OBS Studio (also Open Broadcaster Software or OBS, for short) is a free and open-source, cross-platform screencasting and live streaming software application. It is available for Windows, macOS, Linux distributions, and FreeBSD. The OBS Project raises funds on Open Collective and Patreon.
OBS Studio is a free and open-source application for screencasting and live streaming. Written in C/C++ and built with Qt, OBS Studio provides real-time capture, scene composition, recording, encoding, and broadcasting via Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), HLS, SRT, RIST or WebRTC. It can stream videos to any RTMP-supporting destination, including YouTube, Twitch, Instagram and Facebook.
For video encoding, OBS Studio can use the x264, AOM-AV1, SVT-AV1, Intel Quick Sync Video, Nvidia NVENC, AMD Video Coding Engine and VAAPI to encode video streams into the H.264/MPEG-4 AVC or H.265/HEVC formats. It can encode multiple tracks of audio in AAC and Opus format. More experienced users can choose any codecs and containers available in libavcodec and libavformat, or output the stream to a custom FFmpeg URL.
What is OBS Studio?
OBS Studio is an open-source screen recorder program for Windows from OBS Project. It ranks 1st by popularity among screen recorders in this catalogue. It is written in C++ and C. Besides Windows, it is available for cross-platform, GNU/Linux and macOS.
Installation and requirements
Official installers exist for 64-bit and ARM64 as EXE (NSIS) and Portable. The installer supports unattended (silent) installation.
Updates and version history
The current version is 33.0.0, released on October 23, 2026. 47 versions are listed since March 30, 2021, each with links to its own installer files. That is about 8.4 releases a year. The last update is less than a month old.
Popularity and file types
The Chocolatey package has been downloaded 797,088 times. The source code on GitHub (obsproject/obs-studio) has 77,915 stars. Wikipedia has an article about it in 27 of our languages. Similar programs include ShareX, ScreenToGif and Camtasia.
Project description on GitHub: “OBS Studio - Free and open source software for live streaming and screen recording”
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Open source: the code can be inspected and built by anyone
- Native ARM64 build for Windows on Arm
- Documented silent install
- Frequent updates (about 8.4 a year)
- Also runs on cross-platform, GNU/Linux and macOS
- Large user base
In short: OBS Studio is an open-source screen recorder tool for 64-bit and ARM64 PCs. It is actively maintained. Administrators can deploy it unattended.
Key features
- High performance real time video/audio capturing and mixing. Create scenes made up of multiple sources including window captures, images, text, browser windows, webcams, capture cards and more.
- Set up an unlimited number of scenes you can switch between seamlessly via custom transitions.
- Intuitive audio mixer with per-source filters such as noise gate, noise suppression, and gain. Take full control with VST plugin support.
- Powerful and easy to use configuration options. Add new Sources, duplicate existing ones, and adjust their properties effortlessly.
- Streamlined Settings panel gives you access to a wide array of configuration options to tweak every aspect of your broadcast or recording.
- Modular 'Dock' UI allows you to rearrange the layout exactly as you like. You can even pop out each individual Dock to its own window.
- Choose from a number of different and customizable transitions for when you switch between your scenes or add your own stinger video files.
- Set hotkeys for nearly every sort of action, such as switching between scenes, starting/stopping streams or recordings, muting audio sources, push to talk, and more.
- Studio Mode lets you preview your scenes and sources before pushing them live. Adjust your scenes and sources or create new ones and ensure they're perfect before your viewers ever see them.
- Get a high level view of your production using the Multiview. Monitor 8 different scenes and easily cue or transition to any of them with merely a single or double click.
AppStream · Flathub
Screenshots
Is OBS Studio safe to download?
