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OBS Studio Control via WebSocket

This guide demonstrates how to control OBS Studio programmatically using Python. It uses the obsws-python library to communicate with the OBS WebSocket server (standard in OBS Studio 28+).

Modules Used:

  • obsws-python: The official Python library for OBS WebSocket v5.

Prerequisites

  1. Install OBS Studio (Version 28 or newer recommended).
  2. Enable WebSocket Server:
    • Open OBS Studio.
    • Go to Tools -> WebSocket Server Settings.
    • Check Enable WebSocket server.
    • Note the Server Port (default 4455) and Server Password.

Installation

pip install obsws-python

The Code

Save this as obs_control.py.

import obsws_python as obs
import time
import sys

# Configuration (Match these with your OBS WebSocket Settings)
HOST = 'localhost'
PORT = 4455
PASSWORD = 'your_password_here'

def main():
    try:
        # 1. Connect to OBS
        # ReqClient is used to send requests (commands) to OBS
        client = obs.ReqClient(host=HOST, port=PORT, password=PASSWORD)

        version = client.get_version()
        print(f"Connected to OBS Studio {version.obs_version}")
        print(f"WebSocket Version: {version.obs_web_socket_version}")

        # 2. Get Current Scene
        current_scene = client.get_current_program_scene().current_program_scene_name
        print(f"Current Scene: {current_scene}")

        # 3. List All Scenes
        print("\nAvailable Scenes:")
        scenes = client.get_scene_list().scenes
        for s in scenes:
            # 'sceneName' key might vary slightly depending on version, usually it's 'sceneName'
            name = getattr(s, 'scene_name', s.get('sceneName')) 
            print(f" - {name}")

        # 4. Get Stream Status
        status = client.get_stream_status()
        print(f"\nStreaming Active: {status.output_active}")
        print(f"Stream Timecode: {status.output_timecode}")

        # --- Examples of Actions (Uncomment to use) ---

        # Switch Scene
        # client.set_current_program_scene("Scene 2")
        # print("Switched to Scene 2")

        # Toggle Recording
        # client.toggle_record()
        # print("Toggled recording")

    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Error: {e}")
        print("Ensure OBS is running and WebSocket server is enabled.")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

Usage

  1. Ensure OBS is running.
  2. Update the PASSWORD variable in the script.
  3. Run the script:
    python obs_control.py

programming/python/python

Created: March 17, 2026 • Last Modified: January 28, 2026