How to add Pomodoro Timer to OBS
Put the focus cycle on screen and everyone in chat works to the same clock. Set your intervals once, hit start, and it runs itself — focus, short break, focus, long break — while the round counter and your task label tell people exactly where the session is.
Takes about 2 minutes
Step by step
- 1
Sign in and create the widget
Open the Streamities dashboard, choose Pomodoro Timer, 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 360 × 200
Type 360 into Width and 200 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 Pomodoro Timer into place, and you're done.
Recommended Browser Source settings
A starting point for Pomodoro Timer, 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
- 360
- Height
- 200
- Where to put it
- A corner of your layout, where it stays visible without covering gameplay.
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
Runs itself
Focus rolls into the break and back again on its own. Nobody has to alt-tab out of their work to start the next phase.
Your intervals, not a fixed 25/5
Focus, short break, long break and how many rounds come before the long one are all yours — the classic technique is just the default.
Survives a reload
The timer is anchored to a point in time, not to a page that has to stay open, so a restarted browser source picks up exactly where the session actually is.
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 — 360 × 200 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.
Pomodoro Timer: common questions
Is Pomodoro Timer free?+
Yes. Every plan includes one Pomodoro Timer 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 Pomodoro Timer?+
Start at 360 × 200 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 Pomodoro Timer work with Streamlabs and XSplit?+
Yes. Pomodoro Timer 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 Pomodoro Timer 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 — Pomodoro Timer is one URL, and it updates itself on our side.