---
title: 'OBS For Brand New Streamers (Creating Scenes, Adding Alerts, and MORE)'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=GsJGds7SDK8'
video_id: 'GsJGds7SDK8'
date: 2026-06-14
duration_sec: 1101
---

# OBS For Brand New Streamers (Creating Scenes, Adding Alerts, and MORE)

> Source: [OBS For Brand New Streamers (Creating Scenes, Adding Alerts, and MORE)](https://youtube.com/watch?v=GsJGds7SDK8)

## Summary

This video provides a comprehensive beginner's guide to setting up OBS for streaming, covering scene creation, source management, alerts, chat integration, and audio configuration.

### Key Points

- **OBS Interface Tour** [00:48] — OBS has a display window, scenes, sources, mixer, scene transitions, and controls. Unlike Streamlabs, OBS doesn't have built-in event lists or chat.
- **Creating Scenes and Adding Sources** [02:21] — Right-click to create scenes (e.g., game scene). Use the plus sign to add sources like game capture, video capture (webcam), media source (animations), and browser source (widgets).
- **Setting Up Alerts** [03:13] — For Twitch alerts, go to Twitch dashboard, create alert box, copy browser source URL, and add as browser source in OBS. Test with 'Send Test Alert'.
- **Adding Labels via Stream Elements** [05:20] — Use Stream Elements to add labels (e.g., latest follower). Create an overlay, upload support bar graphic, add label, customize font and size, then add as browser source in OBS.
- **Adding Chat to Screen** [09:10] — In Stream Elements, create a new overlay, add chat widget, customize style (e.g., remove background), then add as browser source in OBS. Position below camera in source list.
- **Creating a Just Chatting Scene** [10:15] — Create a new scene, add webcam full screen, chat on side, and alerts. Use Studio Mode to preview transitions before broadcasting.
- **Adding Stinger Transitions** [11:52] — Add a stinger transition by selecting a video file (webm), set transition point to frame 30, and adjust as needed. Use override for different transitions per scene.
- **Audio Setup and Mixer** [14:09] — Set mixer to vertical, hide unnecessary sources. Add mic and desktop audio in settings. Adjust volume levels and use audio monitoring carefully to avoid echo.
- **Adding Docks for Chat and Events** [17:04] — Use custom browser docks to add Twitch chat and activity feed directly into OBS for easy monitoring.

### Conclusion

By following this guide, beginners can set up a complete OBS streaming environment with scenes, alerts, chat, and audio, and are encouraged to customize further using linked tutorials.

