How to install a Twitch overlay in OBS
A complete walkthrough for someone who has never added an overlay before — canvas size, scenes, source order, and the two mistakes almost everyone makes.
6 Sept 2026
Before you start
Set your canvas to 1920×1080. In OBS that is Settings → Video, and you want both Base (Canvas) Resolution and Output (Scaled) Resolution set to 1920x1080. Almost every "my overlay looks blurry" question comes down to this.
Build one scene per moment
Make a separate scene for each thing your stream does: Starting Soon, Gameplay, Just Chatting, Be Right Back, Ending. It feels like more work up front and saves you rearranging sources live.
Add the overlay
- Select the scene, click + under Sources, choose Image.
- Browse to the overlay PNG.
- Right-click the source → Transform → Fit to screen (⌃⌘F / Ctrl+F).
- Drag the overlay above your game capture and webcam in the Sources list.
Source order in OBS is top-to-bottom: whatever is highest in the list draws on top.
The two mistakes everyone makes
"My overlay has holes in it." That is the transparency working. The empty areas are where your game capture and webcam show through — put those sources underneath and line them up with the frames.
"My webcam covers the frame." Source order again. The overlay must sit above the webcam in the list.
Check it before you go live
Open the Preview and switch between your scenes. Look for: text you cannot read at a glance, anything overlapping your game's own HUD, and whether your camera actually fits its frame.
