Set up StreamElements alerts in OBS Studio with this step-by-step guide. Learn how to create an AlertBox, customize your alerts, add the overlay URL to OBS, and test everything before your next stream.

Want follower, subscriber, raid, tip, and other alerts to appear in OBS? Here’s how to create a StreamElements AlertBox, connect it to OBS, and test everything before you go live.

Want OBS Studio to save your recordings somewhere else? Here’s how to change your OBS recording path, choose a dedicated folder, or save recordings directly to another drive.

Knowing how to crop a source in OBS Studio is one of those small skills that becomes surprisingly useful once you start designing more complicated stream layouts. For example, maybe you downloaded or created a stream overlay with a square or rectangular space designed for your webcam. You add your camera to OBS, try dragging the edges to make it fit, and instead of cutting away the parts you don't need, OBS keeps resizing the entire camera.

Eventually, if you stream long enough, you’re probably going to have to move OBS to another computer. Maybe you finally upgraded your streaming PC. Maybe your old computer is on its last legs. Maybe something crashed and forced the issue. Or maybe you’ve simply reached the point where your current setup isn’t keeping up with what you’re trying to do anymore. Whatever the reason, getting the new computer is the fun part. Moving everything over? Not so much.

Someone raids your stream or another creator comes into your chat, and a shoutout gives your viewers a quick way to discover that person's channel. Twitch does have its own built-in /shoutout command. In practice, though, if you've spent much time around Twitch communities, you're probably very familiar with !so. It's commonly used with chat bots and has become one of those commands that many streamers and moderators type almost automatically.

OBS isn't just another app for a streamer. Once you've spent hours building scenes, configuring audio, installing plugins, setting up alerts, adding browser sources, dialing in your encoder and finally getting everything working exactly the way you want it, the last thing you want is an update coming through and knocking something sideways. And yes, that can happen.

Once you understand how Display Capture records your monitor, how Window Capture communicates with individual applications, how Game Capture hooks directly into games, and why Application Capture exists, OBS starts making a lot more sense. Instead of trying random fixes from forum posts or Reddit threads, you can troubleshoot based on what's actually happening behind the scenes.

If you've spent any amount of time watching musicians, streamers, podcasters, or producers on YouTube or Twitch, there's a good chance you've seen a little red box sitting somewhere on their desk. That's the Focusrite Scarlett Solo 3rd Gen, and despite being one of the more affordable audio interfaces on the market, it has earned a reputation that rivals equipment costing considerably more. At its core, it's a USB audio interface designed to connect professional microphone

Twitch streaming has evolved far beyond a single horizontal layout. Viewers are now split between traditional desktop watching and mobile-first discovery, which means creators need setups that work in both directions at the same time. That’s where dual format streaming comes in. With the right OBS setup, you can broadcast a horizontal stream for traditional viewers while simultaneously pushing a vertical canvas for mobile audiences. This allows you to stay discoverable

If you've recently noticed new options like "Set Up Vertical" or "Enhanced Broadcasting" in your Creator Dashboard, you're not alone. In this guide, I'll explain what Twitch Dual Format Streaming is, why Twitch introduced it, who can use it, and whether it's worth enabling for your own channel.

OBS Studio gives creators access to a more powerful production environment, allowing them to record professional-looking vertical videos with better cameras, better audio, and far greater creative control. Whether you're creating educational content, product demonstrations, gaming clips, reaction videos, podcasts, interviews, or short-form social media content, setting up OBS for a vertical workflow can dramatically streamline your production process.

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, but the idea is simple. Search engines like Google, YouTube, Amazon, and even TikTok all work the same way. They try to match what a person is searching for with the most relevant content available. But search engines are not human. They don’t “understand” content the way we do. They rely on signals: Keywords Titles Headings Links Metadata Content structure User engagement

Maybe you're setting up a drawing stream and want your audience to see both your face and your artwork at the same time. You spend time getting the lighting just right. One camera is pointed at you, the other is positioned perfectly over your sketchbook. Everything looks ready to go. Then OBS decides it only wants to recognize one camera. I've run into this problem more times than I'd like to admit. In fact, most of the time OBS has no problem detecting a single webcam.

Once I know what kind of vibe I want, I head into Canva and start building the alerts themselves. This is one of the reasons Canva is so good for creators. Even the free version gives you a huge amount of elements you can work with if you get a little creative. You can combine animated graphics, text, particles, lighting effects, GIFs, and layered visuals to create something that looks way more advanced than people expect.

If your stream ever goes quiet for even 30 seconds, you’re already losing momentum. Not because silence is bad, but because modern viewers are trained to expect constant motion. Something happening. Something reacting. Something alive. That’s where Twitch Guru’s Random Clip Player quietly becomes one of the most underrated tools in your entire streaming setup. It turns your “dead air” moments into a looping highlight machine that keeps your stream visually active even

Adding automatic video shoutouts with Twitch Guru’s tools can significantly boost your stream’s interactivity and entertainment value. By following the steps to set up the Shoutout Player and Video & Sound Overlay Maker, you create a seamless way to highlight other streamers or your viewers with engaging clips.

Pro streamers don’t click around mid-broadcast — they use shortcuts. When you’re live, every second counts. The last thing you want is to fumble through menus, drag sources around, or try to mute something while 200 people watch you struggle. That’s how accidents happen — awkward silences, missed cues, and “Bruh, she clicked the wrong scene again” moments. OBS keyboard shortcuts (also called hotkeys) fix all of that.

Think of transitions as the bridge between moments in your stream. Whether you’re moving from gameplay to just-chatting, switching to a break scene, or highlighting an overlay, a well-designed transition ensures the flow is seamless. It’s the difference between a viewer noticing a sudden change and a viewer barely realizing the scene changed at all.

In streaming software, a stinger is a type of transition animation used when switching between scenes. It's typically a short, animated video (often with a transparent background or keyed-out color) that plays during the cut from one scene to another. Stingers look complicated, but they’re actually easy to use. In fact, this post will show you how to make a stinger transition in Canva for OBS — for free.