Getting Started

This chapter is for anyone setting up Forge Live Studio for the first time. It walks you through everything in order: creating an account, launching the program for the first time, what Premium unlocks, and what each area of the screen does. Detailed settings are covered in later chapters; the goal here is to get to know the program and get ready for your first stream.

What is Forge Live Studio

Forge Live Studio is a live streaming and recording program for Windows 10 and Windows 11 (64-bit). All the work happens on your own computer: your graphics card compresses the video, the stream goes straight from your computer to the platform, and there is no cloud relay service in between.

The core ideas of the program:

• Two canvases. The horizontal (16:9) and vertical (9:16) canvases are independent of each other. Each has its own scenes, its own sources and its own recording. You can stream or record both at the same time.
• Account cards. Each streaming destination (YouTube, Twitch, Kick, or an RTMP server whose address you enter) is a card. Each card has its own resolution, bitrate and encoder setting. A single Go Live button takes every card whose switch is on live together.
• Unified chat. Chat from every platform you stream to flows into one panel.

Creating an account

You need a ForgeOcean account to use the program. The same account works across ForgeOcean's other products ("One account, all products."). You can create it in two ways: on the website, or in the browser when you first launch the program. Both create the same account.

Creating an account on the website

1. Open forgeocean.com in your browser.
2. Click Sign up in the top right. The "Create your account" page opens.
3. Choose one of two ways:
   • Continue with Google: You sign up with your Google account. Google asks which account to use; you do not need to set a password.
   • Email and password: Enter your email address and a password of at least 8 characters, then click Create account.
4. If the page asks for a security check, complete it ("Complete the verification to continue").
5. When sign-up is complete you are taken to your account panel (Panel on the website).

Messages you may see:

About your account details: your password is stored in a form that cannot be reversed (as a hash). The website's "Privacy" page explains which data is processed and how.

Creating an account from the program

If you do not have an account, you do not need to visit the website separately. When you first launch the program, the browser button in the sign-in window takes you to a sign-in page, which also offers Create new account. See "First launch and sign-in" below for details.

Downloading the program

1. On the forgeocean.com home page, click Download for Windows (on the product page it also appears as Download installer (.exe)). You do not need to sign in to download.
2. Your browser downloads the installer file ForgeLiveStudio-Setup.exe. It is about 160 MB.
3. Download the program only from forgeocean.com. The program is not legally distributed anywhere else; an installer from another source may have been tampered with.

System requirements

The requirements listed on the website:

Streaming to a single platform works on much more modest hardware. Each additional streaming card and each increase in resolution asks more of your graphics card and your internet upload speed. Before moving to several platforms, measure your upload speed with a speed test and make sure the total bitrate of your cards does not exceed about 70% of that speed; if it does, the stream drops frames.

Installing the program

1. Double-click the ForgeLiveStudio-Setup.exe file you downloaded.
2. Windows asks "Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?". Click Yes. This approval is needed because the program is installed under Program Files for all users on the computer; it is asked once during setup.
   • The installer is signed with a verified certificate. Windows should not show an "unknown publisher" warning. If it does, you may have downloaded the file from somewhere other than forgeocean.com; delete it and download it again from the website.
3. The Welcome page opens: "This wizard installs Forge Live Studio on your computer. Close any open Forge windows before continuing." Click Next.
4. On the Install folder page the default location is C:\Program Files\Forge Live Studio. You do not need to change it. If you choose another drive, the installer automatically adds \Forge Live Studio to the end of the path you picked; this way the program is installed in its own folder, and updating or uninstalling never touches your other files on that drive.
5. Click Install. The files are copied.
6. If Run Forge Live Studio is ticked on the last page, the program opens when you click Finish.

What the installer does:

• Adds a Forge Live Studio shortcut to the desktop and the Start menu.
• The program appears in the "Installed apps" list; you can uninstall it from there.
• Installs a small update service next to the program. This service installs the program's small fixes without you doing anything:
  • It checks the website for a new fix by itself; if the program finds a fix at startup, it also notifies the service.
  • It downloads the fix, verifies its signature and integrity, and installs it only while Forge Live Studio is closed. Nothing is installed during a stream or recording; while a stream or recording is running the program does not notify the service either, the notice goes out when the stream ends.
  • It shows no window, notification or prompt.
  • It is not affected by the Settings > General > Notify me about new versions switch; that switch only controls the new version window.
• If a game is using Forge's game capture component during setup, the installer tells you so and asks whether that application should be closed. If you have unsaved work, click Cancel, close the game yourself, and then run the installer again.
• If setup is interrupted, the warning "Setup could not be completed. The previous installation is unchanged" appears. Your existing installation is not damaged; close the open programs and run the installer again.

Your settings, scene collections and card details are not kept in the install folder but in a separate folder belonging to your Windows user account. That is why updating, and even uninstalling the program, does not delete them; when you reinstall, everything is where you left it.

First launch and sign-in

When the program opens, the Sign in with ForgeOcean window appears first. You cannot get to the rest of the program without signing in.

From top to bottom the window contains:

• Plan line (in the brand color): if you have not signed in, it says "Not signed in".
• Product: Forge Live Studio
• A short description: "Sign in with your ForgeOcean account. One account, all products."
• The Sign in / Sign up with Google (browser) button. This is the only way to sign in; signing in with email and password also happens on the browser page this button opens. The program window has no email or password field.
• Status line: when there is a problem a short explanation appears in red (see the table below); when you stop waiting it appears in green.
• The Quit button at the bottom.

Signing in step by step

1. Click Sign in / Sign up with Google (browser).
2. The "Sign in with ForgeOcean" page opens in your default browser. The button in the program changes to "Waiting for browser..." and is disabled; a Cancel button appears below it.
3. Choose your account in the browser:
   • Continue with Google: Google asks every time which Google account you want to continue with. Even if another Google account is signed in to your browser, you make the choice.
   • With email: enter your email and password and click Sign in. If you do not have an account, fill in the same fields and click Create new account.
4. When sign-in is complete, the browser tab shows "Signed in" with "You can close this tab and return to Forge." below it. You can close the tab. If something went wrong, the tab shows "Sign-in could not be completed" and "Return to Forge and try again."
5. The program picks up the sign-in automatically, the sign-in window closes and the main screen opens.

Even if you are already signed in to forgeocean.com in your browser, the program does not use that session automatically; you choose the account on every sign-in. This prevents people who share the same browser from accidentally entering the program with someone else's account.

Things to know about the sign-in window

• Cancel: Visible while the program waits for the browser. There is no time limit on the wait; if you closed the browser or changed your mind, stop waiting with this button. The status line shows "Stopped waiting for the browser."; you can then click the sign-in button again.
• Quit, the X in the top right of the window and the Esc key are for leaving the program. You cannot close the sign-in window and continue into the program without signing in.
  • In the sign-in window that appears when the program starts, these three close the program immediately.
  • If the sign-in window appeared while the program was already open (when your session ended or someone signed in on another computer), or a stream or recording is running at that moment, the program does not close immediately; it first asks you to confirm. If a stream or recording is running the prompt says "Streaming or recording is still running. Exit anyway?", otherwise it says "Close Forge?". If you click Go back you return to the sign-in window.
• Possible error lines:

One account, one computer at a time

An account can be open in the program on only one computer at a time. If you sign in with the same account on another computer, the session on the first computer closes and it shows the message "Your session ended or you signed in on another device. Sign in again to continue." You do not need a support request to switch computers; simply sign in on the new computer.

You can't sign in with another account while streaming or recording.

Interface language

On first launch the program uses the language selected in Windows under Settings > Time & language > Language & region > Regional format. On a computer whose regional format is English, the interface opens in English. If the program does not have that language, another regional variant of the same language is chosen, and failing that, English. You can change the language at any time in Settings > Language; your choice is saved and the Windows setting is no longer consulted on later launches.

Free plan and Premium

The program and the free plan have no time limit. Premium is a subscription that unlocks certain features inside the program. Current prices and duration options are on the website's Pricing page.

What the free plan includes

• The whole studio: scenes, sources, two canvases, audio mixer, filters, recording, unified chat, Gallery.
• Streaming to one account at a time. You can add up to 32 cards (the program's card limit), but only one of them goes live at a time.

If you try to turn on a second card's switch on the free plan, the program asks "Turn on the {Card} card?" and explains: "On the free plan you can stream to one account at a time." If you confirm, the new card turns on and the previous card turns off. Locked cards show a PREMIUM badge, and hovering over it shows "Streaming to several accounts at once comes with Premium".

What Premium unlocks

Locked controls are not hidden; they appear dimmed with a PREMIUM chip next to them and tell you why when you hover over them.

When Premium expires:

• The locked features lock again; your settings are not deleted. When you subscribe again they come back with the same settings.
• Clips you took earlier are not lost; you can watch and delete them in the Clips window, only taking new clips is locked.

To subscribe: click the account chip in the top right and, in the window that opens, click Manage subscription (forgeocean.com). If you are not Premium the pricing page opens; if you are, your account panel on the website opens. After paying, click Refresh in the account window; the plan line changes to "Premium".

ForgeOcean account window

Clicking the account chip in the top right (your initials) opens the ForgeOcean account window.

• Plan line: "Free", "Premium" or "Signed in - permission not verified". The last one means the program could not verify your account's plan with the server at that moment; usually it is an internet outage.
• Product: Forge Live Studio
• Account: the full email address you signed in with. If you have two accounts, this is where you see which one you used.
• Subscription ends: the end date for Premium; "Lifetime" for lifetime Premium. If it has run out it says "Subscription has expired", and if you never subscribed it says "Free plan". If it says "Premium is suspended - open a support request", write to us with Support in the menu.
• Manage subscription (forgeocean.com): opens the website.
• Refresh: fetches the plan details from the server again. Use it after a purchase or if the plan looks wrong. While it runs the button says "Working..." and Sign out is also disabled. The result appears as a line in the window: on success a green "Account information updated"; on a problem a red message, for example "Could not reach the server." (check your internet connection) or "Your session has ended. Please sign in again."
• Sign out: signs out of the account and returns to the sign-in window. It does not ask for confirmation; if you clicked it by mistake, just sign in again. This button is disabled while a stream or recording is running ("Cannot sign out while a stream or recording is running."). The reason: the sign-in window covers the whole interface; if it opened during a stream you could not reach the End Stream button.
• Close: closes the window. The X in the top right and Esc do the same; they do not exit the program.

Tour of the main screen

After you sign in, the main screen opens. From top to bottom it consists of four layers: the window bar, the header row, the panel area and the bottom bar.

Window bar

The thin bar at the very top. On the left are the small Forge icon and the text "Forge Live Studio"; on the right are the minimize, maximize and close buttons.

• Moving: You can drag the window by an empty spot on this bar or on the header row just below it (a spot that is not on a button or card). If you drag the window to the edge or a corner of the screen, Windows snaps it to half or a quarter of the screen.
• Double-click: Double-clicking the same empty spot maximizes the window to fill the screen; double-clicking again restores its previous size.
• Snap menu: On Windows 11, if you hover over the maximize button for a moment, Windows' snap layout menu opens; you can place the window in a part of the screen from there.
• Resizing: When the window is not maximized, resize it by dragging its edges and corners.

The close button and Alt+F4 take the same path: if a stream or recording is running, the program asks "Streaming or recording is still running. Exit anyway?" and does not close unless you click Exit.

Header row

From left to right:

1. Main menu button (☰). Described separately below.
2. Forge logo.
3. Stream Accounts box. Clicking it opens a small menu:
   • Add account: opens the Add Account window (YouTube Landscape, YouTube Portrait, Twitch, Kick, Custom RTMP Landscape, Custom RTMP Portrait). Disabled when the card limit is reached.
   • New card design: Ticked by default; cards are drawn as two-line cards with artwork. If you untick it, the cards switch to a thin pill look. It changes only the appearance; it has no effect on the cards' settings or the stream. If you use many cards and want to see more of them on the strip at once, untick it.
4. Account cards. Each streaming destination you add is a card here. A card shows the platform name, an orientation mark (horizontal or vertical), the account name (or the name you gave the card), a status pill and a switch.
   • Status pill: OFF (not live), CONNECTING (the connection is being set up, or YouTube has not taken the broadcast live yet), LIVE (the stream is really flowing; the duration is shown next to it), ERROR (the connection could not be made; hover over it to see why).
   • Switch: includes the card in the next stream or leaves it out. Turning the switch on during a stream adds that card to the stream live; turning it off removes only that card; the other cards are not affected.
   • Clicking a card opens its Broadcast settings window.
   • Three dots or right-click: Broadcast settings, Open chat, Remove. Remove first asks "Remove this card?" and tells you that the stream key stored on this computer will be deleted along with the card; confirm with Remove card.
   • If the cards do not fit, the strip scrolls horizontally.
   • Card limit: The program can hold at most 32 cards. When the limit is reached the Add account item and the + button are disabled; hovering over them shows "Card limit reached: up to 32 cards can be added." To add a new card, first remove a card you do not use.
   • Card details are covered in the Platform cards chapter of this guide.
5. + (Add account). Opens the Add Account window directly. Disabled when the card limit is reached.
6. Layout. Chooses how the panels are arranged on the screen. Click it to open the list of six layouts; the selected one is ticked. Details below under Panel area > Layouts.
7. Account chip. The short name of the account you are signed in with. Clicking it opens the ForgeOcean account window.
8. Gallery. Opens and closes your gallery on the ForgeOcean website (images, sounds and videos your viewers trigger with commands) as a panel inside the program. It is also available on the free plan; it only requires sign-in. If your account's gallery access could not be verified, the button appears disabled.
9. Settings. Opens the program settings. Every row is explained in the Settings chapter of this guide.

Main menu (☰)

Less frequently used tasks live in this menu. From top to bottom the menu consists of a collection card, four headed sections (RECORDINGS, WINDOWS, TOOLS, ACCOUNT AND SITE) and a bottom strip. Items with a small right-pointing arrow (marked "submenu" below) open a submenu beside them when clicked. An item that does not work yet is not hidden; it appears dimmed with Soon next to it and cannot be clicked (currently only Virtual Camera is like this). Clicking anywhere outside the menu closes it.

Collection card (top of the menu)

Shows the name of your active scene collection. A scene collection is a package in which all the scenes and sources of both canvases are saved together. If you keep separate collections for different kinds of streams (for example "Gaming" and "Just Chatting"), you switch from one to the other with a single click; you do not have to build the scenes from scratch each time. Clicking the card opens this list beside it:

• Saved collections: The active one is ticked. Clicking another one switches to that collection; before switching, the latest state of the active collection is saved automatically, so your work is not lost.
• New collection...: Asks for a name and creates a new collection with that name.
• Duplicate: Saves the active collection, creates a copy of it and switches to the copy. Use it to try something new without disturbing your existing setup.
• Rename: Changes the name of the active collection; the name box comes pre-filled with the current name.
• Save collection as...: Asks for a name and saves the active collection under that new name.
• Remove: Deletes the active collection; asks for confirmation first. The last remaining collection cannot be removed; in that case the item is dimmed and hovering over it shows "The last collection cannot be removed".
• Import collection...: You pick a previously exported collection file (.forgekol); the collection is added to the list and the program switches to it.
• Export collection...: Writes the active collection as a single .forgekol file to the location you choose. Use it to make a backup or move it to another computer.

RECORDINGS

• Open recordings folder: Opens the folder your recording files are written to (Settings > General > Recording folder; if empty, the Forge Live Studio folder inside the Windows Videos folder).
• Recent recordings (submenu): The 5 newest recording files in the recording folder, with the name and, below it, the duration and size (for example "125.0 s - 210.4 MB"). Clicking one opens the file in Windows' default player for that file type. The list is rescanned every time the menu opens. If there are no recordings it shows a dimmed "Empty".

WINDOWS

• Panels (submenu): Choose which panels are shown. Open ones have a tick next to them; clicking opens or closes them.
  • Scenes, Sources, Audio Mixer, Horizontal preview, Vertical canvas.
  • Vertical Sources: Turning it on also opens the vertical canvas, because this panel belongs to the vertical canvas; the panel is not shown on its own while the canvas is closed.
  • Chat: Locked, cannot be closed; hovering over it shows "Chat stays open - it cannot be closed".
• Reset window layout: Returns the panels to the factory sizes of the selected layout and moves the chat to that layout's default side (right in Portrait · Top Canvas and Portrait · Side Chat, left in the others). The selected layout does not change. Use it if you have rearranged the panels into a mess or one has ended up off screen. It does not touch your scenes and sources; it only changes where the panels are.
• Check For Updates: Asks the website right now whether there is a new version.
  • If there is a new version, the update window opens (release notes, Download, Later). This window opens even if Settings > General > Notify me about new versions is off, because this time you asked.
  • If you are up to date it says "Forge Live Studio is up to date (version ...)."
  • If the website cannot be reached it says "The site could not be reached."; check your internet connection and try again.
  • During a stream or recording it says "Updates cannot run while streaming or recording."; try again after the stream ends.
• Send canvas to display (submenu): First choose Horizontal canvas or Vertical canvas, then a display; the canvas is shown full screen on that display (hovering shows "Shows a canvas full-screen on a display you pick"). Useful for seeing the canvas large on a second monitor, a studio screen or during a stream. The list of displays is read the moment you open the menu; if you have just plugged in a new monitor, close the menu and open it again.
• Custom browser docks... (submenu): Opens web pages whose address you give inside the program, each in its own window (hovering shows "Opens pages you choose in their own windows"). For example, a platform's stream dashboard or an alert settings page. The submenu lists the docks you have defined; open ones have a tick, and clicking opens or closes them. With Manage... at the bottom you add docks, edit their name and address, and delete them.

TOOLS

• Virtual Camera: For giving the canvas to other applications as a camera (hovering shows "Feeds the canvas to other apps as a camera"). It does not work yet; it appears dimmed with Soon next to it.
• Logs (submenu): Open log folder opens the folder containing the program's technical records (log files). Last session log opens the log file of the session that is running now; if the file cannot be found, the log folder opens. Use it to look at the technical record of a problem when asking for support. If you need the record of an earlier session, open the log folder and pick it by date.
• Plugins: Opens the Plugins window. It lists the plugins installed in the program and their status: RUNNING, OFF, REJECTED (the plugin is not compatible with this version of the program or could not be loaded; the reason is shown on the row), CRASHED. A plugin with its own settings has a gear icon on its row. Open folder at the bottom opens the plugin folder.

ACCOUNT AND SITE

• Open ForgeOcean: Opens forgeocean.com in your default browser.
• Support: Opens the Support window. You describe your problem and send it to us together with technical information (with personal data masked).

Bottom strip of the menu

• Guide: Opens this guide in your default browser, in the program's interface language. The guide is installed with the program and opens from your computer; no internet connection is needed. If there is no guide in your interface language, the English one opens, and failing that, the Turkish one. If the guide file cannot be found, the notice "The guide could not be opened: the page was not found in the program folder. Try reinstalling the program." appears at the bottom of the screen; download the program from forgeocean.com and reinstall it (your settings are not deleted).
• About: Opens the Settings window at the About section (version, legal information, licenses).
• Quit (red): Closes the program. If a stream or recording is running it first asks "Streaming or recording is still running. Exit anyway?"; it does not close unless you click Exit.

Panel area

The wide area below the header row is made up of panels: Chat, the previews of the two canvases and four panels (Scenes, Sources, Audio Mixer, Vertical Sources). How they are arranged on the screen is set by the Layout button in the header row.

Layouts

There are six layouts; three are for landscape (wide) screens and three for portrait (vertical) screens:

• Automatic switching: The program looks at the orientation of the screen its window is on. On a portrait screen it switches to a portrait layout, on a landscape screen to a landscape layout. When you move the window to another screen or rotate the screen, the layout changes by itself.
• Your choice is remembered: The layout you pick from the Layout list is saved for that screen orientation: the layout picked on a landscape screen is used on landscape screens, the one picked on a portrait screen on portrait screens. You can also pick a portrait layout on a landscape screen (or the other way round). The first time the program opens on a portrait screen, Portrait · Side Chat is used.
• Chat side: The ◀ ▶ buttons at the top of the chat panel (Dock to the left / Dock to the right) move the chat to the other side; the panels opposite it swap places like a mirror. Each layout remembers its own side. In Portrait · Wide Chat the chat spans the full width, so these buttons are not shown.
• Sizes: Panels cannot be pulled out of place; you resize them by dragging the dividers between them. Sizes are kept separately for each layout, saved when the program closes and come back the same at the next launch. When you switch to another layout, it is built with its factory sizes.
• In portrait layouts the bottom bar has two rows: the health indicators on the top row, the stream timer and the recording and stream buttons on the bottom row.

Panels

• Chat: Chat from every platform you stream to appears in a single feed; from the input line at the bottom you can send a message to one platform or to All. The chat panel cannot be closed.
• Horizontal preview and Vertical canvas: The two canvases sit side by side (in Portrait · Top Canvas they are in separate places). When they are side by side, drag the divider between them to change their widths. Above each canvas are its aspect ratio and resolution, plus the eye button that hides the canvas. A hidden canvas does not disappear; it shrinks to a thin strip, and the eye on the strip brings it back (details in the Canvas chapter). A canvas that is going to the stream or a recording cannot be hidden ("Cannot hide while live").
• Scenes: The list of horizontal and vertical scenes. You can create a scene on both canvases at once, on the horizontal one only or on the vertical one only.
• Sources: The sources of the selected scene on the horizontal canvas (screen, game, camera, image, text, browser...).
• Audio Mixer: The level meter, volume, mute and monitoring (headphone) controls of each audio channel.
• Vertical Sources: The sources of the selected scene on the vertical canvas. The vertical canvas's sources are completely independent of the horizontal ones.
• Gallery, when open, appears as a panel next to the canvases, on the side away from the chat.

Each of these panels is explained in detail in its own chapter of this guide.

Bottom bar

The bar at the very bottom of the screen has three parts. In portrait layouts the bar is split into two rows: the health indicators on the top row, the stream timer and the recording and stream buttons on the bottom row.

Left: health indicators. From left to right:

Hover over the Dropped indicator for details: Dropped (network), Skipped (encoder) (the encoder could not keep up), Missed (clock) (the program could not produce the frame) and, while streaming, Similarity: the video going to the stream is decoded back on your computer and compared with the source; this percentage is close to the quality viewers see.

As the window gets narrower, indicators that no longer fit are hidden in order of importance: VRAM, RAM and CPU go first; the dropped frame indicator is hidden last.

Center: stream timer. Shows how long the stream has been running (it has nothing to do with recording). While the stream connects it says "Connecting…", and it turns green when you go live. If the stream audio was cut from the Forge Control tablet, a red STREAM AUDIO CUT badge appears to the left of the timer.

Right: recording and stream buttons.

• Start Horizontal Recording and Start Vertical Recording: The two recordings are completely independent. While recording, the button becomes "Stop Recording · duration". If you right-click the button while recording, the Pause / Resume and Split now (new file) options appear. If a canvas is hidden, that canvas's record button is disabled.
• Take Clip: Visible while the account is Premium. With Short video clips on it takes backward clips; with it off it reads Take Clip · 1 min and records 1 minute from the moment you press it. The arrow next to it opens the Clips window.
• Go Live: Takes every card whose switch is on live together; while streaming it becomes End Stream. If confirmation is turned on in Settings > General, it asks before stopping.

When the window gets narrower these buttons shrink first, and at the narrowest they remain as icons only; hover over them to see their names.

Getting ready for your first stream

1. Sign in.
2. In Settings > Video, check the canvas sizes and frame rate (for most people a 1920 x 1080 horizontal canvas at 60 fps).
3. Create a scene in the Scenes panel and add your screen or game and your camera to Sources.
4. In the Audio Mixer, check that the microphone and desktop audio meters move.
5. Add an account card with the + button and connect your account.
6. Check that the card's switch is on and click Go Live.

Each step is covered in detail in the relevant chapter of this guide.

Settings

This chapter explains every section and every row of the Settings window one by one. For each row you will find what it does, its options, the recommended value and why, when you should change it, and what happens if it is set wrong.

How the Settings window works

Open the Settings window with the Settings button on the right of the header row. The About item in the main menu opens the same window at the About section.

Layout

• Left strip: the list of sections. The selected section is shown in the brand color with a solid line on its left. The dimmed section (Virtual Camera) is a feature that does not work yet; you can open it to see what it is.
• Right area: the rows of the selected section. Each row has its name on the left and its control on the right. Hovering over some row names shows a short explanation (tooltip).
• Bottom strip: the Cancel and Save buttons. If there are changes, "You have unsaved changes" appears on the left.

Order of the sections in the left strip:

1. General
2. Recording (Horizontal)
3. Recording (Vertical)
4. Short Video
5. Audio
6. Video
7. Quiet Hand
8. Shortcuts
9. Advanced
10. Language
11. Virtual Camera
12. Control Center
13. About

Changes apply instantly

The Settings window has no "Apply" button. The moment you change a row, the program applies it; for example, while you drag the color grading slider, the preview and the stream change at the same time. This way you never have to decide without seeing the result.

• Save: makes the changes permanent and closes the window. The program opens with these values the next time it starts.
• Cancel: returns to the values from the moment the window opened. Everything is undone, including the language.
• X or Esc: if there are changes, the program asks "You are closing the window; your changes will be lost." You can choose Save changes, Exit without saving or Go back.

While the Settings window is open, the main screen is dimmed and cannot be clicked; the window is a task window. You can move the window and resize it by its edges.

Locked rows

Some rows are dimmed and cannot be changed while a stream or recording is running. The reason: the size, frame rate or color conversion of a running encoder cannot be changed in the middle of the stream; if you tried, the stream would drop or the recording file would be corrupted. Hovering over a locked row shows the reason (for example "Can't be changed while recording"). When the stream or recording ends, the row unlocks again.

If you close the window with Cancel while rows are locked, the locked rows keep the value of the running stream or recording; Cancel does not write a setting back in the middle of a running stream.

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General

Ask to confirm when stopping the stream

• What it does: When on, clicking End Stream or pressing the shortcut that stops the stream makes the program ask "End the stream on all destinations?". When off, the stream stops immediately.
• Options: On / Off.
• Default: Off.
• Recommended: On if you manage the stream with shortcuts or might click the button by accident. Stopping the stream cuts all cards at once and the broadcast ends on the platforms; on YouTube you cannot resume the same broadcast where you left off. A single wrong click is not worth that price.
• When to turn it off: If you always stop the stream deliberately while looking at the screen and the extra window slows you down.
• Note: The Forge Control tablet has its own confirmation window; a stop confirmed on the tablet is not asked a second time on the computer.

Notify me about new versions

• What it does: When on, the program checks at startup whether there is a new version and, if there is, shows the "new version available" window.
• Options: On / Off.
• Default: On.
• Recommended: On. New versions bring adjustments to platform changes and bug fixes; when platforms change their streaming rules, an old version may no longer connect.
• If you turn it off: The window at startup no longer appears. Check For Updates in the main menu still works and shows the window if there is a new version. If there is a mandatory minimum version the program needs in order to work ("This update is required."), the window is shown even with this setting off; the switch does not let you skip a mandatory update.
• Note: During a stream or recording the update download pauses and resumes where it left off when the stream ends. If the update window is open when a stream or recording starts (and it is not a mandatory update), it closes and opens again after the stream.
• Small fixes are not affected by this switch. The update service installed with the program installs fixes without showing a window or prompt, and only while the program is closed. Fixes arrive even if the switch is off.

Streaming region

• What it does: Determines which country the stream category list on the YouTube card is fetched for. YouTube's category list varies by country; some categories do not exist in some countries.
• Options: TR, US, GB, DE, FR, NL, RU, UA, AZ, SA, BR, ES, IT, PL.
• Default: TR.
• Recommended: The country your channel is registered in, or the country where most of your viewers are.
• Why it is separate from the language setting: Someone using the interface in English may be streaming from Turkey. The interface language does not determine the streaming region.
• If set wrong: The category you are looking for may not appear in the list, or you may pick a category that is not valid in your channel's country.

Recording files

The rows under this heading are file rules shared by horizontal and vertical recording. Compression settings (codec, bitrate) are separate for each canvas and are in the Recording (Horizontal) / Recording (Vertical) sections.

Recording folder

• What it does: The folder recording files are written to. The button on the row shows the current path (for long paths the end is shown; hover to see all of it). Clicking the button opens a folder picker. The row name's tooltip says "Where recordings are written; empty means Videos\Forge Live Studio".
• Default: Empty; while empty, recordings are written to the Forge Live Studio folder in Windows' Videos folder. There is no separate button to return to the default; you can pick that folder yourself with the picker.
• Recommended: A fast drive with plenty of free space. High-bitrate recording takes tens of GB per hour (see the Bitrate table below). If the drive Windows is installed on is full, writing recordings to a second disk is a good choice.
• If set wrong: If the chosen folder cannot be written to (drive removed, no permission), the program does not cancel the recording; it writes the recording to the Videos\Forge Live Studio folder, and if that cannot be written either, to the "kayitlar" folder in the program's user data folder, and tells you so. If you choose a network drive or a slow USB stick, writing may not keep up at high bitrates.
• Other things that use this folder: Open recordings folder and Recent recordings in the main menu look at this folder; screenshots taken with the shortcut are written here; Short Video clips are written to the Klipler folder inside this folder unless you chose a separate clip folder.

