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A guide to capturing your screen with OBS
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This wikiHow article teaches you how to use OBS Studio to record your screen in Windows or macOS.
Things You Should Know
- Click + under “Sources" in OBS and then select Display Capture .
- Click OK within the display preview that pops up. This preview should show your desktop.
- Click Start Recording and then click Stop Recording when you are satisfied with your capture.
Steps
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Open OBS Studio on your PC or Mac. It’s in the All Apps area of the Start menu on Windows, and the Applications folder on macOS.
- If you want to record yourself playing a game, see this method .
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Click + under “Sources.” It’s near the bottom-left corner of OBS. A list of sources will appear.Advertisement
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Click Display Capture . This opens the “Create/Select Source” window.
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Click OK . This opens a window that displays a preview of your desktop.
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Select the display you want to record. If you only have one video card or monitor, there’s no need to make any changes. To record a different display, select it from the “Display” drop-down menu now.
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Click OK . This brings you back to the main OBS Studio screen.
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Adjust the volume as needed. You’ll see two sliders in the “Mixer” tab at the bottom of OBS.
- Desktop audio: This controls the sounds coming from your computer (apps and music) during the recording.
- Mic/Aux: This controls the microphone or an external input. If you’re using a mic to speak over your recording, make sure this slider is up. If not, just move the slider all the way to the left.
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Click Start Recording . It’s near the bottom-right corner of OBS. The recording will begin immediately.
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Click Stop Recording when you’re finished. It may be level to or right below “Start Recording.”
- The video file is saved in your Videos folder. To access this folder, press ⊞ Win + E to open the File Explorer, then click your Videos folder in the left column.
- To change the default saving location, click Settings at the bottom-right corner of OBS, click Browse… next to “Recording Path,” then select a different folder.
- You may then have to click on the Output tab on the left column.
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Open the game you want to record. OBS Studio can record you playing any DirectX or OpenGL video game. [1] X Research source
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Open OBS Studio on your PC or Mac. It’s in the All Apps area of the Start menu on Windows, and the Applications folder on macOS.
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Click + under “Sources.” It’s near the bottom-left corner of OBS. A list of sources will appear.
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Click Game Capture . This opens the “Create/Select Source” window.
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Click OK .
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Select a capture mode. The default option, Capture any full screen application , will automatically detect your game as long as you play it in full-screen mode. [2] X Research source
- If you keep the default, know that switching away from the full-screen game (such as when you press Alt + Tab ↹ ) will black out the screen until you re-open it.
- To capture only the video game, click the “Mode” menu, select capture specific window , then select your game.
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Click OK . This brings you back to the main OBS Studio screen.
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Adjust the volume as needed. You’ll see two sliders in the “Mixer” tab at the bottom of OBS.
- Desktop audio: This controls the volume of the sound coming from the game, as well as any other open apps.
- Mic/Aux: This controls the microphone or an external input. If you’re using a mic to speak over your recording, make sure this slider is up. If not, just move the slider all the way to the left.
-
Click Start Recording . It’s near the bottom-right corner of OBS. The recording will begin immediately.
-
Click Stop Recording when you’re finished. It’s level to or right below “Start Recording.”
- The video file is saved in your Videos folder. To access this folder, press ⊞ Win + E to open the File Explorer, then click your Videos folder in the left column.
- To change the default saving location, click Settings at the bottom-right corner of OBS, click Browse… next to “Recording Path,” then select a different folder.
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Community Q&A
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QuestionHow do I open the file?Community AnswerIt should come as an .exe or a .dmg, which means that clicking on it should launch it without the help of any external programs.
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QuestionWhat do I do if I can't open the video I recorded?Community AnswerIt may not be in a format supported by your video player. Try converting it to a different file type.
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QuestionHow do delete a source?Kiana BrowningCommunity AnswerRight click on the source with the mouse and select the remove option.
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