How to add a chat overlay in OBS and Streamlabs OBS

Making your stream interesting for viewers is one of the best ways to keep people watching your content. A chat overlay, showing the stream which chat's messages you can see in real-time, is a great way to keep people watching. And it’s super simple to add one to your stream.

To add a chat overlay to your stream in OBS, you’ll need to go to the sources section. Click on the + symbol and select Browser. The purpose of this is to add your chat manually from Twitch. 

On your Twitch channel, go to your chat and click the small settings icon that looks like a cog. Then select the pop-out chat option from the menu. Once this opens in a new window, copy the address. Paste it into the browser tab of OBS, which you opened earlier. You can edit the rest of the settings here as well, but don’t worry too much. Streamers can edit sizing and the like after.

Related: How to reduce Stream Delay on Twitch

In Streamlabs OBS, it’s even simpler. Make sure you’re logged into the Streamlabs OBS dashboard on the Streamlabs website. Open up Streamlabs OBS and go to the Sources list. Click the + above Sources. From the list of widgets, select Chatbox. This will instantly add a chat box overlay to your stream.

To customize this chatbox, you’ll need to head to your Streamlabs dashboard on the website. Click All Widgets on the Dashboard, and then select the Chat Box in the Widget Gallery. This will give you all the options for editing the chatbox, including filters and extra emotes.

If you’ve followed the steps correctly, you’ll now have a chat overlay on your stream for everyone to enjoy!

While you're tweaking your stream, why not check out How to run a test Twitch Stream on Pro Game Guides.