The short version
Click Start Virtual Camera in OBS’s Controls dock, then choose OBS’s virtual camera as the camera in Zoom, Teams, Discord, Meet or any app that takes a webcam. The app then shows your OBS output: your camera with its framing, filters and overlays, or a whole scene. Click the same button, now Stop Virtual Camera, to end it.
1. Choose what the virtual camera shows
The gear icon next to the button in the Controls dock opens the virtual camera’s settings, with four choices:
- Program: what OBS normally outputs, the scene you are showing.
- Preview: in Studio Mode, the scene you are preparing. Anyone watching sees you change scenes and make edits.
- Scene: always one scene, whatever OBS is showing elsewhere.
- Source: always one source, such as just your camera with its filters.
2. Pick it in the meeting app
Open the meeting app’s camera or video setting and choose OBS’s virtual camera instead of your webcam. Leave the real webcam to OBS: if the call tries to open it too, one of them may fail to start, which is covered in camera in use by another app.
3. When the button or the camera is missing
On Windows, if Start Virtual Camera isn’t in the Controls dock, install it: in File Explorer open C:\Program Files\obs-studio\data\obs-plugins\win-dshow, right-click virtualcam-install.bat and choose Run as administrator. For a portable or other install, right-click your OBS shortcut, choose Open file location and run the same file there.
On macOS 13 and later, OBS asks to load a system extension the first time. Click Open System Settings, click Allow where macOS says software from “OBS” was blocked, confirm with your password and restart OBS. The setting is under Privacy & Security on macOS 13 and 14, and under General, Login Items & Extensions, Camera Extensions on macOS 15 and later. On Linux the virtual camera needs v4l2loopback installed.
Mac versions that matter
OBS 30.0 or newer on macOS 13 Ventura or newer has a virtual camera that works with all Mac apps. The virtual camera in OBS 29.1 and earlier doesn’t work on macOS 14 Sonoma at all, so update OBS. On macOS 12 and earlier, OBS suggests Chrome or Edge for online services such as Discord.
Questions
Can I use my OBS overlays in a Zoom or Teams call? Yes. Set the virtual camera to Program or to the scene that holds them.
The call shows a black picture. Check what the virtual camera is set to show: a Scene or Source choice keeps showing that one, even when the scene you are looking at changes. Then check that the webcam source works inside OBS itself; webcam not detected or black covers that.