File name template

• What it does: The pattern for the names given to recording files. The tokens in curly brackets in the pattern are replaced with real values when recording starts.
• Default: Forge {tarih} {saat} {tuval}
• Tokens (all of them are listed in the tooltip when you hover over the row name):

• Recommended: The default is enough for most people. If you want to sort your recordings by scene, add {sahne}.
• Rules: Characters that cannot be used in file names are removed automatically. If you empty the box completely, the default template is used. If the template has no {tuval}, " dikey" is added to the end of vertical recordings' names; otherwise a horizontal and a vertical recording started in the same second would get the same name. If a file with the same name already exists in the folder, it is not overwritten; " (2)", " (3)" is added to the name. In a split recording, if the template has no {sayac}, the part number (" 02", " 03") is added to the end of the names of the second and later parts.
• File type: Recordings are written as MP4.

Example name

• What it does: Shows the name the template would produce right now, with its extension (for example Forge 2026-11-02 21-45-07 yatay.mp4). It cannot be edited; it is there so you see the result while typing the template. The example is always for a horizontal recording and shows "Scene" in place of the scene name.

Automatic split

• What it does: Splits long recordings into parts by switching to a new file at a set duration or size. Each part is a complete file that can be opened on its own.
• Options: Off, By duration, By size.
• Default: Off.
• When to turn it on:
  • If you record streams lasting hours and your editing program opens very large files slowly → By duration (for example 30 or 60 minutes).
  • If you write recordings to a FAT32-formatted USB stick or disk → By size, a value below 4000 MB. FAT32 does not accept files larger than 4 GB.
  • If you upload recordings to the cloud in pieces → By size according to your upload limit.
• Power cut or crash: The recording file is appended to disk in sections of about 2 seconds, in a form that stays playable even while it is being written. If the recording is interrupted unexpectedly, the part written up to that moment can be opened; only the last few seconds are lost. With automatic split, the earlier parts are already closed, complete files. Some players may show the total duration of an interrupted file incorrectly; the video and audio still play.
• Part transition: The encoder does not stop during a split; the program asks for a new keyframe and switches to the next file exactly at that frame. The audio is divided between the two files at the same moment. This way no frames or audio are lost between parts and each part plays on its own.
• Manual split: You can also split while Automatic split is off, by right-clicking the record button and choosing Split now (new file), or with the "Split horizontal recording file" / "Split vertical recording file" shortcut in Settings > Shortcuts.
• This row is locked while recording: the value is taken when recording starts.

Split duration

• What it does: The length of each part when splitting by duration.
• Range: 1 – 240 minutes. Default: 30 min.
• Active only when Automatic split = By duration; dimmed otherwise.

Split size

• What it does: The maximum size of each part when splitting by size.
• Range: 100 – 16384 MB. Default: 4096 MB.
• Active only when Automatic split = By size.
• Caution: On a FAT32 drive, 4096 MB is just above the limit; for FAT32 choose 4000 or less.

Low disk warning

• What it does: While recording, watches the free space left on the disk that holds the recording folder. When free space drops below this value it warns you; when it drops to half of this value it closes the recording cleanly. Thanks to the clean close, the file is not left half-written and unplayable.
• Range: 0 – 20480 MB. 0 = Off. Default: 2048 MB.
• Recommended: Raise the threshold if you record at a high bitrate. A recording at 60000 kbps writes about 450 MB per minute; a 2048 MB threshold gives you about 2 minutes after the warning. 5120 MB is a more comfortable margin.
• If you choose Off: When the disk fills up, the recording stops because there is no space left and its last part may be lost. Windows itself also slows down because it cannot find space. We do not recommend turning it off.
• This row is locked while recording.

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Recording (Horizontal) and Recording (Vertical)

These two sections have the same rows; one manages the recording of the horizontal canvas, the other the recording of the vertical canvas. Because the two canvases are independent, their recording settings are independent too: a vertical recording is usually kept at a different resolution and a lower bitrate.

The size of the recording file is the size of the canvas being recorded: a horizontal recording is written at the size set in Settings > Video > Horizontal canvas, a vertical recording at the Vertical canvas size.

While a canvas is recording, all rows in that canvas's section are locked ("Can't be changed while recording"). Only its own canvas is locked: while the horizontal recording runs, the vertical section stays open.

While live, the recording matches the stream

The Bitrate row's tooltip says "While live, the recording matches the stream's quality". What this rule means:

• With no stream running, the recording is made exactly with the codec and bitrate you choose in this section.
• If the recording is started while a live stream is running on that canvas, the recording copies the settings (size, codec, bitrate) of the largest live streaming card on that canvas and, if possible, shares that card's encoder. This way the graphics card does not compress the same picture a second time; the recording adds no extra load and is never of lower quality than the stream.
• If the recording started before the stream and the stream was started afterwards, the running recording continues with its own settings; the size or codec of a recording cannot change in the middle.
• If there is no live card on that canvas (for example only vertical cards are live and you are recording horizontally), there is nothing to match; your setting applies.
• If the horizontal recording has been matched to the stream, the tooltip also shows the value applied: for example "(now: 1920x1080 · 9000 kbps)".

That is why, if you record together with a stream, the quality of the recording is really determined by your streaming card's settings. If you want a separate archive recording at higher quality than the stream, start the recording before the stream; then a separate encoder session opens with the settings in this section (this adds load to the graphics card).

Compression

Codec

• What it does: Chooses the compression format the video is recorded in.
• Options: The list shows only the formats your graphics card can really encode: H.264 is always there; HEVC and AV1 are listed if your graphics card supports them. The row name's tooltip says "The list shows codecs your GPU can encode; if the saved choice isn't supported, it says recordings use H.264". You can see which are supported in Settings > Advanced.
• Default: H.264.

How the three formats differ (the bitrate ratios are general, approximate values; they vary with the content and the encoder):

Find out which formats your own card encodes not by guessing but from the "available / not available" rows in Settings > Advanced; the program shows this by asking your card.

• Recommended:
  • If you will edit the recordings directly in an editing program or share them with others → H.264. It opens everywhere and plays most smoothly while editing.
  • If disk space matters and your editing program opens HEVC → HEVC. It gives noticeably smaller files at the same quality.
  • If your graphics card encodes AV1 and you keep recordings for archiving or uploading to YouTube → AV1. It gives the highest quality for the same size.
  • If you record together with a stream, the choice is usually matched to your streaming card's codec (see above). For example, if your YouTube card is AV1, a horizontal recording started during the stream is also AV1.
• If the saved choice is not available on the hardware: If the setting came from another computer or a codec disappeared after a driver update, your choice is not removed from the list; it appears with a note such as "HEVC (not supported by this hardware - H.264)" and the recording is made with H.264. If the graphics card's capabilities could not be read, the note says "(could not be checked - H.264)".
• If the encoder cannot be opened during recording: The program does not stop the recording; it switches to H.264 and tells you (for example "The ... vertical recording encoder could not start on this hardware - recording continues in H.264").

Bit depth

• What it does: Chooses how many bits each color channel is stored with. At 8 bits each channel is stored with 256 shades, at 10 bits with 1024.
• Options: 8 bit, 10 bit.
• Default: 8 bit.
• What 10 bit gains you: It reduces the stepping (banding) seen in smooth gradients such as skies, dark scenes and fog. It gives more flexibility for recordings you will color grade later.
• Restriction: 10 bit is only possible with HEVC and AV1. While H.264 is selected the row is disabled; its tooltip says "H.264 cannot encode 10-bit on this hardware - choose HEVC or AV1". If you switch to H.264, a 10-bit choice automatically becomes 8 bit.
• Recommended: 8 bit for most users. 10 bit if you will edit the recordings with color grading and your editing program opens 10-bit HEVC/AV1.
• If set wrong: 10-bit files do not open, or play with stutters, on some phones, older players and some editing programs.

Bitrate

Video

• What it does: Sets how many kilobits of video data per second the recording uses. The recording is written at a constant bitrate (CBR), with a quality-first encoder setting and a keyframe every 2 seconds.
• Range: 2000 – 60000 kbps.
• Default: Recording (Horizontal) 12000 kbps, Recording (Vertical) 8000 kbps.
• Recommended values:

• Why higher for recording than for streaming: A recording does not go over the internet, it is only written to disk; your upload speed is not the limit. A recording is edited later, compressed again and uploaded to a platform; every recompression costs quality, so the source needs a generous bitrate.
• Disk estimate: Bitrate (kbps) × 0.45 = MB per hour. Examples: 12000 kbps takes about 5.4 GB per hour; 20000 kbps 9 GB; 40000 kbps 18 GB; 60000 kbps 27 GB.
• If set too low: Fast-moving scenes (games, camera movement) show blocking and blur.
• If set too high: Files grow unnecessarily and writing may not keep up on slow disks; visible quality stops improving beyond a certain point.
• Read the matching note in this slider's tooltip: for a recording started during a stream, the streaming card's value is used instead of this one.

Audio

• What it does: The recording's audio bitrate. Audio is written as AAC-LC, 48 kHz stereo.
• Options: 96, 128, 160, 192, 256, 320 kbps. If you type a number into the box by hand, it snaps to the nearest valid value. Windows' audio encoder only accepts these values; with a value in between the recording would not start at all, so no other values are offered.
• Default: 256 kbps.
• Recommended: 160–192 kbps is enough for speech-heavy recordings. 256 kbps for music, game audio and later editing. 320 kbps for music streams or DJ recordings.
• If set too low: At 96–128 kbps, music and loud sounds sound metallic and crackly.

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Short Video

Short Video lets you save the last few seconds as a clip with a single key during a stream or recording, lets the program take clips by itself at important moments, and lets you trim and compile these clips after the stream. This section is part of the Premium package; on the free plan its rows appear dimmed with a PREMIUM chip next to them ("Short Video is part of the Premium package").

How it works: While the feature is on, the program continuously compresses the picture and sound of the source canvas with its own separate encoder and keeps the last 75 seconds or so in a buffer in memory. When you click Take Clip, the last "Before" seconds are taken from the buffer, then it waits for the "After" seconds, and both are written as a single MP4 clip. The buffer works even without a stream or recording; so you can take clips without going live. The program chooses the source canvas itself (see Source canvas below). With the feature off, on Premium the Take Clip · 1 min button records 1 minute from the moment you press it; it takes no backward clip.

• The clip's quality comes not from your streaming cards but from the Recording section: if the source canvas is Vertical, the codec, video bitrate and audio bitrate of Recording (Vertical) are used; if it is Horizontal, those of Recording (Horizontal). Clips are always 8 bit; if AV1 is selected in the Recording section the clip is compressed with HEVC, and if your hardware does not encode HEVC, with H.264. The clip's size is the size of the source canvas (Settings > Video > Horizontal canvas or Vertical canvas). When the buffer shares the vertical card's encoder during a stream, the clip has that card's size, codec and bitrate.
• The clip is not recompressed when written: The compressed data in the buffer is cut into the file as it is; there is no quality loss. The buffer produces a keyframe every second; that is why the start of the clip may differ by up to 1 second from the moment you pressed. While the vertical card's encoder is shared during a stream, there is a keyframe every 2 seconds.
• Setting changes: When you change the source canvas or the settings of the related Recording section, the buffer is rebuilt with the new settings and the history collected so far is cleared. A change to the Recording section made during a stream or recording is applied when the stream or recording ends, so the collected clip history is not lost.
• Where clips are written: To the clip folder; the clips of each stream or recording session are collected in a separate subfolder named after the date and time the session started.

Ways to take a clip: the Take Clip button in the bottom bar, the Take clip shortcut in Settings > Shortcuts, and the button on the Forge Control tablet. The Take Clip button, the Clips window, trimming and compiling are covered in the Clips and Short Video chapter of this guide; only the Settings rows are here.

Short video clips

• What it does: The feature's main switch.
• Default: Off. Not everyone wants clips that reach back in time; while it is off the buffer does not run continuously, no memory is reserved, no encoder stays open, and the shortcut and automatic triggers take no backward clips. On Premium the Take Clip button becomes Take Clip · 1 min: it records 1 minute from the moment you press it, and the buffer closes once the clip is written.
• When you turn it on: All the rows below become active and the button in the bottom bar becomes Take Clip. Until the buffer is set up (a few seconds) the button stays disabled; if you press the Take clip shortcut during that time, the notification "Clip buffer is not ready yet" appears.
• What it costs:
  • With no stream running, the buffer opens its own separate encoder session whichever source canvas it uses, adding one more encoding job to the graphics card. During a stream, if it takes from the vertical canvas and a vertical card is on, the buffer shares that card's encoder and opens no extra session (the clip has the card's size). When a stream or recording starts, the buffer encoder is released briefly and rebuilt once the stream or recording is up; this way, on graphics cards with a limited number of encoder sessions, streaming and recording do not lose priority.
  • About 75 seconds of compressed video and audio are kept in memory. The size depends on the bitrate in the related Recording section: with the default values, Vertical (8000 kbps) is about 80 MB and Horizontal (12000 kbps) about 115 MB.
• If the buffer cannot be set up or drops: The notification "Clip buffer could not start: ..." appears once and the program tries again 30 seconds later.
• If Premium expires: Taking clips is locked and the Take Clip button switches to a locked look; your earlier clips are not lost, and you can open the Clips window with the arrow in the bottom bar to watch and delete them.

Source canvas

• This row is not in Settings; the program chooses: Vertical canvas if you have a vertical streaming card whose switch is on and the vertical canvas isn't hidden, Horizontal canvas otherwise.
• Why: someone who streams vertically has already set up their vertical canvas for short video; for someone who doesn't, the vertical canvas is usually empty and the clip would come out empty.
• Caution: If you have not set up a scene on the vertical canvas, vertical clips look empty or incomplete.
• When it changes: when you turn the vertical card on or off, or hide or show the vertical canvas, the buffer is rebuilt with the new canvas; the clip history collected so far is cleared.

Before

• What it does: How many seconds before the moment you click Take Clip go into the clip.
• Range: 5 – 60 s. Default: 30 s.
• Recommended: 20–30 s. You usually notice a great moment only after it has happened; this is enough to catch its beginning.

After

• What it does: How many more seconds are recorded after you click Take Clip.
• Range: 0 – 30 s. Default: 15 s.
• Recommended: 10–15 s. It catches the outcome of the moment and your own reaction.
• Total limit: Before + After is at most 60 seconds. If increasing one pushes the total over 60, the other is reduced automatically. The limit comes from the 60-second limit announced for short videos that contain licensed music.

Open Clips when the stream ends

• What it does: When on, if at least one clip was taken in that session, the Clips window opens by itself with that session's clips when the stream or recording ends; you can trim and export your clips right away. If a clip is still being written, the window waits for it to finish (at most 30 seconds), so the last clip is in the list too. If no clip was taken in the session, the window does not open.
• Default: On.
• When to turn it off: If you edit clips in bulk later and the window opening at the end of the stream gets in your way. You can open the window any time with the arrow next to the Take Clip button in the bottom bar.

Clip folder

• What it does: The folder clips are written to. The button on the row shows the current path (for a long path the end is shown, all of it on hover); clicking it opens the folder picker.
• Default: Empty; while empty, the Klipler folder inside General > Recording folder is used (if the recording folder is empty too, Videos\Forge Live Studio\Klipler). The button shows this path.
• Recommended: The default; your recordings and clips stay in the same place. If space runs low on the clips' disk, the program warns "Low disk space in the clip folder: ... MB"; if the disk is completely full, it says "Disk full, clip not taken: ... MB free" and no clip is taken.

Automatic triggers

These rows let the program take clips for you. All of them are off by default.

They only work while a stream or recording is running. Manual clips can be taken without a stream or recording, but the automatic triggers (game events included) only listen while a stream or recording is running and the clip buffer is ready. Each time a new stream or recording starts, the learned values are reset; the previous stream's chat does not count as a "burst" in the new stream.

The thresholds are not fixed numbers: every signal is judged against your own last 10 minutes or so. So a quiet streamer and a shouting streamer, a chat of 5 and a chat of 5000 all work correctly with the same setting. During the first minutes of a stream the program only learns and takes no clips (about 90 seconds for voice, about 60 seconds for chat). At least 45 seconds pass between two automatic clips, so the same moment is not clipped more than once.

Voice reaction

• What it does: Takes a clip if your microphone level rises clearly above your usual level and stays there for a few seconds (excited shouting, fits of laughter).
• Options: Off, Low, Medium, High. Low triggers less often, High more often (High = more sensitive).
• Recommended: Start with Medium. If you get too many clips, switch to Low; if moments are missed, switch to High.
• Good to know: This trigger does not tell laughter apart; it catches a rise in volume. The channels recognized as microphones in the audio mixer are listened to. While the microphone is muted, or if there is no microphone channel at all, learning freezes and no clip is triggered; when you unmute, it is not mistaken for a sudden "volume rise" and no clip is taken.

Chat reaction

• What it does: Takes a clip if the chat's message rate, number of different people writing and laughter expressions rise above your usual level and stay there for about 15 seconds. It takes into account that viewers watch the stream a few seconds behind and need time to react; the clip window is shifted back.
• Options: Off / Low / Medium / High.
• Recommended: Medium on a channel with a lively chat. In a very small chat there is a floor so that one or two messages do not count as a clip; in a very large chat constant heavy traffic is treated as "normal" and triggers no clip, only real bursts do.

Clip on follow

• What it does: Takes a clip on a new follow alert: follows on Twitch and Kick, free subscriptions on YouTube.
• Default: Off.
• When to turn it on: If follows come rarely and you want to keep your reaction to each one. If follows come very often, keep it off; it fills the hourly limit quickly.

Clip on subscription or gift

• What it does: Takes a clip on subscription, resubscription and gift subscription alerts: subscriptions on Twitch and Kick, channel memberships, membership milestones and gift memberships on YouTube.
• Default: Off.
• When to turn it on: For most streamers, subscription moments are moments of thanks and reaction; turn it on if you want to keep them. Remember that on a channel that gets subscriptions very often it can fill the hourly limit quickly.

Clip on donation

• What it does: Takes a clip on paid support alerts: Bits on Twitch, Super Chat / Sticker on YouTube, Kicks on Kick. Channel point rewards do not belong to this row and take no automatic clips.
• Default: Off.

Clip on raid

• What it does: Takes a clip when another streamer raids your channel. Raids are usually among the liveliest moments of a stream; we recommend turning it on. YouTube has no raid alert; this row is for Twitch and Kick.
• Default: Off.

For the alert triggers to work, the related card's account must be connected; alerts arrive through the platforms' official alert systems. What you write in the chat and the program's own system lines do not count as signals.

Automatic clips per hour (max)

• What it does: The upper limit on the number of automatic clips that can be taken in the last 60 minutes. Clips you take by hand do not count toward it.
• Range: 1 – 30 clips. Default: 6.
• Recommended: 4–8. More means a pile you have to sort through after the stream; the "Pick the best" compilation already picks the highest-scored clips.

Game events

The program can also take clips from events sent by some games. These are the games' official, open data channels: nothing is injected into the game process and anti-cheat is not touched. Like the other automatic triggers, game events are only listened to while a stream or recording is running. Each game row is turned on separately; all are off by default.

Counter-Strike 2 events / Dota 2 events

• What it does: When on, events from that game (the event types below) trigger clips.
• Game config file row: To send events, these two games need a small configuration file in the game's own folder. The program looks for the game in the Steam library folders on your computer. The row shows the status:

• Install writes the file immediately and Remove deletes it immediately; they do not wait for Save, and Cancel does not undo them. The program reports what it did at the bottom of the screen: "Game config file installed. Restart the game.", "Game config file removed" or (if it could not be written) "Could not write the game config file".
• Restart the game after Install. The game reads this file only when it starts; if you installed it while the game was open, no events arrive until you close and reopen the game.
• The status row refreshes about every 10 seconds while Settings is open; if you have just installed the game, the row changes to "Not installed" by itself.
• You do not need to click Remove before uninstalling the game from your computer, but you can use it to clean up the file.
• Extra step for Dota 2: Dota 2 only sends events if the game is started with a particular launch option; Install cannot do this for you. If no data arrives for about 90 seconds while Dota 2 is open, the program shows this notification once per session: "No game events from Dota 2: in Steam, add -gamestateintegration to Dota 2 > Properties > Launch options". What to do:
  1. In Steam, right-click Dota 2 and open Properties.
  2. Type -gamestateintegration in the Launch options box.
  3. Close the game and open it again.

League of Legends events

• What it does: When on, the match data the game itself provides on your computer during a match is read and events trigger clips. No file needs to be installed for this game; there is no game config file row below it.

Event types

The four rows below are shared by all games; they choose which events take clips.

Events that come in quick succession are merged into one clip: if a double or triple kill follows a single kill within a few seconds, the clip of the highest event is taken instead of separate clips.

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Audio

Format

These three rows are information rows; they cannot be changed. They show the common format of the program's whole audio pipeline (stream, recording, clips).

• Sample rate: 48000 Hz. The standard audio rate of the video world; every platform expects it. Every source running at a different rate is converted to 48000 Hz before it enters the mixer: microphones and audio devices running at 44.1 kHz or 96 kHz, 44.1 kHz music and video files. You do not need to change your devices' rate in Windows.
• Channels: Stereo.
• Codec: AAC-LC. The audio format the platforms ask for.

Peak meter type

• What it does: Chooses how the level meters in the audio mixer measure the peak.
• Options:
  • Sample peak (fast): Shows the highest of the digital samples. Light and fast.
  • True peak: Also calculates the peak that forms between samples. When audio is compressed and decoded again (which always happens in a stream), an inter-sample peak becomes a real peak, and audio that looks below 0 dB on the meter can distort for viewers. True peak shows this hidden overshoot.
• Default: Sample peak.
• Recommended: True peak while you set your levels, when you use a limiter, or if you stream music. Once your levels are settled and you only check whether sound is coming through, Sample peak is enough.
• If set wrong: A mix set right up to 0 dB using sample peak can sound slightly clipped (distorted) on the stream.

Stream loudness

• What it does: Brings the average perceived loudness of the audio going to the stream and the stream replay (VOD) audio path to the chosen target. The program constantly measures the loudness of roughly the last 3 seconds (LUFS) and adjusts the gain slowly; a peak limiter after it cuts sudden peaks. The recording audio is not changed; it stays raw so you can process it however you like when editing.
• Limits:
  • The gain raises by at most +10 dB and lowers by at most -10 dB. The limit exists so that a very quiet signal is not forced up to the target and its noise amplified; if your audio is more than 10 dB below the target, first raise the source levels in the audio mixer.
  • The gain changes by at most 0.5 dB per second; no "pumping" is audible.
  • Quiet passages below about -40 LUFS are not pulled up to the target; room hum is not raised during breaks or silence.
• Options: Off, -14 LUFS, -16 LUFS.
• Default: Off.
• Which one and why:
  • -14 LUFS: About the reference level YouTube and music platforms use for playback. Suitable for game- and music-heavy streams; your stream sounds as loud as other videos.
  • -16 LUFS: A slightly calmer target. More natural for speech-heavy, chat and podcast-style streams; it leaves more headroom for loud dynamics (sudden shouts, explosions).
• Recommended: If you have set your levels by hand while watching the meters, it can stay Off. If viewers say "you're too quiet" or "you're shouting", or your volume keeps changing between games, turn on -14 LUFS.
• Good to know: This is not a compressor; it does not make a whisper as loud as a shout, it only slowly brings the average of a few seconds to the target. Changes take effect immediately, even during a stream.

Devices

Common output device

• What it does: Chooses the common output device used for listening to your own voice or a channel in headphones (the monitoring path). Every audio channel's settings have an Output device choice: Off (not monitored), Common output from Settings, or a specific device. This row decides which device plays the channels set to Common output from Settings. A channel for which you chose its own device is not affected by this row. The Listen preview of Forge Control effects also plays through this device.
• Why a common device: Most people monitor every channel on the same headphones. Instead of picking the device separately on each channel, you pick it here once; when you change headphones, you change only this row.
• Options: System default (Windows' default audio output) and every audio output device on your computer. The list is read once when the window opens; if you plugged in new headphones, close Settings and open it again.
• Default: System default.
• Recommended: The headphones you wear while streaming. If you send the monitoring path to speakers, the microphone picks that sound up again and the stream has echo or double audio. "System default" follows Windows' current default; when the Windows default switches back to the speakers, monitoring goes to the speakers too. That is why selecting your headphones by name is safer.
• If the saved device is not plugged in: The row shows the device's name with "(not connected)" (just "(not connected)" if the name cannot be read). The choice is not deleted. Meanwhile monitoring goes silent; it does not switch to the speakers or the Windows default, because that would mean echo in the stream. When you plug the device back in, monitoring returns to it by itself.

VST3 folders

You can attach VST3 audio plugins (compressors, equalizers, voice changers and the like) to audio channels. The program looks for plugins in the folders in this list.

• First row: Windows' standard VST3 folder. It is always scanned and cannot be removed; it has no delete button. Most plugins put themselves here when installed.
• Folders you add: Each one has an X button on its right; clicking it removes the folder from the list (the folder is not deleted from disk).
• Rescan: Rescans all folders in the list immediately. The list you see in the window is scanned; it does not wait for Save. Use it after installing a new plugin. The button is disabled while scanning.
• Add folder: Adds a new folder with the folder picker. The same folder is not added twice.
• When to add a folder: If you installed a plugin outside the standard folder (for example portable plugin bundles or installs on another disk).

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Video

Canvas

The program has two separate size concepts:

• Screen Resolution: The size of the horizontal workspace where you place sources (the base canvas). You place your screen, game and camera on this area.
• Horizontal canvas: The size that workspace is processed to and handed to the stream and recording pipeline (the output). The base canvas is scaled down to this size with a high-quality scaler.

Example: If you have a 2560 x 1440 monitor, you can choose Screen Resolution = 2560 x 1440 and Horizontal canvas = 1920 x 1080. You place your sources at your screen's real size and get the stream and the recording in 1080p.

The Screen Resolution, Vertical canvas, Horizontal canvas, Frame rate, Color range and Color space rows in this section are locked while a stream or recording is running; changing them means rebuilding the video pipeline.

Screen Resolution

• Options: The list has three parts:
  1. Follow the screen (W x H): The workspace takes the size of the captured screen automatically; the current real size is shown in brackets.
  2. Your monitors on this computer, with their names and real resolutions (at the top).
  3. Common sizes: 1280x720, 1366x768, 1600x900, 1920x1080, 1920x1200, 2560x1080, 2560x1440, 2560x1600, 3440x1440, 3840x1600, 3840x2160, 1024x768, 1600x1200.
  4. You can also type a size such as "3440x1440" into the box itself (at most 7680 x 4320).
• Default: Follow the screen.
• Recommended: The real resolution of your main monitor (it appears at the top of the list with its name). That way screen capture is 1:1 and no pixel is distorted.
• If set wrong: If you choose a size smaller than your monitor, a full-screen capture does not fit the workspace or has to be shrunk. If you choose a size larger than your monitor, you have to enlarge sources and the picture gets soft.

Vertical canvas

• What it does: The size of the vertical (9:16) canvas. Vertical recordings, vertical streaming cards and vertical clips use this size.
• Options: 720x1280, 900x1600, 1080x1920, 1440x2560, 2160x3840; you can also type into the box (width 240 – 4320, height 240 – 7680).
• Default: 1080 x 1920.
• Recommended: 1080 x 1920. The standard size of vertical platforms. 720 x 1280 if your graphics card or upload speed is struggling. 1440 x 2560 if you want to archive vertical recordings at high quality.
• If set wrong: If you type a ratio other than 9:16, platforms add black bars on the sides.

Horizontal canvas

• What it does: The processed output size of the horizontal canvas. Horizontal recordings are written at this size; the "Canvas size" option of horizontal streaming cards refers to this row.
• Options: Your monitors' real sizes and common sizes; you can also type into the box (320x240 – 7680x4320). The tooltip says "The list holds your monitors' real resolutions; type any other size in the field below".
• Default: 1920 x 1080.
• Recommended:
  • 1920 x 1080 for most streams and recordings. It is the most watched size on Twitch and Kick and the standard on YouTube too.
  • 2560 x 1440 if you have a powerful graphics card and fast upload and stream mostly to YouTube: YouTube recompresses high-resolution streams at higher quality.
  • 1280 x 720 on a weak graphics card.
• If set wrong: Setting the horizontal canvas larger than the Screen Resolution enlarges the picture; it adds no detail, it only increases graphics card load and the bitrate needed.
• If the aspect ratio differs: If the aspect ratios of the Screen Resolution and the Horizontal canvas differ (for example a 21:9 workspace to a 16:9 output), the picture is not stretched or cropped; it is fitted to the output keeping its ratio and centered, and the leftover edges remain as black bars. From a 21:9 workspace to a 16:9 output the bars appear at the top and bottom; from a 4:3 workspace to a 16:9 output, on the left and right. If you do not want bars, give both rows the same ratio.