## Transcript

installing OBS can be confusing and
streaming isn't meant to be confusing it
is meant to be fun right today you'll go
from having nothing set up to having
this awesome overlay set up and
understanding how to customize and
control every single thing you want
including the dreaded audio when you
first install OBS you'll most likely
either have a blank slate or maybe
you've already played around a bit or
even installed a template overlay from a
website for this I want you to start
with a blank slate so come to the top of
OBS click this little drop down that
says scene collection and click new once
it opens name this one whatever you want
I'm going to name mine today subscribe
this will add a new blank setup if you
want to swap back go to the same process
you did but don't click on new and
instead click on the overlay in your
list don't worry everything I've done so
far hasn't deleted all your work okay
let's give you a quick tour of OBS and
yes don't worry I'll Deep dive into
everything but first you need to know
your way around in the middle you have
your display window this is what you'd
be broadcasting to Twitch if you were
live right now but right now it's blank
obviously unlike other tools such as
streamlabs or twitch Studio OBS doesn't
come with event list so you can't see
your new follows or new subscribes or a
chat window even so you can't even see
your Chatters but don't worry we'll set
both of these up later as docs and
they'll be on your left and right just
like any other tool below that we have
four boxes on the far left we have
scenes you'll set up different scenes
for different reasons for example you'll
need a scene for gaming a scene to say
you're going be right back or a scene
for just chatting to your viewers if we
had those three scenes set up and
clicked between them then we would be
transitioning more on that later in the
middle we have sources these are the
assets you have added to the scene you
have selected on the right we have the
mixer these are your audio sources that
will be transmitted out and you can
control and edit your audio from here
further to the right we also have our
scene transition controller this lets
you set up stingers and animations for
transitioning between scenes and then on
the far right you have controls this
lets you start stream start recordings
turn on Studio mode and of course open
your settings and that is really
everything you need right now for
getting set up the rest will be covered
throughout the video but I will quickly
mention if you're wanting to learn about
streaming settings in particular and how
to avoid laggy streams well there is a
playlist in the description that has a
video about fixing laggy streams and
making sure your stream settings are
crystal clear so I will show you how to
install alerts chat widgets and fix your
audio in only a few seconds but first
let's cover the basics on the left we
have scenes as I said you'll make your
scene for different purposes for example
you'll make a game scene so we right
click and name game scene now I might be
setting up a gaming scene but I'll cover
everything you need to know to build any
scene you want think of this as building
blocks in the middle we have sources
sources are again all of your media that
are in the scene you currently have
selected right now it's empty but if we
click this plus sign at the bottom we
can add sources such as game capture
which you'll need if you're trying to
capture a game in your gaming scene if
you don't have a game open it will be
blank for now but don't worry about it
and also it's important to remember that
not every game will be captured in this
some games games need window or display
capture to actually be captured so you
might have to try different options but
anything you want to add to a scene
you'll do it with this plus sign that
could be video graphics or it could be
still images or it could be any of the
dozens of widgets you'll add with
browser sources for example we also want
alerts so if someone follows while
you're live an alert plays on screen
unlike streamlabs OBS doesn't come with
alerts but with twitch alerts you can
set these up in 10 clicks or if you're
on YouTube you can use stream elements
for twitch alerts head to your Twitch
dashboard click alerts create alert box
name it click edit alerts and then in
the bottom right copy this browser
Source URL come back to OBS click the
plus click browser name it alerts and
then paste the copied URL I showed you
into the URL box click save and now if
you click send test alert you'll see you
have all the default twitch alerts set
up there's a full video in the
description on customizing these alerts
for now that's the basics let's move on
your game scene will probably also need
a webcam maybe some support bars for
your latest follower or latest
subscriber and potentially you'll also
want your chat on screen first let's
start with the webcam let's click the
plus again and click video capture
device we'll then select our webcam and
then resize it down by clicking the
corner and dragging it down now the
source list isn't a random order it's
actually layers imagine the bottom layer
is behind everything else so if I drag
my webcam below my game capture it is
hidden if you can't see a source it's
worth considering whether or not it's
placed in the right section of your list
now I want to add my support bars that
the name of my latest follower will
appear in so I would click the plus and
I can either click image if my support
bar graphic isn't animated or I can
click media Source if it is an animation
or a video file all of the graphics I
use in today's video are available for
free for download from the Discord
server Linked In the description I think
we have about 3 to four dozen fully
animated overlays in there now just for
free so you can have those if you want
my support bars are animated so I click
media Source I'll find my animated bars
file on my computer and I will add them
in here since they are animated I also
need to make sure I double click my
support bar layer so the settings open
and then I'll click Loop or else it will
stop playing after the animation
finishes any animation you want to keep
playing forever needs a loop turned on
this process is also how you can import
a frame for your webcam or really any
other graphic but first we want to add
our follower name to our support bars
the issue is OBS doesn't come with label
widgets built in making it a little bit
tricky instead you'll have to use stream
elements to add these don't worry it's
actually really simple once you do it
once so you'll head to stream
elements.com you'll log in and connect
your Twitch or YouTube account if you're
streaming there click streaming tools on
the left at your dashboard and click new
overlay set your overlays resolution to
the same size as your OBS if you don't
know what that is you can check this in
the settings video and it's the base
canvas so for us it's 1080p you're going
to click the plus and click add static
SL custom click video and then in the
top right click change video upload and
you'll upload your support support bar
file from your computer the reason we
are adding this support bar graphic
again but now on stream elements is
because it will be far easier for us to
