OBS Studio provides real-time capture, encoding, and broadcasting for YouTube, Twitch, Instagram, and many other providers. High performance real time video/audio capturing and mixing. Create scenes made up of multiple sources including window captures, images, text, browser windows, webcams, capture cards, and more.

Is OBS Studio the best option for streaming and adding alerts?

OBS Studio is widely regarded as the top choice because it delivers superior performance, minimal system overhead, and extensive plugin support. Alerts and overlays are easily added using browser sources from services like StreamElements or Streamer.bot. Some report a streamlined OBS setup with light CPU usage and full control over customizations.

What plugins do experienced users find essential?

Streamers recommend plugins such as OBS Scene Nesting for managing reusable elements across multiple scenes and Timestamp for clipping video. Scene nesting allows you to centralize overlays and audio setups, making changes propagate across all scenes automatically.

Does switching from Streamlabs OBS improve performance?

Many users who switched from Streamlabs OBS to OBS Studio noticed fewer dropped frames and better resource management. OBS uses less CPU, providing a more stable environment for streaming and gaming simultaneously.

Why is my desktop audio not capturing?

This issue usually occurs due to misconfigured audio devices or forgetting to enable desktop audio in the Global Audio settings. To fix it, set your desktop audio device properly, ensure it's not disabled in mixer settings, and verify levels move during playback .

Is OBS Studio free for commercial use?

OBS Studio is open source software and free for anyone to use it. OBS can be used commercially without restrictions, it won't add watermarks and has no limitations. You can use OBS Studio for professional streaming, recording paid content, corporate webinars, etc.

Is OBS good for recording videos?

Yes, OBS Studio is excellent for recording videos. It offers high-quality output, customizable settings, and supports multiple sources like webcams, screens, and microphones. Many creators use it for tutorials, gameplay, and presentations.

Can you edit videos in OBS Studio?

No, OBS Studio does not support video editing. It is designed for live streaming and recording, not post-production. For editing, you'll need separate software like DaVinci Resolve, Shotcut or VSDC Video Editor, which are great free options.

What are OBS Studio basic system requirements?

  • Operating System: Windows 10 or later, macOS 11+, or a modern Linux distro
  • CPU: Intel i5 2000-series / AMD FX series or better
  • RAM: At least 4 GB (8 GB recommended)
  • GPU: DirectX 10.1 compatible GPU or better

For smooth recording or streaming, especially at 1080p, a stronger CPU and GPU are recommended.

Features

  • High performance real time video/audio capturing and mixing, with unlimited scenes you can switch between seamlessly via custom transitions.
  • Live streaming to Twitch, YouTube, Periscope, GoodGame, DailyMotion, Hitbox, VK and any other RTMP server
  • Filters for video sources such as image masking, color correction, chroma/color keying, and more.
  • x264, H.264 and AAC for your live streams and video recordings
  • Intel Quick Sync Video (QSV) and NVIDIA NVENC support
  • Intuitive audio mixer with per-source filters such as noise gate, noise suppression, and gain. Take full control with VST plugin support.
  • GPU-based game capture for high performance game streaming
  • Unlimited number of scenes and sources
  • Number of different and customizable transitions for when you switch between scenes
  • Hotkeys for almost any action such as start or stop your stream or recording, push-to-talk, fast mute of any audio source, show or hide any video source, switch between scenes,and much more
  • Live preview of any changes on your scenes and sources using Studio Mode before pushing them to your stream where your viewers will see those changes
  • DirectShow capture device support (webcams, capture cards, etc)
  • Powerful and easy to use configuration options. Add new Sources, duplicate existing ones, and adjust their properties effortlessly.
  • Streamlined Settings panel for quickly configuring your broadcasts and recordings. Switch between different profiles with ease.
  • Light and dark themes available to fit your environment.
  • ...and many other features. For free. At all.

What's New

31.1.1 Hotfix Changes

  • Fixed a crash when using YouTube browser docks [Warchamp7]
  • Fixed an issue causing RTMPS streams to fail in some cases [RytoEX]
  • Fixed an issue causing Media Sources ingesting SRT streams to fail in some cases [RytoEX]
  • Fixed an issue causing Browser Source hardware acceleration to fail on Linux [reitowo/tytan652]

31.1 New Features

  • Added support for Windows on Arm (WoA) [thirumalai-qcom/PatTheMav/RytoEX]
  • Builds for WoA are not fully featured and should be considered experimental
  • For more information, see: https://obsproject.com/kb/windows-on-arm
  • Added new UI appearance options, font size and density (padding/spacing) [Warchamp7]
  • Added preview zoom controls [cg2121/Warchamp7]
  • Added support for Multitrack Video to macOS (Apple Silicon) [dsaedtler]
  • Added support for Multitrack Video to Linux [lexano-ivs]
  • Added support for additional canvases for Multitrack Video output [dsaedtler]
  • Added AV1 B-frame support for AMF [rhutsAMD]
  • Added support for color format/space/range GPU conversion [dsaedtler]
  • Added support for network optimizations and TCP Pacing to Multitrack Video [lexano-ivs]
  • Added support for Stream Delay to Multitrack Video [lexano-ivs]
  • Added Spatial AQ option for VideoToolbox encoders on macOS 15+ [dsaedtler]
  • Added QVBR rate control for VA-API [nowrep]
  • Added explicit sync support for PipeWire Screen Capture [dkorkmazturk]
  • Added support for V4L2 virtual camera on non-Linux environments (e.g., BSD) [yurivict]
  • Added support for hardware accelerated browser source to Linux [tytan652]
  • The feature is disabled on NVIDIA GPUs due to feature-support inconsistencies across model series and driver series