- The file is served by github.com, the publisher’s own domain
- The download link uses HTTPS
- A SHA256 hash is published, so you can verify the file:
3BF55DAE6D9DB651505828090DE74540296C742ED2A94A28CF055CB6DDC6BED3· Open the VirusTotal report for this hash - The link has not been checked yet
- The source code is public
- ExeAtlas does not host, wrap or modify installers
Related guide: How to check a file’s SHA256 hash on Windows
Security practices (OpenSSF Scorecard)
Automated checks of the obsproject/obs-studio repository on GitHub by the Open Source Security Foundation, last run on October 19, 2026.
- Code review10
- Actively maintained10
- Security policy10
- No dangerous workflows10
- Pinned dependencies10
- Licence declared10
- No binaries in the repository9
- Restricted token permissions0
- OpenSSF Best Practices badge0
- Fuzzing0
- Signed releases0
- Static code analysis0
The score rates how the project is developed and released, not whether the program is safe to install. scorecard.dev
Recent versions
All 47 versions ›47 versions over 6 years · about 8.4 a year
| Version | Date | Size | Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| 33.0.0Latest | October 23, 2026 | — | 64-bit ZIP64-bit EXE (NSIS)ARM64 ZIP |
| 32.2.2 | August 14, 2026 | — | 64-bit EXE (NSIS)ARM64 ZIP64-bit ZIP |
| 32.2.1 | July 24, 2026 | — | 64-bit ZIPARM64 ZIP64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
| 32.2.0 | July 21, 2026 | — | 64-bit ZIPARM64 ZIP64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
| 32.1.2 | April 21, 2026 | — | ARM64 ZIP64-bit ZIP64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
| 32.1.1 | April 2, 2026 | — | ARM64 ZIP64-bit EXE (NSIS)64-bit ZIP |
| 32.1.0 | March 8, 2026 | — | ARM64 ZIP64-bit ZIP64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
| 32.0.4 | December 13, 2025 | — | 64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
Install from the command line
Silent install ›winget install --id OBSProject.OBSStudio -echoco install obs-studio -yscoop install extras/obs-studioOBS-Studio-33.0.0-Windows-x64-Installer.exe /SRelated guide: How to use winget: install and update apps
Also for other systems
flatpak install flathub com.obsproject.StudioInformation
- Publisher
- OBS Project
- Category
- Screen recorders
- Licence
- GPL-2.0
- Price
- Free
- Source code
- github.com/obsproject/obs-studio
- Written in
- C++ and C
- Content rating
- All ages
- Requires
- Windows 11 / 10
- Architecture
- 64-bit, ARM64
- Installer
- EXE (NSIS), Portable
- Other platforms
- cross-platform, GNU/Linux, macOS
- Version
- 33.0.0
- Released
- October 23, 2026
- Added to the catalogue
- March 30, 2021
- Versions listed
- 47
- Updates / year
- 8.4
- Chocolatey downloads
- 797,088
- GitHub stars
- 77,915
- GitHub forks
- 10,792
- Website
- obsproject.com
- winget ID
- OBSProject.OBSStudio
- Chocolatey package
- obs-studio
- Scoop package
- extras/obs-studio
Ratings and reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to rate it.
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Frequently asked questions
Is OBS Studio free?
Yes. OBS Studio is open-source software under the GPL-2.0 licence.
Is OBS Studio safe to download?
The download comes from github.com, which belongs to the publisher; ExeAtlas does not host or change the file. Compare its SHA256 hash with the one shown here, or open the VirusTotal report for that hash.
How do I install OBS Studio with winget?
Open PowerShell or Windows Terminal and run the winget command shown on this page. winget downloads the official installer and checks its SHA256 hash before running it.
Can OBS Studio be installed silently?
Yes. The silent install page lists the exact command for each installer.
Does OBS Studio run on ARM (Windows on Arm)?
Yes, there is a native ARM64 installer.
Where can I download an older version of OBS Studio?
The versions page lists all 47 versions with links to their official installer files, back to March 30, 2021.
What are alternatives to OBS Studio?
ShareX, ScreenToGif, Camtasia, SoundSwitch and Captura. The alternatives page compares them.
