How to add TikTok LIVE alerts to OBS Studio

What TikTok LIVE alerts are

Alerts are the pop-ups your viewers see on stream when something happens: someone sends a Rose, drops a big gift, follows you or types a chat command like !dog. Each one can play a GIF or video, a sound and a line of text with the viewer's name.

OBS can't read your TikTok LIVE by itself. An alert tool connects to your LIVE, and when a gift or follow comes in it plays the alert on a web page. OBS shows that page on top of your scene with a Browser source, which is exactly what OBS says the Browser source is mostly used for: stream alert overlays.

What you need

• TikTok LIVE access. You must be 18+ to go LIVE, and TikTok asks for a follower minimum that varies by region (often reported as 1,000).
• OBS Studio installed on your PC or Mac.
• An alert tool for TikTok that gives you a browser source link. This guide uses Vibzy as the example, but the OBS steps are the same for any tool with a link.
• A way to get OBS onto TikTok, such as a stream key. More on that below.

How to add TikTok alerts to OBS, step by step

1. Make your alerts and copy the link

   In your alert tool, connect your TikTok account and set up a few alerts. In Vibzy you log in with TikTok (the official TikTok Login Kit, so Vibzy never sees your password), pick triggers, upload your own GIF, video and sound or import one from the shared library, then copy your Vibzy overlay link (your browser source link).

   Treat that link like a password. Anyone who has it can open your overlay, so don't paste it in chat or show it on stream.

2. Pick the scene

   In OBS, click the scene you go LIVE with in the Scenes dock. If you switch between several scenes, you can add the same source to each later.

3. Add a Browser source

   Click the + button at the bottom of the Sources dock and choose Browser. Pick Create new, name it something you'll recognise, like "TikTok alerts", and click OK.

4. Paste the link and set the size

   In the properties window, paste your link into the URL field. Change Width and Height from the default 800×600 to your canvas size:

   Your OBS canvas	Width	Height
   Landscape (16:9)	1920	1080
   Vertical TikTok (9:16)	1080	1920

   Not sure which you use? Check Settings → Video → Base (Canvas) Resolution.

5. Leave the background transparent

   Don't touch the Custom CSS box. Its default makes the page background transparent, so only the alert shows over your camera or game. If you clear it or paste something else in, you can end up with a solid background.

6. Choose the refresh options

   Leave Shutdown source when not visible off. If it's on, OBS shuts the page down whenever the source is hidden or you're in another scene, and alerts that arrive then are missed. Refresh browser source when scene becomes active is optional: it reloads the overlay each time you switch to the scene. Click OK.

7. Position it and move it to the top

   Because the source is the size of your canvas, it should line up with the edges of the preview. Drag the corners if it doesn't. Then drag "TikTok alerts" to the top of the Sources list so alerts play in front of your camera and game, not behind them.

Alert sounds and the audio mixer

Alert sounds play through the browser source, not through your mic. Fire a test alert and watch the Audio Mixer dock: you should see the meter move and hear the sound. If you can hear it locally but viewers can't, check that the source isn't muted and that your stream audio includes it.

To make a sound louder or quieter, the easiest fix is usually in the alert tool itself, so one loud gift sound doesn't blast your chat while the rest are fine.

Test it before you go LIVE

Never find out on stream that an alert is broken. Before every LIVE:

• Fire a test of each alert from your alert tool. In Vibzy you can test each alert with a click, and it plays in OBS like a real gift would.
• Check the alert is fully on screen, not cut off at an edge or hidden behind your face cam.
• Check you hear the sound and it's not louder than your voice.
• Switch to every scene you plan to use and test again.

If you stream a vertical canvas, test with the layout TikTok viewers see on a phone. Big text that looks fine in the OBS preview can still be covered by TikTok's own LIVE buttons near the edges.

Different alerts for different gifts and chat commands

One browser source can play every alert, so you don't need a separate source per gift. The rules live in your alert tool. With Vibzy, triggers look like "Someone sends a Rose", "Gifts worth 100+ coins", "Someone comments !dog" or "A new follow", and each one gets its own GIF, sound and text.

A setup that works well: a small, quick alert for cheap gifts so chat stays fun without flooding the screen, a big moment for bigger gifts, and a couple of free chat commands so viewers who don't gift can still join in. Vibzy also gives you a page for your viewers that lists every alert and how to set it off, so chat knows what to try.

Want a shared goal on screen too? See the TikTok gift goal overlay guide.

Getting your OBS stream onto TikTok

Alerts in OBS only reach viewers if OBS is the thing streaming to TikTok. That's the tricky part: TikTok doesn't give every creator a stream key, and it doesn't publish the exact requirements. According to Streamlabs, creators streaming with third-party software also have to stream at least 50% gaming content.

• If TikTok gave you a server URL and stream key, enter them in OBS's stream settings and go LIVE from OBS.
• If you don't have a key, Streamlabs says Streamlabs Desktop and the Streamlabs Plugin for OBS can go live to TikTok without one, as long as your account has LIVE access.

Using a different app? There are separate guides for TikTok alerts in Streamlabs Desktop and TikTok alerts in Meld Studio. The alert link is the same; only the menus change.

Going LIVE from your phone only?

OBS can only add alerts to what OBS streams, so this guide won't help if you go LIVE straight from the TikTok app. That needs a different approach. Vibzy has a phone app for this: scan a QR code to pair it and your alerts play there too.

Troubleshooting TikTok alerts in OBS

The alert doesn't show

Make sure the browser source is in the scene you're on, its eye icon is on, and it sits at the top of the Sources list. Check the link pasted completely into the URL field. If it still fails, right-click the source, open Properties and click Refresh cache of current page.

Test alerts work but real gifts don't

Your alert tool has to be connected to the LIVE that's actually running. Check you're logged in with the same TikTok account you're streaming on, and that the trigger matches the gift (a "100+ coins" alert won't fire for a Rose).

No sound

Look at the Audio Mixer while a test alert plays. If nothing moves, check the source isn't muted and the alert actually has a sound attached. If the meter moves but viewers hear nothing, check your stream's audio settings.

The overlay has a black or white background

Open the source's Properties and look at Custom CSS. If you changed it, restore the default so the background is transparent again.

Alerts are cut off or in the wrong spot

The browser source is a different size from your canvas, usually still 800×600. Set Width and Height to 1920×1080 or 1080×1920 to match your canvas, then line it up with the edges of the preview.

Alerts stop after switching scenes

Turn off Shutdown source when not visible, or add the same browser source to every scene you use so the overlay keeps running.