add the label to fit the bar if we do it
all in one place rather than adding a
label to elements and then trying to
make it fit in OBS click the plus sign
again click labels follower latest
follower and you'll see it's been
dropped in here but then if you click it
you'll be able to edit what it says up
here in the top left you can change the
font you can change the size of the font
you name it you can do it here however
those actually come with custom fonts
that match the design so for example
this is the paint splatter pack so I'll
set this to blow brush so it looks a bit
like it's someone spray painting I'm
going to turn on Dynamic font size so I
can resize it onto the bar and I'll add
a little drop shadow to it now I know I
went through that a bit quick but stream
labels are simple to add and really
powerful even just opening the drop down
you can see dozens of other types of
labels and if you want in the playlist
Linked In the description I have a
stream labels tutorial that covers
everything you need in about 9 to 10
minutes this video would go on far too
long if I did a deep dive into labels
now so instead I'm showing you the
basics so you can get going and the
other video can help you become a pro
later once you've positioned your label
and you're happy with it you'll click
save you'll name it and then click this
little chain to copy the URL head back
to OBS hit the plus select the browser
source and paste this in just like you
did last time but extra step change the
width and height to match what you set
your canvas resolution and overlay
resolution so remember mine was 1080p so
I'll set this to 19 20 x 1080p for you
make sure it just simply matches your
base canvas now what if I don't like
where my bars have fallen naturally and
I want to move them all to the bottom of
the screen well I can I just click and
drag that Source all the way down and it
moves everything because I'm simply
moving the stream elements overlay I
made and imported but LJ now we're left
with two support Parts don't worry I did
that on purpose so I could show you guys
how to delete a source if you go down to
your Source list click it and click
delete but if I wanted to move my webcam
and its frame that goes around it I can
click and drag one individually to move
them but a much easier and neater way is
to select both my graphics and hit the
plus button then add a group source and
drag all the sources into one folder
named webcam I can then click the group
and move that around and it will move
everything inside it now we do hit a
snag we have about three to four support
bars on our screen and yeah you could
use these other bars for things like new
donation labels or new sub labels but if
you want to get rid of them or crop
anything inside OBS you can just
clicking on the source holding down alt
and then dragging it to resize from the
vertical or horizontal boxes personally
though I will say if we're resizing or
cropping sources that come from stream
elements first I prefer to Simply crop
and resize it there on their overlay
editor because then it loses less
quality when scaling it up inside OBS
this old drag also works with every
other source and specifically when it
comes to resizing your camera sometimes
you want a square camera inside your
game to block less of the gameplay so if
we import this Square webc cam frame
that comes optional with all of our
overlays and lay it over our webcam we
can then hold alt and we can drag the
camera source to be a square and it will
fit inside the Box nicely the last step
of our game scene let's add chat to your
screen you'll need to head back to
stream elements and follow the same
process as earlier and make a new
overlay you don't want your support bars
and chat in the same overlay once you
have your new overlay hit the plus sign
and click stream tools then click the
chat it'll add the default chat box most
likely and it doesn't look great so at
the top left of the properties you can
change the height and width to change
the size of the box but also it has some
presets of chat Styles personally I
prefer setting it to custom so I can
remove the hard background and then if
you click text settings you can change
the font add drop shadows and well
really anything you want once we're done
we'll copy the browser source and then
paste it as our new browser Source in
OBS and just like earlier we're going to
make sure that the browser Source
matches the resolution of the overlay
resolution that we set and now let's put
this chat box below our camera and our
followers type something in twitch chat
for the tests and make sure it is below
your camera in the source list so now
that it Scrolls up it'll go under your
camera nicely it just looks nice and
smooth this way congratulations you have
a game scene set up now let's go back to
our scene list and make a just chatting
scene we're going to hit the Plus on the
scene list and name it just chatting and
then hit okay and with that all our work
is gone oh my god what have we done just
kidding it isn't actually gone it's just
in another scene if you click the game
scene it will transition back to that
one we just set up now you might not
want to transition every time you select
a new scene so what do you do well you
click on Studio mode on the bottom right
and now when I click game scene it shows
me the game scene on the left and I can
click transition and it moves to the
right what is shown on the right is
being broadcasted out and what is
showing on the left is the preview of
the scene that you're looking at
transitioning to you can go ahead and
set up your just chatting scenes however
you want it is the same process as your
game scene just hit the plus and insert
the source that you're trying to add for
me I recommend adding your webcam as a
full screen or at least quite large you
can add your chat to one of the sides
and don't forget to add your alert box
as well so you can hear when people
follow in this scene you can just copy
and paste most of this from the game
scene and then resize it but if you want
chat alerts or other browser sources to
look and be different between scenes
well then you need to set up a new
overlay on elements or twitch alerts and
then add the new browser Source it's the
same process as I showed you earlier
though but you can see the difference
here my game scene my chat is small and
fits under my camera but in my just
chatting scene it's really large these
are two different resolutions and two
different sources from elements you'll
see on my chatting I decided to make my
camera full screen and put the chat
largely on the side with my alerts in
the bottom of the other corner I just
find this is a really nice default just
chatting setup and I do recommend it for
everyone once you have that let's add
some Polish to our transitions between
your scenes so let's quickly add an
animation to this transition rather than
this weird fade head head to the scene
transition section in the bottom right
click the plus change it to stinger and
now you want to find the Stinger file on
your computer remember every graphic in
today's video is downloadable in the
streams game Discord so once you find it
import your video file make sure you use
a webm for the video Stinger change this
