OBS Studio control

What it can switch

More than scenes, which is the part people usually expect and stop at.

• Scenes — the whole layout at once.
• Sources — show and hide individual elements.
• Filters — turn an effect on or off on a source.
• Recording and streaming — start and stop.
• Sound — mute, unmute and volume.

It also reports back

The connection is not one-way: OBS state reaches the other modules, and that is what lets them make sensible decisions.

• The current scene and the list of sources are given to Scenarios and to the control panel.
• The live status of the stream uses OBS as one of its signals, alongside the platforms.

Local, and that is the point

The connection goes over obs-websocket to the copy of OBS on the same machine. Nothing travels through the internet, and nothing stops working when some service goes down.

• obs-websocket is built into OBS 28 and newer; in older versions it is a plugin.
• The password is entered once and stays on your computer.
• A dropped connection reconnects by itself — OBS gets restarted more often than anything else in the stack.

Effects that undo themselves

A paid effect that stays on forever is not an effect, it is a permanent change. Scenarios switch something on for a set number of seconds and take it back.

• The revert is automatic; you do not have to remember it mid-game.
• The scenarios tile shows what is on right now, and repeats an action that jammed.
• The module does not switch anything on its own — it carries out commands from Scenarios and the panel.

What it is made of

Each part is a separate module: you install only the ones you need, and any of them can be removed without breaking the rest.

Getting started

1. In OBS turn on the WebSocket server — Tools → WebSocket Server Settings — and set a port and password.
2. In the module fill in the host (usually 127.0.0.1), the port (4455) and that password.
3. Wait for the status to turn to connected.
4. Bind the actions you want in Scenarios or to a panel button.

Works together with