How to record your screen or stream with OBS Studio

By the end of this guide OBS Studio will record your screen, a game or your webcam to an ordinary MP4 file, with clean microphone sound and hotkeys to start and stop. One section covers going live on Twitch or YouTube. It's free and open source, with no watermark, no time limit, no ads and no account to create.

You need Windows 10 or 11, macOS 13 or newer, or a recent Linux; a microphone if you want to talk; and plenty of free disk space, because an hour of video can run to several gigabytes. Allow about half an hour. The steps use Windows labels, with Mac and Linux differences noted.

Install OBS Studio

The current version is 32.2.2, released in August 2026.

1. Open our OBS Studio page and follow its official download link to the Windows installer.
2. Run the downloaded file. If Windows asks whether to allow the app to make changes, click Yes.
3. Keep the default choices through the installer and let it finish.
4. Open OBS Studio from the Start menu. You should see a large, empty preview with panels around it, including Scenes, Sources, Audio Mixer and Controls. If an error about graphics appears instead, update your graphics driver (links in the next section) and try again.

Prefer the command line? winget (Windows Package Manager) installs the same official build:

winget install -e --id OBSProject.OBSStudio

Mac: download the Apple Silicon or Intel installer (Apple menu → About This Mac shows your chip) and drag the app into Applications. On first launch a Review App Permissions window lists Screen Recording, Microphone, Camera and Input Monitoring; click Request Access for each one you need. macOS may ask you to quit and reopen the app.

Linux: install the Flatpak, or on Ubuntu 24.04 and newer use the official PPA:

flatpak install flathub com.obsproject.Studio

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:obsproject/obs-studio
sudo apt update
sudo apt install obs-studio

First run: the Auto-Configuration Wizard

The wizard picks sensible settings for your hardware. You can run it again at any time, which is also the quickest way to undo settings that have gone wrong.

1. The first time OBS opens, the Auto-Configuration Wizard appears. If it doesn't, choose Tools → Auto-Configuration Wizard.
2. On Usage Information, choose Optimize just for recording, I will not be streaming, or Optimize for streaming, recording is secondary if you'll go live. Click Next.
3. On Video Settings, set Base (Canvas) Resolution to your main screen, for example Display 1 (1920x1080), and FPS to Either 60 or 30, but prefer 60 when possible. Click Next.
4. If you chose streaming, fill in Stream Information as described under "Streaming to Twitch or YouTube", then click Next.
5. The wizard tests your computer for a minute or two. When Final Results appears, click Apply Settings.

If a test fails to start the encoder, update your graphics driver with NVIDIA App, AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition or Intel Driver & Support Assistant, then run the wizard again. Since version 32.2, NVIDIA's encoder needs driver 570 or newer.

Scenes and sources

A scene is a layout, and sources are what's in it: your screen, a window, a webcam, an image. You start with one scene called Scene. Sources higher in the list are drawn on top, so a webcam goes above your screen.

To add your screen:

1. Under Sources, click +. The Add Source window opens, with source types listed on the left.
2. Click Display Capture.
3. Click Add a new Display Capture. The window closes and the source's properties open.
4. Choose your screen under Display and click OK. Your desktop appears in the preview. If it stays black, see "Black screen on a laptop" below.

Other sources you'll use often:

• Window Capture: a single program, so pop-ups and other apps stay out of shot.
• Game Capture (Windows only): the most efficient way to capture a full-screen game.
• Video Capture Device: a webcam or capture card.
• Audio Input Capture: an extra microphone.
• Application Audio Capture (BETA) (Windows): sound from just one program.

On a Mac, use macOS Screen Capture in place of Display Capture; on Linux, Screen Capture (PipeWire). To resize a source, drag the red handles at its corners, or right-click it and choose Transform → Fit to screen.

Sound: desktop audio and your microphone

The Audio Mixer shows Desktop Audio (everything your computer plays) and Mic/Aux (your microphone). Play something and speak: both meters should move.

• When you talk normally, your voice should sit high in the yellow and only just touch the red at its loudest. Game sound can sit a little lower, and music lower still, in the green.
• If a meter stays still or shows the wrong device, open Settings → Audio and choose the right ones under Desktop Audio and Mic/Auxiliary Audio.
• Click a source's speaker icon to mute it. Muting Desktop Audio keeps chat pings out of a tutorial.
• On a Mac, computer sound needs its own source: add macOS Audio Capture.

Clean up your microphone

The Noise Suppression filter removes fan hum and steady background hiss.

1. In the Audio Mixer, right-click Mic/Aux (or click its name) and choose Filters.
2. Click + below the empty filter list and choose Noise Suppression.
3. Keep the suggested name and click OK.
4. Leave Method on RNNoise (good quality, more CPU usage) and close the window. Speak again: the hiss should be gone.

It can't rescue a noisy room. Moving the microphone closer to your mouth helps more than any filter.

Recording settings that just work

Click Settings in Controls, then Output. Keep Output Mode on Simple and check these under Recording:

The hardware choices are Hardware (NVENC, H.264) for NVIDIA graphics, Hardware (AMD, H.264), Hardware (QSV, H.264) for Intel and Hardware (Apple, H.264) on a Mac. If none appears, use Software (x264). Pick H.264 over the newer HEVC and AV1 options: almost every editor, browser and phone plays it.

Next, open Video. Set Output (Scaled) Resolution to match Base (Canvas) Resolution, or to 1920x1080 if your screen is larger; a smaller output means smaller files and less strain. Set FPS to 30 for tutorials or 60 for games, then click OK.