from time to frame and then set the
transition point to 30 this is what fits
the animation I am using but you can
adjust when the transition point is
moving it further or back until it fits
yours then hit done and make sure this
drop- down menu says ER hit done and
click between your two scenes Tada
you've got a new transition this is the
global transition so that means it will
play every time you change scenes but if
you wanted you could add custom rules
for this transition if we click on just
chatting right click transition over rde
and click cut now if we click to
transition it will play the global
Stinger but if we click back it will
hard cut to the scene we just set to the
override look this gets overly
complicated fast and if you are in need
of multiple transitions for different
scenes I don't recommend using the
override I recommend a plugin called
transition table for now I prefer using
just one singer and one hard cut
depending on which scene I'm going to so
we don't over complicate it plus I also
have a video where I show off literally
50 plus free animated stingers and how
to get even more custom with your
Stingers it's in the playlist Link in
the description and they're all
downloadable again from the stream
scheme Discord now before we move on to
audio maybe you didn't want to set every
Source up by hand maybe we just want to
set up a template overlay and then use
everything I just taught you to
customize it well sadly with OBS there
is no simple way to do this you'll need
to make a series of scenes and then
install all of the sources by hand as
I've shown you the best I can offer is
the fact that we have about two dozen
three dozen fully animated overlays in
the Stream scham Discord so at the very
least you can take those and build an
overlay you love with all these modular
animations everything you've learned so
far though is the building blocks to
becoming a pro at OBS if you can do
everything I showed you then you can
build an entire overlay if you're
patient and take it one step at a time
plus if you need help with our overlays
an install guide is linked in the
playlist and we have a list of
frequently asked questions in the
Discord as well and about eight
volunteers to help out and get you set
up okay let's cover the mixer over here
on the right let's select our game scene
now on the right you'll see that your
audio sources are anything that you have
in that scene this could be media files
like animations it could be widgets
really it's just anything that's in
there it might even be your webcam we're
going to focus on just three audio
sources our desktop audio our mic ox and
our game capture these might not be on
your OBS yet don't worry they will all
be there soon first I want you to click
on the three dots on the bottom of the
mixer and click set to Vertical I find
this just makes it look neater and then
we're going to hide anything that isn't
one of those sources I just mentioned
you'll do this by clicking the three
dots under a source let's say the webcam
and then click hide in mixer box now
it's cleaned up let's add your mic and
desktop audio we'll click on the
settings in the bottom right and Below
output you'll see audio so click audio
and then I want you to click your mic Ox
one one and select your microphone in
the dropdown now these will all be named
differently but it should say your brand
of microphone or something like USB mic
be careful not to leave this as default
because it might default to say your
webcams microphone or something else
that picks up audio on your computer
which will likely sound awful in the
same area I want you to select desktop
audio and click default this will
capture all Desktop sound and anything
that plays through your default sound
output on your PC if it isn't capturing
all of that then you'll need to try a
few different options till you find one
that is there are more complex ways to
set up audio capture but I find this is
a really good place for a beginner to
start so once we've got those two things
added we'll head back to our mixer and
if we talk into the mic is being picked
up on these bars your bars for your
microphone should be hitting the top of
the yellow and a tiny bit of the red but
no higher and any audio that we can hear
on our computer is usually being picked
up by our desktop audio so if we're
playing music that is being picked up
there playing a game it should be there
as well and if we send a test alert to
our alerts they'll be here as well to
mute our microphone or Des toop audio we
click this little button here on screen
and to lower the volume you can click
and drag the actual level on your screen
as well the final step here is that
you'll want to click the Cog wheel in
the bottom and open advanced settings on
the right you'll see audio monitoring if
it says monitor off it means you can't
hear this Source out of OBS but your
viewers can if you have monitor only it
means that only you can hear it and OBS
isn't transmitting it and then Monitor
and output means that not only are you
listening to the source from OBS but you
are also outputting it now remember
though if you monitor something say your
microphone to listen back to it but your
desktop audio is also being captured
then you'll transmit that cuz you can
hear your microphone which causes a
double up so make sure you're not
monitoring your microphone at all times
now if you want to Deep dive into audio
specifically one that lets your mic
sound amazing that is also in my
playlist Linked In the description I
made a $10 USB mic from a grocery store
sound pretty damn good with absolutely
zero plugins no extra cost I'm I'm
really proud of that video but for now
that is the basic setup done and you are
ready to start streaming almost we need
to add event lists and chat to OBS so
you can actually see when someone
follows or chats easily now personally I
prefer to open my twitch dashboard or
YouTube stream Studio dashboard and just
have them here on another monitor but I
know everyone is different so we will
give you a few options instead first
head to the dock click custom browser
Doc and now you'll type in Doc name
twitch chat leave this open and head to
your Twitch dashboard and then click the
three dots on your Twitch chat and click
pop out now copy the URL of this pop out
and paste it into the URL of the doc
that we had open you'll need to log into
twitch now but once done OBS will have
that chat window as a dock that you can
move around and slide right into OBS if
you just hold it over the section here
you'll do the same process but this time
using the activity feed and drop that on
the left now you can see chat your
latest followers latest subs and you can
see what you're transmitting your scenes
your sources your audio and your
Stingers all in one place the final tip
of this video is is to remember this
guide has taught you the basic building
blocks and provided a full overlay to
build if you follow along step by step
you'll be able to build an overlay and
master OBS but that's only if you didn't
take shortcuts and tried to skip through
the video now click this video here to
fully customize those alerts we added
earlier or this video here to fully
customize your stream labels and your
support bars and I'll see you guys next
week