Frame rate

• What it does: How many frames per second the program's video pipeline produces. The preview, all streams and all recordings run at this rate.
• Options: 24, 30, 48, 60, 120 fps from the list; you can also type a value from 1–240 into the box.
• Default: 60 fps.
• Recommended:
  • Game streams and fast-moving content: 60 fps. Motion looks smooth.
  • Just chatting, on-camera, art and music streams: 30 fps. At the same bitrate each frame gets twice the bits; the picture is sharper, and graphics card and upload load drop.
  • Cinematic look: 24 fps.
  • 120 fps is only for local high-frame-rate recording; platforms accept at most 60 fps for live streams.
• If set wrong: If your graphics card or processor cannot keep up with this rate, the Missed count in the bottom bar rises and the picture stutters. A value your monitor's refresh rate cannot be divided by (for example 48 fps on a 60 Hz monitor) can produce uneven motion in screen capture.
• When you change it: If you change it with no stream or recording running, the video and audio pipelines are rebuilt at the new rate; the preview may go dark for a moment. The row is locked during a stream or recording.

Quality

Sharpening

• What it does: Restores the edge sharpness lost when the canvas is scaled down (from the Screen Resolution to the Horizontal canvas). This value is the sharpness of the canvas and the recording; the sharpness of the streaming cards is managed in the Quiet Hand section.
• Range: 0.00 – 1.00. Default: 0.35.
• How it works: Its effect scales with the downscale ratio. The row name's tooltip also says "Scales with the downscale ratio; turns itself off at 1:1".
  • If the Screen Resolution and the Horizontal canvas are the same (1:1), no sharpening is applied, because without downscaling no sharpness is lost; in that case sharpening would only add halos to edges.
  • If the downscale ratio is 1.5x or more (for example from 2160p or 1620p to 1080p), the value you choose is applied in full.
  • In between it grows with the ratio. For example, from 1440p to 1080p (1.33x) about two thirds of your value is applied.
• Recommended: 0.25 – 0.40. Toward the top end if the downscale ratio is large (for example from a 4K screen to 1080p), toward the bottom end if it is small (1440p to 1080p).
• If set too high: White halos on edges, brittle-looking text and more noise; the encoder's job gets harder and blocking increases at the same bitrate.
• If set to zero: The downscaled picture looks slightly soft.
• Its effect is visible in the preview instantly as you drag.

Dither

• What it does: The program's internal video pipeline works at high precision (16 bit); when the picture is handed to the encoder as 8 bit, stepping (banding) can appear in smooth color gradients. Dither breaks up the steps by adding a very fine pattern, invisible to the eye, to this conversion.
• Options: On / Off. Default: On.
• Recommended: On. Skies, dark scenes and gradient backgrounds look smoother.
• When to turn it off: If you stream at a very low bitrate and your picture consists of large flat color areas (presentations, text on a flat background), turning it off can save a few bits. In most cases there is no visible difference; leave it on.

Shutter angle

• What it does: If your source runs at a higher frame rate than the canvas (for example a game at 144 fps, the canvas at 60 fps), instead of dropping the extra frames it blends them within one canvas frame. The result is natural motion blur like a real camera: fast turns look fluid rather than choppy. It works on game capture, screen capture and window capture sources; it has no effect on other sources such as cameras, media and browsers. It is one global setting; there is no per-source angle. Changes apply immediately, even during a stream.
• Range: 0° – 360°. Default: 0° (off; frames are not blended).
• What the values mean: The angle says how much of one canvas frame's duration is blended. 180° is half the frame (the classic cinema value), 360° the whole frame (smoothest, blurriest).
• Recommended: Try 180° in games with fast camera movement (racing, first person) when the game runs at least twice as fast as the canvas. Leave it at 0° for text-heavy, strategy or desktop streams.
• If set wrong: A high angle blurs text and interfaces in fast scenes. If the game runs at the same or a lower frame rate than the canvas, there are no extra frames to blend; the setting has no visible effect.

Color range

• What it does: Chooses how the picture's brightness values are encoded in the file and the stream. The choice goes into both the conversion and the label written into the stream, so the player interprets it correctly.
• Options: Limited (16-235), Full (0-255).
• Default: Limited.
• Recommended: Limited. It is the standard streaming platforms expect. As the tooltip says, "Full (0-255) is for local recording and playback".
• If set wrong: If you stream with full range, some players ignore the label; the picture looks either washed out and grey, or with pitch-black, detail-less shadows.
• Note: A change takes effect at the start of the next stream or recording.

Color space

• Options: BT.709, BT.601.
• Default: BT.709.
• Recommended: BT.709. The standard for all HD and higher content. BT.601 is only needed for old SD (standard definition) targets.
• If set wrong: If you stream HD with BT.601, colors shift slightly; reds and greens look different from how they should.

Color makeup

These four sliders adjust the final color of the canvas. The effect goes everywhere together: the preview, all streams and the recording change at the same time; there are no separate rows for cards. Each slider ranges from -1.00 to +1.00, and 0 is natural (no change). The effect is visible instantly as you drag; Cancel returns to the old value.

If you want to correct the color of a single source (for example only the camera), use that source's filters or the Camera Customization window instead. Color makeup affects the whole canvas.

Contrast

• What it does: The separation between light and dark tones. Plus gives a punchier picture, minus a softer, flatter one.
• Recommended: 0. +0.10 – +0.20 for a washed-out game picture.
• Too high: Dark details disappear and bright areas blow out.

Saturation

• What it does: The overall vividness of colors. Minus desaturates (-1 is black and white), plus makes colors more vivid.
• Recommended: 0. +0.05 – +0.10, because stream compression fades colors a little.
• Too high: Skin tones turn orange, reds bleed and block up in compression.

Brightness

• What it does: Overall lightness, similar to exposure.
• Recommended: 0. Small plus values for a dark game or a dim room.
• Too high: The picture looks grey and foggy.

Vibrance

• What it does: Livens muted colors; it does not touch colors that are already saturated or skin tones. Smarter than Saturation.
• Recommended: If you want livelier color, try this before Saturation: +0.10 – +0.25.

Stream settings

Under this heading there is an information box: "Server address, key, bitrate and encoder live in each stream card: Stream Accounts > card menu > Broadcast settings".

The reason: the cards are independent of each other. Your YouTube card can be 1440p AV1, your Twitch card 1080p H.264 and your vertical card 720p. A shared "stream bitrate" setting would break this independence. Codec choice (when to use AV1 on YouTube, why H.264 on Twitch and Kick), bitrate, and encoder settings such as B-frames and look-ahead are explained in detail in the Platform cards chapter of this guide.

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Quiet Hand

What Quiet Hand is

Streaming platforms put a fixed bitrate ceiling on every stream (for example 6000 or 8000 kbps). The encoder spreads this limited budget over every change in the frame; it does not know whether a change is visible to the eye. Games and cameras are full of small changes the eye does not notice: shimmering leaves, boiling particles, sensor noise, flickering pixels on edges, interface text that stands still but shifts a tiny bit from frame to frame. The encoder treats these as "motion" and spends bits on them; nothing is left for real motion and the picture breaks into blocks.

Quiet Hand is a group of operations that clean the picture going to the streaming card right before it is handed to the encoder. It silences invisible changes and keeps visible detail. That way the stream looks cleaner at the same bitrate.

What you need to know:

• Quiet Hand is applied only to streaming cards. Recordings, the preview and clips are not affected; their sharpness is in the Video > Sharpening row.
• Quiet Hand is not a bitrate adjuster; it does not change your cards' bitrate, nor does it measure or estimate it. You choose the bitrate on the card; Quiet Hand makes that budget go further.
• The operations run on the graphics card; the measured extra load is very small.
• Changes during a stream:
  • Mode and the on/off rows (Sharpen discipline, Dead Band, Trail Tracker, Text-preserving downscale) can be changed during a stream, but to avoid dropping the cards they take effect after the stream ends. Hovering over these rows during a stream shows "Takes effect after the stream ends". Turning them on or off requires rebuilding the streaming card's path to the encoder; doing that in the middle of a stream would mean a short drop on every platform.
  • The Sharpness and Trail Tracker strength sliders, however, go to the stream instantly as you drag; you can tune them while watching the result live.

Order of operations: the picture is scaled down to the card's size (during which Sharpness, Sharpen discipline and Text-preserving downscale are applied), then comes Trail Tracker, and finally Dead Band. Dead Band comes last because if it ran first, the next operation would move the pixels it had just fixed in place.

Mode

• Options: Off, Auto, Manual.
• Default: Auto.

Auto: The best set, chosen by measurement, is applied to every streaming card at every bitrate:

In Auto the rows below are not shown and the Quiet Hand switch on the cards is not visible; every card uses this set (card switches you turned off in Manual are ignored in Auto). In comparative quality measurements this set scored higher on an objective quality metric than a stream without Quiet Hand at every bitrate from low (4000 kbps) to high (20000 kbps); the row that raised the score most was Text-preserving downscale. There is no threshold bitrate; Auto helps at every bitrate.

Manual: The rows below open and you choose each one yourself. In addition, the Quiet Hand switch appears in the streaming cards' settings window and takes effect: a module runs on a card only if it is on here AND that card's Quiet Hand switch is on. If the card's switch is off, no Quiet Hand operation (Sharpness included) is applied to that card. The first time you switch to Manual, the rows open with Auto's values; the changes you make afterwards are kept.

Off: No operation is applied; the downscaled canvas goes to the streaming card as it is.

Recommended: Auto. Switch to Manual only in these cases:

• You do not want Quiet Hand on some cards (for example you want the raw picture on a very high-bitrate custom RTMP destination). In Manual you turn off that card's switch.
• You stream a game with dense foliage and particle effects at a low bitrate and want to try Trail Tracker.
• You want to tune the sharpness to your own taste.

Use Off only to compare, or to find out whether a problem comes from Quiet Hand.

Rows in Manual mode

Sharpness

• What it does: The sharpening strength applied while the streaming card's picture is scaled down to the card's size. Video > Sharpening sharpens the canvas and the recording; this row only what goes to the stream.
• Range: 0.00 – 1.00. On first switching to Manual: 0.15.
• Why 0.15: In measurements 0.15 improved quality in game footage without hurting the readability of small text. At 0.30 the readability of small text dropped noticeably; sharpening enlarges edges, and the encoder spends bits on the enlarged edge.
• When to raise it: At high bitrate (12000 kbps and above) and in text-free, nature-heavy games you can try 0.20 – 0.25.
• When to lower it: At low bitrate (4000 kbps and below) or with content full of text and interface, 0.05 – 0.10 or 0.
• If set too high: Halos on edges, broken-looking text and more blocking in moving scenes.

Sharpen discipline

• What it does: Makes sharpening enlarge only real edges. It does two things:
  1. Very low-amplitude detail (noise, texture crumbs) is not enlarged. It is invisible to the eye but very expensive for the encoder once sharpened.
  2. The overshoot halos that sharpening creates on edges are clipped so they cannot go much beyond the range of the neighboring pixels. The edge's own contrast is kept.
• Options: On / Off. On first switching to Manual: On.
• Recommended: On. If you use Sharpness, there is no reason to turn it off.
• If turned off: Sharpness enlarges the noise too; at low bitrate the picture looks "sandy" and white halos appear on edges. If Sharpness is 0, this row has no effect.

Dead Band

• What it does: Writes pixels whose change since the previously sent frame is below the visibility threshold exactly the same as their previous value. Nearly static areas (game HUD, scoreboards, skies, panel text) become free "unchanged" blocks for the encoder. Static text stops "breathing" and shimmering slightly from frame to frame; the bits saved go to real motion.
• Protection against drift: The small suppressed changes are accumulated per pixel. When the accumulation reaches the visible threshold, the pixel moves to its current value. That way a slowly darkening sky does not stay "stuck"; the change is reflected in a single step as soon as it becomes visible.
• Options: On / Off. On first switching to Manual: On.
• Recommended: On. It makes a clear difference especially in HUD-heavy games and in desktop and software streams.
• If turned off: Static text and HUD shimmer slightly at low bitrate, and the encoder wastes bits.

Trail Tracker

• What it does: Finds each pixel's position in the previous frame along the direction of motion; if the match is reliable, it damps single-frame micro-flicker (rustling leaves, boiling particles, anti-aliasing shimmer). It does not touch real motion or edges; if the match is poor, it does nothing to that pixel. On a scene change it turns itself off for that frame.
• Options: On / Off. On first switching to Manual: Off.
• Why it is off in Auto: In measurements it was roughly neutral on its own and slightly negative together with the other operations. When smoothing operations stack, the picture gets a little soft.
• When to turn it on: If you stream games with dense foliage, rain, snow or particle effects at a low bitrate (6000 kbps and below) and see blocking in those scenes. After turning it on, record part of the stream and compare.
• Keep it off: For text- and interface-heavy content, camera streams and high bitrates.

Trail Tracker strength

• What it does: Trail Tracker's damping strength. A low value is cautious, a high value aggressive.
• Range: 0.00 – 1.00. Default: 0.55.
• Shown only while Trail Tracker is on; turning it off does not forget the value, which comes back when you turn it on again.
• Recommended: 0.40 – 0.55.
• If set too high: A faint trail (ghost) can remain behind moving objects in fast scenes.

Text-preserving downscale

• What it does: When scaling the picture down to the card's size, it does the calculation in the brightness scale you see on screen (gamma space). Thin, light-colored text, lines and interface elements do not fade or lose their shape when downscaled.
• Options: On / Off. On first switching to Manual: On.
• Why it matters: In measurements the largest part of Quiet Hand's gain came from this row; the readability of small text rose above even that of a stream without Quiet Hand.
• Recommended: On. If your card's size is the same as the canvas (no downscaling), it has no effect.
• If turned off: Thin text looks fainter and blurrier in the downscaled stream.

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Shortcuts

This section is where you assign keyboard shortcuts. No shortcut is assigned by default, so there are no conflicts with your game keys.

How shortcuts work

• Shortcuts work while the program is in the background, including in-game.
• Keys are not captured from the system: the key you assign goes both to Forge and to the game open at that moment. So if you make a key you use in-game a shortcut, it also has an effect in the game. It is recommended to combine shortcuts with Ctrl, Alt or Shift, or to assign them to keys the game does not use, such as F13–F24 or the numeric keypad.
• The same key combination can be assigned to more than one shortcut; they all run together. For example, a single key can switch scenes and mute the microphone. A row that shares its key shows a chip such as "+1" or "+2" next to it; hovering over it lists the other shortcuts using the same key.

Assigning a key

1. Click the key button on the right of the row. The button changes to "Press a key…".
2. Press the key combination you want (with Ctrl, Alt, Shift or on its own). The assignment is made immediately.
3. Press Esc to cancel.
4. To clear an assignment: press Backspace while a key is awaited, or right-click the key button.

While a key is awaited, shortcuts do not run; the key you press is the key to assign, not to execute. Enter does not close the window while a key is awaited.

Assignable keys: letters A–Z, digits 0–9, F1–F24, the digits and the + - * / keys on the numeric keypad, Space, Tab, arrow keys, Home, End, Page Up, Page Down, Insert, Delete, Pause, Scroll Lock, Print Screen. Each of these can be combined with Ctrl, Alt and Shift. Ctrl, Alt and Shift cannot be assigned on their own. Punctuation keys, Enter, Esc and Backspace cannot be assigned (Esc and Backspace are reserved for cancelling and clearing during assignment). The Windows key cannot be used in shortcuts; it is ignored even if held.

Built-in rows

At the top of the section, actions that need no target sit as fixed rows:

Add shortcut (targeted shortcuts)

The Add shortcut button at the bottom of the section adds a new row. From left to right the added row has: action selection, target selection, the key button and a delete button.

The upper part of the action list holds the actions that need a target; below the divider are the built-in actions. Adding a built-in action here is how you assign a second key to the same action.

Targeted actions:

The target list is filtered by the action you choose. Targets are stored by ID, not by name; reordering or renaming scenes does not break the shortcut.

Inactive shortcuts

If an added row looks dimmed and has a yellow warning icon on its right, that shortcut does not work at the moment. Hover over the warning to see why:

• Shortcut of the "Collection name" collection: Shortcuts targeting a scene, source, camera, media, browser, filter or source channel belong to the scene collection they were made in. They do not work while you are in another collection (since IDs are numbered from scratch in each collection, this keeps them from hitting the wrong object). They work again when you return to their collection. Card, application/device audio channel, transition type and built-in actions are independent of the collection.
• Target deleted: The target scene or source has been deleted. The target box says "No target". Choose a new target or delete the row.

Inactive rows are not deleted; the key, target and delete buttons stay usable.

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Advanced

Hardware encoder

This section shows information; there is no row to change. It lists which video formats your graphics card can compress in hardware:

• available (green): This format can be chosen in recording and on streaming cards.
• none: Your graphics card cannot encode this format in hardware; it does not appear in the lists.
• could not be checked: At startup the program could not read the graphics card's capabilities. It means support is unknown, not absent. It is usually caused by an old or broken graphics driver; update the driver and reopen the program.

Look at this section to understand why the codec lists in recording and on streaming cards show the options they do.

If you have more than one graphics card (for example integrated and dedicated graphics in a laptop): at startup the program picks the first hardware graphics card in Windows' "high performance" order; on a laptop this is usually the powerful, dedicated card. That card processes the picture and does the encoding, and this section shows that card's capabilities. This choice is made automatically; the program has no row for choosing a graphics card. If the program cannot start on that card, it switches to Windows' default card. On a desktop with a single card, that card is used.

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Language

Interface language

• What it does: Chooses the language of all the program's menus, buttons and messages.
• Options: Türkçe, English, Deutsch, Español, Français, Italiano, 日本語, 한국어, Polski, Português (Brasil), Русский, 中文. Each language is listed by its own name.
• Default: On first launch, the language selected in Windows under Settings > Time & language > Language & region > Regional format. The program first looks for the language together with its region (for example Brazilian Portuguese), then by language code alone, then by another regional variant of the same language. If the language is not in the list at all, English opens. If you have saved a choice, the Windows setting is not consulted on later launches.
• The interface switches to the language the moment you choose it. Cancel returns to the previous language; click Save to make it permanent.
• The interface language does not change the streaming region or the stream language on platforms; the streaming region is in General > Streaming region.

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Virtual Camera

This section appears dimmed in the left strip with Soon next to its title. The virtual camera is a feature that will hand your canvas to other applications (video calls, meeting programs) as a camera. The rows appear with their finished design, but none of them work yet and they cannot be clicked:

• Source: Horizontal canvas (16:9) / Vertical canvas (9:16).
• Resolution: 1920x1080 / 1280x720.
• Frame rate: 30 / 60.
• The Start virtual camera button.

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Control Center

The Control Center lets you control the program remotely with the Forge Control tablet app: switching scenes, muting audio channels, playing sound effects, putting images on the stream, taking clips, starting and stopping the stream, and so on. This section is part of the Premium package; on the free plan the QR code appears empty and the rows show a PREMIUM chip ("Forge Control is part of the Premium package").

You download the tablet app with your Premium account from your account panel on forgeocean.com. The tablet and the computer must be on the same local network (the same modem/Wi-Fi); the connection is made directly over your home network without going out to the internet.

The Image duration and Effects settings in this section (level, hide/show, adding sounds) apply and are saved immediately; they do not wait for Save, and Cancel does not undo them. Only deleting a sound you added is finalized with Save.

QR code

• What it does: When you scan this QR code with the tablet app, the tablet connects to the program. It is the easiest way to connect.
• The pairing is permanent: Once the tablet has scanned it, it reconnects with the same pairing even if you close and reopen Forge; you do not need to scan again on every launch. Only Refresh changes the pairing.
• If you are not Premium, the QR code area appears empty and dimmed.
• If the connection server cannot be set up (for example because the port it uses is held by another program), a red error appears in place of the QR code.

Manual code

• What it does: If you cannot scan the QR code, the 6-digit code you type on the tablet appears here, together with the computer's local network address and port (for example 123456 - 192.168.1.20:port). If you are not Premium or the server could not be set up, "------" appears instead and Refresh is disabled.
• Refresh: Generates a new code and a new QR code; the old one becomes invalid at that moment.
  • It does not disconnect tablets that are connected right now; they keep working.
  • Every new connection with the old code or old QR code is rejected. If a connected tablet's connection drops later, or you reopen Forge, that tablet needs to scan the new QR code (or enter the new code).
  • Use it if you shared the code with someone or want to change it for security. If that person's tablet is connected right now, remove it too with Disconnect on the Connection row.

Connection

• If no tablet is connected, it says "Waiting for tablet".
• Each connected tablet appears in green on its own row as Tablet 1, Tablet 2, with the tablet's name and network address. At most 2 tablets can be connected at the same time.
• Disconnect: Cuts that tablet's connection. Disconnect does not delete the pairing; if the tablet wants to reconnect, it can do so with the same code. To keep a tablet out permanently, first use Refresh, then Disconnect.

Image duration

• What it does: How many seconds an image you put on the stream from the tablet stays on screen.
• Range: 0 – 120 s. 0 = Unlimited: the image stays until you tap the same button on the tablet again. Default: 10 s.
• Recommended: 5–10 s for reaction images and short gags; Unlimited for announcement, break or "be right back" images.

Effects

Manages the sounds of the tablet's effect buttons. Each sound is on its own row:

• Level slider: from -30.0 dB to +6.0 dB. 0 dB is the sound's own level. If the effects come out louder than your microphone and game audio, turn them down; it prevents sudden blasts that hurt viewers' ears.
• Listen (play icon): Plays the sound only on your monitoring device (Audio > Common output device); it does not go to the stream or the recording. Use it to test the level before the stream.
• Eye icon on built-in sounds: Hides a built-in sound from the tablet or shows it again. Built-in sounds you removed on the tablet by long-pressing appear hidden here; you can bring them back with the eye.
• Delete icon on sounds you added: Before deleting the sound it asks Move "name.wav" to the Recycle Bin?; the confirmation window has a Delete button and a cancel button, and Esc also cancels. If you choose Delete, the row is hidden and the file is moved to the Recycle Bin when you click Save in Settings. If you close Settings with Cancel or without saving, the deletion is undone and the sound stays. Built-in sounds cannot be deleted, only hidden.
• Add sound: You choose a new effect sound from your computer. Supported formats: WAV, MP3, M4A, AAC, FLAC, OGG, WMA. A sound can be at most 30 seconds long; longer files are not added. The added sound is copied to the program's effects folder as a 48 kHz WAV and appears on the row under its file name; your original file is not touched.

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About

This section shows the program's identity and legal information. The About item in the main menu opens Settings directly at this section.

• Forge Live Studio: The installed version. Mention this row when asking for support.
• Website: forgeocean.com; clicking it opens it in the browser.
• Legal text: The program's owner, copyright and registration information, the fact that it is distributed only through forgeocean.com, that users are responsible for the content they stream, the tools used in development, and that no other streaming software's source code was used. The addresses in the text are clickable.
• Contact: The support email address ([email protected]); clicking it opens your email program. To write from inside the program you can also use the Support window in the main menu.
• Shipped with the program: The names and license types of the third-party components that come inside the program.
• Downloaded separately: Components that do not come with the program and are downloaded the first time you use the AI features (background removal models and the NVIDIA Maxine runtime).
• Licenses: Opens all third-party license texts in a separate window called Third-party licenses. Each component's name, license type and full text are listed one below the other. The texts are inside the program and need no internet; you can select and copy them but not change them. Since there is nothing to save in the window, it has no Save/Cancel buttons; it closes with the X in its title bar.
• At the very bottom is the notice "This product uses NVIDIA Maxine technology."

Canvas

What the canvas is

The canvas is the workspace where the picture your viewers see is built. Everything (camera, game, text, chat) is placed on the canvas; the picture that goes to the stream, the recording and the virtual camera is the canvas itself.

Forge Live Studio has two canvases:

• Horizontal canvas (16:9): for the classic stream on YouTube, Twitch and Kick, desktop viewers and normal recording.
• Vertical canvas (9:16): for phone viewers, vertical streams and vertical short videos.

Both run at the same time. You can deliver the same stream both horizontally and vertically, with two separate layouts.

The horizontal and vertical canvases are fully independent

This is the program's basic rule:

• Each canvas has its own scene list, its own active scene and its own scene transition.
• Each canvas has its own source list: the Sources panel for horizontal, the Vertical Sources panel for vertical.
• Shrinking, moving, cropping or adding a filter to a source on vertical does not affect the one on horizontal.
• Switching scenes on one canvas does not switch the other (except linked scenes; see the Scenes chapter).

How does the same camera sit on both canvases? When you right-click a source and choose Add to vertical canvas too (in the vertical list, Add to horizontal canvas too), the source enters the other canvas as a separate copy. The camera device is not opened a second time; the program shares the same picture between the two canvases. But the two copies have separate positions, crops and filter chains. For example, you can remove the background of the camera on vertical while the camera on horizontal stays untouched.

Why it works this way: a 16:9 layout built for horizontal makes no sense on vertical. So the position of a source added to the other canvas is reset and refit to the vertical canvas keeping its aspect ratio; the crop and filters are carried over as they are, and you continue from there.

How the canvases appear on screen

• The horizontal canvas appears in the Horizontal preview panel, the vertical canvas in the Vertical canvas panel. You can open and close both from the main menu (☰) > Panels.
• When the two canvases are side by side, drag the thin divider between them to share the space.
• The top strip of the preview shows the canvas ratio (16:9 / 9:16) and a size. The horizontal strip shows the output size from Settings > Video > Horizontal canvas (not Screen Resolution). The vertical strip always shows 1080x1920 regardless of the Vertical canvas setting; read the vertical canvas's real size from Settings > Video > Vertical canvas.
• The eye icon on the right of the strip (Hide this canvas) hides that canvas.
• When the eye is locked: While streaming, the eyes of both canvases are locked. While recording, only the eye of the canvas being recorded is locked. Hovering over it shows Cannot hide while live. Why: a canvas that is going out live must not disappear from view.
• A hidden canvas does not disappear; it shrinks to its own strip: a narrow vertical strip, or a thin horizontal strip when the canvas spans the full width (the horizontal canvas in Portrait · Top Canvas). The strip shows the canvas name and a red, closed eye; clicking the eye (Show this canvas) brings the canvas back. The other canvas or the neighbouring panel takes the freed space.
• If both canvases are hidden, the canvas area shrinks to two thin strips one above the other (Horizontal canvas hidden, Vertical canvas hidden) and the other panels take the freed space (in Landscape · Wide Canvas the column stays in place). The eye on each strip brings that canvas back. When a canvas comes back, the area returns to its size from before hiding.
• Show / hide vertical canvas can be assigned as a shortcut (Settings > Shortcuts). While a vertical recording or a vertical stream card is live, this shortcut does not hide the vertical canvas.

What hiding changes and what it doesn't:

• Hiding turns off only the preview. The canvas keeps being drawn in the background, so hiding a canvas does not reduce the load on your graphics card.
• The record button of a hidden canvas is inactive, so you don't record something you can't see. A record command from a shortcut or from the Forge Control tablet doesn't start recording on a hidden canvas either. Stopping a running recording is always allowed.
• When the vertical canvas is hidden, the Vertical Sources panel also leaves the screen. When you show the canvas again, the panel comes back as you left it.
• When there are no vertical stream cards and you turn on the first vertical card, or when you add a new vertical card, the vertical canvas becomes visible by itself. Why: you can't adjust a card's layout without seeing it.
• Which canvas is hidden is kept when the program is closed and reopened; if you close it with both canvases hidden, both come back hidden, with their strips, at the next start.

Using the canvas on another display or in another program

• Main menu (☰) > Send canvas to display > Horizontal canvas or Vertical canvas > display: shows the chosen canvas borderless and full screen on the chosen display. Use it to watch from a second monitor on stage or to send it to a TV.
  • To close it, press Esc or double-click the picture. No text on screen tells you this.
  • If the chosen display is unplugged, the full-screen picture closes by itself. Even if the order of the displays changes, the picture stays on the right display.
• Main menu (☰) > Virtual camera: the feature that will offer the canvas to other applications as a camera. It is not available yet. The menu row and the Settings > Virtual Camera section stay dimmed with a Soon chip. The rows you see in the section (Source: Horizontal canvas (16:9) / Vertical canvas (9:16), Resolution, Frame rate, Start virtual camera) are the prepared layout of the feature; they can't be selected for now.

Canvas settings (Settings > Video)

All canvas settings are in Settings > Video. Changes here affect the preview, every stream card and the recording.

Important: The server address, stream key, bitrate and encoder (H.264, HEVC, AV1) are not here. They are in each stream card's own settings: Stream Accounts > card menu > Broadcast settings. The Broadcast settings box at the bottom of the Video section reminds you of this too. That way you can give each platform its own settings, such as 1440p to YouTube and 1080p to Twitch.

