What OBS Studio does
OBS Studio (Open Broadcaster Software) is a free, open-source application for screen recording and live streaming, available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It is published by the OBS Project and released under the GNU General Public License, meaning anyone can use, inspect, and modify the source code at no cost. At its core, OBS Studio works with a scene-and-source model. A scene is a named layout that can combine multiple sources — desktop captures, individual application windows, webcam or external camera feeds, images, browser sources, and audio devices — into a single composited output. Scenes can be switched instantly during a recording or broadcast, making the software well-suited to presentations, tutorials, game streams, and interview setups where the on-screen layout needs to change without interrupting the feed. The built-in audio mixer handles multiple audio tracks simultaneously, with per-source filters for noise suppression, gain adjustment, and compression. Video output can be directed to a local file or sent directly to a streaming platform using standard RTMP or SRT protocols. Common recording containers include MKV and MP4, and the encoder options typically span H.264, H.265, AV1, and VP9 depending on the hardware available. OBS Studio also includes a Studio Mode that lets operators preview a scene before making it live, a virtual camera output compatible with video-conferencing software, and a replay buffer for capturing recent footage on demand. A broad plugin ecosystem extends these capabilities further — adding features such as scene transitions, source filters, and integration with stream-deck hardware or remote control applications. The installer linked from this page is the complete, standalone OBS Studio setup file drawn directly from the OBS Project's official GitHub releases page. For safety, always download OBS Studio from the official publisher or the domain shown on this page.
