# Obs Docs > Search and fetch official OBS Studio documentation: docs.obsproject.com (backend-design, plugins, frontends, graphics, scripting, reference-core, reference-modules, reference-core-objects, reference-libobs-util, reference-libobs-callback, reference-libobs-graphics, reference-libobs-media-io, reference-frontend-api), install wiki, obs-plugintemplate README, obs-websocket protocol reference. Use when the user asks to look up an OBS API, find an obs_ function signature, check libobs callback signatures, read OBS scripting API, search obs-websocket request/event/opcode details, learn OBS plugin authoring, look up frontend API calls, or verify an OBS SDK call against the real documentation. - Skill: `damionrashford/obs-docs` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 3 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add damionrashford/obs-docs` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/damionrashford/obs-docs/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Web & Frontend - Author: damionrashford (https://skillmd.com/u/damionrashford) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/damionrashford/obs-docs --- # OBS Docs **Context:** $ARGUMENTS ## Quick start - **Find an `obs_` function / callback / event:** → Step 2 (`search --query `) - **Read the full section for an API:** → Step 3 (`section --page --id `) - **Grab a doc page:** → Step 4 (`fetch --page `) - **Prime cache for offline use:** → Step 5 (`index`) ## When to use - User asks "what does `obs_source_create` take?" or "what's the signature of `obs_hotkey_register_frontend`?" - Need to verify an API name exists before recommending it (prevents hallucinated OBS calls). - Need to look up an obs-websocket Request / Event / OpCode field. - Before writing an OBS plugin, script, or obs-websocket client: confirm the real API surface. - Need the canonical URL to cite an OBS doc. --- ## Step 1 — Know the page catalog Only the pages below are covered. Get the list: ```bash uv run ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/obsdocs.py list-pages ``` Pick the right page for the question: | Question | Page | |---|---| | How does OBS's architecture work? | `backend-design` | | Plugin authoring / source / output / encoder / service module | `plugins` | | Qt frontend integration (menus, docks) | `frontends` | | Graphics API (effects, shaders, textures) | `graphics` | | Python/Lua scripting inside OBS | `scripting` | | Core lifecycle + global funcs (`obs_startup`, `obs_shutdown`) | `reference-core` | | Module loader / `obs_module_*` macros | `reference-modules` | | `obs_source`, `obs_output`, `obs_encoder`, `obs_service`, `obs_scene`, `obs_data`, `obs_hotkey` | `reference-core-objects` | | `bmalloc`, `bstrdup`, `dstr`, lists, config, threading, darrays | `reference-libobs-util` | | `signal_handler`, `calldata`, procedural callbacks | `reference-libobs-callback` | | `gs_*` graphics (textures, effects, vertex buffers, shaders) | `reference-libobs-graphics` | | `obs_source_frame`, `obs_source_audio`, media IO, video frames | `reference-libobs-media-io` | | `obs_frontend_*` (Qt dock, scene switching, recording control, events) | `reference-frontend-api` | | Install OBS on macOS / Windows / Linux | `wiki-install` | | Build a plugin from scratch (CMake, GitHub template) | `plugintemplate-readme` | | obs-websocket Requests / Events / OpCodes / Identify handshake | `obs-websocket-protocol` | Read [`references/pages.md`](references/pages.md) for the full catalog with use-cases. --- ## Step 2 — Search first When the user names an API, search across all pages: ```bash uv run ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/obsdocs.py search --query "obs_source_create" --limit 5 ``` When you know the page, scope to it (faster, less noise): ```bash uv run ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/obsdocs.py search --query "hotkey_register" --page reference-core-objects ``` Output format per hit: ``` --- : — <±3 lines of context> ``` Use `--format json` for machine-parseable output. First run downloads the page; subsequent runs hit the local cache at `~/.cache/obs-docs/`. --- ## Step 3 — Read one section in full When the hit points to a specific API and you want the full declaration + description, use `section`: ```bash uv run ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/obsdocs.py section --page reference-core-objects --id obs_source_create ``` `--id` accepts: - An anchor id printed in search results as `[§xxxx]`. - A heading keyword — the script falls back to the first heading that contains it. Output is the section from its heading down to the next same-or-higher-level heading. --- ## Step 4 — Fetch a whole page Rarely needed; search/section are almost always better. When you do: ```bash uv run ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/obsdocs.py fetch --page reference-frontend-api ``` Pair with `--format json` for structured output. --- ## Step 5 — Prime the cache (optional) For reliable offline lookups: ```bash uv run ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/obsdocs.py index ``` Fetches every known page, stores text-extracted versions in `~/.cache/obs-docs/`. Re-run when a new OBS Studio / obs-websocket release drops docs. Override cache dir: `export OBS_DOCS_CACHE=/path/to/dir`. Clear: `uv run ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/obsdocs.py clear-cache`. --- ## Gotchas - **Never recommend an OBS API call without searching first.