Start your first show

Desktop Studio includes the core rooms used in this guide: scenes, sources, audio, transitions, recording, delivery, and publishing.

Have one platform account and its stream key ready. We will move through the sidebar in production order: destination, scene, audio, live output, and recording.

1. Connect a destination

   Stream → Multi-Stream → Add First Destination

   Open Stream in the sidebar and choose the Multi-Stream tab. Press Add First Destination, pick your platform, and paste the stream key from its dashboard. The key is stored in the system keychain, never in a settings file, and the studio never shows it again after you save it.

2. Build your first scene

   Scenes · Sources

   Add a camera and a screen or game capture to the default scene. Drag, resize, and crop directly on the canvas. Layers stack in the order you see them in the sources list, and undo covers moves, visibility, and reorder.

3. Set a look

   Overlay Packs → Featured

   Open the Overlay Packs tab and pick a pack that fits your show from Featured, or browse the full Overlays catalog. Choose Quick add and one click places the complete composed look into the scene, camera slot included. You can also run your first show on the default look and come back to this any time.

4. Check your levels

   Audio · status bar⌘⇧I

   Watch the program audio meter while you speak at show volume. If it flags trouble, lower that input's gain in the mixer. The status bar reads FPS, CPU, Mem, and Net at a glance; ⌘⇧I opens the full Performance overlay above the preview when you want the detail.

5. Go live

   Header → Go Live

   Press Go Live in the header. Each destination shows its own status while the stream comes up, and the same button reads Stop Stream for as long as you are on air. If one platform drops mid-show, the studio reconnects it on its own while the others stay live.

6. End and keep the show

   Cut · Publish

   Press Stop Stream when you are done. If recording was on, open Cut to trim the show, pull highlights, and caption it. Then open Publish, press Choose Recording, and send the finished cut to YouTube or Facebook, immediately or scheduled for later, without leaving the app. Cut and Publish are paid capabilities, included from Starter up.

Open the Clips room and press Start Buffer under Replay Buffer. It keeps the last moments of your show in memory continuously, so when something great happens you press ⌘⇧C and the moment is saved into your Library. After the fact, instead of hoping you were recording.