is the hostname and port together separated by a comma rather than a space, and group is a number you choose. Our OScam reader generator fills this in from your credentials if you would rather not type it.

The user block

Now oscam.user, which is where most broken configs actually go wrong:

[account]
user                          = local
pwd                           = local
group                         = 1

The group here must match the group on the reader. That single number is the link between the two files. If they differ, OScam will connect to the server, list the CAIDs, look completely healthy in the log, and still decrypt nothing, because it does not consider that reader available to that user.

Reload, then check the web interface

OScam does not need a reboot. Reload it in place:

oscam -d 4096
# or restart the softcam service:
# /etc/init.d/softcam restart

Then open http://<receiver-ip>:8888. This is the part worth learning, because the web interface tells you the truth faster than any log. The reader should show CONNECTED and list CAIDs. Tune an encrypted channel and watch the ECM time: under 500ms is healthy, and a number that climbs at peak viewing time points at the server rather than your box.

When to add a second reader

Every account we issue comes with two hostnames, so add the second one as its own reader with the same credentials and the same group. OScam will use one and fall back to the other when a host is busy, which is what keeps the picture up during an outage instead of freezing. The same idea applies to any provider: if you were only given one hostname, you have no failover at all, which is one of the things worth checking before you buy.

Try it on your own box

The config above is the whole job, and it takes about ten minutes the first time. If you want to work through it with a real line rather than a placeholder, our free 3-day trial gives you credentials that work with both CCcam and OScam, and the OScam quickstart has the same steps with our exact hostnames filled in.