Show your Twitch chat in OBS
Viewers want to see their messages on stream. Put your Twitch chat into your overlay and style it to match your layout.
Vision account required. You build the overlay in the editor. · Updated
How it works
What you need for a Twitch chat overlay
Add a Chat layer to a Vision overlay. It starts with your own Twitch channel. Style it in the Chat Designer, save the overlay and add it to OBS as a browser source. Twitch badges and BTTV, FFZ and 7TV emotes show up automatically.
- OBS Studio and a Vision account (the Free plan works)
- Your Twitch channel name
- An overlay in Vision, new or existing
Step by step
Add Twitch chat to OBS
Add the Chat layer
Open your overlay in Vision. Click Add Chat in the left toolbar and click on the canvas, or use Add Layer → Chat & Interaction → Chat. The new layer already shows your own Twitch channel.
Check the channel
Select the layer and click Channels. Each channel has a platform and a name. Keep Twitch and your channel name, or click Add to include more channels, for example a co-streamer.
Style the chat
Click Designer to open the Chat Designer. Choose the font, message background, spacing and badges, set Max messages and Hide after (ms) if messages should fade out, and pick in and out animations. The preview updates as you go.
Hide what viewers shouldn't see
Turn on Hide bots to hide messages from Nightbot, StreamElements, Moobot and other common bots, and Hide commands to hide messages that start with !. Emote only limits the chat to emotes.
Add the overlay to OBS
Save the overlay. Click Insert Overlay and use Drag & Drop in OBS, or copy the link and add it in OBS under Sources → + → Browser. Use the overlay's size, 1920×1080 by default.
Make chat readable on stream
A chat that looks fine in the editor can be tiny on a phone screen. Pick a large font, keep a strong contrast between text and background and test the overlay at the size viewers see.
If your chat is busy, lower Max messages or let messages fade out with Hide after (ms) so the box doesn't cover your gameplay.
Emotes, badges and profile pictures
Twitch badges and emotes from BTTV, FFZ and 7TV appear automatically. Profile pictures and platform icons can be switched on or off.
Want Twitch and YouTube in one box? Add a YouTube channel under Channels. Messages from both are merged into one feed.
Troubleshooting
If something is not working
- No messages appear? Check the channel name under Channels and turn on Preview Real Chat in Editor to test.
- Chat shows in Vision but not in OBS? Save the overlay and check that OBS uses the overlay link, not the editor address.
- The chat is cut off? Resize the Chat layer inside the overlay and make sure the browser source uses the overlay's size.
FAQ
Twitch chat in OBS: common questions
Do I need a Twitch login for the chat overlay?
No. The Chat layer reads public chat of the channels you add.
Can I show several channels at once?
Yes. Add more channels under Channels. Messages from all of them appear in one chat, and each channel can get its own background color.
Do 7TV and BTTV emotes work?
Yes. For Twitch, BTTV, FFZ and 7TV emotes are shown automatically.
Is the chat overlay free?
Yes. The Chat layer is available on the Free plan, which includes one overlay with up to 10 layers.
