How To Record Or Stream Your Computer Screen Using OBS Studio

Download OBS Studio

To get started, you’ll want to download OBS Studio for Windows, macOS, or Linux. We’ll use the Windows version for this tutorial, but it’s similar on all platforms.

OBS Studio is truly free, so you don’t have to pay for any features. It’s also open-source software, meaning anyone can take a look at the code and improve it.

Step through the standard installer. Once it completes, OBS Studio will offer to walk you through an auto-configuration wizard. You can do this if you like; we’ll review related settings below.

The OBS Studio Interface

The main OBS Studio interface allows you to set up everything you need to start streaming or recording. At the bottom of the screen, you’ll see several control elements.

Scenes

A Scene in OBS Studio allows you to collect and arrange certain Source elements in a specific way. You can have multiple scenes and switch between them at will.

This will make a bit more sense as we move on. For now, you can click the Plus button to create a new scene. Call it Default or something similar (you can change it later).

After you’ve added some elements, you can click on them in the preview to adjust as you wish. Click the Eye icon to hide an element, or the Lock to prevent accidental movement.

Sources

Sources are the video and audio inputs that you feed into OBS Studio. Click the Plus button to add a new one, and you’ll see several categories. Some of the most important ones include:

1. Audio Input Capture: Record sound from a microphone or similar. 
2. Audio Output Capture: Capture the sound coming out of your computer, so your recording/stream includes a game or desktop audio.
3. Display Capture: Allows you to capture an entire monitor, no matter what’s showing on it.
4. Game Capture: Choose a specific game to record.
5. Image: Display a static image.
6. Video Capture Device: Records footage from a webcam or similar. 
7. Window Capture: Record a specific program window. Like Game Capture, but works for any program
   
   

Once you select an option, you can choose to Create new or Add Existing. Since you just started, you’ll need to add a new item that you can reuse later. After you click OK, OBS Studio displays options depending on the source you chose.

Mixer

Once you’ve added all your sources, the Mixer tab lets you adjust the volume balance between them. The bars move in real-time to reflect levels. Drag the slider to adjust the mix, or click the speaker icon to mute a source.

Play around with these ahead of time, as different sources can have vastly different volume levels. You wouldn’t want to complete a recording only to find out that the game audio overpowers your mic.

Scene Transitions

This simple section allows you to choose what happens when you swap between scenes. Choose between Fade and Cut in the dropdown, or hit Plus to pick another option. You can choose how long the transition lasts using the Duration box. 

Controls

Here, the Start Streaming and Start Recording buttons will let you start capturing with OBS Studio. You can see the current FPS and CPU usage below. 

It also lets you enable Studio Mode for making changes to scenes on the fly, plus access to the many Settings of OBS Studio.

How to Record Your Screen With OBS Studio

To begin screen recording, all you have to do is click Start Recording on the main OBS Studio page. The software will immediately start recording based on the current Scene. You can swap Scenes at any time, so make sure you’ve set them up beforehand.

When you click Stop Recording, OBS Studio will save your file to the directory you specified in Settings. As mentioned earlier, we recommend performing a short test recording first to make sure everything looks and sounds acceptable.

How to Stream Using OBS Studio

To stream with OBS Studio, you’ll first need to authorize OBS Studio with your streaming account. Do this by opening Settings and switching to the Stream tab. Under Service, choose your preferred service. You’ll find Twitch, YouTube Gaming, Mixer, and more.

For YouTube Gaming, open the Live Streaming > Stream now tab in YouTube’s Creator Studio. At the bottom of the page in the Encoder Setup section, reveal and copy your Stream name/key.

Warning: Never give this stream key to anyone or show it on a stream! Anyone with access to this can stream to your account. If you accidentally share it, click Reset to generate a new one.