Streamlabs Desktop Keyboard Shortcuts
Streamlabs Desktop is built directly on OBS Studio's open-source core, so its fundamental scene and source management shortcuts are essentially identical to OBS's own, while its distinctive additions cluster around Streamlabs-specific features layered on top — alert box configuration, built-in themes, and tighter direct integration with Streamlabs' own cloud-based tipping and donation infrastructure that OBS itself doesn't natively include. Streamers who've used OBS before generally find the core recording/streaming controls transfer immediately, with the real learning curve concentrated in Streamlabs' additional widget and alert configuration screens rather than the core broadcast shortcuts themselves. Windows is the primary platform; Mac support has historically lagged behind Windows in feature parity. This page suits streamers who've chosen Streamlabs specifically for its more design-forward interface and built-in alert/donation integrations over plain OBS, rather than someone comparing the two feature-for-feature before choosing, since the actual keyboard-shortcut experience between them is close enough that the deciding factor for most people is the surrounding ecosystem rather than the hotkey system itself. Because nearly every hotkey here requires the same manual per-Scene and per-Source assignment that OBS requires, the practical first step on a new Streamlabs install is the same as OBS: open Settings > Hotkeys and deliberately assign keys to your specific Scenes and Sources before expecting any of this to work from the keyboard.
Scenes Sources
| Action | Windows | Mac | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Switch to a specific Scene | Custom-assigned per Scene in Hotkey settings | — | Switches the live output to a different configured Scene, with each individual Scene's hotkey needing to be manually assigned in Settings > Hotkeys, since there's no single universal default binding covering an arbitrary number of user-created Scenes. |
| Toggle a Source's visibility | Custom-assigned per Source in Hotkey settings | — | Shows or hides a specific Source (a camera, an image overlay, a browser source) within the current Scene, also requiring manual hotkey assignment per individual Source. |
| Mute/unmute microphone | Custom-assigned (commonly bound to a function key) | — | Flips the mute state of whichever audio Source is configured as the mic, and it's one of the hotkeys streamers assign earliest since muting fast during a sudden interruption matters more than almost any other single control. |
| Duplicate a Source | Right-click Source > Duplicate, no default key | — | Creates a copy of a Source's configuration (its filters, position, and settings) either within the same Scene or another one, useful for replicating a webcam overlay setup across multiple Scenes without reconfiguring size, position, and filters from scratch each time. |
Streaming Recording
| Action | Windows | Mac | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start/Stop Streaming | Click Go Live button, or custom hotkey | — | Begins or ends the live stream broadcast to your configured destination platform (Twitch, YouTube, and others), primarily a button-click action in Streamlabs' interface with an optional custom-assignable hotkey. |
| Start/Stop Recording | Custom-assigned in Hotkey settings | — | Begins or ends local recording independently of live streaming, letting you save a local file of a session with or without simultaneously broadcasting it live. |
| Save Replay Buffer clip | Custom-assigned in Hotkey settings | — | Saves the last several seconds (a configurable rolling buffer duration) of gameplay or footage as a standalone clip, useful for quickly capturing a highlight moment retroactively after it happens without needing to have manually started a clip recording beforehand. |
| Test/trigger an Alert Box event | From Alert Box settings panel, no default hotkey | — | Manually fires a test version of a configured stream alert (a new follower, subscriber, or donation notification), letting you preview exactly how an alert will look and sound on stream before it happens live, triggered from the Alert Box settings rather than a keyboard shortcut. |
Studio Mode
| Action | Windows | Mac | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toggle Studio Mode | Click Studio Mode button, no default key | — | Toggles Studio Mode, which shows a preview of the next Scene separately from the currently live output, letting you configure and check a Scene before actually transitioning to it live, inherited directly from OBS's identical feature. |
| Transition to previewed Scene | Click Transition button (Studio Mode active) | — | Commits the currently previewed Scene to become the live output, using whatever transition effect (cut, fade, or a custom one) is currently configured, only relevant while Studio Mode is active. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do so many Streamlabs shortcuts say 'custom-assigned' rather than having a fixed default key?
Because the number and names of Scenes and Sources are entirely user-defined and vary completely from one streamer's setup to another, there's no way to provide a universal default keyboard shortcut for 'switch to Scene X' the way a fixed-feature application can for its unchanging set of commands — every Scene and Source-toggle hotkey needs individual manual assignment in Settings > Hotkeys, which is standard behavior inherited directly from OBS's identical approach to this same problem.
Is Streamlabs Desktop just OBS with a different skin, or does it actually differ under the hood?
Streamlabs Desktop is built on OBS's actual open-source core/engine, meaning the fundamental scene composition, source handling, and encoding technology are genuinely shared, but Streamlabs has built a substantially different interface layer and added its own cloud-connected features (alert boxes, widget themes, built-in donation/tip integration) that don't exist in vanilla OBS Studio at all — it's more accurate to describe it as OBS's engine with a different, more feature-added application built around it than merely a reskin.
What's the practical difference between Recording and the Replay Buffer?
Recording (once started) continuously saves everything from that point forward until you stop it, creating one long file covering the entire recorded session. Replay Buffer instead continuously maintains a rolling window of the last several seconds in memory without saving anything to disk until you explicitly trigger a save, at which point just that recent rolling window is written out as a short clip — useful specifically for capturing a highlight retroactively after something exciting happens, without needing to have been actively recording the whole time.
Why would I test an Alert Box instead of just waiting for a real donation or follow to trigger it?
Waiting for a genuine trigger means you can't control when it happens, making it impractical to verify sizing, audio levels, or animation timing are actually configured correctly before going live to an audience. Manually testing an alert lets you deliberately preview exactly how it behaves on stream, catch a misconfigured sound file or an overlay positioned off-screen, and fix it in advance rather than discovering the problem in front of live viewers.
Does duplicating a Source also duplicate any filters applied to it?
Yes — duplication copies the Source's full configuration including any applied filters (color correction, chroma key, audio filters, and so on), not just its raw content and position, which is exactly why it's useful for replicating a fully dialed-in webcam or overlay setup into a different Scene rather than having to reapply every individual filter manually a second time.
Can I jump to a specific scene by number rather than clicking through the list?
Not by default — switching between entire Scene Collections (distinct from switching individual Scenes within one collection) is done through the Scene Collections manager in the app, since collections represent a broader saved configuration that's changed far less often than individual scenes during a live stream.