How to add Chat to OBS
A live chat overlay styled like Twitch chat out of the box, transparent background, colored usernames, badges, and every emoji, chat emote, and 7TV emote rendered inline. Customize the font, size, and color of everything, how many messages show, and whether/when a message disappears.
Takes about 2 minutes
Step by step
- 1
Sign in and create the widget
Open the Streamities dashboard, choose Chat, and create one. Style it now or leave the defaults — the overlay URL works either way and picks up changes as you make them.
- 2
Copy the overlay URL
Every widget has its own unique URL. Copy it from the widget's page in the dashboard: it is the only thing you need in OBS, and it stays valid, so this is a one-time step.
- 3
Add a Browser Source in OBS
In your scene, add Sources → Browser, give it a name, and paste the URL into the URL field. Streamlabs and XSplit have the same source type under the same name.
- 4
Set the size to 480 × 900
Type 480 into Width and 900 into Height. Size the source rather than scaling it afterwards — a stretched Browser Source renders soft text, because OBS is upscaling a finished image.
- 5
Uncheck "Shutdown source when not visible"
With that option on, OBS destroys the page whenever the scene isn't active and the live connection goes with it, which looks exactly like a widget that stopped updating. Leave it off, drag Chat into place, and you're done.
Recommended Browser Source settings
A starting point for Chat, not a rule — every overlay fits itself to the box you give it. Set the width and height here, then position the source in your scene without resizing it.
- Width
- 480
- Height
- 900
- Where to put it
- Down one side of the scene — it is taller than it is wide and sits well next to your main content.
Leave the source's transform at 100%. Scaling a Browser Source afterwards upscales a rendered image, which is what makes overlay text look soft.
Good to know
Twitch-style by default
Transparent background, colored usernames, and badges: looks like Twitch chat from the moment you add it.
Emojis, emotes, and 7TV
Every emoji, Twitch chat emote, and your channel's 7TV emotes render inline, automatically.
Fully customizable
Font, size, and color for usernames and messages, how many lines show, and whether a message disappears after a set time.
If it doesn't show up
The source is blank or black+
Refresh the source (right-click → Refresh) and check that the URL was pasted in full. A source that is black on first load and fine after a refresh is usually hardware acceleration — enable it under Settings → Advanced in OBS.
It worked, then stopped updating+
Almost always "Shutdown source when not visible". With it on, OBS kills the page whenever you switch scenes and the live connection goes with it. Turn it off in the source properties.
The text looks blurry+
The source is being scaled. Reset the transform (right-click → Transform → Reset Transform) and set the width and height in the source properties instead — 480 × 900 is the size to start from.
It's the wrong size in my scene+
Change Width and Height in the source properties rather than dragging the corner handles. Dragging scales the rendered image; the properties change what gets rendered.
Chat: common questions
Is Chat free?+
Yes. Every plan includes one Chat widget, live updates and the default look included. Creator+ adds unlimited widgets of every type, plus full styling, animations and the premium templates.
What Browser Source size should I use for Chat?+
Start at 480 × 900 pixels, set in the source properties rather than by scaling the source in your scene — the widget fits itself to whatever box it is given.
Does Chat work with Streamlabs and XSplit?+
Yes. Chat is a normal web page, so it works in any streaming software with a browser or web overlay source — OBS Studio, Streamlabs, XSplit and the rest.
How long does Chat take to set up?+
A couple of minutes. Create it in the dashboard, copy its URL, paste it into a source. Styling can happen later, live, without touching OBS again.
Do I need to install a plugin?+
No. There is nothing to download and no plugin to keep updated — Chat is one URL, and it updates itself on our side.