3 Ways to Add Custom Alerts to Twitch Streams

Twitch alerts are powered by a number of third-party services that can be linked to OBS Studio. Here's how to set up Twitch alerts with three of the most popular services and connect them to OBS Studio.

How to Add Alerts to Twitch With StreamLabs

StreamLabs is the service most-used by new and experienced streamers for its Twitch alerts due to its ease of use and support for Twitch features like bits. Here's how to set it up:

1. Once logged into the StreamLabs website with your Twitch account, click on AlertBox from the left menu.

2. You will see five default alert names with checkboxes next to them at the top of the screen. Uncheck the ones you don't want to use. Keep the ones you do want to use checked.

3. At the bottom of the screen will be some General Settings for your alerts such as a time delay and basic layout. Make the preferred changes and click Save Settings.

4. Next to General Settings are tabs for the individual alerts. Click on the tabs to customize the image and sound you want to use for each one.

5. Once all of your customizations have been made, click Save Settings and click on the Click to Show Widget URL box at the top of the screen. Highlight this URL by double-clicking on it with your mouse and then copy it to your clipboard by right-clicking on it and selecting Copy.

How to Add Twitch Alerts With Muxy

Muxy offers a variety of free add-ons for Twitch streamers such as donations, cheers, and of course alerts. After logging into the Muxy website with your Twitch account, follow these steps to create your alerts:

1. From your main Muxy dashboard, click on Alerts on the left menu.

2. You will have four alerts already set up. These can either be deleted completely by pressing the red Delete Alert button at the bottom of the page or customized by filling in the relevant fields.

3. Click on the Font tab to change the font settings for each alert and use the Media tab to customize the images and sounds.

4. Click the Save Settings button at the bottom of the screen after making changes to each alert.

5. Take note of the Alert Package URL listed at the top of the screen and copy this to your clipboard.

How to Add Twitch Alerts With StreamElements

StreamElements differs from most of the other alert solutions by incorporating its alerts into a full Twitch layout overlay which it hosts on its own servers. Users of StreamElements can create full layouts with images and widgets and then link to this remotely hosted overlay in OBS Studio.

All of these features are essentially bundled in together but it is also possible to pick and choose which ones you want to use. Here's how to set up StreamElements for Twitch alerts only:

1. After logging into StreamElements, select My Overlays from the left menu.

2. Click on the blue Create Blank Overlay button in the top-right corner.

3. Enter a video game name that you'll use these alerts for. This is for your reference only.

4. Enter a name for the overlay and press Submit.

5. You'll now see your new overlay in your profile. Click on the pen icon under the thumbnail image.

6. Click on Widgets in the top menu.

7. Select Add under AlertBox.

8. You'll now see your new overlay in your profile. Click on the pen icon under the thumbnail image.

9. On the left side, you will see a list of your Twitch alerts. Uncheck them to disable the ones you don't want to show in your stream and click on the gear icon to customize their appearance and sounds.

10. When you're finished, click on Launch Overlay in the bottom-left corner. This will open your overlay in a new browser tab. It will look blank right now and that's completely normal. Copy the website URL from your browser's address bar and then close the tab.

How to Add Your Twitch Alert URL to OBS Studio

To add your customized alerts to your Twitch stream, you'll need to link to them from within OBS Studio using your unique website URL. Once you have your unique URL, follow these steps:

1. Open OBS Studio and right-click on your workspace.

2. Select Add and then choose BrowserSource.

3. Enter your copied StreamLabs, Muxy, or StreamElements URL into the URL field and press OK.

Your Twitch alerts will now be set up in OBS Studio and ready to be activated during your next stream. If you make any changes to your alerts via StreamLabs, Muxy, or StreamElements, you do not have to update anything on OBS Studio. The changes will take effect automatically.

What Are Twitch Alerts?

Twitch alerts are special notifications that appear during a broadcast on the official Twitch website and apps. Each alert can be customized by the streamer to trigger when something specific occurs, such as a new follower or subscriber, and their visuals and sound effects can both be changed.

Streamers broadcasting via a Twitch mobile or console app are unable to incorporate alerts into their stream, however. To use Twitch alerts, a stream must be broadcast from a special piece of software such as OBS Studio which allows for the use of customized layouts and graphics, scene transitions, and other special features.