OBS Recording
Last updated: September 1, 2026
Once the basics work, a few habits make long recording sessions far easier to edit: separate audio tracks, automatic file splitting, sensible names and the replay buffer for moments you did not plan to capture.
Multi-track audio
In Advanced output mode each audio source can be routed to its own track. Recording voice on track 2 and game or system audio on track 3, while keeping a combined mix on track 1, means an editor can rebalance the mix later instead of living with whatever the levels were on the day.
Replay buffer
The replay buffer keeps the last N seconds in memory and writes them to disk only when you press the save hotkey. It costs a little RAM and no disk activity until triggered, which makes it ideal for capturing a bug that appears unpredictably or a clip worth keeping from a long session.
Automatic splitting and remuxing
Enable automatic file splitting by time or size to avoid a single enormous file at the end of a workshop. When you are done, File → Remux Recordings converts MKV to MP4 without re-encoding, which takes seconds and loses nothing.
Naming and storage
Set a filename format that includes date and time so files sort chronologically. Record to a drive that is not also hosting the game or virtual machine you are capturing; concurrent writes on one slow disk are a common cause of stutter.
Bitrate and encoder recommendations are on the settings page, and the step-by-step capture walkthrough is in the screen recording guide.