Fix OBS Scene Collection Unexpected End of File Error

The “Encountered unexpected end-of-file” syntax error in OBS Studio occurs when the JSON file containing your scene collection is corrupted, incomplete, or improperly formatted. This article provides a straightforward guide on how to diagnose and resolve this issue, including validating the JSON structure, recovering data from OBS backups, and fixing the file layout to restore your scenes.

Why This Error Happens

OBS Studio stores your scene collections as .json text files. When you import a scene collection, OBS parses this file from start to finish. If the file was truncated due to a sudden system crash, power outage, or incomplete file transfer, the code ends abruptly before the final closing brackets or braces are written. This triggers the “unexpected end-of-file” syntax error.

Step 1: Recover from OBS Backups

Before trying to manually edit a broken file, check if OBS has saved a backup of your scene collection.

  1. Press Windows Key + R to open the Run dialog box.
  2. Type %appdata%\obs-studio\basic\scenes and press Enter.
  3. Look for a file with the name of your scene collection ending in .json.bak or look for auto-generated backup files.
  4. Copy the backup file to a safe location (like your Desktop).
  5. Rename the file extension from .json.bak to .json.
  6. Try importing this renamed backup file into OBS Studio via Scene Collection > Import.

Step 2: Validate and Repair the JSON File

If you do not have a backup, you can attempt to repair the broken .json file by fixing its syntax.

  1. Open the corrupted .json file in a text editor like Notepad, Notepad++, or VS Code.
  2. Copy the entire contents of the file.
  3. Open a web browser and go to a free online JSON validator (such as JSONLint or JSONFormatter).
  4. Paste the code into the validator and click Validate JSON.
  5. The validator will point out exactly where the syntax error is. Usually, it will say something is missing at the very end of the file.
  6. Scroll to the bottom of your file in the text editor. If the file was cut off, you will need to add the missing closing braces } and brackets ] to match the opening ones.
  7. Save the file and try importing it into OBS again.

Step 3: Check File Size

If the corrupted .json file has a size of 0 KB, the data is completely gone and cannot be repaired. In this scenario, you must either find an older backup of your scene collection or manually recreate your scenes and sources in OBS Studio. To prevent this in the future, always export your scene collections (Scene Collection > Export) periodically and save them to a cloud drive or external storage.