While streaming or recording, the resolution, frame rate, color range and color space rows are locked (they look dimmed). Why: these values are the foundation of the encoder; if they changed midway, the recording file would break and the stream would drop. To change them, first stop the stream and the recording.

Canvas group

Screen Resolution

The working size of the horizontal canvas: the pixel size of the area where you place sources.

• The list has three parts: Follow the screen at the top, then this computer's displays with their own names and real resolutions, and common sizes at the bottom (1280×720, 1366×768, 1600×900, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1080, 2560×1440, 2560×1600, 3440×1440, 3840×1600, 3840×2160, 1024×768, 1600×1200).
• The box is editable: you can type a size that isn't in the list directly, like "3440x1440". The maximum is 7680×4320.
• Follow the screen (default): the canvas takes the size of the captured screen by itself; the current real size is shown in parentheses.

What to choose, and why:

• Your display's own resolution (recommended). Screen capture sits pixel for pixel (1:1) and text keeps its sharpness. Choose 2560×1440 on a 1440p monitor and 3840×2160 on a 4K monitor.
• Follow the screen is the program's choice at first start. It suits you only if you work with a single monitor and never change it. If the monitor or its resolution changes, the canvas changes too. When you choose a fixed size, the canvas becomes independent and your scene layout doesn't shift when the monitor changes.
• If you use an ultrawide monitor (21:9), still choose a 16:9 canvas for streaming (for example 2560×1440). Platforms expect 16:9; a 21:9 canvas shows up for viewers as black bars at the top and bottom.
• A large canvas works your graphics card harder. A 4K canvas means four times the pixels of a 1080p canvas. If your graphics card is mid-range (for example a card with 6–8 GB of memory) and the game runs on the same card, a 2560×1440 or 1920×1080 canvas is more comfortable.

Vertical canvas

The size of the vertical canvas. The list has 720×1280, 900×1600, 1080×1920, 1440×2560 and 2160×3840; the box is editable (from 240 up to 4320×7680).

• 1080×1920 (default, recommended): the standard size of vertical platforms and phone screens.
• 720×1280: on a weak graphics card or with a low upload speed. Since vertical streams are usually watched on a phone, the difference is hardly visible.
• 1440×2560 and above: only on a powerful graphics card and if you want high-quality vertical recording. For streaming, most platforms scale down to 1080p anyway.

The size of the vertical canvas is independent of the horizontal canvas.

Horizontal canvas

The rendered (output) size of the horizontal canvas: the size at which the picture built in Screen Resolution goes to the stream and the recording. The list again consists of this computer's displays and common sizes; you can type another size in the box below it (from 320×240 to 7680×4320). The default is 1920×1080.

The difference between the two rows: Screen Resolution answers "where am I working", Horizontal canvas answers "what size goes out". For example, on a 2560×1440 monitor, Screen Resolution can be 2560×1440 and Horizontal canvas 1920×1080: sources are laid out at 1440p and scaled down to 1080p at the output.

How scaling down is done: The program scales the picture down with a high-quality method (Lanczos) and applies light sharpening according to the downscale ratio (see Sharpening). The math is done at high precision, so gradients don't band. This means scaling down from 1440p to 1080p usually gives a sharper result than working directly at 1080p.

What to choose:

• 1920×1080: the right choice for most streams. It's the standard size on Twitch and Kick and the most common on YouTube.
• 2560×1440: if you stream to YouTube in high quality and your upload speed and graphics card can handle it. YouTube processes 1440p streams at higher quality.
• 3840×2160: only with a powerful graphics card and a very high upload speed, mostly for local recording.
• 1280×720: if your upload speed is low (below roughly 4 Mbps) or your graphics card is struggling.

Each stream card can also choose its own output size; the card scales down from the size in this row to a smaller one with the same high-quality method. So the most flexible approach is to set this row to your highest need (usually recording) and scale down for platforms in the cards.

Frame rate

The canvas's frames per second. The list has 24, 30, 48, 60 and 120; you can type a number from 1 to 240 in the box. The default is 60. Both canvases run at the same frame rate.

• 60 (recommended): games, sports and any fast-moving content. Motion looks smooth. YouTube, Twitch and Kick support 60 fps streams.
• 30: low-motion streams such as chatting, tutorials or podcasts; also if your upload speed is low. At the same bitrate more bits remain per frame, so the picture is cleaner.
• 24 / 48: for music, short film or documentary-style content that wants a cinematic look.
• 120 and above: only for local recording (slow motion or high-refresh playback). Streaming platforms don't accept more than 60; it is meaningless for stream cards and only strains the graphics card.

The frame rate is locked while streaming or recording; when you change it while idle, the video pipeline is rebuilt with the new value.

Quality group

Sharpening

From 0.00 to 1.00, default 0.35. The strength of the sharpening applied after scaling down. As the row's description says: Scales with the downscale ratio; turns itself off at 1:1. So if Screen Resolution and Horizontal canvas are the same, sharpening doesn't run at all; the bigger the downscale, the stronger its effect.

• 0.30–0.40: a natural result for most streams.
• 0: if you want to leave the picture completely soft.
• 0.6 and above: can cause halos on edges and wasted bits in the encoder; not recommended.

This value is for the canvas and the recording. Stream cards have their own Sharpness setting (described in the Quiet Hand section).

Dither

On / off, default on. When the picture is reduced to 8 bits, it adds a very faint noise pattern that prevents stepping (banding) in skies, shadows and dark gradients. It's invisible to the eye but breaks up banding. Leave it on. Turning it off has no benefit for you.

Shutter angle

From 0° to 360°, default 0 (off). It works only on Game Capture sources, when the game is captured with the hook.

What it does: if your game draws faster than the canvas (for example the game at 144 fps, the canvas at 60 fps), there are frames the game draws and throws away between two canvas frames. Like a cinema camera's shutter, this setting blends these in-between frames within a given exposure time, creating motion blur.

• 0°: off. Each canvas frame gets the game's latest frame. The right choice for sharpness in competitive games.
• 180°: the cinema standard. Motion looks soft and natural; your eyes don't tire during fast camera turns.
• 270°–360°: strong blur; for cinematic footage.

If the game draws slower than or at the same rate as the canvas, there are no in-between frames to blend and the setting has no visible effect.

Color range

Limited (16-235) or Full (0-255). The default is Limited.

• Limited (16-235): the standard streaming platforms expect. If you stream, always keep Limited. If Full is selected, some players show blacks as gray and whites as faded, or the reverse, too much contrast.
• Full (0-255): only for local recording and playback on a computer, if you will edit the recording and open it in a program that supports the full range.

Color space

BT.709 or BT.601. The default is BT.709.

• BT.709: the standard for all HD and higher pictures. Always use this.
• BT.601: only for old SD targets (720×576 and below). If selected for an HD picture, colors shift slightly (especially reds and greens).

Color makeup group

This is the canvas's finishing touch: the screen, every stream and the recording change together. The result shows instantly as you drag the slider. All four rows range from −1.00 to +1.00; 0 is natural.

• Contrast: the separation between light and dark. A small increase (+0.05/+0.15) livens up dull game footage; too much loses detail in the shadows.
• Saturation: color intensity; minus fades, plus livens up. It raises all colors equally, skin tones included.
• Brightness: overall lightness, similar to exposure. A small increase helps in dark games.
• Vibrance: livens up dull colors while protecting already saturated colors and skin tones. If you want more color, try this before Saturation; faces don't turn orange.

This setting affects the whole canvas. To change the color of a single source only, add a Color Correction filter to that source (see the Sources chapter).

Quiet Hand (Settings > Quiet Hand)

This is the separate section right below the Video section. It prepares the picture going to the encoder by calming invisible flicker so the bitrate is spent on real detail.

Changes while streaming: If Mode and the on/off switches (Sharpen discipline, Dead Band, Trail Tracker, Text-preserving downscale) are changed while streaming, the cards are not disconnected; the new value takes effect after the stream ends (the row's tooltip says so too). Why: these switches change how the stream session is set up; applying them mid-stream would mean a short drop on every platform. The sliders (Sharpness, Trail Tracker strength), on the other hand, go to the stream instantly as you drag them.

Mode:

• Auto (default, recommended): the best set of settings, chosen by measurement, is applied; the rows are not shown.
• Manual: the rows below open and the Quiet Hand switch appears on the stream cards. The first time you switch to Manual, the rows open with Auto's values.
• Off: none of it runs.

Manual rows:

• Sharpness (0.00–1.00): the stream's sharpening strength. The Auto value is 0.15. It is separate from the canvas's Sharpening row: that one is for the canvas and recording, this one is for the stream.
• Sharpen discipline: sharpening enlarges only real edges; invisible micro-noise is not enlarged and overshoot halos are clipped. Keep it on.
• Dead Band: pixels that barely change are repeated exactly; fixed interface text (scoreboard, health bar) stops flickering and the bits go to real motion. Keep it on.
• Trail Tracker: damps single-frame micro-flicker nobody can see (leaves, boiling particles) along the direction of motion. It comes off the first time you switch to Manual. When you turn it on, the Trail Tracker strength row appears (0.00–1.00, default 0.55): low is cautious, high is aggressive; overdoing it can leave trails in fast scenes. Useful at low bitrates (6 Mbps and below) in games full of foliage and particles.
• Text-preserving downscale: keeps thin text readable during downscaling. Keep it on.

Using the mouse and keys on the canvas

Selecting

• Click on a source: that source is selected, and a frame with 8 handles appears around it.
• With overlapping sources, the topmost one (highest in the list) is selected.
• Clicking the body of a source you selected from the list keeps the selection. That way you can select a camera lying underneath from the list and move it on the canvas without catching the full-screen source above it.
• Ctrl + click: adds the source to the selection or removes it (decided when you release without moving the mouse).
• In a multiple selection, clicking one of the selected sources doesn't break the selection; that source becomes the primary one and they all move together. The primary selection shows handles, the others a thin frame.
• Ctrl + A: selects all sources in the scene.
• Groups: clicking once more inside a selected group selects the child you clicked; the frame and handles move to that source. Clicking outside the group drops the child selection.
• Hidden (eye closed) and locked sources can't be selected or moved on the canvas.

Moving

• Drag the source by its body. In a multiple selection, all selected sources move together.
• Arrow keys: nudge the selected source by 1 pixel, Shift + arrow by 10 pixels. This is the best way to align precisely. In a multiple selection, all unlocked selected sources slide together.
• A single click doesn't change the source; nothing is written unless the mouse actually moves.

Resizing (8 handles)

• Corner and edge handles enlarge or shrink the source.
• By default all handles are locked to the source's own aspect ratio (the cropped ratio, if cropped). The picture doesn't get distorted.
• Shift + handle: frees the ratio, if you want to stretch the picture.

Magnet (snapping)

• While moving and resizing, the source's edges and center snap to the canvas edges, the canvas center and the edges of other visible sources when they come within 8 screen pixels in the preview. This makes it easy to put the camera exactly in a corner or line up two sources edge to edge.
• While Ctrl is held the magnet is off: you place freely, pixel by pixel.
• While editing a child inside a group, there is no snapping to other sources' edges; only the edges and center work.

Cropping (Alt + handle)

• Drag a handle while holding Alt: you crop from that edge. The frame edge follows the mouse and the picture's scale doesn't change; as you pull the edge back, the cropped part returns.
• The crop is kept relative to the source's own picture; even if the source's resolution changes (game resolution, camera mode), the same proportion is kept.
• If you start cropping with Alt on a source in Fill screen mode, the fill's hidden crop is turned into a visible crop and the picture doesn't jump.
• Groups have no cropping: a group can't be cropped as a single picture; crop the sources inside it one by one.
• For pixel-precise cropping, use right-click > Transform > Edit Transform....

Right-click

• On a source: Settings, (on a camera) Camera Customization, Rename, Screenshot (Source), Copy, Duplicate, Move to Group, Hide/Show, Lock/Unlock, Order, Transform, Filters, (on a browser) Interact, (on a group) Ungroup, Remove.
• On empty space: Add Source, Paste (Reference), Paste (Copy) (if the clipboard is empty, both paste items stay dimmed).

What these items do is explained in detail in the Sources chapter. Unlike the menu in the Sources list, the canvas menu has no Paste, Show audio in mixer or Add to vertical canvas too items; for those, right-click the source in the list. One more difference: Transform > Fit to Canvas in the canvas menu also resets the source's crop, while Fit to Canvas from the list menu keeps the crop. If you don't want to lose your crop, fit from the list.

Canvas keyboard shortcuts (when the canvas has focus)

While a text box is open, keys belong to the text; shortcuts don't work.

Undo and redo

Changes you make on the canvas and in the source list (moving, resizing, cropping, eye, lock, name, Save in a source settings window, adding and removing sources, ordering, grouping) are undone with Ctrl + Z. One drag or one Save in a window counts as one step; pressing Cancel in a window leaves no step.

• History is per scene and separate for the horizontal and vertical canvas; 100 steps are kept for each scene. When you switch to another scene and come back, that scene's history is still there.
• History is kept in memory: it is cleared when the program closes.
• A removed source comes back too. The source removal confirmation says so as well ("You can bring it back with Ctrl+Z"): Ctrl + Z brings the removed source back with the same identity, in its old place in the list, with all its settings (filters and camera customization included). This works as long as the program stays open.
• Out of scope: adding/deleting scenes, the audio mixer and program settings can't be undone. The audio mixer settings of a source that is brought back (gain, mute, audio filters) stay as they are.

Transform window

Opened with right-click > Transform > Edit Transform.... Its title is "<name> - Transform". You place things with pixel precision by typing values; changes show live on the canvas. The window is modeless: you can touch the canvas while it's open.

• Position and Size (canvas px): X, Y, Width, Height. In canvas pixels; on a 1920×1080 canvas the bottom-right corner is 1920, 1080. For a source inside a group the values are shown in canvas pixels too. The moment you type a value, the box becomes your own layout: the program no longer fits it automatically.
• Angle (−180° to +180°): free rotation. For angles other than multiples of 90 (tilting the camera or a logo slightly). Not available for groups.
• Crop (source px): Left, Top, Right, Bottom. Entered in the source's own pixels. On a manually placed box, the box also shrinks by the cropped amount (the picture scale stays fixed). Opposite edges can't wipe out the picture: at least 5% of the picture remains. Inactive for groups and for a source whose picture hasn't arrived yet.
• Reset Layout: returns position, size, crop, angle and flip to their defaults.
• Save makes it permanent; Cancel returns to the state when the window opened.

Scenes

What a scene is

A scene is an arrangement of the sources on the canvas. You build a separate scene for each situation, such as "Game", "Chat", "Break" or "Starting Soon", and switch between them with one click during the stream. Which sources a scene contains, where they sit and which ones are visible belong to that scene.

Each canvas (horizontal and vertical) has its own scene list. When the program first opens, both canvases have one scene named Scene 1; it contains only the pre-added Notifications and Chat sources. These two scenes appear as a single linked scene (described below).

The Scenes panel

The Scenes panel shows the scene list and six buttons at the top:

Which scene is selected: In the single-canvas views (Horizontal Scenes / Vertical Scenes), the scene highlighted in the list is that canvas's live (active) scene; the trash can, copy and arrows act on it. Clicking a scene in the list also makes it the live scene. To remove, duplicate or rename another scene without touching the live scene, right-click that scene: the right-click menu acts on the scene you clicked, not on the live scene.

The panel has no close button; you open and close panels from the main menu (☰) > Panels.

The panel's three views

The small down arrow in the panel title opens a menu:

• Scenes (both canvases): manages the scenes of both canvases together (linked view). The title becomes Scenes.
• Horizontal Scenes: only the horizontal canvas's scenes. The title becomes Horizontal Scenes.
• Vertical Scenes: only the vertical canvas's scenes. The title becomes Vertical Scenes.

The Horizontal and Vertical Scenes views have the same abilities: adding, deleting, duplicating, the gear, ordering, renaming, the right-click menu and the per-scene transition all exist in both and act only on the chosen canvas. Vertical Scenes can be chosen even while the vertical canvas is hidden; the canvas does not open by itself. The view you choose is kept when the program is closed and reopened.

Which one to use:

• If you stream horizontally and vertically at the same time with the same flow (switching to the Game scene should bring the game layout on vertical too): Scenes (both canvases).
• If you want to manage the two canvases separately (the game runs on horizontal while vertical shows only the camera): Horizontal Scenes and Vertical Scenes.

Adding a scene

In a single-canvas view

1. Press the + button in the panel, or right-click an empty area of the list and choose Add Scene.
2. A new scene named Scene N is added to the end of the list (N is one more than the number of scenes on the canvas).
3. The new scene doesn't change the live scene: the picture on air stays where it is. Click it in the list to prepare the scene.

In the linked view

The + button (or a right-click on an empty area) opens a menu with three options:

• Add Horizontal + Vertical: opens a scene with the same name on both canvases and makes them a linked scene.
• Horizontal only: opens a scene on the horizontal canvas only.
• Vertical only: opens a scene on the vertical canvas only.

Each option has a small marker next to it: the wide box shows horizontal, the narrow box shows vertical.

Managing scenes

Switching to a scene

Single click on a scene in the list: the canvas switches to that scene using the selected scene transition. If you click another scene while a transition is running, the running transition is finished and the new one starts; transitions don't queue up.

Renaming

• Select the scene and press F2, or right-click the scene and choose Rename.
• The name turns into a text box in place; Enter confirms, clicking outside the box cancels.
• Double-click doesn't rename a scene. Why: the first click changes the live scene; to avoid losing the live picture when you want to rename another scene during a stream, renaming was left to F2 and the right-click.
• On a linked scene, the name changes on both canvases together.

Right-click menu (single-canvas view)

It acts on the scene you right-clicked (not on the active scene):

• Rename
• Duplicate
• Transition to this scene: a transition specific to this scene (below).
• Paste (Reference) / Paste (Copy): pastes the sources on the clipboard into this scene. Inactive if the clipboard is empty.
• Remove: asks for confirmation. Inactive if only one scene is left.

Right-clicking an empty area of the list: Add Scene, Paste (Reference), Paste (Copy).

Duplicating

The copy button or right-click > Duplicate: a copy with "(copy)" added to the name opens right below the scene. The live scene doesn't change.

In the copy, sources are shared: the camera isn't opened a second time, a browser page isn't loaded a second time. But:

• Layout is separate in each scene: position, size, crop, rotation, flip, eye (visibility) and lock. Shrinking or hiding the camera in the copied scene doesn't affect the original scene. Sources inside groups are included.
• A source splits off when its settings change: the moment you change a shared source's settings (name, filters, source settings, camera customization) in one scene, the program splits that source into an independent copy for that scene; the other scenes keep the old version. So a setting you make in one scene doesn't surprise you by breaking another scene.
• Audio mixer settings are shared per source (gain, mute, audio filters).

Shortcuts and the tablet remote recognize the split copy too; whichever scene you turn the source on or off in, your shortcut keeps working.

Ordering

The up/down arrows move the selected scene in the list. The order determines where the Next scene / Previous scene shortcuts and the Scene N shortcuts go. Moving doesn't change the live scene.

Removing

The trash button or right-click > Remove opens a confirmation window: "Remove scene "…" and the N sources inside it? This cannot be undone."

• The last scene on a canvas can't be removed; in that case the button and the menu item are inactive.
• Removing a scene is not covered by undo (Ctrl + Z).
• Sources that also sit in other scenes (shared) stay in those scenes; only their layout in this scene goes away.
• Removing a scene other than the active one doesn't change the live picture.

Linked scenes

A linked scene is one horizontal and one vertical scene carrying the same key; it appears as a single row in the list.

• Clicking it switches both canvases together in the same frame. Each canvas uses its own transition setting.
• The two markers on the right of the row tell you which canvases the scene is on: the wide box is horizontal, the narrow box is vertical. A filled marker means "exists on this canvas", a highlighted marker means "live on this canvas right now".
• A scene that exists on only one canvas also stays in the list; clicking it switches only that canvas.

Right-click menu in the linked view:

• Rename: changes the name on both canvases together.
• Create vertical too (on a scene that exists only on horizontal) / Create horizontal too (on a scene that exists only on vertical): opens its partner on the missing canvas. The partner opens empty and the live scene doesn't change; you build the vertical layout yourself.
• Remove: if the scene exists on both canvases, it asks which one to delete: Remove both, Remove horizontal only, Remove vertical only.

Buttons in the linked view: + opens the three-option add menu; the trash can removes the highlighted row; copy duplicates the scene on both canvases together; the gear opens the horizontal canvas's general transition (you set the vertical canvas's transition with the gear in the Vertical Scenes view); the arrows move the row.

Older setups: Scenes that were previously opened with the same name on both canvases are matched by the program automatically and made into linked scenes.

Recommended use: For each situation (Starting, Game, Chat, Break, Ending), open a linked scene with Add Horizontal + Vertical; edit the horizontal one in the Sources panel and the vertical one in Vertical Sources, separately. During the stream, both platform types change together with one click.

Managing vertical scenes

The vertical canvas's scenes are fully independent of the horizontal ones:

1. Choose Vertical Scenes from the arrow in the Scenes panel title.
2. The panel lists the vertical scenes; +, trash can, copy, gear and arrows act only on vertical.
3. Clicking a vertical scene switches only the vertical canvas; horizontal stays where it is.
4. The right-click menu ("Transition to this scene" included) and the right-click on an empty area work the same on vertical.
5. The transition window opened by the gear is titled Vertical Scene Transition and affects only the vertical canvas.
6. When you go back to Horizontal Scenes, the horizontal list and settings haven't changed.

Vertical scenes' sources are managed in the Vertical Sources panel.

Vertical in shortcuts: Next scene (vertical), Previous scene (vertical) and Back to last scene (vertical) are separate shortcuts (Settings > Shortcuts). That way you can manage horizontal and vertical with separate keys.

Scene transitions

They determine how the old scene leaves and the new one arrives when the scene changes. On a live stream, a smooth transition looks more professional than a hard "cut".

Scene Transition window

Opened with the gear button in the Scenes panel. The window is titled Scene Transition (Vertical Scene Transition on vertical). There is no Save button: everything you choose is applied instantly.

There are five tabs at the top; each tab has transition cards, and each card has a small preview that plays that transition continuously. The selected card plays with your settings (direction, color, pattern, easing curve). The window always opens on the tab of the selected transition.

Basic

• Cut (instant): the scene changes at once. No duration setting. For fast-paced streams, instant switching with shortcuts, or anyone who wants "no waiting at all in the transition".
• Fade (cross): the new scene appears as the old one fades. The recommended general transition; it looks natural with any content.
• Fade to color: first fades to a color (black by default), then the new scene opens. You choose the color in the Color row. For clear breaks such as a segment change or going into a "break".

Motion

• Slide: the new scene slides in over the old one.
• Push: the new scene arrives pushing the old one; both slide together.
• Uncover: the old scene slides away, uncovering the new scene underneath.
• Zoom: transitions by zooming In or Out.

Direction for Slide, Push and Uncover: Left, Right, Up, Down. On the vertical canvas, up/down directions look more natural.

Wipe

• Wipe: a line sweeps the screen. Direction: Left / Right / Up / Down.
• Iris: a circle that opens from the center.
• Clock wipe: sweeps around like a clock hand.
• Blinds: opens in strips. Direction: Horizontal or Vertical.
• Pattern wipe: opens according to a pattern. Pattern: Diagonal, Diamond, Checker, Noise or Your own image. If you choose Your own image, pick a picture (png, jpg, jpeg, bmp, tif, tiff, webp) in the Image row (Pick an image...); the dark areas of the picture open first, the light areas later. This is how you make a branded transition with your own logo: make the part of the picture where you want the transition to start dark. If the picture can't be opened, the transition plays with the Diagonal pattern.

All transitions in the Wipe group have Edge softness (0–50%, default 10%): how soft the edge of the sweeping line is. 0 gives a sharp line, 20–30 a cinematic soft edge.

Effect

• Light flash: transitions with a white flash.
• Blur: the old scene blurs and the new scene comes into focus.
• Pixelate: the picture breaks into pixels and reassembles.
• Glitch (RGB): a "glitch" transition with line shifting and color separation. Suits gaming and tech streams.

Stinger

Stinger (clip): plays a full-screen video during the transition; at a certain moment of the video (when the curtain fully covers the screen) the scene changes at once. Viewers don't see the scene change, they see the video. Used for transition animations with the channel logo.

• Clip: press the button (Pick a video...) and choose a video file (mp4, mov, webm, mkv, avi). Once a clip is chosen, the transition duration is taken from the clip's length automatically (at most 10 seconds).
• Cut point (default 150 ms): the scene changes when this much time has passed from the start of the clip. Choose the moment the curtain fully covers the screen; if you choose too early, viewers see the scene change. The slider's upper limit is 50 ms less than the transition duration: if the cut point fell at the very end of the transition, the scene would never change.
• If no clip is chosen, a warning says: Without a clip the stinger cannot run; the transition behaves like a cut.
• Transparent (alpha channel) stinger clips are not supported: the clip plays full screen and opaque, without transparency. Prepare your stinger video with a curtain that covers the full screen.

Common rows

• Easing (except Cut and Stinger): Linear (constant speed; default), Smooth (starts slow, speeds up, ends slow; the most natural feel), Ease in, Ease out. Recommended: Smooth.
• Duration: 0–2000 ms (up to 10000 ms for Stinger), default 300 ms. Inactive for Cut. 250–500 ms is ideal for most streams; above 1000 ms feels long to viewers. 0 ms turns every transition into a cut.

Only the rows that fit the selected transition are shown: Direction only for Slide, Push, Uncover, Wipe, Zoom and Blinds; Color only for Fade to color; Pattern only for Pattern wipe.

The program's starting transition: Fade (cross), 300 ms, Linear. Each canvas (horizontal and vertical) has its own general transition.

Try transition

The Try transition button at the bottom of the window switches the canvas to the next scene in the list with the selected transition (from the last scene, to the first); you see the result without going on air. The test is a real scene change: the canvas stays on the new scene and doesn't come back. In the per-scene transition window, the button switches the canvas to that scene; if you're already on it, it first moves to the next one without a transition, then returns to that scene with the selected transition.

• At least two scenes are needed (At least two scenes are needed to try this.).
• Inactive while streaming or recording: the test is a real scene change and would reach viewers or the recording.

Per-scene transition

You may want a different transition when entering some scenes (for example Fade everywhere, but enter the "Break" scene with a Stinger).

1. Right-click the scene and choose Transition to this scene.
2. The same window opens titled "Transition to this scene · <scene name>"; there is a General button at the start of the tabs.
3. Clicking a card or changing a row sets a custom transition for this scene.
4. Clicking General removes the custom setting; the scene uses the canvas's general transition again. While General is selected, no setting rows are shown in the window and no card is highlighted.

The custom transition is used when entering that scene. When the transition starts, a copy of the setting is taken; changes you make in the window during the transition don't disturb the running transition.

Transition shortcut

With Settings > Shortcuts > Select transition type you can assign a specific transition type to a key (separate targets for horizontal and vertical). It's for changing the transition type with one key during a stream. The shortcut changes only the type of the canvas's general transition; settings like duration and direction, and per-scene transitions, stay as they are.

Transition settings are saved together with the scene collection; they're kept when the program is closed and reopened.

Scene shortcuts

In Settings > Shortcuts, the following scene-related actions can be assigned to a key. Shortcuts work while you're in a game too.

• Scene N / Switch to scene: switches to a specific scene.
• Next scene (horizontal), Previous scene (horizontal), Next scene (vertical), Previous scene (vertical)
• Back to last scene (horizontal / vertical): returns to the scene you were just on (for example from the break scene back to the game).
• Select transition type

Scene collections

All your scenes, sources and layouts are kept in a collection. You can keep separate collections for different kinds of streams (for example "Gaming stream" and "Podcast"). They're managed from the Collection card above the main menu (☰):

• Saved collections are listed; clicking one loads that collection.
• New collection..., Duplicate, Rename, Save collection as..., Remove (the last collection can't be removed), Import collection..., Export collection...

An exported collection can be moved to another computer. For security, the account-bound address of the Gallery source isn't written to the file; on the other computer it is set up again with your own account.

Ready-made scene pack (Forge Overlays)

With the Scene pack button in the Forge Overlays source's settings window, you can open several ready-made scenes in the style you choose (Starting Soon, Break, Stream Ended and others) in one go. The details are under the Forge Overlays heading in the Sources chapter.

Sources

What a source is

A source is anything placed on the canvas: your screen, a game, your webcam, your phone, an image, a text, the chat feed, notification cards. A scene is an arrangement of sources; a source is a part of that arrangement.

Each canvas has its own source panel: Sources for the horizontal canvas, Vertical Sources for the vertical canvas. Both have the same abilities and act only on the active scene of their own canvas.

