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Linux OBS Studio Guide

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Mattscreative edited this page Dec 5, 2025 · 2 revisions

Linux OBS Studio Guide

Complete beginner-friendly guide to OBS Studio on Linux, covering Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions including installation, configuration, streaming, and recording.

Table of Contents

  1. OBS Studio Installation
  2. OBS Configuration
  3. Streaming Setup
  4. Recording Setup
  5. Hardware Acceleration
  6. Troubleshooting

OBS Studio Installation

Install OBS

Arch/CachyOS:

# Install OBS Studio
sudo pacman -S obs-studio

# With browser source
sudo pacman -S obs-studio obs-browser

Debian/Ubuntu:

sudo apt install obs-studio

Fedora:

sudo dnf install obs-studio

Launch OBS

Start OBS:

# Launch OBS
obs

# Or from application menu

OBS Configuration

Initial Setup

First launch:

  1. Auto-Configuration Wizard
  2. Select streaming or recording
  3. Choose streaming service
  4. Test settings

Video Settings

Configure video:

  1. Settings → Video
  2. Base Resolution: Your display resolution
  3. Output Resolution: Stream/recording resolution
  4. FPS: 30 or 60

Streaming Setup

Streaming Services

Supported services:

  • Twitch
  • YouTube
  • Facebook Live
  • Custom RTMP

Configure Stream

Set up streaming:

  1. Settings → Stream
  2. Service: Select service
  3. Server: Auto-select
  4. Stream Key: Get from service

Recording Setup

Recording Settings

Configure recording:

  1. Settings → Output
  2. Recording Path: Choose location
  3. Recording Format: MP4 or MKV
  4. Encoder: x264 or hardware

Recording Quality

Quality settings:

  • Indistinguishable: High quality, large files
  • High: Good quality, medium files
  • Medium: Balanced
  • Low: Small files, lower quality

Hardware Acceleration

NVIDIA NVENC

Enable NVENC:

  1. Settings → Output
  2. Encoder: NVIDIA NVENC H.264
  3. Rate Control: CBR or VBR
  4. Bitrate: Set as needed

AMD VCE

Enable VCE:

  1. Settings → Output
  2. Encoder: AMD HW H.264
  3. Configure settings

Intel Quick Sync

Enable QSV:

  1. Settings → Output
  2. Encoder: Intel Quick Sync H.264
  3. Configure settings

Troubleshooting

Black Screen

Check display capture:

# On Wayland, use window capture
# Or use xcomposite on X11

Audio Not Working

Check audio sources:

  1. Audio Mixer → Settings
  2. Select audio devices
  3. Test audio levels

Summary

This guide covered OBS Studio installation, configuration, streaming, and recording for Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions.

Next Steps

This guide covers Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other Linux distributions. For distribution-specific details, refer to your distribution's documentation.

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