Who is it for?
- Useful for recording screen, camera and audio together and switching between scenes.
- Useful for people who want one free, open-source program for both recording and live streaming.
OBS Studio — Screen Recording
OBS Project
OBS Studio is a free, open-source desktop program that combines screen, window, webcam and audio sources in scenes and records or live-streams them.
Why it fits
| Good to know | Desktop |
|---|---|
| Free output | Yes |
| No account needed | — |
| No watermark | — |
| Works offline | — |
| Batch processing | — |
| Content language | — |
— Unverified conditions. Official documentation reviewed. The app itself has not been hands-on tested. Matches only documented content-language support, not interface language.
Sources and review date3
Founder feedback and correction
Editorial selection guide
Last checked:
Getting started
- Install the Windows, macOS or Linux build from the official download page; on first launch run the auto-configuration wizard and choose your recording purpose.
- Add a display capture or window capture source; add a video capture source for a webcam and check desktop audio and microphone in the audio mixer.
- Make a test recording of a few minutes, then start the real recording and play the file back to check picture and sound.
Decision points
- Consider it if you want scenes, several sources and adjustable recording rather than a simple one-button capture.
- The sources do not describe editing after recording; plan a separate video editor if you need trimming or captions.
Limits
- The scene, source and audio mixer model has to be learned on first use; the guide strongly recommends a test recording of several minutes.
- The game capture source is Windows-only; macOS needs 13.0 or newer and Windows needs 10 or 11; on Linux the official distributions are Flatpak and a PPA for Ubuntu 24.04 and newer.
- The quick-start guide does not cover recording file location and format, macOS permissions or Linux/Wayland details; check them in settings and the detailed docs.
Frequently asked questions
Is OBS Studio free?
The site describes it as free and open-source software.
Do I have to stream to record?
The guide lists start recording and start streaming as separate controls, so recording does not require streaming.