The Sources panel

Top buttons

List row

• Order = drawing order. The topmost source in the list is frontmost on the canvas. To see the camera above the game, the camera must be above the game in the list.
• On the right of the row are the eye (visible/hidden) and lock (a locked source can't be moved or resized on the canvas) buttons.
• If a source has a problem, a marker appears to the left of the eye and lock; hovering over it shows the reason (see Source status markers). A blue refresh marker means "waiting, coming shortly", an orange warning marker means "there is a problem".
• Groups have an expand/collapse triangle on their left; the sources inside an open group are listed indented, and each has its own eye and lock.

Selecting

• Click: selects one source.
• Ctrl + click: adds to or removes from the selection.
• Shift + click: selects the range from the primary selection to the row you clicked.
• Ctrl + A: selects all.
• Double-click: opens the source's settings window (also for a source inside a group).

Drag and drop

• If you drag a row and drop it on the upper half of another row, it goes in front of it; on the lower half, behind it. Dropping on the empty area at the bottom of the list puts it last.
• Dropping on the middle band of a group row puts the source into the group.
• Dragging a source inside a group out to the flat list takes it out of the group; it stays in place on the canvas.

List keyboard shortcuts (when the list has focus)

Right-click menu (single source)

• Rename
• Settings: the Source Settings window.
• Camera Customization: appears only on webcams and wireless cameras.
• Screenshot (Source): saves the current picture of only this source as an image (not the whole canvas).
• Copy, Paste (Reference), Paste (Copy), Duplicate (described below).
• Hide / Show, Lock / Unlock
• Order: To Top, Up, Down, To Bottom.
• Transform: (below)
• Filters: the source's filter chain (see Filters).
• Add to vertical canvas too / Add to horizontal canvas too: adds the source to the other canvas's active scene as an independent copy. The device isn't opened a second time; the layout is refit to the other canvas, and crop and filters are carried over. Not shown for a Scene Source (scenes belong to a canvas).
• Interact: only on sources that draw a page: Browser, Gallery, Forge Template, Forge Overlays and Forge Frames (see Browser).
• Show audio in mixer: appears on sources that draw a page (the five types above), Media, Chat, Notifications and Tablet Screen. It brings back the audio of a source you "removed" from the audio mixer (see below).
• Ungroup: only on groups.
• Move to Group: if the scene has groups, moves the source into one from the submenu; the source stays in place on the canvas.
• Remove: asks for confirmation.

Right-click menu (with several sources selected)

Group Selected, Copy, Hide Selected, Show Selected, Lock Selected, Unlock Selected, Remove Selected.

Right-click on an empty area of the list: Add Source, Paste (Reference), Paste (Copy).

Transform submenu

• Edit Transform...: the window where you enter position, size, angle and crop as numbers (described in the Canvas chapter).
• Fit to Canvas: keeps the aspect ratio, and the source fits fully inside the canvas; there may be empty space at the edges. The crop is kept; the menu in the Sources list and the right-click menu on the canvas give the same result. A group is fit to the canvas and centered without distorting its shape.
• Fill screen (crop overflow): keeps the aspect ratio and covers the whole canvas; the overflowing edge is cropped. Your previous crop is erased. For placing a 21:9 game picture on a 16:9 canvas with no empty space. Inactive for groups.
• Stretch to screen: breaks the aspect ratio and spreads the source exactly across the canvas; the previous crop is erased. Since it distorts the picture, use it only if you really want that.
• Center on Canvas: moves it to the center without changing the size.
• Rotate 90, Rotate 90° Left, Flip Horizontal, Flip vertically
• Reset Layout: position, size, crop, rotation and flip return to their defaults; the source is placed again keeping its aspect ratio. For a group, the frame wraps around its content. It doesn't touch the mirror setting in the camera customization.

Removing audio from the mixer and bringing it back

Remove on a source card in the audio mixer doesn't delete the source: the source stays on the canvas and keeps being drawn, only its audio goes nowhere. Its settings (gain, audio filters) are kept. To bring it back, right-click the source and check Show audio in mixer (or use the + button in the mixer header).

How it differs from muting: muting is temporary and the card stays in place; removing takes the card away completely and is permanent. For the Chat and Notifications sources, the choice applies to all copies of that type together.

Adding a source

The Add Source window

Opened with + in the panel, right-click on an empty area of the list > Add Source, or right-click on an empty area of the canvas. The source is added to the active scene of the canvas the panel belongs to.

The window consists of cards divided into sections; if the cards don't fit in the window, they wrap to the next line:

• Screens: each monitor on your computer, with its model, resolution and refresh rate. The primary display has "main" next to it.
• Cameras and Capture Devices: connected webcams and capture cards with their real names; the Wireless Camera card at the end.
• Windows: windows of open programs, with the program name. A minimized window has minimized on its second line. To tell apart cards with the same name, hover over them; the window title appears.
• Scenes: the other scenes of the same canvas (to add as a Scene Source). The active scene isn't in the list.
• Content and Tools: Media, Image, Text, Color, Game, Browser, Chat, Notifications, Gallery, Slideshow, Audio Input, Audio Output, Forge Control image, Tablet Screen, Forge Template, Forge Overlays, Forge Frames.
• Custom Browser Docks: pages you defined with the main menu (☰) > Custom browser docks... (the section doesn't appear if no dock is defined).
• Already in Scenes: sources in all scenes of both canvases that aren't in this scene yet. For putting an existing source into this scene too. A source chosen from the same canvas is linked to this scene as a reference (same as Paste (Reference): the device is shared, the layout is specific to the scene). A source chosen from the other canvas or from inside a group is added as an independent copy.

Premium lock: the Wireless Camera, Tablet Screen, Forge Control image, Forge Template, Forge Overlays and Forge Frames cards look dimmed on a free account and carry a PREMIUM chip. Hovering over them shows the reason.

Steps to add

1. Click a card; the card is highlighted and its name is written into the Source name box below.
2. Change the name if you like. If you'll have several sources of the same type ("Camera - Face", "Camera - Desk"), meaningful names make your work easier later. If a source with the same name already exists in the same scene, the program adds a number to the end of the new source's name (like "Browser 2"); that way two channels with the same name don't appear in the audio mixer.
3. If the Start visible switch (on by default) is on, the source is added visible right away; if it's off, it's added hidden (to set things up during a stream without showing viewers).
4. Press Add to Scene. Cancel closes the window.
5. Shortcut: double-click a card to add it instantly with the default name.

When the Audio Input / Audio Output card is selected, an Audio device row appears in the bottom strip (Default device or a device from the list).

The new source's settings window opens by itself (so you can make choices like the file, address, window or game right away). If you press Save on this first opening, the source stays. If you press Cancel, the window's X button or Esc, the newly added source is removed again from the scene: if you clicked the wrong card, you can back out without a trace. This window doesn't open for Audio Input / Audio Output or for a source added from Already in Scenes.

Adding by dragging and dropping a file

If you drag a file (or folder) from your computer and drop it on the program window, the matching source is created automatically. Wherever you drop it, the source is added to the active scene of the horizontal canvas, at the top of the list, named after the file; a "… added to the scene" notification appears on screen. The settings window doesn't open.

If another file type is dropped, the notification This file type cannot be added as a source (.extension) appears. If you want to add to the vertical canvas or below chat and notifications, use the Add Source window.

Where a new source goes in the list

If the Chat and Notifications sources sit one after another at the top of the list, a new source goes right below them, not to the very top of the list. That way the chat and notification cards stay above everything. If you move them down or put another source above them, the rule lifts by itself and new sources go to the top again.

When the program first opens, these two sources are pre-added to the active scene of both canvases: Notifications at the top, Chat below it (fully transparent background, size 26, outlined).

Copy, Paste (Reference), Paste (Copy), Duplicate

• Paste (Reference): links the source itself on the clipboard into this scene too. The device is shared; the layout (position, size, crop, eye, lock) is specific to the scene. When you change the source's settings (filter, name, settings) in one scene, the program splits that source into an independent copy for that scene; the other scenes keep the old version. This is the right way to use the same camera in many scenes.
• Paste (Copy): adds a fully independent copy with a new identity. For when you want "one more of the same" (for example a second text with the same settings).
• Duplicate: adds an independent copy of the selected source to the same scene (if it's a group, together with its contents).
• Between canvases: when you copy from horizontal and paste to vertical (or the reverse), an independent copy is always added, not a reference; horizontal and vertical stay fully independent.

If you right-click a scene in the scene list and paste, the source goes into that scene.

Groups

Group several sources to move, hide or filter them as one object.

• Grouping: select the sources with Ctrl or Shift, then right-click > Group Selected. The group takes the place of the topmost source in the selection; the order inside is kept.
• Adding to a group: drag the row onto the middle band of the group, or right-click > Move to Group.
• Taking out of a group: drag the inner row out to the flat list, or right-click the child > Remove from Group. The source comes out right below the group and stays in place on the canvas.
• Ungrouping: right-click > Ungroup.
• The group's eye and lock act on everything inside it together; each child also has its own eye and lock.
• Editing a source inside: click the child in the list, or click once more inside the selected group on the canvas. The child's right-click menu has Rename, Settings, (on a camera) Camera Customization, Edit Transform..., Filters, Hide/Show, Lock, Remove from Group, Remove.
• You can add a filter to a group: the group is first merged into a single picture and the filter is applied to that whole. For example, you can group the camera with its frame and color-correct them together.
• Groups have no crop, Fill screen or free angle (a group can't be cropped or rotated as a single texture).
• The layout of sources inside a group is also specific to the scene.

The Source Settings window (common to all types)

Opened with a double-click, the gear button or right-click > Settings. Its title is "<name> - Source Settings". The window can be moved and resized; it is modeless (while it's open you can touch the canvas and other windows).

• Section heading at the top: Device for device-based types (camera, screen, window, game), Source for the others.
• Name: the source's name as shown in the list.
• Image > Flip Horizontal (mirror): mirrors the picture horizontally. Every type has it.
• Behavior:
  • For device-based and other types, Close device when hidden (off by default; Forge Template, Forge Overlays and Forge Frames start with it on): while the source is hidden (eye closed or in an inactive scene), the device is closed. When on, the camera light goes off and the processor and graphics card get a break; but when the source shows again, opening the device can take a second or two. When off, the source waits ready in the background and appears instantly when shown. Tip: keep it off on a camera you turn on and off often during the stream; turn it on for a second camera you use only occasionally.
  • For media and the types that draw a page (Browser, Gallery, Forge Template, Forge Overlays, Forge Frames), the same switch is called Close when hidden (restarts): when on, a hidden video/page is closed and starts from the beginning when shown; when off, hidden media pauses and continues where it left off when shown.
  • For screen, window and game capture, Capture cursor: the mouse pointer is included in the picture. On by default. Keep it on for screen walkthroughs and tutorials, off in games (the game's own pointer is already visible; a second pointer can cause a double image).
• Save / Cancel: visual settings such as color, text, font style and chat look show instantly on the canvas while you change them; Save makes them permanent, Cancel returns to the state when the window opened. Settings that require a rebuild, such as the device, file, address and mode, are applied on Save. If you try to close the window with unsaved changes, you're asked.
• If the source is shared with other scenes (reference), Save writes the change only to the source in this scene; the program splits the source into an independent copy for this scene (see Copy, Paste (Reference)…).
• Switching to another scene while the window is open doesn't close the window.

Source status markers

Hovering over the marker on a source row shows one of these reasons:

Source types

Screen Capture

What it does: Captures an entire monitor.

When: Screen walkthroughs, tutorials, showing several programs together, desktop sharing. For games Game Capture is better, and for a single program Window Capture: screen capture puts everything on the screen on air (notifications, private messages, password windows).

Adding: Add Source > choose the monitor in the Screens section.

Settings:

• Monitor: which monitor to capture. The program remembers the monitor by its hardware ID; even if the order of the monitors changes or one is turned off, the source won't stream a different screen.
• Capture cursor (on by default).
• Flip Horizontal (mirror), Close device when hidden.

Tips:

• Set the canvas's Screen Resolution to the resolution of the monitor you capture; that's how text comes out sharpest.
• If your monitor is bigger than the canvas (4K monitor, 1080p canvas), the source is shrunk to fit; small text can become unreadable. Cropping the important area with Alt + handle and enlarging it gives a more readable result.
• For privacy during long streams, keep the screen capture in a separate scene; leave that scene when you're about to look at something private.

Window Capture

What it does: Captures the window of a single program; it shows that window even if another window covers it.

When: Non-game programs such as a browser, code editor, drawing program or music player. The rest of the screen (notifications, other windows) doesn't go on air.

Adding: Add Source > choose the program in the Windows section.

Settings:

• Window: the list of open windows, with program names. If the saved window is closed, its name with "(closed)" added stays at the top of the list; if you don't change the selection, it's found by itself when the program opens. A minimized window shows "(minimized)".
• Refresh: reads the list again (for programs you started after opening the source window). Your selection is kept.
• Capture cursor, Flip Horizontal (mirror), Close device when hidden.

Privacy guarantee: The source attaches to the program you chose by the program's full file path. When the program is closed and reopened, it attaches to the same program again; but it never switches to another program with the same title. If the program path changes, the marker says Program path changed - select it again.

Good to know:

• A minimized window produces no picture; the picture freezes and the marker says Image frozen. Don't minimize the window; put it behind other windows instead; capture continues even if windows cover it.
• If the same program has several windows (for example two browser windows), they appear with the same name in the list; in Add Source, hovering over the card shows the window title.

Game Capture

What it does: Takes the game's picture directly from inside the game (with the hook). This gives the lowest latency and the least performance loss; it works in full screen, borderless and windowed modes alike.

When: In every gaming stream. If the game opens through a launcher, choose the game itself, not the launcher.

Adding: Add Source > Content and Tools > Game. Once added, you need to choose the game in the settings window; if none is chosen, the warning No game selected yet: pick your game from the list and press Save. appears.

Settings:

• Game: the list of running games. The program never guesses: you always choose the target. While the game is closed, the saved target stays at the top of the list with "(closed)" added; it's found by itself when the game opens.
• Refresh: reads the list again. Press it if a game you started after opening Forge isn't in the list.
• Hook: whether the hook is used for this game. The decision belongs to the game's program (its file path); every source capturing that game uses the same decision, and the decision is permanent. The row appears when the selected game's program file can be found.
  • On (default): the picture is taken from inside the game.
  • Off: the game is taken with window capture. For games with strict anti-cheat, so as not to put your account at risk.
  • If an anti-cheat driver is loaded on the computer, the hook is never tried and window capture is used; the row's tooltip says Protection driver loaded (…) - the hook is not attempted, window capture is used.
• Capture cursor (usually keep it off in games), Flip Horizontal (mirror), Close device when hidden.

When the program skips the hook by itself: Before trying the hook, the program quietly checks the game and switches to window capture without asking you in these cases:

• If a known anti-cheat driver is loaded on the computer (the tooltip above).
• If the game shows protective behavior such as a protected process or restricted access.
• If the game is on the program's hook block list. This list is updated once a day from our website and turns off games known to cause problems; your Hook decision can't override this list.
• If the game doesn't use one of the supported graphics interfaces (below).

Hook warning: If a game that passes these checks contains an add-on file the program doesn't recognize (a module that doesn't come from the game's own folder and isn't known to be harmless), the program leaves the decision to you and opens a window titled Game capture: "This game may use a protection we do not recognise. Turning the hook on could put your account at risk. Window capture is running right now." The window asks once per game; if a settings window is open at that moment, it waits until that one closes. Until you answer, window capture runs.

• Stay on window (highlighted, safe choice): the hook stays off; the decision is saved permanently.
• Turn hook on: only if you're sure the game allows streaming software. The decision is saved permanently.
• Closing with Esc or Enter stays on the safe side but makes the decision valid for this session only: the question comes again when the program is reopened. That way a user who presses a key by accident doesn't lose their decision.

You can change your decision later in the Hook row.

Supported graphics interfaces: DirectX 11, DirectX 12 and OpenGL. For games that use none of these three (for example games using only Vulkan or DirectX 9), the hook is never tried; the program uses window capture directly without asking. If the game loads one of these interfaces later, the hook is tried then.

If the hook can't be set up, the program quietly switches to window capture. For temporary errors caused by the game not having started drawing yet, the hook is retried a few times; if the hook drops during play, it isn't tried again as long as that game stays open (it's tried again when you close and reopen the game). Even if the same game is captured on both canvases, only one hook enters the game. Even if Forge closes or crashes, the game isn't affected.

Shutter angle: Shutter angle in Settings > Video works only for games captured with the hook (see the Canvas chapter).

Tips:

• If you run the game and Forge on the same graphics card, limit the game's frame rate (for example 141 on a 144 Hz monitor, or 120 if the canvas is 60). If the graphics card hits 100%, the stream drops frames.
• Borderless window mode is the most trouble-free mode when switching to Forge with Alt+Tab.

Webcam

What it does: Brings a USB webcam, a capture card (game console, second computer, professional camera) or any video device connected to the computer onto the canvas.

Adding: Add Source > choose the device in the Cameras and Capture Devices section.

Settings:

• Device: the cameras on the system with their real names. The program remembers the camera by its connection ID and name; even if the USB port changes, the right device opens. If the saved camera isn't plugged in, the list shows "<name> (not connected)" and the source's device doesn't change until you choose another one. If the computer has no camera at all, the list is dimmed and says No camera found.
• Resolution / FPS: the modes the device really supports (for example "1920x1080 30 fps"). Device default uses the camera's own choice. If the device can't deliver the mode you want, an orange Actual: … row appears below and tells you the mode that was really opened.
• Capture the device's audio (off by default): turns the capture card's or camera's own audio endpoint into a channel in the audio mixer, under the source's name. When you turn it on, an Audio device row appears: "<name> (auto)" finds the camera's own audio endpoint; you can also choose another endpoint from the list. Turn it on if you use a game console or a camera capture card; a normal webcam's microphone is usually poor, so use a separate microphone.
• Camera Customization > Background, color, framing...: opens the Camera Customization window (detailed below).
• Power line frequency: appears only on devices that support it. Options: Driver (default, Forge doesn't touch the device), 50 Hz, 60 Hz, Off. LED and fluorescent lights flicker at the mains frequency; if the camera runs out of step with it, the picture shows horizontal bands and flicker, and the encoder wastes bits on that flicker. Choose 50 Hz in Europe and Turkey, 60 Hz in North America. In daylight or with flicker-free lighting, Off or Driver is enough. This choice is written to the camera itself right away, without waiting for Save; Cancel doesn't undo it, you go back to the old value from the list.
• Driver settings > Exposure / Brightness / Focus...: opens the camera's own settings page (exposure, focus, white balance). Appears only on devices that offer a page.
• Flip Horizontal (mirror), Close device when hidden.

How to choose resolution and frame rate:

• You only need as much resolution as the size you'll show the camera at on the canvas. For a small corner camera (about a quarter of the canvas) 1280×720 is enough; for a full-screen camera or a "Just Chatting" scene, 1920×1080.
• Frame rate: if your canvas is 60 fps and your camera can deliver 1080p60, choose 60; motion will be smooth. Most webcams deliver only 30 fps at 1080p; in that case choosing 30 is better than letting the camera lower its frame rate by itself in low light.
• In low light, cameras halve the frame rate to lengthen exposure; the picture stutters. Light the room, or turn off auto exposure in Driver settings and set it manually.
• Graphics card and processor load: the camera picture is processed in proportion to its resolution. Color, skin, sharpness and noise reduction in Camera Customization run at the camera's own resolution; a 4K camera means four times the work of 1080p. AI background removal runs at a small resolution, so it's barely affected by the camera resolution. Don't choose an unnecessarily high mode.
• Using the same camera on both canvases doesn't open the device a second time and adds no extra load. If two sources chose different modes for the same camera, the camera opens once at the highest of the requested modes.

If the camera can't be used: another program (like a video call) may be holding the camera; Windows gives a camera to only one program at a time. Close that program; Forge retries by itself.

The Camera Customization window

The same window for the webcam, wireless camera and tablet screen sources. It opens with the Background, color, framing... button in Source Settings or with right-click > Camera Customization. Its title is "Camera Customization - <source name>".

Window layout:

• Sections on the left: Framing, Color, Background, Look (LUT).
• Settings in the middle.
• Preview on the right, with three modes: Result (the final picture), Before / After (a comparison split down the middle), Mask (shows in black and white what the background separation counts as the person; the most useful mode when tuning background removal).
• If no camera picture arrives, the preview says why (the device may be opening, or the source is hidden and Close device when hidden is on).
• Reset to defaults: resets only the open section to its defaults; it asks first.
• Save / Cancel. While not streaming or recording, changes show live on the canvas. While streaming or recording, changes show only in the window's preview and go to the canvas (the stream and the recording) when you press Save; the window shows the note "Streaming or recording: changes stay here only. They reach the stream and the recording when you press Save." That way your trial and error doesn't reach viewers or the recording file.

A camera whose settings you never changed isn't processed at all; the extra load is zero. Settings belong to the source: you can remove the background of the vertical copy while the camera on horizontal stays untouched.

The processing order is fixed: Framing → Color → Skin → Sharpness → LUT → Mask → Post-mask → Background → Auto framing.

Framing section

• Crop left, Crop top, Crop right, Crop bottom: edge cropping from 0.00 to 0.45. For cutting off a messy corner or a door edge that enters the camera's view. The crop is done on the camera's own picture; unlike the Alt + handle crop on the canvas, it is applied before background removal and auto framing.
• Mirror (flip horizontally): to see yourself as in a mirror. Keep it off if you'll show text (a T-shirt print, a sheet of paper), or the text will come out reversed.
• Flip vertically: for a camera mounted upside down.
• Rotation: 0°, 90°, 180°, 270°. 90° or 270° if you mounted the camera vertically (for vertical streams).

Auto Framing (Premium; on a free account a PREMIUM chip sits next to the row):

• Auto framing: the picture follows the person; even if you drift in the frame, your face stays in the middle. For streamers who move left and right at the desk or stand up.
• It depends on the mask: first turn on Green screen or AI in the Background section; the window says so too: the mask is the only thing that knows where the subject is. While the mask is off (or the AI engine hasn't started yet), the two sliders below stay dimmed.
• Your background changes too: the moment the mask turns on, what's behind the person changes according to the choice in the Background row (Transparent, Solid color, Image or Blur). There's no way to show your room as it is and use only auto framing. If you want your room visible, the closest choice is Blur (bokeh) with a low Blur amount; but even at the lowest value the background softens slightly.
• Frame fill (0.30–1.00, default 0.75): how much of the frame the person fills. A high value is a close-up, a low value a wide shot. 0.6–0.8 looks natural.
• Tracking speed (0.05–1.00, default 0.50): how quickly the frame follows you. A low value is slow and cinematic, a high value nimble but busy. 0.3–0.5 so viewers don't get dizzy.

Color section

• Brightness, Contrast, Saturation (−1 to +1, 0 is natural).
• Temperature (−1 blue, +1 orange): toward plus if your face looks bluish under white light, toward minus if it looks orange under a yellow bulb.
• Tint (−1 green, +1 magenta): a slight plus to remove the green cast of fluorescent light.
• Gamma (0.40–2.50, default 1.00): the lightness of the midtones. Below 1 lightens the midtones, above darkens them.
• Low light (0–1): lifts the dark areas and leaves bright areas as they are. Unlike a plain brightness boost, it doesn't blow out highlights. The cure for cheap cameras' biggest problem in a dim room; 0.3–0.5 is a good start.
• Noise reduction (0–1, default 0): cleans up the grain of a dim room over time. Moving pixels aren't blended, so no trails are left. Noise is what eats the most bits in the encoder; reducing it also raises stream quality. 0.3–0.6 in dim conditions.

Skin and Detail:

• Skin smoothing (0–1): works only on areas resembling skin tone and keeps edges. High values make the picture look plastic; 0.15–0.30 stays natural.
• Sharpening (0–1): camera-specific sharpening. 0.2–0.4 on blurry cameras. On a noisy picture it enlarges the noise too; tune noise reduction first.

Background section

Background separation: what separates the background.

• Off: the camera as it is.
• Green screen: if there's a green (or blue) screen behind you. If you have a screen, it always gives a cleaner result than AI; even single hairs are separated, and it puts almost no load on the graphics card. Doesn't require Premium.
• AI: needs no screen; AI separates the person. Premium: on a free account the item in the list is dimmed and has a PREMIUM chip.

Green screen settings:

• Key color: the color of your screen (green by default). Pick your screen in the color box; if you use a blue screen, choose blue here.
• Similarity (0.02–1.00, default 0.40): how far from the key color a color can be and still count as "screen". Raise it if screen remains; lower it if parts of you (green eyes, green clothing) disappear.
• Smoothness (0.005–0.500, default 0.08): the transition band between the screen and the person. Raise it if edges are hard.
• Spill suppression (0–1, default 0.60): removes the green halo the screen casts on hair and shoulder edges.
• Edge shrink (0–1, default 0): pulls the mask inward; cuts off screen color left on the edge. 0.1–0.2 is usually enough.

Light the screen properly: the screen should be wrinkle-free and evenly lit, and the person should stand at least a meter in front of it. Shadows and wrinkles leave patches that no setting can fully fix.

AI settings:

When AI is selected, the real state of the path is shown below the row:

• AI active · <path> · N ms: it's running. The path is "NVIDIA Maxine", "DirectML" (Forge Mask on the graphics card) or "CPU" (Forge Mask on the processor). N ms is how many milliseconds it takes to produce one mask. The picture isn't affected by this time (the camera flows at its own rate and the latest mask is applied); but the longer this time, the more the mask lags behind your movement.
• The AI engine will start on first use.: ready; it starts on the first frame.
• Premium required: your account isn't Premium; no mask is applied and the camera appears as it is.
• NVIDIA package missing: the Maxine path needs NVIDIA's effects package. Press Download package (the size is shown on the button, about 730 MB); when it finishes, press Start installer; after Windows' administrator approval, NVIDIA's setup window may open, click Next until it finishes; the feature turns on by itself. You don't need to create an account or browse any website. You can Cancel during the download; the partial file is kept and the download resumes where it left off next time. The downloaded file is verified first (Verifying file...).
• Model file missing: the model you chose isn't on disk. For optional models (below) a Download package button appears; the model downloads from our website, is verified, and the engine sets itself up. If a model that should come with the installation is missing, no download button appears; it says The model file is missing from the installation. Reinstall Forge.
• Could not start / Download failed: the reason is shown; Try again. If the engine can't start, update your graphics driver.
• No AI path recognised for this graphics card. Green screen keeps working.

Engine: which engine produces the mask. The engine, model and CPU thread choices are shared by the whole program: changing them on one camera affects every camera that uses AI.

• Automatic (recommended): Maxine on NVIDIA cards that can run it, Forge Mask (on the graphics card) on other cards.
• Maxine: NVIDIA's own package and own model. Requirement: an NVIDIA card with Tensor cores (RTX 20 series and later) and driver 521.98 or newer. It doesn't work on NVIDIA cards without Tensor cores (GTX series). On a suitable card it's usually the best path for edge quality and speed. Since Maxine uses its own model, the Mask model row is hidden.
• Forge Mask: runs the model that comes with the program on the graphics card. Works on every manufacturer's cards. The right choice on non-NVIDIA cards.
• Forge Mask (CPU): runs the same model on the processor. If the graphics card is at 100% because of the game and encoding, or your card doesn't support the AI path. The picture rate doesn't change, but the mask refreshes less often.
• On a computer with an AMD graphics card, Maxine can never run, so the list has only Forge Mask and Forge Mask (CPU).

Mask model (appears for engines other than Maxine when the list has more than one model): the model file Forge Mask runs. File names appear in the list as they are, in alphabetical order and with their extension (.onnx). Optional models stay in the list even if they aren't on disk; choose one and press Use and a download button appears.

• The person (selfie) model that comes with the installation (default; its name contains "selfie"): separates only people and recognizes clothing as a separate class. It's the lightest and fastest model: on a sample computer, one mask takes about 6 ms on the graphics card and about 50 ms on the processor. It's the right choice for most users and the only model that runs smoothly on the processor path.
• derinlik-any2-kucuk.onnx (optional, about 95 MB download): separates not the person but what's close to the camera; near things stay, far things go. If you want objects you hold, such as a product, microphone or guitar, to stay in the picture too. It's heavy: about 23 ms on the graphics card on the same computer; on the processor it takes more than half a second, so it's not recommended on the processor.
• silueta-genel.onnx (optional, about 42 MB download): general "foreground object" separation not limited to people. An armchair or chair may stay in the picture too; for those who want that on purpose. About 12 ms on the graphics card; not recommended on the processor.

CPU threads (only while Forge Mask (CPU) is selected, 1–8, default 2): the number of threads set aside for computing the mask. A small value lowers processor load and the mask refreshes less often; the picture rate doesn't change. 1–2 if the game strains the processor, 4–6 if the processor is idle.

Apply selection > Use: engine, model and CPU thread choices aren't applied instantly; they're applied when you press Use. The running engine is released (graphics memory is freed) and the chosen engine is set up. If there's nothing to change, the button is inactive.

AI background works on one camera at a time. If you turn it on for two cameras, the second is shown without background removal and the notification "AI background works on one camera at a time - the other camera is shown without background removal" appears once. Green screen has no such limit.

