OBS Studio for Whatnot: the card breaker stream setup guide.

Why use OBS for Whatnot?

Going live from the Whatnot app uses your phone's camera. Whatnot's screen sharing can add a window from your computer to the show, such as a webcam view, but Whatnot itself points sellers who want more control over layouts, camera views, or screen configurations to OBS. OBS gives you multi-camera scenes, live graphics, scene transitions, and a real audio chain in one picture. That is why breakers who stream regularly tend to move to it.

Equipment minimum

• OBS Studio, free, obsproject.com. Use a current version: Whatnot streams over WHIP, which OBS added in version 30, and connects through the WebSocket server built into OBS since version 28
• Google Chrome, the only browser Whatnot supports for the Show Tools connection
• Hand cam, phone mounted overhead pointing at your card opening surface
• Wide cam, a second camera that shows every product in the break (see the camera rules below)
• Face cam, optional, a webcam (Logitech C920 is the standard) or phone-as-webcam
• USB microphone, even a $40 Fifine improves audio dramatically over laptop mic
• Decent lighting, one ring light or panel light pointed at your face
• Wired ethernet. Whatnot says its WHIP streaming expects a very consistent, strong connection and highly recommends ethernet over WiFi.

Whatnot stream setup: connect OBS through Show Tools

Whatnot's current OBS method is similar to other platforms that use stream keys, with one big difference: the key, which Whatnot calls a bearer token, changes with every scheduled show. Nothing gets copied by hand. The Show Tools page talks to OBS through the OBS websocket and handles it. As of November 2026, the steps are:

1. In OBS, open Tools, then WebSocket Server Settings. Check Enable WebSocket server, turn on authentication, and type a password of your own. Whatnot says not to use the auto-generated password. Click Apply.
2. Schedule your show in Seller Hub as usual.
3. In Google Chrome, open Whatnot's Show Tools page and connect to the OBS websocket with that password.
4. First time only: click Update Profile (First Time Setup Only). It applies Whatnot's required output settings, including the 1080x1920 vertical canvas, so there is no bitrate or resolution to set by hand.
5. Close OBS completely, reopen it, and reconnect from the Show Tools page before your first show. Whatnot says OBS often does not detect the new canvas resolution until it restarts.
6. On show night, connect to the websocket right before you start, then press Start Show next to your show on the Show Tools page. Whatnot fills in the server and the stream key for that show and starts the stream in OBS.

Two things Whatnot is specific about: start OBS shows from the Show Tools page, not from the show's livestream page on whatnot.com, and do not leave Show Tools connected to OBS for long stretches before a show, because that causes errors when the show starts. If a setting looks off, compare your OBS settings against Whatnot's View Required Settings list. The Stream tab in OBS should show WHIP as the service, and the server and bearer token fill in when you start the show.

The network matters more with this method. Firewalls can block the WHIP server, and Whatnot names corporate networks as the most common case, so test from the connection you will actually stream on.

Whatnot camera setup for breaks

Whatnot's Card Breaks Policy requires the full display of a break to stay on screen from the sale of the first spot to the end of the break, and it allows that to be done over multiple cameras. It covers sealed and opened product, tools, and your hands while you deal with cards. Whatnot's own example of a compliant OBS setup uses two cameras:

• Wide cam: an overhead camera on a high stand above the desk that shows all the products in the break
• Product cam: a phone camera closer to the desk as the main camera, showing packs being opened and cards revealed

That rule shapes your scenes. A full-screen close-up or a "be right back" image can take the rest of the break out of view, which the policy does not allow, so keep the wide shot visible in every scene you use while a break is running.

The scene structure

A simple 3-scene OBS layout covers almost every show:

1. Whatnot Live, your main scene with hand cam, wide cam, face cam, and the break board
2. Close-up, the hand cam large for big pulls, with the wide shot still visible in a corner so the whole break stays on screen
3. BRB, a static "be right back" image for between breaks only, never while a break is running

Build the Whatnot Live scene

In OBS, click the + under Scenes and name it "Whatnot Live." The canvas is 1080 wide and 1920 tall, so stack sources from top to bottom. Add them in this order:

1. Background, solid color or branded image, 1080x1920, full canvas
2. Hand cam, Video Capture Device, the largest source, across the middle of the canvas
3. Wide cam, a second video source that keeps every product in the break in frame
4. Face cam, smaller, tucked into a corner
5. BreakTemplate board, Browser source with your board link, in a band at the top or bottom of the canvas

Moving over from an old 1920x1080 scene? Whatnot's tip: create a Group source, select all of your existing sources while holding Shift, drag them into the group, then scale and move the group to fit the vertical canvas.

Add the BreakTemplate overlay

The single most underrated thing you can add to your stream is a live break overlay. Viewers know at a glance which teams are still open, who's claimed what, and how full the spot grid is. It also makes screenshots and clips look professional, which drives organic shares.

