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How to Shuffle and Loop a Folder of Videos in OBS for YouTube Live

Use OBS’s VLC Video source to add files from a folder, shuffle their playlist, and loop it. VLC must be installed, with 64-bit VLC for 64-bit OBS.

By VGSources Team 3 min read
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To play videos from a folder in random order and repeat them in OBS, add those files to a VLC Video source playlist, then enable Shuffle Playlist and Loop Playlist in its properties. VLC must be installed, and its architecture must match OBS: 64-bit OBS requires 64-bit VLC. The playlist uses the files you add; OBS’s documented setup does not automatically monitor a folder for new files.

Set up a shuffled, looping playlist in OBS

  1. Install VLC. OBS requires VLC for the VLC Video source to appear. If you use 64-bit OBS, install 64-bit VLC. The source is listed for Windows, macOS, and Linux, subject to that prerequisite. OBS Media Sources documentation.
  2. Open the scene you want to use. In OBS, go to the Sources dock and click its + button to add a source. OBS Sources Guide.
  3. Add a VLC Video source. Select VLC Video, then open its properties. Choose the local video files you want from the folder and add them to the source playlist. This is a playlist you populate with files, not an automatically watched folder.
  4. Turn on both playlist options. In the source properties, check Shuffle Playlist and Loop Playlist. Shuffle changes playback from the file-list order to a shuffled order; loop restarts the source after it has played through the playlist items.
  5. Check the scene and test playback. Confirm the VLC Video source is visible in the active scene, then check that video and audio appear as expected in OBS before starting the broadcast. OBS recommends testing a stream setup; the controls above configure playback, not YouTube delivery.

What shuffle and loop do—and do not do

Shuffle changes playlist order

Shuffle means the playlist’s media files are randomized rather than played in the order shown in the file list. It should not be treated as a promise that OBS makes a fresh, independent random choice at every clip transition. The OBS VLC source implementation provides additional context for the playlist behavior.

Loop restarts the playlist

Loop means the source starts the playlist again after it runs out of media files. OBS’s documentation does not promise gapless transitions, uninterrupted YouTube delivery, or that a loop prevents a connection interruption.

Use VLC Video for a playlist

OBS describes Media Source as the source for an individual media file and VLC Video as the option that supports a playlist. VLC Video supports these listed video formats: .mp4, .ts, .mov, .flv, .mkv, .avi, .gif, and .webm. Listed audio formats are .mp3, .aac, .ogg, and .wav. Check the OBS format and source documentation for details.

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Before sending the playlist to YouTube Live

These OBS settings control playback of the playlist; they do not establish that your channel is eligible to stream, configure a YouTube stream key, set encoder or bitrate recommendations, or grant permission to broadcast the files. Confirm your YouTube Live setup and rights to every video and audio track through current YouTube guidance before going live. Adding a source in OBS is not permission to rebroadcast copyrighted material.

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