Graphics card load summary for AI:

Mask (shared by green screen and AI):

• Edge feather (0–1, default 0.35): softens the mask edge; removes the sharp "cut out with scissors" look.
• Flicker reduction (0–1, default 0.60): blends the mask with the previous frame and stops edge flicker. High values leave trails on fast movement. 0.5–0.7 for desk streams, 0.3 for very active streams.
• Sensitivity (AI only, 0–1, default 0.50): adds areas the AI recognizes weakly (like a torso in dark clothing) to the mask. Raise it if your shoulder or dark sweater disappears; lower it if bits of the background leak in.

Background:

• Background: what to put behind the person when there's a mask.
  • Transparent: the source below shows through. This is how you put the camera over the game.
  • Solid color: you choose the Background color.
  • Image: you choose an Image file (png, jpg, jpeg, bmp). If the file can't be found, the warning File not found or couldn't be opened appears.
  • Blur (bokeh): your own background is blurred; a professional camera look. Blur amount (0–1, default 0.60) sets the strength.
  • The default choice is Transparent.
• Light matching (for choices other than Transparent, 0–1, default 0): brings the person's color tone closer to the background. This difference is the main cause of the "cut and pasted" look. 0.2–0.4 is enough.

Look (LUT) section

• Use LUT (off by default): applies a color table (a cinematic color look). While it's off, the two rows below stay dimmed.
• LUT file (.cube): the table to use. If the file can't be opened, the warning File not found or couldn't be opened appears.
• Blend (0–1, default 1): the strength of the table. With strong LUTs, 0.5–0.7 looks more natural.

Wireless Camera (Forge Cam)

What it does: Brings your phone's camera onto the canvas wirelessly. Phone cameras give a much better picture than most webcams; ideal for a second angle, a desk-top shot or moving shots.

Requirements:

• The Forge Cam app on the phone (Android). The app is downloaded from our website and updates itself from inside.
• Signed in on the phone with your Premium account. If it isn't Premium, the app doesn't start the camera, and the card is locked in the program too.
• The phone and the computer must be on the same local network (the same router). The computer can be wired and the phone wireless.
• Connection ports 47831–47840 (TCP) must be open on the computer. The installer adds the Windows firewall rule itself. If other security software blocks them, the source says Couldn't set up the phone connection - the connection ports (47831-47840) may be used by another program; allow these ports in that software.

Steps to connect:

1. Add Source > Cameras and Capture Devices > add Wireless Camera.
2. The source settings window shows the QR code.
3. Open Forge Cam on the phone and scan the QR code. If you can't scan it, type the code and the computer's address from the Manual code row (for example "123456 - 192.168.1.20:47831") into the app.
4. The phone's name and address appear in green in the Connection row; the picture comes onto the canvas.

Settings:

• Device-1 / Device-2 / Device-3 tabs: the program keeps three phone slots, so you can use up to three phones at the same time. The device the source uses is marked with a dot. Choosing another tab and pressing Save switches the source to that phone (if there's no phone yet, it comes when one connects). Each tab's connection rows belong to that phone; camera customization settings, however, are separate per source and per tab (background removal can be on in Device-1 and off in Device-2).
• QR code: the code the phone scans. If there's a port problem, the reason is written in red instead of the QR code.
• Manual code: the code and the computer's address:port. Refresh generates a new code; the old QR code becomes invalid. Use it if you suspect the code has fallen into someone else's hands.
• Connection: Waiting for phone, the phone's name (address), or Dropped. While connected, the Disconnect button detaches the phone.
• Stream (while connected): the incoming picture's resolution, frame rate and bitrate (for example "1920 x 1080 @ 60 - 10000 kbps").
• Decoded / received (while connected): the number of decoded / received frames, the last frame's decode time (ms) and the error count. If the error count is rising, or decoded is falling far behind received, the network is weak. While there are errors, the row is shown in orange.
• Bitrate: 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16 Mbps. Sent to the phone's encoder instantly. The default is the step closest to the value the phone reports.
• Keyframe: the Request keyframe button asks the phone for a full frame. Press it if blocks or glitches remain in the picture; the picture clears up at once.
• Camera Customization: the same window as the webcam, with the same settings (background removal included). It opens only while you're on the device tab the source uses.
• Flip Horizontal (mirror), Close device when hidden.

Settings on the phone: In Forge Cam you choose the front/back camera, mirror, quality mode (720p 60, 1080p 30, 1080p 60) and bitrate (2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16 Mbps). The app's initial setting is the back camera, 1080p 30 and 8 Mbps. The resolution is fixed at the start of the connection; while streaming, you can change the phone's bitrate from the Bitrate row in the program.

Network tips: Forge Cam doesn't look at your network type and doesn't lower the bitrate by itself; it sends at the bitrate you chose. So you choose the setting that fits your network:

• On a 2.4 GHz wireless network, 1080p 60 usually doesn't hold; connect to a 5 GHz network or drop to 720p.
• If the error count in the Decoded / received row keeps rising, lower the bitrate by one step.
• Keep the phone close to the router. If the computer is wired, the wireless load falls only on the phone.

Orientation: The stream turns whichever way the phone is turned; the program has no separate orientation lock. Holding the phone upright gives a vertical picture (for example 1080×1920; ideal for the vertical canvas), holding it sideways gives a horizontal one. If you change orientation while streaming, the phone quickly rebuilds the connection at the new size. The source box's aspect ratio changes too; if needed, refit it with right-click > Transform > Fit to Canvas.

If the connection drops: the phone tries to reconnect by itself: every 5 seconds, for up to 10 minutes (about 1 minute if the computer side closed the connection, for example if Forge was closed). If it can't connect in that time, it stops; then reconnect from the app. When it reconnects, the picture starts with a clean keyframe. Switching scenes doesn't disconnect the phone or change the code. A newly added wireless camera takes the device that has a connected phone by itself (Device-1 if none does). The marker in the source list shows the connection state (blue: waiting, orange: dropped). If a different phone than the one connected before connects to a device slot, the notification "A different phone connected to Device-N" appears.

Long streams: Keep the phone on the charger; the app keeps working during the stream even with the phone's screen off. A phone that heats up can lower its frame rate on long streams; keep it ventilated and take off its case.

Tablet Screen

What it does: Brings the screen of a tablet (or phone) with the Forge Control app installed onto the canvas as a live source. For mobile game streams, drawing on a tablet, app demos. Premium.

How it works: The tablet is already connected to the computer through Forge Control; no QR code is scanned. In Forge Control, press Share on the Screen Share tab (Android asks for screen recording permission). If there's no Tablet Screen source in the active scene, it is added by itself to the active scene of both canvases: keeping its aspect ratio, large enough to fill the canvas, centered, below chat and notifications. If you delete it by hand and share again, it's added again. If you like, you can also add it by hand with Add Source > Tablet Screen.

Audio: The audio of apps on the tablet comes into the audio mixer as the Tablet Screen channel (Android 10 and later; for apps that don't allow their audio to be shared, only the picture comes). The microphone doesn't come through.

Settings:

• Connection: the tablet's name, or Waiting for tablet.
• Stream: resolution, frame rate, bitrate.
• Quality: 1080p · 60 fps (default), 1080p · 30 fps, 720p · 30 fps. 60 for games; 30 is enough for drawing and app demos and eases the network; 720p on a weak network.
• Camera Customization: the same window, for settings like color, crop and LUT.
• Flip Horizontal (mirror), Close device when hidden.

When the tablet is rotated, the stream is rebuilt for the new orientation: a box that was placed automatically fills the canvas again, a box you placed by hand keeps its center.

Media

What it does: Plays a video file (its audio comes into the audio mixer).

When: a "starting soon" video, a break loop, a promo video, a background loop.

Supported files: mp4, mov, mkv, avi, webm, m4v, wmv.

Settings:

• File (+ Browse).
• Loop (on by default): rewinds to the start when it ends. Leave it on for background and break videos; turn it off for a video that should play once.
• Restart when shown (off by default): the video plays from the start when its eye is turned on or when its scene comes on. Turn it on for intro and "I'm back" videos; when off, it continues where it left off.
• Use hardware decoder (on by default): the video is decoded on the graphics card, which eases the processor. If the picture breaks up with a damaged or incompatible file, turn it off; decoding moves to the processor.
• When finished (while Loop is off; dimmed while Loop is on): Hold last frame (default) or Hide source. Hide source for an intro that should play once and disappear.
• Playback: Restart, Pause / Resume (instant actions, they don't wait for Save). If the video has ended, Resume plays it from the start.
• Position: the seek bar (minutes:seconds); when you release it, playback jumps to that point. You can also type the value.
• Flip Horizontal (mirror), Close when hidden (restarts).

If the source is hidden or the file hasn't opened yet, the playback buttons are inactive.

Shortcuts: Play / pause media, Restart media.

Tips: Prepare the videos you'll use on stream at the canvas frame rate (30 or 60) and the canvas resolution; a 4K 120 fps loop video only adds needless work.

Image

What it does: Shows a single image file. A logo, frame, background, sponsor graphic.

Supported files: png, jpg, jpeg, bmp, gif, tif, tiff, webp. Use png or webp for transparency.

Settings:

• File (+ Browse).
• If the chosen file is animated (gif, animated webp), two more rows appear:
  • Display frequency: Continuous (loops all the time), Once (plays once and disappears), Every 30 s, Every 1 min, Every 2 min, Every 5 min, Every 10 min, Every 15 min, Every 30 min (appears at a set interval).
  • Time on screen (1–60 s, default 10; except for Continuous): how long it stays on screen each time it appears.

The default is Continuous. For a single-frame (still) image, these two rows don't appear.

Example: let a "Don't forget to follow" animation appear for 8 seconds every 10 minutes.

• Flip Horizontal (mirror), Close device when hidden.

Slideshow

What it does: Shows the images in a folder one after another.

When: photos in a break scene, a sponsor rotation, old drawings in an art stream.

Settings:

• Folder (+ Browse).
• Seconds per image (1–120, default 8).
• Transition effect: Cut (instant), Fade (cross) (default), Fade to color, Slide. The same types as scene transitions.
• Duration (0–2000 ms, default 500): the length of the transition; inactive for Cut.
• Shuffle order (off by default): images come in random order.
• Loop (on by default): goes back to the start after the last image.
• When finished (while Loop is off; dimmed while Loop is on): Hold last frame (default) or Hide source.
• Playback: Previous, Pause / Resume, Next (to skip an image or go back during a stream).
• Position: shows which image you're on, like "3 / 12".
• Flip Horizontal (mirror), Close device when hidden.

Shortcuts: Previous media, Next media, Play / pause media.

Tip: Prepare the images in the folder with the same aspect ratio; images with different ratios appear at different sizes in the box.

Text

What it does: Puts text on the canvas.

When: a title, "Stream starting soon", a lower third, the song playing, a counter, a scrolling announcement.

Settings:

• Text: a multi-line text area. A new text source doesn't start empty; it comes with the sample text "Stream starting soon..."; type your own over it.
• Font: the list of fonts installed on your computer. If no font is chosen, Windows' standard interface font is used.
• Font size (8–512 px, default 64): the height in canvas pixels. Since the text is drawn from vectors, enlarging it doesn't blur it; enlarge the font size instead of enlarging the box with the handles.
• Bold, Italic (off by default)
• Text color: a color including transparency (white by default). With the eyedropper next to the color box you can pick a color from the screen.
• Background color: the color of the box behind the text; fully transparent by default. A semi-transparent dark background improves readability over a light video.

Outline and Shadow:

• Outline (off by default) + Outline thickness (1–16 px, default 2) + Outline color: a line around the text. White text over a light picture is readable only this way. 2–4 px is enough.
• Shadow (off by default) + Shadow offset X, Shadow offset Y (−32 to +32 px, default 4) + Shadow blur (0–16 px, default 4) + Shadow color (80% black by default).

When the outline or shadow is off, its rows look dimmed; their values are kept.

• Horizontal align: Left (default), Center, Right. Vertical align: Top (default), Middle, Bottom. These matter for multi-line text.

Content Source:

• Read from file (off by default): the text comes not from typing but from a text file (txt, log, md). Whenever another program writes that file, the text on air refreshes by itself. For live information like the song playing, a counter or the latest subscriber. While it's on, the manual text area is inactive.
• File (+ Browse).

Scrolling Text:

• Scroll: Off (default), Left, Right. The text fits the box height and flows in the chosen direction in a seamless loop. For a scrolling announcement in a lower third.
• Speed (10–600 px/s, default 120; dimmed while Scroll is off): 60–150 reads comfortably.

Flip Horizontal (mirror), Close device when hidden.

Color

What it does: A solid-colored rectangle.

When: a scene background, a semi-transparent band behind text, a semi-transparent black cover to darken the canvas, a divider line.

Settings:

• Color: a color box with a transparency slider (opaque white by default). The eyedropper next to it (Eyedropper - pick a color from the screen) picks a color from any point on the screen; for matching your logo's color exactly. The color shows instantly on the canvas as you change it.
• Flip Horizontal (mirror), Close device when hidden.

The Color source has no aspect ratio of its own; you can resize it to any ratio with the handles.

Browser

What it does: Puts a web page or an HTML file on your computer onto the canvas; the page is drawn with its transparent background, and its audio comes into the audio mixer.

When: alert and goal bars from overlay services, weather, scoreboards, your own HTML overlays.

Settings:

• Address (URL) (+ Browse): an http/https address or an .html file on the computer (chosen with Browse).
• Page > Reload page: reloads the page (revives a stuck overlay without deleting the source). An instant action. Shortcut: Reload browser.
• Page width (px), Page height (px) (1280 × 720 when added to the horizontal canvas, 720 × 1280 when added to the vertical canvas; width is saved between 320 and 3840, height between 240 and 2160): the size of the area the page is drawn in. Enter the size the overlay service recommends (1920 × 1080 for a full-screen overlay, for example 400 × 600 for a chat box). An unnecessarily large size strains the processor and graphics card for nothing; a small size makes text blurry.
• Custom CSS: style code added to the page. The CSS from overlay services' setup instructions goes here (for example to make the background transparent or enlarge the font).
• Flip Horizontal (mirror), Close when hidden (restarts): keep it off for alert overlays; when on, they miss events that arrive while hidden.

Interact: Right-click > Interact opens the page in a "<name> - Interact" window. In this window you can click, scroll and type on the page (to sign in, change a setting, start a music player). Changes you make on the page show in the picture on the canvas too; viewers see them as well, so do private things like signing in while the source is hidden.

Custom browser docks: The main menu (☰) > Custom browser docks... > Manage... opens the Custom Browser Docks window. Enter a Name and Address and press Add; change a dock in the list with Edit and press Update (Cancel stops editing), delete it with Remove. If the name is empty, the warning Name cannot be empty appears; if the address doesn't start with http:// or https://, Address must start with http:// or https:// appears.

• Defined docks sit as checkable rows in the Custom browser docks... submenu; checking one opens that page in its own window, unchecking closes it. The window has a Reload page button. For pages only you should see, like an external service's chat or donation panel.
• Docks also appear by name in the Custom Browser Docks section of Add Source; with one click they're added as a browser source without typing the address again. The address is copied into the source: even if you later delete the dock or change its address, the source on the canvas keeps working.

Chat

What it does: Writes the chat of all connected platforms (YouTube, Twitch, Kick) onto the canvas in a single feed. Viewers also see messages from viewers on other platforms.

When: in almost every stream. The program pre-adds it to both canvases at first start.

Starting settings of a new chat source: A chat box added with Add Source starts at 900 × 600 on the horizontal canvas and 600 × 900 on the vertical canvas; font size 26, outline on, a semi-transparent black background (45% opaque), Always show on, 20 lines, 90% line spacing, and the notification sound set to Every message. In the chat the program adds at first start, the background is fully transparent. Why semi-transparent: a box that starts fully transparent can't be found on the canvas, and one that starts fully opaque covers the picture.

Settings:

• Background color: the background behind the messages (transparency included).
• Background > Make transparent: resets only the background's transparency; the text isn't affected. The cleanest way to put chat over a game. (Opacity in the Color Correction filter fades the text too.)
• Always show: messages are never removed from the screen. When on, the Hold time (1–600 s) row below is dimmed; when you turn it off, it becomes active and each message disappears after that time. 20–60 s is recommended so the game picture isn't covered.
• Font size (8–512 px): 24–32 on the horizontal canvas and 32–40 on the vertical canvas (since it's read on a phone) are good starting points.
• Bold, Italic: making the text bold improves readability more than enlarging the font size.
• Line count (1–200): the maximum number of lines on screen.
• Line spacing (auto or 1–400%): the step between lines, as a percentage of the font size. With the slider at 0 it says "auto" and the messages' own height is used. If badges and emotes squeeze the lines or spread them too much, set it by hand; 120–150% reads comfortably.
• Hide command messages: messages starting with "!" (bot commands) don't show on stream.
• Hidden accounts: comma-separated account names (case doesn't matter). Put your own bot and bot accounts that post constantly here.

Notification sound (an alert sound played on a new message):

• When: Off, Every message (the default on a new source), When my name appears (when someone writes your name), After silence (on the first message after the chat has been quiet for a while). While Off, the rows below are dimmed. If you don't want the sound, choose Off.
• Sound: six chat-specific sounds at the top of the list, then the sounds from the notification sound library (the Notifications source's sounds; on a Premium account also the extra sounds and the sounds you added yourself in the Notifications window). The play button next to it previews the sound (through the source's output device in the mixer).
• Minimum gap (0–10000 ms, default 1500): the shortest time between two sounds, so sounds don't pile up.

Where the sound goes: The notification sound comes through the chat source's channel in the audio mixer, and this channel starts on for your headphones only, off for the stream: you hear the sound, viewers don't. If you want viewers to hear it too, turn on the channel's speaker button.

The notification sound is tied to this source: if there's no chat source on the canvas, or it's hidden, no sound plays.

Outline and Shadow: The same rows as in the Text source. Keep the outline on for readability on a transparent background.

Two chat sources can sit in the same scene with different settings (for example one shows commands, the other doesn't).

Notifications

What it does: Shows a notification card on screen and plays a sound for events like follows, subscriptions, donations and raids. The program pre-adds it to both canvases at first start.

This source's settings window is being renewed (design, sound and text per platform and per notification). A detailed description will be added under this heading together with the new window.

Good to know: the notification sound comes through this source's channel in the audio mixer; if you "remove" it from the mixer, you can bring it back with right-click > Show audio in mixer. When events arrive very often and the queue fills up, a Queue full · N alerts skipped chip appears in the settings window.

Gallery

What it does: Brings the images, videos and sounds you uploaded to your gallery on the website (in your account panel) onto the stream. When a viewer types !!command in chat, the item tied to that command plays in the Gallery source.

How it works:

1. Upload items to your gallery on the website and give each one a command.
2. Add the source with Add Source > Gallery. The address is set up automatically from your account; you don't type an address. Shortcut: the Gallery button in the top strip of the program window opens the gallery window, and if there's no Gallery source in the active scene of the visible canvases, it adds one there too (below chat and notifications). The gallery is available on a free account as well; if you're not signed in, the button is dimmed.
3. A viewer types !!command in chat; the command is matched on your computer and only the item's ID goes to the website. The chat text never leaves your computer.
4. Whether the item is enabled, who owns it and its cooldown (about 30 seconds for the same item) are checked on the server.

Settings: Page > Reload page, Page width / height, Custom CSS, Flip Horizontal (mirror), Close when hidden (restarts) (keep it off for the gallery; otherwise commands that arrive while it's hidden are missed). There's no address field.

Gallery window: shows your gallery panel from the website inside the program; if it gets stuck, refresh it with the Reload page button. Closing the window doesn't delete the Gallery source on the canvas.

Shortcut: Open / close gallery (opens/closes the window). Gallery items can also be triggered from the Forge Control tablet; if there's no Gallery source on the canvas, it's added automatically in that case too.

Forge Template

What it does: Ready-made, animated stream graphics: social media badges, lower thirds (name and title), titles, notices, subscribe / follow calls and a live viewer count. Premium.

Note: The designs don't come with the installation; they download from the website when you sign in with a Premium account. Until they've downloaded, the window says Downloading designs.

When added: A new Template starts with the Spark template, sample text and its category's first position (bottom left for Social); Close when hidden (restarts) is on, so a template in Once mode plays from the start every time it's shown.

Window layout (three columns):

• Left: the category tabs and all templates of that category. Only the template under the mouse plays; the others look still. Clicking a template selects it.
• Middle: a live preview of the selected template with your settings, and the Play from start button.
• Right: the settings.

Categories and templates:

• Social: Spark, Anvil, Ember, Tide, Hook, Seal, Plain, Carousel.
• Lower third: Steel, Plate.
• Title: Cast, Frame.
• Notice: Break, Ticker.
• Subscribe: Bell, Stamp, Capsule, Burst, Slide, Fill, Rising, Giant.
• Follow: Heart, Plus, Pulse, Confetti, Banner, Orbit, Card, Giant.
• Viewer Count: 22 templates (Glow strip, Capsule, Logo tiles, Vertical list, Live strip, Neon, Thin bottom strip, Segmented color strip, Slanted strip, 2×2 tiles, Circle badges, LED counter, Glass card, Edge tabs, Ticket tags, Underlined rows, Classic bottom ticker, Labeled bottom ticker, Color box bottom ticker, Thin top ticker, Glass top ticker, Capsule top ticker).

When you choose a template, the source box takes the template's aspect ratio; if you've placed the box yourself, its position and width are kept.

Content (depends on the template):

• Social, Subscribe, Follow: Platform (YouTube, Twitch, Kick or Custom; YouTube by default) and Username; Subscribe and Follow also have Button text (for example "SUBSCRIBE"). On the Social tab, the platform you choose is applied to all the thumbnails on the left.
• Carousel: Row 1/2/3, each a platform + name; they rotate in turn.
• Lower third: Name, Subtitle.
• Title: Title, Subtitle.
• Notice: Notice text, Subtitle; Ticker has Scrolling text and Label.
• Viewer Count: Platforms (YouTube, YouTube Vertical, Twitch, Kick; whose counts are shown) and Show total (on by default). The numbers come live from your open stream cards; if there are several cards for the same platform, they're added up.
• If the platform is set to Custom, a Custom icon row appears: your own icon file (png, webp, jpg, svg).

The sample text comes in the program's language; a field becomes your own text as soon as you touch one letter of it, and it doesn't change when the language changes.

Display:

• Display frequency: Continuous (default), Once, Every 30 s, Every 1 min, Every 2 min, Every 5 min, Every 10 min, Every 15 min, Every 30 min. The "Every" options run from the start of one appearance to the start of the next. For follow/subscribe calls, 5–15 minutes reminds viewers without wearing them out.
• Time on screen (1–60 s, default 4): how long it stays on screen each time.
• Break and Ticker are continuous templates; the two rows above don't exist for them.
• Speed (0–100, default 50): the speed of the animations.

The display settings you saved last are also applied to a newly added Template.

Appearance:

• Font, Font size (20–100%, default 100%), Uppercase (off by default)
• Text color, Accent color (except for Social, Subscribe and Follow, which use the platform color), Background color
• Background opacity (0–100%, default 85%): how opaque the background is: 100% means a fully opaque background, 0% an invisible one.
• Outline (off by default) + Outline color + Outline thickness (1–6, default 2). While the outline is off, the two rows are dimmed.

Design packs (the same in the Template, Overlays and Frames windows): next to the category chips in the left column sit chips for the packs you've added; clicking one switches to that pack's designs.

• With + Pack you choose a Forge pack file (.forgepaket). Before adding, the Add pack window shows the pack's name (Pack), Author, Version, which window it belongs to (Window) and how many Designs it contains; if the pack is already installed, it also shows the Installed version. Add or Cancel.
• If a pack can't be added, the reason is shown: if the file is damaged or isn't a Forge pack, The file is damaged or isn't a Forge pack.; if it needs a newer program version, This pack needs Forge … or newer.; if it belongs to another window (for example you try to add an Overlays pack to Template), This is a … pack; add it from the … window.
• While a pack is selected, the top of the left column shows the pack's name, its "author · version" info and a Remove button. Removing deletes the pack from the program but doesn't delete a source that uses it; the source looks empty until you choose another design.
• The right-column settings of pack designs (text, color, number, choice, switch) are defined by the pack itself.

Forge Overlays

What it does: Ready-made full-screen scene designs: Starting Soon, Just Chatting, Gaming, Break, Stream Ended, Education, Concert. They come with a countdown, clock, social accounts, last follower/subscriber, and camera/chat slots. Premium; the designs download from the site after you sign in with Premium.

Window layout:

• Left: category pills and 20 styles in each category: Foundry, Glass, Blueprint, Poster, Stage, Ink, Aurora, Sunset, Prism, Ember Rain, Ocean, Pulse, Night City, Cosmos, Carbon, Graphite, Obsidian, Rainy Glass, Copper Circuit, Smoke. At the bottom, Add image / video (your own design) and Add to open a category of your own.
• Center: live preview; above it the Horizontal | Vertical choice, Reset to default, Play from start. The source is drawn in the orientation of the canvas it sits on.
• Right: settings.

Puzzle (moving the areas): When you hover over an area in the preview (Top label, Title, Subtitle, Next stream, Countdown, Clock, Social, Live info, Strip, Camera, Chat, Alert, Content), a dashed frame appears. Drag to move it, use the corners to resize it. It snaps to the edges, the center and other areas within 12 pixels; Shift releases the snap. The arrow keys nudge the selected area by 1 px, Shift + arrow by 10 px. The horizontal and vertical layouts are kept separately. Reset to default resets the layout.

Content (depends on the category):

• Top label (Starting Soon, Break, Education, Concert), Title (Channel name in Gaming, Artist in Concert), Subtitle, Next stream (Stream Ended).
• Countdown (Starting Soon and Break): Duration (minutes) (0–600) or or target time (in HH:MM format, for example 21:00; when filled in, it takes priority over the duration). Changing the duration restarts the countdown from that moment; other settings don't reset the timer.
• Clock (Just Chatting, Gaming, Education): a switch.
• Social: up to 4 accounts; each row has a number, a platform (YouTube, Twitch, Kick, Custom) + name + × (delete). Add account > Add opens a new row with the Custom platform and a sample name; once 4 accounts are filled, this row disappears.
• Live info: Last follower, Last subscriber (they come in live from the chat feed).

Appearance: Font (default Style's font), Accent color, Secondary color (both come with the selected style's colors), Motion speed (0–100%; 0 = Off, no motion; keep it low if you don't want it to be distracting during the stream).

Background (Starting Soon, Just Chatting, Break, Stream Ended, Education): Source: Style's (default), Solid color (+ Color), Image / video (+ Choose; png, webp, jpg, jpeg, webm; mp4 can be selected but can't be played, and the warning described below appears). The selected file is copied into Forge's own folder, so it doesn't break even if you move the original.

Slots (shown when the design has slots): in the Gaming category, Camera position (Top left, Top right, Bottom left, Bottom right; click one of the four small boxes, its name appears on hover). Fit sources to slots > Fit: moves and resizes the camera, chat and notification sources in your scene into the design's slots.

When added: A new Overlays source fills the canvas, comes in the Starting Soon category with the Foundry style and with sample text in the program language; the countdown starts the moment it is added. Close when hidden (restarts) is on.

Your own image/video: The file you add with Add image / video (copied into Forge's own folder) can be selected like a style; on the right, the File section shows Name, Type (Video (loop) or Image) and Remove from list > Remove. Use WebM for video: MP4 (H.264) can't be played in this source, and the window shows the warning This file can't be played: MP4 (H.264) isn't supported. Use WebM.

Scene pack: The Scene pack button in the bottom strip opens a separate window:

1. Choose a Style.
2. In the Scenes list, tick the categories to create.
3. If you like, tick Fit sources to slots.
4. The bottom reads "N scenes will be created"; press Create.

For each category, a ready-made scene opens in the style you chose. It's the fastest way to set up all the scenes of a stream in the same visual language within minutes.

Forge Frames

What it does: Camera frame: puts an animated frame around your camera and a name plate showing your platform names. Premium; the designs download from the site.

Window layout: On the left, 30 designs (Arena, Ocean, Golden Light, Twin Beam, Laser, Arcade, Neon Board, Glowing Plate, Bouncing Letters, Sliding Band, Plasma, Halo, Pulse, Shield, Elegant, Ice, Line, Thin Gold, Shadow Box, Concrete, Ember Orbit, Aurora Edge, Laser Runner, Photon Rail, LED Chase, Typewriter Deck, Waveform, Silver Entrance, Dual Blaze, Gunmetal Notch) and Add your own frame; in the center, a live preview with a sample camera; on the right, settings.

Wrapping the camera: The frame is linked to a camera. When you move and resize the camera, the frame goes with it; when you move the frame, the camera goes with it. On the canvas, the selection handles sit on the camera's box. When added, it links to the topmost camera in the scene and goes right above it; if the scene has no camera, it waits on its own in the middle of the canvas and links automatically to the first camera that enters the scene. The frame also shows while background removal is on.