** If `search --query ""` returns zero hits, the function/callback/event doesn't exist — don't claim it does. - **libobs vs obs-websocket are distinct surfaces.** A `SetCurrentProgramScene` Request lives in `obs-websocket-protocol`. An `obs_frontend_set_current_scene()` C function lives in `reference-frontend-api`. Search the right page. - **obs-websocket uses OpCodes for the wire protocol** (0 Hello, 1 Identify, 2 Identified, 3 Reidentify, 5 Event, 6 Request, 7 RequestResponse, 8 RequestBatch, 9 RequestBatchResponse). Requests and Events are NOT the same thing — a single user-facing operation may have both (e.g. `SetCurrentProgramScene` Request and `CurrentProgramSceneChanged` Event). - **The obs-websocket page is a single LARGE Markdown file** from GitHub; search it with `--page obs-websocket-protocol --limit 3`. It's the wire protocol only, not the C API. - **docs.obsproject.com is Sphinx-generated HTML.** Anchor IDs follow the Sphinx-C-domain pattern like `_CPPv4N10obs_source9is_activeEv` (mangled) or simpler like `obs_source_create`. Use `search` first to discover the real anchor; `section --id` accepts the raw id OR a heading keyword fallback. - **The plugin template README is the entry point for new plugin projects** — don't confuse it with the `plugins` docs page (which is the developer guide for the plugin API). - **Scripting (Python/Lua) has a SEPARATE, smaller API surface** than the full libobs C API. Scripting exposes `obs_*` via bindings with some limits. Search `scripting` page for what's actually exposed. - **Frontend API requires building a Qt plugin** — it is NOT available to scripts. Check `reference-frontend-api` for what's usable. - **Scene vs Scene-collection vs Source.** A Scene is a specific `obs_source` type (`scene`). A Scene-collection is a file-level concept. A Source is the base abstraction. Don't mix them up — `reference-core-objects` is authoritative. - **Graphics calls MUST be made from the graphics thread.** If you see a `gs_*` function, it can only run inside `obs_enter_graphics()` / `obs_leave_graphics()` brackets or inside a video-render callback. `reference-libobs-graphics` is explicit about this. - **Signals are via `signal_handler_connect`** — register BEFORE the event fires. Calldata is read/written with `calldata_get_*` / `calldata_set_*` (see `reference-libobs-callback`). - **Use `bfree()` for anything libobs allocated**, not `free()`. Same for `bmalloc`/`bstrdup` vs `malloc`/`strdup`. - **Module entry points are `obs_module_load()` + `obs_module_unload()`**, and the macros `OBS_DECLARE_MODULE()` + `OBS_MODULE_USE_DEFAULT_LOCALE()` must appear in your plugin source. - **URL pattern on docs.obsproject.com is `/`** (no file extension, not `.html`). The script handles this. - **Cache is per-page only, not per-OBS-version.** After a new OBS release shifts the API, `clear-cache` + `index`. --- ## Examples ### Example 1 — "What does `obs_source_create` take?" ```bash uv run ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/obsdocs.py search --query "obs_source_create" --page reference-core-objects --limit 3 ``` Pick the hit, then read the full definition: ```bash uv run ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/obsdocs.py section --page reference-core-objects --id obs_source_create ``` Cite the URL printed in the hit header. ### Example 2 — "How do I change the current scene over obs-websocket?" ```bash uv run ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/obsdocs.py search --query "SetCurrentProgramScene" --page obs-websocket-protocol --limit 3 ``` ### Example 3 — "What Frontend API functions exist for recording control?" ```bash uv run ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/obsdocs.py search --query "recording" --page reference-frontend-api --limit 10 ``` ### Example 4 — "Plugin CMake setup?" ```bash uv run ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/obsdocs.py fetch --page plugintemplate-readme ``` ### Example 5 — "What scripting callbacks can a Python script register?" ```bash uv run ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/obsdocs.py search --query "callback" --page scripting --limit 10 ``` --- ## Troubleshooting ### Error: `unknown page: foo` **Cause:** The name isn't in the catalog. **Solution:** Run `list-pages` for valid names. Common mistakes: `core` instead of `reference-core`; `frontend` instead of `reference-frontend-api`; `websocket` instead of `obs-websocket-protocol`. ### Error: `urlopen error [SSL: CERTIFICATE_VERIFY_FAILED]` **Cause:** macOS Python without up-to-date certs. **Solution:** Run `/Applications/Python\ 3.x/Install\ Certificates.command` or set `SSL_CERT_FILE`. Don't patch the script to disable SSL verification. ### Search returns zero hits **Cause:** Term doesn't exist on that page, or is only in a different reference surface. **Solution:** Drop `--page` to search all pages. Try broader query. Some APIs live in `reference-libobs-*` utility pages (dstr, calldata, gs_) rather than the obvious place. ### Results look truncated **Cause:** Text extraction flattens complex Sphinx tables. **Solution:** The search-hit header prints the canonical URL. Open it directly for the authoritative view. ### Cache stale after OBS upstream release **Solution:** `clear-cache` then `index` (or `fetch --no-cache --page ` for one page).