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 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.

Is OBS good for recording videos?

OBS Studio stands for Open Broadcaster Software, which means its main purpose is livestreaming your gaming sessions on YouTube, Twitch, Instagram, among others. However, you can record audio and video from multiple sources.

Can you edit videos in OBS Studio?

You can't edit videos on OBS Studio, for that you may need a video editor like DaVinci Resolve, Shotcut or VSDC Video Editor, which are great free options.

What are OBS Studio basic system requirements?

OBS Studio runs on Windows, macOS and Linux systems with at least 4GB of RAM.

  • Windows
    • DirectX 10.1 compatible GPU (GeForce GTX 900 Series, Radeon RX 400 Series, Intel HD Graphics 500)
    • Windows 8.1, Windows 10, or Windows 11
    • Intel i5 2500K, AMD Ryzen 1300X
    • Hardware encoders are recommended
  • macOS
    • Intel or Apple Silicon CPU
    • OpenGL 3.3-compatible GPU
    • macOS "High Sierra" (10.13) or later
  • Linux/Unix
    • OpenGL 3.3-compatible GPU
    • X window system or Wayland

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

Features

  • Added support for the AMD AV1 Encoder for the RX7000 series GPUs on Windows [AMD/Jim]
  • Added support for the Intel AV1 Encoder for Arc GPUs on Windows [Intel/Jim]
    • Note: CQP is available but not fully supported
  • Added support for the Intel HEVC Encoder on Windows [yuriy-chumak/rcdrone/Jim]
  • Added an upward compressor filter [pkv]
  • Added a 3-band equalizer filter [Jim]
  • Added support for native HEVC and ProRes encoders on macOS, including P010 and HDR [Developer-Ecosystem-Engineering/PatTheMav/gxalpha]
  • Added support for macOS Desk View [Developer-Ecosystem-Engineering]
  • Added update channels for opting into receiving beta/release-candidate builds to Windows [Rodney]
    • Work is still underway to get everything ready on the server side, updating via the built-in updater may not be available until later in the OBS 30.0 beta-testing period
  • Websockets updated to 5.1.0, which has a number of bug fixes, UI improvements, and new stream reconnect events. [tt2468]

Tweaks and Improvements

  • The Replay Buffer's memory limit is now set to 75% of installed system RAM rather than fixed to 8GB [Rodney]
  • Added media key support in Linux [kkartaltepe]
  • Various improvements to NVIDIA Video and Audio filters, including a Mask Refresh slider and support for temporal processing, which provides better quality masking [pkv]
  • Improved Display Capture screen naming & saving on Windows; indexes should now match regardless of Mode, and reconnected displays should show the correct monitor [jpark37]
    • Note: This does mean existing Display Capture sources will be blank until manually configured, to avoid showing the wrong display
  • Added support for encryption and authentication for SRT and RIST outputs [pkv]
  • Disabled ScreenCaptureKit Display & App capture on macOS 12 due to various issues; users should either update to macOS 13 or use the existing Screen Capture source [PatTheMav]
  • Removed the automatic numbering on Multiview labels [Warchamp7]
  • Added the ability to mute individual browser docks [WizardCM]
  • Added the ability to right click and 'Inspect' individual browser docks [WizardCM]
  • Changed the default Simple Output NVENC preset to P5 for better compatibility & performance [RytoEX]
  • Added support for higher refresh rates in the Video Capture Device source on Windows [WizardCM/EposVox]
  • Added the Apple VT Hardware encoder to the Auto Configuration Wizard [gxalpha]
  • Improved FFmpeg VA-API enablement by directly using Libva to check device capabilities [tytan652]
  • Various minor UX/accessibility tweaks in the UI [Warchamp7/cg2121]
  • Raised the speed at which dynamic bitrate recovers after a drop [Jim]
  • Audio should now be automatically captured for most capture card brands using the Video Capture Device source on Windows [WizardCM/EposVox]
  • Added a slide counter to the Source Toolbar when an Image Slide Show is selected [cg2121]

Bug Fixes

  • Fixed issues with async filters (such as Delay) not rendering correctly [jpark37]
  • Various performance improvements to Decklink preview output [jpark37]
  • Fixed an issue where source Projector windows wouldn't close when a source was deleted [cg2121]
  • Fixed an issue where cursors would disappear or display incorrectly on screen captures on Windows [caesay]
  • Fixed issues with CQP rate control for SVT and AOM AV1 encoders [flaeri]
  • Fixed an issue with CQP rate control for AMD HEVC and H264 [flaeri]
  • Fixed Virtual Camera not working with Webex and GoToMeeting [Jim]
  • Fixed capturing UHD/4K YUV on the AJA Kona HDMI [paulh-aja]
  • Fixed a bug where slideshow sources wouldn't remove cleared files when removing missing files [gxalpha]
  • Fixed slideshow counter on the source context toolbar showing "1/0" when empty, now shows "-/-" instead [cg2121]
  • Fixed chroma location for VAAPI [jpark37]
  • Fixed a case where macOS' VideoToolBox HEVC encoder would be parsed as AVC [jpark37]
  • Allow SRT streams to disconnect after timeout [pkv]
  • Fixed color space being incorrect for some video devices running in MJPEG video format on Windows [jpark37]
  • Fixed monitor names in the Fullscreen Projector & Multiview menus on Windows [WizardCM]