In BreakTemplate, your OBS links are permanent and tied to your account: the break board, big text (call-outs like Live at $1 or Stash or Pass), and two sticky notes. They sit under Your OBS links in a break's One-time setup section. Pressing Put this break on my stream switches what the board shows, so you add each browser source once and never touch it again between breaks. The live OBS board comes with Pro, which starts with a 3-day free trial. In OBS:

1. Sources → + → Browser
2. Name it "Break Board"
3. URL: paste the board link from Your OBS links
4. Size: Width 1080, Height 1920 for a tall board, or Width 1920, Height 1080 for a wide board you scale down into a band. The board detects the shape and rearranges its team grid to fit.
5. Check "Refresh browser when scene becomes active"

The overlay updates live: when you type a buyer's name into Break Control, their @username appears in the team's cell on stream in about two seconds. Tick Transparent board background next to your links if you want the board to sit over a camera. Big text and the sticky notes go in the same way, each as its own browser source.

Audio configuration

Bad audio kills more streams than bad video. Three rules:

• Use a USB mic, not the laptop mic. Set it as the Mic/Auxiliary Audio device in Settings → Audio. Even a $40 mic transforms perceived quality.
• Aim for -20 to -10 dB peak levels. Watch the audio meters in OBS while you talk normally, adjust mic gain until you hit that range.
• Add a Noise Suppression filter. Right-click your mic source in OBS → Filters → +Noise Suppression → RNNoise. Eliminates fan hum, AC noise, and pack-rip rustle.

Light the hand cam for chrome

The hand cam is where the money moments happen, and chrome and refractor cards are mirrors. A bright light straight overhead turns every pull into a white flare. Instead:

• Light from the side at an angle, so reflections bounce away from the lens
• Diffuse it. A softbox, a panel light with a diffuser, or even light bounced off a white wall beats a bare bulb
• Lock focus and exposure on the phone, if its camera app allows it, so the picture does not pulse every time a card moves
• Use a plain, dark mat under the cards so they stand out and the camera does not hunt for focus on a busy surface
• Practice the tilt. A slow tilt of the card toward the camera shows off a parallel or serial number better than holding it still

Switch scenes with hotkeys

Solo breakers rarely have a free hand for the mouse. In OBS, open Settings → Hotkeys and assign a key to each scene: one for Whatnot Live, one for Close-up, one for BRB. A cheap macro pad or a spare keyboard on the table works too. Being able to cut to the close-up the moment a big hit shows up, without reaching for the mouse, is the difference between a clip people share and one they scroll past.

Pre-show test checklist

1. Start OBS and check that every source shows a picture, especially the phone hand cam
2. Confirm the wide cam shows every product in the break in each scene you plan to use mid-break
3. Talk at show volume and confirm the mic peaks land in the -20 to -10 dB range
4. Open your break in BreakTemplate, type a test buyer into Break Control, and watch the board update in the OBS preview, then clear it
5. Cut between all three scenes with your hotkeys
6. Check the hand cam with a chrome card under your real lighting
7. Connect Show Tools to OBS only when you are ready to press Start Show
8. Once live, check the stream in a desktop browser or from a second account. Whatnot says the app on the seller account that is live from OBS shows only the show controller, not your video

Ten minutes of testing beats ten minutes of apologizing to chat. For the rest of show night, from pricing spots to shipping hits, see how to run a sports card break on Whatnot. For random-team breaks, skip the wheel graphic: Whatnot's Card Breaks Policy (as of November 2026) does not allow randomizer wheels, including digital wheels run through streaming software, and the built-in Breaks feature has its own randomizer.

Common gotchas

• Health Check says 1920x1080, the canvas change has not registered. Close and reopen OBS, reconnect from Show Tools, and confirm the canvas reads 1080x1920
• Show Tools will not connect to OBS, check the password, use Google Chrome, try an incognito window (no extensions), and make sure both the WebSocket server and authentication are turned on in OBS
• "Failed to set show to playing", refresh the Show Tools page, reconnect to the websocket, and click Start Show again
• "Starting the output failed", compare your settings with View Required Settings; the usual cause is the Stream tab, which should be set to WHIP
• "Failed to connect" or a dropping stream, usually the network. Get on wired ethernet and check for packet loss, not just speed
• Stream runs more than 2 seconds behind, Whatnot suggests a faster CPU Usage Preset in the OBS Output settings, such as superfast or ultrafast. About 2 seconds of delay is normal
• Hand cam laggy, phone-as-webcam apps over wifi are a coin flip; use NDI over ethernet or a dedicated USB capture card
• Overlay won't refresh, make sure "Refresh browser when scene becomes active" is checked, or hit the refresh button in the OBS source properties

Keep reading

• The Whatnot overlay, what the live break board shows
• How to run a sports card break on Whatnot, complete guide
• Random vs PYT vs Mixer, break formats compared
• Whatnot fee calculator