31.1 Changes

  • Updated game capture hook signatures on Windows [derrod]
  • This update fixes game capture with games from Riot Games that use Vanguard
  • Added logging for streaming service recommended settings [prgmitchell]
  • Adjusted appearance of Scene Collection importer [Warchamp7]
  • Adjusted appearance of Sources list [Warchamp7]
  • Adjusted appearance of dock toolbars [Warchamp7]
  • Adjusted Missing Files dialog [Warchamp7]
  • Added support for recursive directory searches up to two levels deep
  • Adjusted the size, layout, and other UI aspects of the dialog
  • Fixed a bug when locating only a single file that caused the additional files prompt to appear twice
  • Reorganized Preview/Source context menu [Warchamp7]
  • Unified appearance of menus [Warchamp7]
  • Improved preview draw performance [Lain-B]
  • Increased maximum crash report size to 200 KB [WizardCM]
  • Adjusted Multitrack Video reconnection behavior [dsaedtler]
  • Changed hotkeys on macOS to require Input Monitoring permission instead of Accessibility [gxalpha]
  • Updated Video Capture Devices and Capture Card Devices on macOS to a unified list-based format selector when not using a preset [jcm93/PatTheMav/Warchamp7]
  • Removed the Exit button from the Controls dock [Warchamp7]

31.1 Bug Fixes

  • Fixed a crash with Media Sources with no video frame size, such as audio files [RytoEX/jeiea]
  • Fixed a crash on Windows with Display Capture if no display is available [RytoEX]
  • Fixed a crash on Windows with Vulkan Direct Display if OBS Studio is installed [mbechard]
  • Fixed a crash on Windows when importing a profile with a Unicode path [PatTheMav]
  • Fixed a crash on macOS 13 or older when a Browser Source or Browser Dock was added or loaded [jcm93/PatTheMav/RytoEX]
  • Fixed a race condition that caused subsequent recordings to fail/hang after an encoder timeout [derrod]
  • Fixed a freeze if an item was cropped further than its original dimensions [Lain-B]
  • Fixed a possible crash in Multitrack Video output [lexano-ivs]
  • Fixed a possible crash when reordering scene items [zavitax]
  • Fixed a possible crash when adding a procedure handler [norihiro]
  • Fixed a possible crash on shutdown from browser panels on Windows and macOS [WizardCM]
  • Fixed a possible race condition when loading sources [Lain-B]
  • Fixed a possible deadlock on Linux when checking if plugins were built against Qt5 [norihiro]
  • Fixed an issue with Rescale Output allowing invalid resolutions [flaeri]
  • Fixed an issue with browser source audio distortion on Windows [xtfo]
  • Fixed a possible packet loss issue with WebRTC output [Sean-Der]
  • Fixed R10L format output having bad RGB values [jpark37]
  • Fixed lookahead depth value logging for NVENC [DeeDeeG]
  • Fixed manifest commit hash comparison in updater [dsaedtler]
  • Fixed CBR spike when using QSV with Intel Battlemage GPUs [thyintel]
  • Fixed encoder throughput checks in AMF for older AMD drivers [rhutsAMD]
  • Fixed 10-bit and 16-bit PipeWire captures [PancakeTAS]
  • Fixed text input field in name dialogs (New/Rename/Duplicate) not being focused by default [Warchamp7]
  • Fixed some buttons not being readable by VoiceOver on macOS [gxalpha]
  • Fixed V4L2 virtual camera start failure on Linux [stephematician]
  • Fixed an issue with AMF where the encoder level was incorrectly set too high [lexano-ivs]
  • Fixed an issue with VA-API on AMD in Flatpak builds where the frame height was set incorrectly [lexano-ivs]
  • Fixed an issue where the game capture hook could incorrectly report that it was still hooked [EZ64cool]
  • Fixed an issue on Linux and macOS where POSIX pipes could fail silently [franga2000]
  • Fixed an issue with V4L2 devices where corrupted frames would terminate capture [JiangXsong]
  • Fixed an issue where settings could become corrupted when updating them in the AJA plugin [norihiro]
  • Fixed an issue with Multitrack Video where a stream would disconnect after 48 hours and fail to reconnect [dsaedtler]
  • Fixed an issue on Linux where hotkeys could stop working [norihiro]
  • Fixed an issue where FLV/RTMP timestamps were incorrect when b-frames are used [dsaedtler]
  • Fixed an issue where obs-browser cookie folder names could start with spaces [RytoEX]
  • Fixed an issue where browser error pages could not scroll [WizardCM]
  • Fixed an issue on macOS where menu items would launch unintended actions when OBS was set to certain languages [gxalpha]