How to Nest Scenes in OBS Studio

Yes, you can nest a scene inside another scene in OBS Studio, a powerful feature often referred to as “Scene Nesting” or using “Scenes as Sources.” This article explains how to nest scenes in OBS Studio, the practical benefits of doing so, and a step-by-step guide to setting it up to streamline your streaming or recording workflow.

How to Nest a Scene in OBS Studio

Nesting a scene is a straightforward process that treats an entire scene as a single source within another scene. Follow these steps to set it up:

Create the Source Scene (Child Scene): First, create the scene you want to embed. For example, create a scene named “Webcam” and add your camera input, overlays, and camera borders to it.
Go to the Target Scene (Parent Scene): Select the main scene where you want the nested scene to appear (e.g., your “Gameplay” or “Just Chatting” scene).
Add the Scene as a Source: In the Sources dock of your parent scene, click the + (Add) icon.
Select “Scene”: From the list of source types, click on Scene.
Choose Your Child Scene: Select “Add Existing,” choose the scene you created in Step 1 (e.g., “Webcam”), and click OK.

The entire child scene will now appear inside your parent scene. You can resize, crop, and reposition it just like any other source.

Benefits of Nesting Scenes

Utilizing nested scenes offers several major advantages for content creators:

Efficient Multi-Scene Updates: If you use your webcam with the same border across five different scenes, nesting allows you to edit the “Webcam” scene once. The changes will automatically update across all five parent scenes.
Applying Filters to Multiple Sources: You can apply filters (like color correction, chroma key, or blur) to an entire nested scene at once, rather than applying them individually to every source inside it.
Clutter Reduction: Nesting keeps your main scenes organized. Instead of having dozens of sources in your main gameplay scene, you can have just three or four nested scenes.
Advanced Masking and Transitions: You can create complex visual layouts and transition effects by grouping specific graphical elements into their own scenes before bringing them into your main broadcast.