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Obs Studio

Name: Obs Studio
Author: obsproject

OBS Studio - Free and open source software for live streaming and screen recording

74,633 stars9,618 forksCUpdated 8/5/2026100% free · open source

What it does

OBS Studio is a free and open source software for live streaming and screen recording, allowing users to capture and stream high-quality video and audio content

Install / run

git clone https://github.com/obsproject/obs-studio.git && cd obs-studio && cmake -G "Visual Studio 16 2019" -A x64 && cmake --build . --config Release

When to use it

•You need to record a tutorial or demo of your product for your website or social media
•You want to live stream your startup's events, conferences, or meetings
•You need to create a screencast to explain a complex concept or feature to your customers

Quick start

1Launch OBS Studio by running the command `./bin/64bit/obs.exe` (on Windows) or `./bin/obs` (on Linux/macOS)
2Create a new scene by clicking on the '+' button in the Scenes panel and naming it (e.g. 'My Stream')
3Add a video capture device by clicking on the '+' button in the Sources panel and selecting 'Video Capture Device' (e.g. your webcam)
4Configure your stream settings by clicking on 'Settings' > 'Stream' and selecting your desired stream type (e.g. 'Twitch') and settings
5Start streaming by clicking on the 'Start Streaming' button in the main OBS Studio window

Ready-to-paste prompt

To start recording a screencast, run the command `./bin/64bit/obs.exe --record --scene MyScreencast --output_file_path C:\\\Users\\\username\\\Desktop\\\screencast.mp4`

Heads up: Make sure you have the necessary dependencies installed, including the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable, and that your system meets the minimum requirements (e.g. Windows 10, macOS 10.13, or Ubuntu 18.04) to avoid issues with OBS Studio's installation and performance

Saves to your device

Topics

c-plus-plus

directshow

facebook-live

ffmpeg

game-capture

live-streaming

screen-capture

twitch-tv

video-recording

youtube-live

How Obs Studio works

Codeflow

Free to inspect

Obs Studio is a very large C project (~327k lines across 1533 code files, plus 159 test files). It is a full software project: use it through its install path rather than reading it end to end. Last commit this month, GPL-2.0 license, has a test suite.

Size

Very large codebase

~327k lines · 1533 code files · days to read — use, don't read

Setup

Developer setup

A real software project. Use it via its install path; don't expect to read it all.

Runs on

No API keys detected