Camera:

• Linked camera: the cameras in this scene, or No camera (the frame stands on its own and you place it by hand; waiting for a camera is turned off too).
• Camera shape: Rectangle (default), Square, Circle. With square and circle, a mask filter is attached to the camera automatically.

Name and icons:

• Show username (on by default): when off, the platform rows below are dimmed.
• Platform rows (YouTube, Twitch, Kick): each row has a box for your name on that platform and a switch to its right (off by default). Platforms whose switch is on rotate on the plate in turn (icon + name). If the box is empty, the channel names of your open stream cards for that platform are used.
• If no platform switch is on, the channel names of all your open stream cards rotate in turn with their icons. If there is no name to show at all, the plate shows "forgeocean" without an icon.
• Switch interval (3–30 s, default 5) and Transition appear only if more than one name rotates on the plate. The switch interval is how long each name stays on screen.
• Transition: Slide (default), Erase and type, Flip, Light sweep, Glitch, Pop.
• Name position: the positions the design allows (Bottom left, Bottom center, Bottom right, Top left, Top center, Top right); the default is the design's own position. With a circle camera, only bottom center and top center.
• Name size (40–250%, default 100%): the size of the name and icon.
• Animation speed (0–100, default 50; 0 is no motion).

Your own frame: With Add your own frame, choose a transparent image or video (png, webp, webm; mp4 can be selected but can't be played). The file is copied into Forge's own folder (it doesn't break even if you move the original). Use WebM for video. The frame you add stays in the list under the name My frame.

Forge Control image

What it does: Shows on stream the images you send from the Forge Control tablet. Premium.

How it works: When you tap an image in the tablet's Images section, the image is transferred to the computer and shown in this source; tapping the same image again removes it. If there is no such source, it is added automatically on first display to the active scene of both canvases (in the center, half the size of the canvas, keeping its aspect ratio, below chat and notifications). You can also add it by hand via Add Source > Forge Control image (with a box half the size of the canvas, in its center); the tablet decides which image is shown and whether the source is visible. A source you added by hand stays hidden until the tablet sends an image; when the image is removed or its time runs out, it is hidden again. Turning on its eye in the Sources list doesn't change this. How long the image stays on screen is set in the Settings > Control Center > Image duration row (with Unlimited, it stays until you remove it).

The settings window is the same as the Image source's; there is a file row, but the tablet decides the file. You can move the box with the handles to any place and size; every incoming image fits into this box, keeping its aspect ratio.

Scene Source

What it does: Shows another scene of the same canvas inside this scene, as a single source.

When: For layers shared by all scenes (logo, chat, notifications, social badges), set up a "Shared" scene and add it to every scene as a Scene Source. When you change something in the shared scene, all scenes update at once.

Adding: Choose the scene from the Scenes section of Add Source. The active scene can't show itself; loops (scene A showing B while B shows A) are blocked by the program.

Settings: Shown scene: the other scenes of the same canvas. Flip Horizontal (mirror), Close device when hidden.

You can add filters to a Scene Source (the scene is merged into a single image and then filtered). Since scenes belong to a canvas, it can't be added to the other canvas.

Group

A group is a container that draws nothing itself and carries the sources inside it. How to use it is described under the Groups heading. Its settings window has the Name, Flip Horizontal (mirror) and Close device when hidden rows.

Audio Input and Audio Output

These two cards don't add a visual source to the canvas; they add a channel to the audio mixer.

• Audio Input: a microphone or another input device.
• Audio Output: the sound coming out of the computer (the sound going to the speaker/headphone device), for game and music sound.

When you select the card, choose the device in the Audio device row of the bottom strip (Default device uses the Windows default). If the channel limit is full, the notification Audio channel limit reached (N) appears. All of the channel's settings (gain, noise cleanup, compressor, plugins) are described in the audio mixer section. These two cards don't open a source settings window.

Source shortcuts

In Settings > Shortcuts, the following actions can be assigned to a key. Shortcuts work while you are in a game too. Shortcuts whose target is a single source find the right source even if that source has been split into an independent copy in another scene.

Filters

What is a filter

A filter is a step that changes a source's image before it reaches the canvas: color correction, green screen, blur, mask, scroll, delay, 3D tilt. Each source has its own ordered filter chain; filters are applied in order from top to bottom.

• A filter that has no effect on a type doesn't appear at all in that source's list.
• The horizontal and vertical copies of the same source have separate filter chains.
• Audio filters are not here; they are in the channel settings of the audio mixer.

The Filters window

It opens via right-click > Filters; its title is "<name> - Filters". It is modeless; changes show live on the canvas.

• Left column: the chain list. At the top, Add Filter (lists only the filters suitable for this type), Remove filter, and the up and down buttons.
• On the right of each row, the eye: turns the filter on/off without deleting it (to compare its effect).
• Ctrl + click / Shift + click selects several filters; Ctrl + A selects all, Delete deletes the selected ones. With a multiple selection, moving moves all the selected filters.
• Right-click on a row: Up, Down, Select all, Rename (to tell two filters of the same type apart, for example "LUT - Night" and "LUT - Day"), Copy filters, Paste filters (to another source; only the filters suitable for that type are pasted), Remove.
• Middle column: the selected filter's settings and Reset to defaults.
• Right column: Preview: the source after the filters, in a large size. If the source is hidden, it says No source image.
• For media and browser sources, the Audio filters (mixer channel)... button at the bottom opens the audio channel's settings. If the source has no channel (its eye is off or its audio has been removed from the mixer), the button is disabled and shows the reason.
• Save confirms; Cancel returns to the chain as it was when the window opened.

Shortcut: With Enable / disable filter, a specific filter can be turned on and off with a single key; the shortcut finds the right filter even if the order of the filters changes.

Filter types

Color Correction

• Brightness, Contrast, Saturation, Gamma (−1 to +1, 0 is natural)
• Hue shift (−180° to +180°): rotates all colors around the color wheel.
• Opacity (0–1, default 1): the source's transparency. 0.6–0.8 to make a logo semi-transparent.

When: if the color of a single source doesn't match the others (a washed-out game, a dark screen). To change the whole canvas, use Settings > Video > Color makeup.

Sharpen

Amount (0–1, default 0.25). For blurry sources (low-resolution video, capture card image). Too much creates halos and raises the bitrate.

Chroma Key (green screen)

Key color (default green), Similarity (0.40), Smoothness (0.10), Spill reduction (0.60). For green screen videos and media. On cameras, this filter's settings are in Camera Customization > Background; selecting the row in the list opens that window (on a camera it's managed from one place and isn't applied twice).

Color Key

Key color (default pure green), Similarity (0–1, default 0.25), Smoothness (0–1, default 0.10). The difference from Chroma Key: there is no spill reduction, and it makes any solid color transparent (for example an overlay with a pink background).

Luma Key

Luma min (default 0), Min smoothness (default 0.05), Luma max (default 1), Max smoothness (default 0.05); all 0–1. Makes everything outside a given brightness range transparent. To drop the black in effect videos with a black background (fire, sparkle, smoke): raise Luma min to 0.05–0.15.

Apply LUT

File (.cube; + Browse) and Amount (0–1, default 1). Gives the source a cinematic color look. If the file can't be found, a warning appears and the filter is skipped (the source doesn't go black).

Blur

Radius (0–32 px, default 8). To soften a background video, or to cover private information (an email on screen).

Image Mask

File (png, jpg, jpeg, bmp, webp) and Opacity (0–1, default 1; 0 makes the mask ineffective). Cuts the source to a shape: the transparent (or dark) parts of the mask hide the source. To show the camera as a circle, a star or a logo shape. If the mask has no alpha channel, its brightness is used (white is visible, black is hidden).

Scroll

Speed X (default 100), Speed Y (default 0) (−500 to +500 px/s; the sign sets the direction). Scrolls the source in an endless loop. 20–60 px/s to let a patterned background drift slowly.

Scaling

Scale (10–400%, default 100%, which means no effect), Method: Point (pixel art) or Smooth (default), Result size (info: the actual pixel size coming out of the chain). Changes the source's processing resolution.

• Shrinking a large browser or game source before it reaches the canvas is a real load saving.
• Point (pixel art) keeps pixels sharp when enlarging small pixel games; Smooth is for real-world images.

Render delay

Delay (default 0; the upper limit is the reachable time based on the source's size and frame rate: at least 50, at most 1000 ms). Delays the source's image. Use it when the image comes ahead of the audio (lip sync with a capture card) or when your camera runs ahead of the game. Memory use grows with the delay (ceiling 256 MB); for a high-resolution source the reachable time gets shorter and the slider's upper limit adjusts to it. The Memory row reminds you of this.

3D transform

X axis, Y axis, Z axis (−180° to +180°, default 0) and Perspective (0–1, default 0.35). Tilts the source in three dimensions. To set the camera at a slight angle, or to make a screenshot look like it's "standing on a monitor".

Remove Background (AI)

Separates the person with AI and makes the background transparent. Premium. On cameras, its settings are in Camera Customization > Background (selecting the row opens that window). On media it has its own rows:

• Threshold (0–1, default 0.50): how strict the mask is.
• Edge feather (0–0.5, default 0.10).
• Invert (drop foreground): drops the person and keeps the background.

If the AI engine isn't ready yet, a warning is shown; once it's ready, the mask kicks in on its own. In the meantime, the source shows without the filter; it doesn't go black.

Which filters each type has

That's why Groups and Scene Sources have no Remove Background (AI): no AI mask is produced for a merged image, so the filter would do nothing.

Filter tips

• Order matters. Putting color first (Color Correction, LUT), then keying (Chroma Key, Color Key), and shape last (Image Mask, 3D transform) usually gives the cleanest result.
• To lower the load, put Scaling at the start of the chain of heavy sources (a large browser page); the following filters then work on a small image.
• Move a tuned chain to another source with Copy filters / Paste filters.

The Notifications source

The Notifications source shows the follow, subscription, donation, raid and reward events that come to your stream on the canvas, with a design and a sound. The events come from the platform accounts you connected (YouTube, Twitch, Kick); the same events also appear as a line in the chat panel.

On first setup, the program puts a Notifications source at the top of both canvases. If you delete it, you can add it again from the Add Source window. The source must be visible on the canvas: events that arrive for a hidden source, or for a source in a scene that isn't active, don't pile up. When the source becomes visible, old events don't play one after another; only the ones that arrive from then on are shown.

Free plan and Premium

Premium designs and extra sounds don't come with the installer; they download from the site in the background after you sign in with your Premium account. Until then, the gallery and the preview show Downloading designs. If Premium ends, your settings aren't deleted: alerts are shown with the Simple card, and Premium sounds don't play. When Premium is active again, the designs and sounds you chose come back.

How the settings work: platform × alert

Separate settings are kept for each alert of each platform. The design you choose for a follow on Twitch can differ from the one you choose for a follow on Kick. When an event arrives, the program uses only the design, sound and text that belong to that alert of that platform; another row's settings never get mixed in.

The alert list comes from the selected platform. The platforms' events are not exactly the same:

On YouTube, a free subscriber lands in the Follow row, and a paid channel membership in the Subscription row. You see them under YouTube's own names.

The YouTube horizontal and YouTube Vertical cards use the same settings. If you have both cards, events from either are shown with the design of the YouTube rows; you don't need to keep separate settings.

Default settings

In a new Notifications source:

• all alerts are on,
• all of them come with the Logo Spin design from the Logo category,
• the title and the subline are ready-made texts in the program's language,
• a suitable sound is selected for each alert.

In a Notifications source that comes from an earlier version, your old settings (on/off, sound, the text you wrote, minimum amount) carry over unchanged to all three platforms. The design comes in as Logo Spin.

Opening the window

Double-click the Notifications source in the Sources panel, press the gear button, or right-click > Settings. The window has three columns, laid out like the Template window:

• Left: categories and the design gallery,
• center: a live preview of the selected design,
• right: the settings of the selected alert of the selected platform.

Right column: Alert

Platform and Alert are two drop-down lists. Choose the platform first, then the alert; the rest of the window (the selection in the gallery, the preview, the rows below) shows and changes the row of these two. When you change the alert, the gallery switches to the category of that alert's design.

Show this alert: if you turn it off, that alert of that platform is never shown on the canvas and its sound doesn't play. The event still appears in the chat panel. For example, if follows come in very often on Twitch and interrupt the stream, turn off only the Twitch follow; the Kick and YouTube follows aren't affected. The preview shows a row that's off as dimmed.

Platform logo: in designs outside the Logo category, turns on or off the logo showing which platform the alert came from. The logo is a separate piece that moves to the design's own rhythm. If you stream on several platforms, keep it on; viewers see where the event came from. If you're on a single platform, you can turn it off for a cleaner look. In the Logo category the logo is the design itself, so this row doesn't appear.

Right column: Content

Title: the design's top text (e.g. NEW FOLLOWER). Subline: the text under the name (e.g. followed). The viewer's name is always on its own line; you don't type it.

You can add placeholders to the subline; the buttons under it add them to the end of the subline:

Language: if you haven't touched the title and the subline, these texts switch to the new language on their own when you change the program language. A text in which you've changed even one letter is yours; it stays as it is even if the language changes.

Right column: Sound

Sound: the sound that plays once when the alert starts. The list: the program's 10 basic sounds, 34 sounds with Premium, and the WAV files you add with + Sound. If you choose Silent, only the visual is shown. The ▶ button next to it plays the sound only in your headphones; it doesn't go to the stream or the recording.

Use: saves the sound selected in the list for the selected alert of the selected platform. It works like Save for this platform but saves only the sound; it doesn't touch other changes in that row that you haven't saved (design, text). The sound is independent of the design: when you change the design, the sound doesn't change on its own.

Sound volume: the loudness of this source's alert sounds (0-100%). On stream, the sounds shouldn't drown out your game or your voice: start at 80%, listen to a recording and lower it if needed. You can also adjust the source's overall volume from the Notifications channel in the mixer. The alert sound comes out of that channel; whether it goes to the stream and the recording depends on the channel's speaker button (Audio Mixer section).

Right column: Display and Appearance

These rows are per source: they're shared by all alerts of all platforms.

On the vertical canvas: designs are drawn in 16:9; there are no separate designs for vertical. Whichever way you add the Notifications source to the vertical canvas (copy and paste, right-click add to the other canvas, the + in Vertical Sources), the source's box stays 16:9 and wraps the visual. If you resize the box from a corner, its height is set to 16:9 based on its width.

Incoming alerts join a queue, and each is shown for its time on screen. The queue holds at most 30 alerts. At moments like a raid, if the queue fills up, the oldest alerts are skipped and the window shows the chip Queue full · n alerts skipped.

Right column: Condition (money alert only)

Minimum bits / Minimum kicks / Minimum amount: donations below this amount aren't shown on the canvas and their sound doesn't play; they still appear in chat. The unit is the platform's own: bits on Twitch, kicks on Kick, the Super Chat amount on YouTube. 0 shows every donation. A donation whose amount can't be turned into a number isn't filtered out; it's shown: hiding a donation by mistake is worse than showing one too many.

Save buttons

• Save for this platform: saves only the selected alert of the selected platform. Use it when you finish one row and move on to another; even if you press Cancel later, the row you saved isn't undone.
• Apply this to the other platforms too: copies the selected row's design, sound, on/off state and accent color to the same alert of the other platforms. The title and subline stay in their own language on each platform. For example, if you've finished the Twitch follow and want the same for the Kick and YouTube follows, you carry it over with one click.
• Save (bottom bar): saves all changes and closes the window. Cancel: undoes what you've done since the window opened, except rows saved with "Save for this platform".

Settings reach the source the moment you change them in the window. When an event arrives, the program reads that row's current settings. From the moment you change a setting, the next alert comes with the new choice; you don't need to restart the program or delete and re-add the source.

Left column: Gallery

Categories: Static, Burst, Crack, Cute, Logo, People, Vehicles, Seasons. Chips for the design packs you installed and Simple are added to these.

The designs in the gallery look still and complete at first glance. Only the design under the mouse pointer moves; this way the gallery doesn't strain the computer and no box looks empty at first glance. Clicking a design assigns it to the selected alert of the selected platform, and it plays animated in the center.

Simple: the plain card the program draws itself; it's the only option on the free plan. You can choose it with Premium too: it's the least distracting, lightest look.

When choosing a design, first think about the nature of the alert:

• For frequent events like follows, choose calm, short designs (Static, Cute).
• For rare, big events like raids, gift subscriptions and large donations, choose eye-catching designs (Burst, Crack, Vehicles).
• This way viewers can tell from the design which event is bigger.

Center column: Preview

The header shows the design's name, the alert and the platform (e.g. "Cat · Follow (Twitch)"). The preview plays continuously with your settings and a sample viewer name (Forgeocean). Play from start rewinds the design.

Test on canvas: sends a fake event with the selected alert of the selected platform to this Notifications source on the canvas. You see the design, sound and position just as in a real stream. The fake event doesn't land in the chat panel and doesn't go to the platform. The test is shown even if "Show this alert" is off and the amount is below the minimum. If the source is hidden on the canvas, no test is run, and the program tells you so.

+ Sound: adding your own sound

With + Sound next to the category chips, you choose a WAV file from your computer. The sound is copied into the program's own folder; deleting the original file afterwards is no problem. The sound is added to the list, selected for the current alert and played once.

• Format: only WAV is read. Convert sound in another format, such as MP3, to WAV first.
• Sample rate: doesn't matter; the program converts it to the stream's rate.
• Duration: 1-4 seconds is best. A long sound overlaps the next alert's sound.
• Availability: the sounds you add also work on the free plan. They also appear in the Chat source's sound choice.

The Add Sound (WAV) text in the window's bottom bar is a reminder of this format rule.

+ Pack and the Pack Creation Guide

With + Pack you add an alert design pack (.forgepaket) made by others (or by you).

1. The program checks the pack and opens a confirmation window: pack name, author, version, number of designs. Click Add.
2. The pack arrives in the gallery with its own chip. The pack's first design is assigned to the selected row; the row's sound doesn't change.
3. The pack's designs work like the program's own: the title, subline, accent color, logo and speed come from your rows.

A pack can offer some of its designs only for certain alerts; those designs are listed only for those alerts. Packs are used with Premium.

The Pack Creation Guide link in the bottom bar opens the guide on the site, in the program's language, for making your own pack. The guide covers the pack structure, the information the page receives, the rules, and a downloadable sample alert pack.

Your account and your settings

Alert settings are stored inside the source, together with your scenes. When you sign out of your ForgeOcean account and sign back in with the same account, all settings are still there. If someone signs in on this computer with a different account, the alert settings are deleted just like the scenes, and the program opens as if freshly installed. Even if you go back to the old account, deleted settings don't come back (Troubleshooting chapter, "Settings stored per account").

Common issues

• Alerts don't arrive:
  1. Is the source visible on the canvas? If it's hidden or in a scene that isn't active, it isn't shown.
  2. Is Show this alert on for that alert of that platform?
  3. Is the minimum amount filtering out a money alert?
  4. Is the platform card's chat connection set up? If the event appears in the chat panel, the connection works.
• The sound isn't heard on stream: check the speaker button and the level of the Notifications channel in the mixer, then the Sound volume row in the window.
• "Downloading designs" doesn't go away: check your Premium sign-in and your internet connection. The download runs in the background after the Premium sign-in.
• Alerts seem to pile on top of each other: consecutive events join a queue. If you shorten the time on screen, the queue clears faster.

Audio Mixer

The Audio Mixer is the panel where every sound going to the stream, the recording and your headphones is managed from one place. Each audio source appears here as a channel: it has its own level, its own meter, its own buttons and its own audio processing settings.

In this chapter you'll find:

• The panel's layout and the channel types
• Adding channels (device, application, source, camera/capture card audio)
• The level, speaker (send to output) and headphone (monitor) buttons
• Where the sound goes: stream, stream replay (VOD), recording, headphones
• Every row in the Channel Settings window (noise cleanup, gate, compressor, EQ, delay, auto level, plugins)
• What desktop audio captures
• Removing music from the Twitch stream replay
• Per-account-card audio level
• The counterparts in Settings ▸ Audio and the audio shortcuts
• Common problems: echo, doubled audio, no audio, copyright risk

To show or hide the panel: main menu (☰) ▸ Panels ▸ Audio Mixer. The panel has no close button of its own; its visibility changes only from this menu.

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The basic idea first: where does the sound go?

In Forge, each channel's sound can go down several paths at once:

Two buttons on the channel card manage these paths:

• Speaker button = "Should this channel go to the output?" It turns the Stream + VOD + Recording paths on or off together. It doesn't touch the headphones.
• Headphone button = "Do I want to hear this channel?" It turns only the Monitoring path on/off. It doesn't touch the stream or the recording.

This separation is deliberate: sending a sound to viewers and hearing it yourself are two separate decisions. For example, you may want to hear the chat notification sound yourself, but you don't want viewers to hear a "ding" on every message; for that, the speaker is off and the headphones are on.

Note: The VOD path is also managed by the "sounds removed from the stream replay" choice on the Twitch card (see 6.9). If the speaker button is off, the channel doesn't go to the VOD either.

The order the sound passes through (why does it matter?)

A channel's sound is processed in this order:

1. Gain (the slider / Channel Settings ▸ Gain)
2. AI noise removal (only on microphone-class channels)
3. Sync offset
4. Noise gate (only on microphone-class channels)
5. Tone (EQ)
6. Compressor
7. Limiter
8. Auto level
9. Plugins (VST3, in list order)
10. Balance

Then the channel is added to the mix of the paths it's on for. At the very end, each path's total passes through the program's own invisible peak limiter (ceiling −1 dB true peak; always on, no settings). This limiter never kicks in at normal levels; it only stops crackling from reaching the stream when two loud sounds overlap. Because it eases in 1 ms before the peak arrives, it doesn't produce a clipping click; this 1 ms is applied equally to all paths and can't be heard.

The practical consequences of this order:

• Gain is applied BEFORE the filters. If you raise the slider, the sound entering the gate and the compressor gets louder too. Set the gate threshold and the compressor threshold after setting the gain; if you later change the gain a lot, review these thresholds too.
• The meter shows the OUTPUT of the processing chain. When the gate is closed, the meter goes quiet too; if the compressor is pressing down, the meter shows the compressed sound. The meter shows the channel's processed sound, not the paths: it moves even when the speaker button is off (although the sound isn't going to the stream at that moment). You can tell whether the sound is really going to the stream from the speaker button and from whether the name is dimmed.
• Noise cleanup comes before the gate. With cleanup on, room noise already drops; so you can keep the gate threshold lower, or you may not need the gate at all.

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The panel's layout

Header buttons

In the panel's top strip, from left to right:

Which layout? If the panel is wide and short, vertical strips show more channels at once; if it's narrow and tall, horizontal cards do. The choice is purely visual; it has no effect on the sound.

The channel card

Each channel's card has:

• Name — The channel's name. A name that doesn't fit is shortened with "…". If the channel isn't going anywhere (both speaker and headphones off), the name looks dimmed; this is a warning that "this channel is completely silent right now".
• dB value — The channel's current gain.
• Meter — The channel's momentary audio level (after the processing chain). The scale runs from −60 dB to 0 dB and has three colors:
  • Green: up to about −18 dB. The comfortable, safe zone.
  • Yellow: about −18 to −7 dB. The zone where speech peaks should move around.
  • Red: above about −7 dB. You're getting close to the peak; don't stay here constantly.
• Level slider — from −60 dB to +12 dB.
• Speaker button — Send to output / don't send (see 6.5).
• Headphone button — Monitor / don't monitor. When on, the button's background is in the accent color. Hovering shows the tip "Send to output device / cut".

A channel tied to a device that isn't plugged in is drawn dimmed, with (not connected) next to its name. The channel isn't deleted; it comes back on its own when the device is plugged in again. If the device is unplugged during a stream or recording, the notification "… device was unplugged - the channel has no audio." appears.

Mouse actions on the card

• Single-click on an empty area of the card: selects the channel (its frame is highlighted). The trash can, gear and arrows in the header act on the selected channel.
• Double-click on an empty area of the card: opens Channel Settings.
• Right-click on an empty area of the card: the channel menu:
  • Rename — A name box opens on the card; Enter saves it, clicking outside the box cancels. The Effects channel doesn't have this item.
  • Channel Settings
  • Output device ▸ — Where the channel is heard in your headphones: Off / Common output from Settings / the computer's output devices (see 6.6).
  • Remove channel (on device, application and Effects channels) or Remove audio from mixer (on source channels). Both ask for the same confirmation as the trash can in the header.

Double-clicking on the buttons doesn't open Channel Settings; it only works on the empty area of the card. This way, pressing a button twice quickly won't open the window by accident.

Renaming a source channel also changes the source's own name: it shows up under the new name in the source list too. On device and application channels, only the channel's name changes.

Channel limit

The mixer can have at most 24 device and application channels (camera/capture card audio channels count toward this number too). When the limit is reached, the cards in the Add Audio Channel window are dimmed and hovering over them shows "Audio channel limit reached (24)"; the Audio Input / Audio Output cards in the Add Source window give the same notice. Make room by removing channels you don't need.

The mixer list also shows at most 24 rows in total: device and application channels are counted first, then source channels. Not multiplying device channels needlessly also keeps your source channels visible in the mixer.

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Channel types and adding channels

The mixer has these channel types:

On "microphone class" channels, the Audio Cleanup section appears in Channel Settings, the headphone button starts off, and the microphone shortcuts (see 6.14) affect these channels.

Also, if you use Forge Control, an Effects channel opens on its own for the sound effects played from the tablet (see 6.12).

Channels on first launch

When the program is opened for the first time, two channels come ready:

• Desktop Audio — Everything playing on Windows' default output device. Starts with the speaker on and the headphones on.
• Microphone — Windows' default microphone. Starts with the speaker on and the headphones off.

Why does the microphone start with the headphones off? If they were on, you'd hear your own voice in your headphones with a small delay. That delayed playback throws people off while talking and makes them stumble over words. Turn it on only briefly to hear yourself while adjusting filters.

Every newly added channel starts at 0 dB gain with all audio processing settings off; the settings of a previously deleted channel don't carry over to the new one.

The Add Audio Channel window

The mixer's + button opens this window. The window can be moved and resized; clicking each card adds a channel and the window stays open (you can add several channels one after another). Double-clicking a card doesn't open a second channel; it adds one. The window has no Save button, because every click is already an addition; close it with the X at the top right when you're done. The list refreshes every second: if you start a program while the window is open, it shows up in the list shortly.

The sections, from top to bottom:

Applications

Programs that currently have a window, and programs playing sound on Windows' default output, are listed. The card shows the program's name, with the program file's name below it; the list is sorted by name.

• What it's for: Puts just that program's sound on a separate channel. This way, for example, you can turn the voice chat program's sound up and down independently of the game sound, or send music to the stream but not the chat.
• Whichever output it plays to: An application channel captures the program's sound no matter which output device the program is playing to.
• What happens to the desktop channel? While the mixer has at least one application channel, desktop channels automatically switch to "everything without its own channel" mode: the sound of programs that have their own application channel is removed from the desktop channels. This way the same sound doesn't go to the stream from two channels at once (no doubled audio). When you remove the last application channel, the desktop channel returns to its normal mode. The channel's name, level and settings are kept through this switch. For what this mode doesn't capture, see 6.8.
• The same program can't be added twice. A program that already has a channel doesn't appear in the list.
• While the program is closed: The application channel is hidden in the mixer; its settings aren't deleted. When the program opens again, the channel comes back with its settings.
• Child processes: The sound of child processes started by the program also comes to the same channel.
• An application channel has no Device row; its sound comes from the program, not from a device.
• It starts with the headphones on. Since you already hear the program's sound from Windows, if you leave the headphones on you'll also hear it from Forge, with a delay. This affects only you; no doubled audio goes to the stream. If you hear an echo, turn off the channel's headphones (see 6.6).

Caution – a program playing to two outputs: If a program plays to two different audio outputs at the same time (for example one tab to the speakers, another to the headphones), it isn't taken into the desktop channel, and the notification "… is playing to two audio outputs at once, not added to the desktop channel" appears. Fix: set the program to play to a single output, or give that program its own application channel.

Input devices

• The first card is Default microphone: if the default microphone changes in Windows, the channel follows it. The channel opens with the name Microphone.
• After it, the computer's input devices are listed by their real names; the channel opens with the device's name.

Default or a specific device? If you have one microphone, "Default microphone" is convenient. If you have several input devices (camera microphone, headset microphone, sound card), choose the specific device: Windows can change the default on its own when a USB device is plugged in, and you'd switch to the wrong microphone mid-stream.

Desktop (output) devices

• The first card is Default desktop audio: everything playing on Windows' current default output. The channel opens with the name Desktop Audio.
• After it, the computer's output devices.

Adding a specific output device captures only the sound playing to that device. This is the way to manage sounds by splitting them across devices (for example, routing music to a separate output and adding that output as a separate channel).

You can add the same device twice, but don't: the sound goes to the stream twice. Channel Settings shows this with the warning "This device is also open on "…" - audio may double."