Record, pause and find your files

1. Click Start Recording in Controls. The button changes to Stop Recording and a timer starts in the status bar at the bottom of the window.
2. To pause, click the pause button that appears beside it; click it again to carry on.
3. Click Stop Recording when you're done.
4. Choose File → Show Recordings. The folder opens with your file inside. If it's empty, check Recording Path under Settings → Output.

Recordings go to your Videos folder on Windows, Movies on a Mac and your home folder on Linux, named by date and time, such as 2026-10-14 19-05-32.mp4. Change Recording Path to a drive with plenty of space if you need to; View → Stats shows Disk space available while you record.

If OBS or your computer crashes mid-recording, a Hybrid MP4 file can still be rescued: if a program won't open it, remux it as in the tip above.

Hotkeys

There are no recording hotkeys until you set them, and in a game you'll want them.

1. Open Settings → Hotkeys.
2. Find Start Recording, click the box beside it and press a combination, such as Ctrl + Alt + R.
3. Give Stop Recording the same keys. They now work as one on/off switch.
4. Do the same for Pause Recording and Unpause Recording if you like, then click OK.
5. Switch to another window, press your keys, then switch back. The recording timer should be running; if not, another program may be using the same combination, so pick a different one.

The keypress still reaches your game, so choose a combination it doesn't use. On a Mac, hotkeys only work in the background once Input Monitoring is allowed.

Streaming to Twitch or YouTube

Check the platform's rules first. Twitch requires two-factor authentication on your account before you can stream. YouTube requires a verified channel and says you must be at least 16 to live stream.

1. Open Settings → Stream and choose a Service: Twitch or YouTube - RTMPS.
2. Click Connect Account (recommended) and sign in. OBS then fetches your stream key itself and can show your chat in a panel. Alternatively, click Use Stream Key, click Get Stream Key to open your dashboard, and paste the key into Stream Key.
3. Run an internet speed test and note your upload speed. Under Output, set Video Bitrate to about 75% of it, the official starting point: an 8 Mbps upload gives 6000 Kbps. OBS caps Twitch at 6000 Kbps. If your figure is well under 4000 Kbps, set Output (Scaled) Resolution to 1280x720; a smaller picture at a healthy bitrate looks sharper than a starved 1080p one.
4. Start a short test. On YouTube with a connected account, click Manage Broadcast, fill in Title, set Privacy to Unlisted, answer the made-for-kids question and click Create broadcast and start streaming. Twitch has no private option, so click Start Streaming and keep the test short.
5. Open View → Stats. Dropped Frames (Network) should stay at or near zero; if it climbs, see "Dropped, skipped or missed frames" below. Watch the stream on your phone, then stop it.

When the test looks right, go live the same way.

To keep a copy of every stream, tick Automatically record when streaming in Settings → General.

Common problems and fixes

Black screen on a laptop

Many laptops have two graphics chips, and OBS can only draw from one at a time.

1. Double-click Display Capture in Sources to open its properties.
2. Set Capture Method to Windows 10 (1903 and up) and click OK. Your desktop should appear.
3. Still black? Close OBS, open Windows Settings → System → Display → Graphics, click Add desktop app and choose C:\Program Files\obs-studio\bin\64bit\obs64.exe.
4. Click the new entry and set GPU preference to Power saving.
5. Reopen OBS. The preview should now show your desktop. To undo this later, set the preference back to Let Windows decide.

The official GPU Selection Guide recommends High performance instead when you use Game Capture, which is why step 2 comes first. On a Mac, a black preview usually means a missing permission: choose OBS Studio → Review App Permissions... and allow Screen Recording.

Game Capture shows nothing

• Run the game in windowed or borderless mode. In Game Capture's properties, set Mode to Capture specific window and pick the game under Window.
• Some games, such as Valorant and Genshin Impact, only work if you right-click the OBS shortcut and choose Run as administrator.
• Some games block Game Capture completely; use Window Capture instead.
• On a laptop, set both OBS and the game to High performance in the Graphics settings above.
• Close overlays such as RivaTuner, which often comes with MSI Afterburner, before starting the game.

Sound out of sync

If your webcam picture lags behind your voice, choose Edit → Advanced Audio Properties and raise Sync Offset for Mic/Aux in steps of 100 ms until your lips match. Bluetooth headsets add delay and drop to low quality while their microphone is on, so record with a wired or USB microphone.

Dropped, skipped or missed frames

Open View → Stats while recording or streaming:

• Dropped Frames (Network): your connection can't keep up. Lower Video Bitrate and use a cable rather than Wi-Fi.
• Skipped frames due to encoding lag: the encoder is overloaded. Use a hardware encoder, or lower the output resolution or FPS.
• Frames missed due to rendering lag: the graphics chip is maxed out, usually by the game. Cap the game's frame rate or turn on V-Sync, lower its graphics settings, and run OBS as administrator.

Huge files

Check Recording Quality: Indistinguishable Quality, Large File Size is big, and Lossless Quality, Tremendously Large File Size can use around 7 GB a minute. For most tutorials 1920x1080 at 30 FPS is plenty, and HandBrake can shrink finished files.

After recording

• Trim and edit: Shotcut opens the MP4 files directly and handles trimming, cutting and titles. DaVinci Resolve does far more and its free version covers most people, but it's heavier on your computer, and Blackmagic asks for your name and email before the download.
• Shrink or convert: open the recording in HandBrake, choose a preset and start the encode. It re-encodes the whole video, so it takes a while, but the result is usually much smaller and plays anywhere.
• Quick clips and GIFs: for a ten-second bug report, ShareX (Windows only) is quicker. Press Shift + Print Screen to record part of the screen as video, or Ctrl + Shift + Print Screen for a GIF, drag a box, then press the same keys again to stop.

Stuck? Choose Help → Log Files → Upload Current Log File and share the link on the Nuxtre forum: the log shows helpers your exact settings.