How to Back Up OBS Studio Settings and Profiles

Backing up your OBS Studio configuration folder is the best way to safeguard your custom scenes, profiles, sources, and general settings from data loss or when migrating to a new computer. This guide provides a quick, step-by-step process to locate and copy your entire OBS Studio configuration directory on both Windows and macOS, ensuring you can restore your exact stream setup in minutes.

How to Back Up OBS Studio on Windows

On Windows, OBS Studio stores all user data in the hidden AppData folder. Follow these steps to back it up:

  1. Press the Windows Key + R on your keyboard to open the Run dialog box.
  2. Type %appdata% into the text box and press Enter. This will open your user account’s “Roaming” folder.
  3. Locate the folder named obs-studio. This single folder contains all of your profiles, scene collections, hotkeys, and plugin configurations.
  4. Right-click the obs-studio folder and select Copy.
  5. Navigate to your backup destination—such as an external hard drive, a USB flash drive, or a cloud storage folder (like OneDrive or Google Drive)—right-click, and select Paste.

How to Back Up OBS Studio on macOS

On macOS, your configuration files are located in the user Library directory. Follow these steps to back them up:

  1. Open Finder.
  2. Click on Go in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
  3. Hold down the Option (Alt) key on your keyboard. This will reveal the hidden Library folder in the dropdown menu. Click on Library.
  4. Inside the Library folder, open Application Support.
  5. Locate the folder named obs-studio.
  6. Right-click (or Control-click) the obs-studio folder and select Copy “obs-studio”.
  7. Paste this folder into your preferred secure backup location, such as an external drive or iCloud.

How to Restore Your Backup

If you need to restore your settings on a new computer or after a system reinstall, simply install OBS Studio first, but do not open it.

Navigate back to the respective %appdata% directory (Windows) or Application Support directory (macOS) using the steps outlined above. Paste your backed-up obs-studio folder into this directory, choosing to overwrite any existing files if prompted. When you launch OBS Studio, all of your scenes, profiles, and settings will be fully restored.