obs

Launch OBS

$ obs

$ obs [[-p|--portable]]

$ obs --startrecording

$ obs --startreplaybuffer

$ obs --startstreaming

$ obs --minimize-to-tray

$ obs --verbose

obs [--help] [--version] [--startstreaming] [--startrecording] [--startreplaybuffer] [--minimize-to-tray] [--multi] [--portable] [--verbose] [--loglevel <level>] [--profile <profile>] [--collection <collection>] [<profile>] [<scene-collection>]

--help
    Display help message and exit

--version
    Print version information

--startstreaming
    Automatically start streaming on launch

--startrecording
    Automatically start recording on launch

--startreplaybuffer
    Start replay buffer on launch

--minimize-to-tray
    Minimize to system tray on startup

--multi
    Allow multiple instances

--portable
    Use portable mode (config in application directory)

--verbose
    Enable verbose logging

--debug
    Enable debug logging

--loglevel <level>
    Set logging level (debug, info, warning, error)

--profile <name>
    Load specific profile configuration

--collection <name>
    Load specific scene collection

--collect-logs
    Collect crash logs for submission

--single
    Force single instance mode (default)

OBS Studio (Open Broadcaster Software) is a powerful, free, open-source tool for video recording and live streaming, invocable via the obs command on Linux. It excels in capturing screen, webcam, and audio sources, mixing them into scenes with transitions, filters, and overlays. Supports encoders like x264, NVENC, VAAPI for efficient encoding, and platforms such as Twitch, YouTube, Facebook Live.

Key features include multi-track audio, replay buffer for instant replays, plugin ecosystem for extensions (e.g., streamfx for effects), and scripting via Lua/Python. On Linux, it leverages PipeWire/PulseAudio for audio, integrates with Wayland/X11 (with varying capture support), and uses hardware acceleration where available.

Ideal for gamers, educators, and content creators, OBS handles complex setups via intuitive GUI while allowing CLI automation for batch starts. Configurations stored in ~/.config/obs-studio, with profiles for different setups and scene collections for organization. Community-driven, it's cross-platform with active development ensuring modern features like AV1 encoding support.

Requires graphical environment (X11/Wayland); high CPU/GPU usage during capture/encode; Wayland screen capture may need PipeWire or extensions; no stdin/stdout piping for media.

Profiles/scenes in ~/.config/obs-studio; portable mode uses local obs-studio dir.
Logs: ~/.config/obs-studio/logs.

Ubuntu/Debian: sudo apt install obs-studio; Fedora: sudo dnf install obs-studio; or Flatpak: flatpak install flathub com.obsproject.Studio.

Originated as Open Broadcaster by John 'hexchat' Artman in 2012; rebranded OBS Studio in 2014 under OBS Project with Jim and community contributors. Linux support improved via Flatpak/Snap/AppImage packaging; version 30+ added native Wayland and PipeWire integration.

ffmpeg(1), vlc(1), gst-launch-1.0(1), recordmydesktop(1)