To create different alert looks, add conditional variations to an event in your alert provider, then show that provider’s alert URL in OBS as a Browser Source. A variation is an alternate alert selected by an event condition; a widget theme changes a broader set of widget settings. Choose the one that matches whether you want alerts to react automatically to events or want to switch the overall style yourself.
Set up alert variations in Streamlabs
- In the Streamlabs dashboard, open Alert Box and select the event type you want to customize.
- Add a variation for that event and give it a descriptive name that identifies both its condition and intended treatment, such as “large tip — longer animation.”
- Choose a condition offered for that event and your connected platform. For example, Streamlabs’ guide demonstrates a tip variation for donations of at least $10. That is an example threshold, not a universal default: available conditions depend on the platform and event type.
- Customize the variation using the available image or animation, sound, layout, text, and other settings. Preview it and save your changes.
- Use the event’s variation controls to review variations, edit one, enable or disable it, or delete it.
Streamlabs documents random selection as well as event-specific conditions. Its examples include minimum or exact Bits amounts and raid party size on Twitch; membership duration, level, gift amount, and Super Chat amount on YouTube; and minimum or exact donation amounts, largest tip of the stream, and recurring tips. These are examples of supported options, not a promise that every option appears for every platform or event. Check the controls shown for your own connected account.
Make conditions easy to understand
Give each variation a clear event-and-condition name, and choose distinct thresholds where possible. For example, a regular alert can handle smaller tips while a separate variation gives larger tips a longer animation. Clear, non-overlapping conditions make it easier to predict which alert should play; this is a setup recommendation, not a claim about a platform rule.
Add the alert to OBS Studio
- In your alert provider’s settings, open the alert or widget you want to display and copy its URL. Streamlabs’ alert setup guide explains configuring its alerts and using them in streaming software.
- Open OBS Studio and select the scene where the alert should appear.
- In the Sources panel, choose + and add a Browser source. Create a new source or select an existing one for that scene.
- Paste the provider’s alert URL into the source’s URL field. Set the width and height to suit the alert design and the space available in your scene, then confirm.
- Preview the scene and use the provider’s preview or test controls to check the visual and sound. If you change the alert configuration later, preview it again in the scene.
OBS displays alerts supplied by a provider; it does not generate them itself. The OBS Project FAQ says, “OBS Studio does not directly provide stream alerts.” See the OBS Project alerts and chat box tutorial and its alert FAQ for the Browser Source approach.
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Choose a variation or a widget theme
Use a variation when a supported event condition should select a different alert automatically—for example, a larger tip receiving a distinct animation. Use a theme when you want to switch a broader profile of alert and widget settings for a stream or scene collection. Streamlabs also describes combining widgets from different themes by adding their widget links in streaming software. A theme switch is not the same as a condition-based variation.
To decide, ask whether the look should change because of what happened or because you are deliberately changing the stream’s overall style. Then check whether your provider supports the event conditions you need and whether you prefer one alert URL or separate widget links.
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Troubleshoot alerts that look or behave differently than expected
- The expected variation does not appear: check that it is enabled, that its condition matches the event, and that the option is supported for the connected platform and event type.
- It is unclear which variation should play: review thresholds and conditions for overlap, then use descriptive names and distinct ranges where available.
- The alert is missing from the OBS scene: confirm the Browser Source is in the intended scene and that its URL is the alert link from your provider.
- The alert is clipped or poorly placed: adjust the Browser Source width and height to fit the design, then preview the scene again.
- Recent edits are not visible: save the variation in the provider, check that the correct alert URL is in OBS, and preview the updated setup.
- A sound or animation seems wrong: inspect the variation’s own sound and visual settings, not only the event’s main alert settings, and preview the result.
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