Sources with audio removed

Appears only if there is a browser, media or Chat source whose audio has been removed from the mixer. Clicking the card turns the source's audio back on in the mixer; its settings come back as they were. These cards don't count toward the 24-channel limit. Notifications and Tablet Screen sources with their audio removed don't appear in this section; turn them back on from the source list (below).

Audio channels from the Add Source window

The Audio Input and Audio Output cards in the Add Source window don't add anything visual to the canvas; they open an input or desktop (output) device channel in the mixer. You choose the device in the Audio device row of the bottom strip. The channel opens with the name you gave the source (or "Audio Input" / "Audio Output" if you didn't give one). A channel opened this way is no different from one opened from Add Audio Channel.

Camera and capture card audio

When Capture the device's audio is turned on in the properties of a camera or capture card source, the device's audio endpoint becomes a channel in the mixer with the source's name.

• The Audio device row is visible only while the switch is on. The "… (automatic)" option finds the input endpoint with the same name as the camera by itself; if it can't, the row shows "— (automatic)" and no channel opens. In that case, pick the right endpoint from the list by hand.
• This channel is a microphone-class device channel: it can be reordered, its Channel Settings have a Device row and the Audio Cleanup section, and it starts with the headphones off.
• The channel stays in the mixer whichever scene the source is in (including inactive scenes and inside groups); a single source shared by both canvases gets a single channel.
• The endpoint the channel is tied to is set by the source's Audio device row. If you change the Device row in Channel Settings, the source reconnects the channel to the endpoint it chose itself; to change the endpoint, use the source's properties.
• When the switch is turned off or the source is deleted, the channel goes away on its own. If you remove the channel from the mixer while the switch is on, it reopens shortly after; if you really don't want the audio, turn the switch off.

Game audio from a capture card and the microphone shortcuts: Because this channel is an input device, it's in the microphone class, but the Mute / unmute microphone, Push-to-talk and Push-to-mute shortcuts don't mute it (see 6.14). The shortcuts mute only your real microphones; console or game audio coming from the capture card keeps going to the stream.

How are source channels created?

When you add a source with sound to a scene, its channel opens on its own; you don't need Add Audio Channel:

• Browser and Media file sources
• The Chat source (if its notification sound isn't Off)
• The Notifications source (follow/subscription and other alert sounds)
• The Tablet Screen source (the sound of the tablet's apps during Forge Control screen sharing)

Which channel does the chat sound play from? Whatever you choose in the Chat source's sound selection — one of the chat's own six sounds, the Notifications sounds, Premium's extra sounds, or a sound you added yourself with + Sound — the sound always plays from the Chat channel. You manage its level, speaker and headphone buttons and audio processing settings from this channel. The details of the sound selection are in the chat chapter.

Source channels live with the source itself and can't be reordered (they stay at the end of the list). What happens while the source isn't visible depends on its type:

• Browser: While the source's eye is off or the source is in an inactive scene, the channel stays in the mixer but no sound comes in and the meter stays flat. This way "eye off" and "audio removed" can be told apart.
• Media file: Hidden media is paused and its channel stays in the mixer. If the source's Close when hidden (restarts) switch is on, the player closes and the channel leaves the mixer too.
• Chat, Notifications: If the source isn't visible in the active scenes, its channel isn't visible in the mixer either. The copies of the same Chat or Notifications source on both canvases share a single row in the mixer.

There are two places to detach a source's audio from the mixer:

• In the mixer, right-click the channel ▸ Remove audio from mixer
• In the source list, right-click the source ▸ Show audio in mixer (unticking it removes the audio, ticking it brings it back). Available on browser, media, Chat, Notifications and Tablet Screen sources. For Chat and Notifications, the choice applies to all copies of that source at once.

The Audio filters (mixer channel)... button in the source's filter window opens that source's Channel Settings directly.

Removing a channel

• Device / application channel: The "Remove audio channel" confirmation appears. The channel and all its audio settings (gain, filters, monitoring) are deleted; this can't be undone. The Platform Audio Setting row on the account cards is deleted too; if you add the channel again, it enters the cards at its mixer level.
• Source channel: The "Remove this source's audio?" confirmation appears. The source stays in the scene and keeps being drawn; only its audio leaves the mixer. Its settings aren't deleted; when you turn the audio back on, they return as they were.
• Effects channel: The channel closes and any effects that are playing stop; the channel reopens when the next effect is played from the tablet.
• Camera / capture card audio: see the "Camera and capture card audio" heading above.

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Level slider (gain)

• What it does: Raises or lowers the channel's sound. The slider in the mixer and the Channel Settings ▸ Gain row write the same value.
• Options: from −60 dB to +12 dB. 0 dB = the sound is untouched. −60 dB is practically silent. New channels start at 0 dB.
• Recommended:
  • Microphone: When you speak normally, the meter's peaks should move around in the yellow zone (roughly −18 to −7 dB); they should enter the red only at moments like laughing or shouting, and never hit 0. Why: this range makes speech clear and leaves room for sudden jumps.
  • Desktop / game / music: Clearly lower than your voice; on most streams, game and music sit well 10–15 dB below speech. Why: viewers should understand you comfortably over the game. A stream where the music competes with your voice is tiring.
  • Chat / Notifications: If you send them to the stream, a little lower than your microphone; alert sounds shouldn't startle viewers.
• When to change it: If one sound drowns out the others or can't be heard. First bring the source's own volume (the game's audio setting, the Windows microphone level) to a sensible place, then fine-tune here.
• When set wrong:
  • Too high (+ values): The sound hits the peak; the program's limiter prevents clipping, but the sound comes across squashed and flat. On a microphone, room noise and the keyboard get louder too.
  • Too low: Viewers turn the volume up, then get startled by an alert sound or a game explosion.
  • Because gain is applied before the filters, changing it a lot also changes how the gate and compressor behave (see 6.1).

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Speaker button (send to output)

• What it does: Decides whether the channel goes to the stream, the stream replay (VOD) and the recording. All three turn on together and off together.
• Options: On (speaker icon) / Off (crossed-out speaker).
• Important: This is not a "mute everywhere" button. When you turn it off, the channel keeps playing in your headphones (if the headphone button is on). In other words, for "viewers shouldn't hear it but I should", this is the right button.
• Memory: When you turn it off and on again, the channel goes back to its previous combination of paths.
• Defaults:
  • Microphone, camera/capture card audio, desktop, application, browser, media and Tablet Screen channels start on (they're content; if they started off, the stream would start silent).
  • Chat and Notifications start off (these sounds are primarily for the streamer's ears).
• Recommended:
  • Notifications (follow/subscription alerts): turn it on if you want viewers to hear them too; on most streams the alert sound is part of the show.
  • Chat notification sound: leave it off. A "ding" going to viewers on every message is annoying.
• When set wrong:
  • If it's left off on the microphone, the stream doesn't hear you — the most common mistake. Check whether the speaker icon is crossed out and whether the name is dimmed; a dimmed name shows the channel isn't going anywhere. The meter moving is not enough proof on its own (see 6.1).
  • While the channel is off, it doesn't go into the recording file either; when you watch the recording after the stream, that sound is missing.

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Headphone button, output device and monitoring

Headphone button

• What it does: Decides whether you hear the channel (the Monitoring path). It has no effect on the stream or the recording.
• Options: On (highlighted background) / Off.
• Defaults: Microphone-class channels (microphones, Audio Input, camera/capture card audio) start off; all the other channels (desktop, application, browser, media, Chat, Notifications, Effects, Tablet Screen) start on.
• When to turn it on:
  • To hear the Chat and Notifications sounds in your headphones (on by default anyway).
  • To hear a browser / media source's sound. These sounds play from Forge, not from Windows; if the headphones are off, you don't hear them at all.
  • To listen to your own voice briefly while adjusting the microphone filters.
• When to turn it off: If you already hear a sound directly from Windows (game, application, desktop).
• When set wrong:
  • Hearing double / with an echo: With an application channel's headphones on, you hear the same sound both from the program itself (Windows) and from Forge; because there's a small delay between the two, the sound comes out "through a pipe", with an echo. If you hear this, turn off that channel's headphones. This affects only you; no doubled audio goes to the stream. For the desktop channel, Forge prevents this on its own (see "Protection against self-monitoring loops" below).
  • If the microphone's headphones are on, you hear your own voice with a delay; your speaking rhythm falls apart.

The channel's output device

Chooses which device the channel plays from in your headphones. It's set in two places: right-click the channel ▸ Output device ▸, and Channel Settings ▸ the Output device row. Both write the same value and form a single concept with the headphone button:

• Recommended: Common output from Settings for most users. You can change all monitoring from one place (Settings).
• When to choose a device per channel: For example, if you want to hear alert sounds from the desk speakers and everything else from the headphones.
• The change applies instantly; you can choose and listen right away. Turning the headphone button off and on doesn't change the channel's selected device.

Protection against self-monitoring loops

If a desktop channel is capturing an output device and the channel's monitoring would play to the same device, Forge doesn't connect that channel's monitoring. Otherwise a "capture → play → capture again" loop would form, with an echo that grows on every round.

Result: Even if the default desktop channel's headphones look on, if the common output is also the default device you won't hear that channel separately in your headphones — and there's no need, since you already hear it from Windows. If monitoring is moved to another device, the protection lifts on its own.

The protection works in both modes. When you open an application channel in the mixer, the desktop channel switches to "everything without its own channel" mode (see 6.8). In this mode too, if the channel's monitoring would play to the device it captures, Forge doesn't connect it; this way you don't hear the programs' sound twice in your headphones, from Windows and from Forge, with a delay (echo).

Forge's own sound doesn't go to the stream twice

The sounds Forge plays to your headphones (chat and alert sounds, previews, monitored channels) also fall into the desktop capture of the device they play on. Forge automatically removes these sounds from the desktop channel; so, for example, an alert sound doesn't go to the stream from both the Notifications channel and the desktop channel.

On some devices (drivers/software that process sound internally) this removal may not fully hold. Forge measures this and, if it doesn't hold, switches to program-by-program capture on that device; the notification "…: Forge's own audio couldn't be separated, switched to per-app capture" appears on screen. This isn't an error; it shows the protection has kicked in, and you don't need to do anything. The decision is permanent for that device: when the program opens again, that device starts in this mode too. For what this mode doesn't capture, see 6.8.

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The Channel Settings window

To open it: select the channel and click the gear in the header, double-click an empty area of the card, or right-click ▸ Channel Settings. The window title is "Channel name - Channel Settings". The window can be moved and resized; while it's open you can keep using the rest of the program.

How the window behaves in general

• Live preview: Gain, balance, output device and all audio processing settings (cleanup, gate, compressor, EQ, delay, auto level, plugins) apply to the channel instantly; you can adjust by ear.
• Applied with Save: the Device and Name rows. Reopening the device on every selection would make the sound cut in and out; that's why a device change is made once, when you press Save.
• Save: Makes the values permanent. When you're not typing in a text box, Enter also acts as Save.
• Cancel: Returns to the values from when you opened the window (changes applied live are undone too; open windows of plugins added in this session close).
• Unsaved changes: While there are changes, the window's bottom strip shows "You have unsaved changes" if there's room. If you close the window with the X at the top right while there are changes, a warning appears: Go back (return to the window), Exit without saving, Save changes.
• Reset to defaults (on the left of the bottom strip): Returns the gain to 0 dB, monitoring to Off, the output device to the common output, and all audio processing settings to their defaults. What it doesn't touch: the channel's name, input device and plugin list (these are the channel itself, not settings). It doesn't ask for confirmation; if you don't like the result, undo it with Cancel.
• Switching to another channel: If you try to open another channel's settings without saving your changes, a question appears: Cancel (stay on this channel), Don't save (return this channel to how it was when opened and open the other), Save (save, then open the other).
• While the window is open, you can use the slider or the headphone button in the mixer; the window sees these changes and doesn't overwrite them.
• If the channel leaves the mixer, the window closes on its own.

General

Device

(Appears only on device channels: microphone, input, desktop/output and camera/capture card audio channels. Application and source channels don't have it.)

• What it does: Shows and changes which microphone or output device the channel is tied to.
• Options:
  • Default (Windows) — if the default device changes in Windows, the channel follows it.
  • The devices' real names.
  • If the saved device isn't plugged in, it stays in the list as a dimmed, unselectable row, in one of these forms:
    • "Device name (not connected)" — the device isn't plugged in; the channel has no audio.
    • "Device name (now: other device)" — the saved device wasn't found; for now Forge is taking audio from an equivalent endpoint.
    • "Device name (found again)" — Windows gave the device a new identity because it was plugged into another USB port or its driver changed; Forge recognized the same device and connected it to the channel. When this happens, the notification "…: … was found at a new location, channel connected to it" also appears once.
• Recommended: If you have several devices, choose the specific device (why: see 6.3 Input devices).
• Change: Applied when you press Save. Changing the device keeps the channel's name, level, filters and monitoring setting; only the audio source changes.
• On a camera / capture card audio channel, the connected endpoint comes from the source's Audio device row; changing it here isn't permanent (see 6.3).
• Warning row: If the same device is also open on another channel of the same type, a yellow warning appears: "This device is also open on "…" - audio may double." A channel set to "Default (Windows)" counts as the device that is Windows' default at that moment; so a default channel and a channel that picks the same device by name also trigger the warning. This is a warning, not a block; but if both channels go to the stream, viewers hear the same sound twice, on top of itself. Remove one, or turn off its speaker.

Name

The channel's name as shown in the mixer; applied with Save. It also changes via right-click ▸ Rename in the mixer. On a source channel, the source's own name changes too. The Effects channel's name depends on the language and can't be changed: a name typed in the box isn't saved.

Output device

See 6.6. Off / Common output from Settings / devices. Present on all channel types.

Gain

The same value and the same range as the slider in the mixer (−60 … +12 dB). See 6.4.

Balance

• What it does: Moves the channel left or right in the stereo field.
• Options: −1.00 (full left) … 0.00 (center) … +1.00 (full right). Default 0.00. At center the sound doesn't change; while panning, the total sound power is preserved.
• Recommended: 0.00. Speech and game sound should stay in the center.
• When to change it: If you want a creative placement (for example, moving a guest's voice slightly to the right).
• When set wrong: Someone watching with headphones hears the sound in one ear only. Note: Balance does not spread a microphone that comes in on only one channel (left only or right only) to both ears; it only shifts the level of the two sides.

Audio Cleanup

(Appears only on microphone-class channels: microphones, input devices and camera/capture card audio.)

Why only on the microphone? The noise gate and AI cleanup are speech tools. Program sounds like desktop, game and music have no room noise; the gate would cut the quiet parts of music, and the AI model, trained on speech, would take music and game sound for "noise" and damage it. That's why these rows aren't shown at all on those channels, and aren't applied even if they were left on from an old setting.

AI noise removal

• What it does: Filters out non-speech sounds like fans, air conditioning, keyboard clatter and street noise from the microphone.
• Options: On / Off. Default Off.
• Premium: AI tools are part of the Premium package. On a free account the row looks locked with a PREMIUM badge; hovering shows "AI tools are part of the Premium package". If Premium ends, the setting isn't deleted, but the cleanup isn't applied.
• Recommended: On if you're in a noisy room or use a mechanical keyboard. In a quiet room with a good microphone you may not need it.
• When set wrong: Turning it on where it isn't needed can make the voice sound slightly "processed". The CPU engine adds about 20 ms of delay; too small to notice in lip sync.

While cleanup is off, the Engine and Strength rows below it are dimmed.

Engine

• What it does: Chooses the engine that does the cleanup.
• Options:
  • RNNoise (CPU) — the default. Works on every computer, needs no installation, puts a very light load on the processor.
  • NVIDIA Maxine (GPU) — Works on suitable graphics cards (a card with Tensor cores is needed) and requires an extra audio package. If your graphics card isn't suitable, the option stays in the list but can't be selected.
• Recommended: Start with RNNoise. If you don't like the result and your card is suitable, try the GPU engine.
• Package download: If the GPU engine is selected and the package isn't installed, a line with the package's name and a Download NVIDIA audio package button appear below the row. In order: the download bar (with Cancel next to it), "Verifying file...", Start installation, "Installing. The engine activates by itself when done." If there's an error, a red explanation (or "Package download failed") and a Try again button appear; hovering over the button shows the details of the error.
• Active engine: Visible while cleanup is on. This row shows not the engine you chose, but the engine actually running at that moment:
  • "RNNoise (CPU)" or "NVIDIA Maxine (GPU)" — that engine is running.
  • "Maxine is loading, using RNNoise for now" — the GPU engine is being prepared in the background; meanwhile the stream and recording don't stop, the CPU engine runs, and when it's ready the switch happens without interruption.
  • "RNNoise — Maxine could not start: reason" — reason: package not installed / graphics card not supported (Tensor cores required) / model could not be loaded / effect could not be created. In this case cleanup keeps running with the CPU engine; you won't be listening to silence while thinking "cleanup is on". If the package is installed later, the GPU engine is tried again.
• The moment you change the engine, cleanup restarts with the new engine; a very short transition may be audible, so don't change it during a stream.

Strength

• What it does: The mix ratio between the cleaned sound and the raw sound.
• Options: 0.00 (no cleanup) … 1.00 (fully clean). Default 1.00.
• Recommended: 1.00. If your voice sounds metallic, "underwater" or robotic, lower it to 0.70–0.85.
• When set wrong: Too high a strength can swallow the ends of syllables in some voices; too low brings the noise back.

Noise gate

• What it does: Closes the channel when the sound drops below the threshold. During the moments you're not talking, room hum, breathing and distant sounds don't go to the stream.
• Options: On / Off. Default Off. While it's off, the Gate threshold row is dimmed.
• How it works: The gate opens very quickly when the sound passes the threshold (about 2 ms; the first syllable isn't lost) and closes gently when the sound drops (about 80 ms; the end of a phrase doesn't sound clipped). The closing point is 4 dB below the opening threshold: sound hovering around the threshold doesn't flap the gate open and shut.
• Recommended: On if AI cleanup is off and your room is noisy. If cleanup is on, it's usually not needed.

Gate threshold

• Options: −80 dB … −20 dB. Default −40 dB.
• Recommended way to set it:
  1. Set the gain (the gate works after the gain).
  2. Stay quiet and watch the meter: the level the meter shows while you're silent is your room noise (for example −55 dB). Since the meter shows the gate's output while the gate is on, take this measurement with the gate off.
  3. Speak at a normal volume; watch the places where you speak most quietly.
  4. Put the threshold 6–10 dB above the room noise and below your quiet speech.
  5. Test with long words and whispering; if the ends of syllables get cut, lower the threshold a few dB.
• When set wrong:
  • Threshold too high: Quiet words, the ends of phrases and laughs get cut; speech comes out choppy.
  • Threshold too low: The gate never closes and the noise still gets through.

Dynamics

Compressor

• What it does: Presses down sound that goes over the threshold by a set ratio; narrows the difference between loud and quiet speech. Result: a more "together" voice that doesn't blow up when you shout and doesn't vanish when you whisper.
• Options: On / Off (default Off; while off, the rows below are dimmed) and four settings:

The threshold transition is soft (a 6 dB soft knee): the compression starts gradually rather than all at once, and sounds natural.

• Recommended (microphone): The defaults are a good starting point for speech: threshold −18 dB, ratio 3:1, attack 6 ms, release 120 ms. While you talk, the compression should mostly stay between 3 and 6 dB.
• When to change it:
  • If it still blows up when you shout: raise the ratio to 4:1–6:1 or lower the threshold.
  • If the sound is "pumping" (dipping and coming back on every word): raise the release to 150–250 ms and lower the ratio.
  • If the sound feels squashed and lifeless: raise the threshold or lower the ratio to 2:1.
• Important: The compressor only presses down; it doesn't bring the sound back up. To make up for the reduced level you can use Auto level. Raising the gain also works, but since the gain is at the start of the chain, more sound goes into the compressor and gets pressed down more.
• On desktop / music: Usually leave it off. Music is already compressed when it's produced; compressing it again flattens it.
• When set wrong: Low threshold + high ratio = a tiring, pumping sound that brings breathing and room noise to the front. Too short a release = a fluttering, distorted sound.

Limiter

• What it does: Instantly catches peaks that go over the set ceiling and lets go within about 50 ms. Stops peaks like a sudden shout, a hit on the desk or a cough from blowing up the channel.
• Options: On / Off (default Off). Ceiling: −12 … 0 dB, default −1 dB.
• Recommended (microphone): On, ceiling between −1 and −3 dB. It catches the sudden peaks the compressor misses.
• When to change it: If sudden shouts come through too strongly, lower the ceiling a few dB.
• When set wrong: Pulling the ceiling too low (−8, −12 dB) presses the sound down all the time; it gets quieter and flattened.
• Info: Independently of this channel limiter, the program always has an invisible peak limiter, always on, at the end of every path (see 6.1). The channel limiter is there to keep the sound in check inside the channel before it reaches that final stage.

Tone (EQ)

• What it does: Raises or lowers the low, mid and high ranges of the sound separately.
• Options: On / Off (default Off; while off, the band rows are dimmed) and three bands, each −12 … +12 dB (default 0):

• Recommended: Off, or small adjustments (±2–4 dB). Common fixes:
  • If you're very close to the microphone and the sound is muffled and boomy: Low −3 … −6 dB.
  • If the sound is nasal and muffled: Mid −2 … −4 dB.
  • If the sound is dull, as if from a distance: High +2 … +4 dB.
  • If "s" sounds hiss: High −2 … −4 dB.
• Why small steps: Try cutting first. Boosting also makes noise and hiss louder; and since the EQ comes before the compressor, big boosts make the compressor work harder too.
• When set wrong: Too much low = boom and rumble; too much high = hiss, keyboard sound comes to the front; a big boost on every band = the sound gets louder and hits the peaks.

Timing

Sync offset

• What it does: Delays the channel's sound by the given amount. If the sound arrives before the picture (the lips move after the sound), it lines the sound up with the picture.
• Options: 0 … 500 ms. Default 0 ms.
• Why it's needed: Cameras and capture cards process the image, so they often deliver it a little later than the sound. The microphone sound arrives right away, while the camera image may lag 50–150 ms behind; viewers notice that the lip movement doesn't match the sound.
• Recommended: Start at 0 ms; adjust only if you notice a problem.
• How to set it:
  1. Make a short recording in the scene with the camera image.
  2. Looking at the camera, clap your hands sharply (a few times, with pauses).
  3. Open the recording and watch it frame by frame: does the frame where your hands meet line up with the clap sound?
  4. If the sound comes first, add delay to the microphone channel (for example 80 ms) and try again. If you use capture card audio, make the same adjustment on that channel.
• When set wrong: Too much delay flips the problem: now the sound comes after the picture. The moment you change the value there's a very short silence on the channel (the delay buffer is reset); don't change it during a stream.
• This setting can't move the sound earlier: If the sound comes after the picture, the fix is to delay the picture, not the sound. For that, add the Render delay filter to the filters of the source that needs to match the sound (usually the camera) and find the Delay value with the clap method. This filter is available on camera, wireless camera, screen, window and game capture, browser, media, group and scene sources; it delays only the image of the source it's added to. The details are in the source filters section.

Auto Level

Auto level

• What it does: Measures the channel's perceived loudness (LUFS) and slowly brings the channel to the target level. When you move toward and away from the microphone, or speak sometimes quietly and sometimes loudly, it evens out the level for you.
• Options: On / Off. Default Off; while off, the target row is dimmed.
• How it works (why it's safe):
  • The measurement uses a short window (about 0.4 seconds): it keeps up with the pace of speech but doesn't jump with every syllable.
  • The correction is slow (about 1 dB per second): you won't hear "pumping", where the sound dips and comes back.
  • It doesn't boost during silence: While you're not talking, the gain stays fixed; otherwise the room hum would be raised to the target, and breathing and the air conditioning would become audible.
  • It has limits: It boosts by at most +12 dB and cuts by at most −12 dB.
  • It works at the end of the chain (after the gate, EQ, compressor and limiter); the level it measures is the level viewers actually hear.
  • When you turn it off, the correction doesn't reset all at once; it slowly goes back to 0 dB, so you won't get "I turned it off and the sound jumped".
• Recommended: On for the microphone, especially on streams where you move around; it works well together with the compressor. Off on music and game channels (the quiet and loud parts of music are intentional).

Target loudness (LUFS)

• Options: −30 … −10 LUFS. Default −16 LUFS.
• Recommended: −16 LUFS for the microphone. This is close to the platforms' loudness level and leaves room for game/music sound.
• When set wrong: If the target is too high (−10, −12), the channel is boosted up to +12 dB; noise and room sound grow too, and the sound hits the peaks. If it's too low, your voice ends up under the game.
• Difference from the global setting: This row levels a single channel. Settings ▸ Audio ▸ Stream loudness, on the other hand, levels the total mix going to the stream (see 6.13). You can use both together.

Plugins (VST3)

You can add third-party VST3 audio plugins to the channel chain (an extra compressor, a de-esser, a reverb effect, etc.).

• Where they sit: Plugins run after Forge's own effects and before the balance, in list order (top to bottom).
• Adding one:
  1. Press the + Add plugin button.
  2. The Add plugin window opens. If the folders have never been scanned, scanning starts at this moment. Found plugins are listed by name, with the maker's name below. Type a name or maker in the Search box at the top to filter.
  3. Select the plugin and press Add (or double-click the row). The plugin is added to the end of the chain. Add is dimmed until a row is selected; Cancel closes the window without adding.
• On each plugin row, from left to right:
  • Drag handle (two columns of dots): drag up/down to change the order.
  • Switch: disables the plugin without removing it. While it's off, the sound doesn't pass through the plugin; the plugin waits on standby and kicks in immediately when turned on.
  • Name and maker.
  • Latency label (for example "5.0 ms"): the delay the plugin reports.
  • Open plugin settings: opens the plugin's own window (the window title shows the plugin's and the channel's names).
  • X: removes the plugin from the chain.
• If a plugin stops: Plugins run in a separate process; if a plugin crashes or stops responding, the channel's sound isn't cut; the sound continues without the plugin. A red Stopped label appears on the row, the switch shows as off and locked, and the button becomes Restart. The notification "… stopped. Disabled on the … channel, audio continues without the plugin." appears on screen. Restart brings the plugin back with the switch in the position you left it.
• Latency compensation: If a plugin delays the sound, Forge lines all channels up with the most delayed channel; the channels don't drift apart from each other. The price is that all the sound lags that much behind the picture. When a plugin is added, removed or stops, this alignment is rebuilt and there may be a very short silence.
• Recommended: Add only the plugins you really need. Prefer plugins with low total latency (a few ms). On stream, don't use high-latency plugins or keep a plugin's "lookahead" setting high.
• When set wrong: A high-latency plugin pushes all the stream's sound behind the picture; lip sync breaks. Many heavy plugins strain the processor.
• Folders: Where plugins are looked for is set in Settings ▸ Audio ▸ VST3 folders (see 6.13).

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Desktop audio modes: what does it capture and what doesn't it?

What the desktop channel captures changes on its own depending on what's in the mixer. There's no mode you need to choose; but knowing what's going on makes doubled-audio and missing-audio problems easier to understand.

The goal of this design is simple: Every sound should go to the stream once. When you open an application channel for a program, that program's sound drops out of the desktop channels on its own. You don't have to do anything else.

Limits of program-by-program capture (second and third rows):

• Windows' system sounds (notification, warning, error sounds) don't belong to a program, so they aren't captured; they don't go to the stream, the recording or the stream replay.
• If a program's child process has been put on its own application channel (for example, if a game launched from a launcher has a channel), the main program's own interface sounds don't come to the desktop channel. The child process keeps coming through its own channel.
• A program playing to two outputs at once isn't taken into the desktop channel (see 6.3, Applications).
• In this mode the self-monitoring protection isn't needed; if the channel's headphones are on, you hear the programs twice in your headphones (see 6.6).

Adding a specific output device, on the other hand, captures only what plays to that device; routing applications to different outputs and making each output a separate channel is another way to separate them. While there's an application channel, these channels also switch to "everything without its own channel" mode.

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Removing audio from the Twitch stream replay (VOD)

This feature keeps the copyrighted music you play on the live stream out of Twitch's stream replay (VOD). Live viewers hear the music; people watching the replay don't. This protects the replay from being muted or getting copyright notices.

How it works: The Twitch card sends the platform a second audio track. This track contains everything except the sound you choose. Twitch uses this track for the stream replay.

• There's no extra setting to turn on in Forge: the second track is sent whether Enhanced Broadcasting is on or off on the card.
• For Twitch to create a stream replay, the option to store past broadcasts must be on in your creator dashboard's stream settings. If this option is off, no stream replay is created at all.

Where?

Twitch account card settings ▸ Video/VOD tab ▸ the Audio excluded from VOD row. This row appears only on Twitch cards.

The row shows the name of the selected sound; if nothing is selected, it shows None (music stays in the VOD).

Step by step

1. Open your music program and start playing a song (for it to show up in the list, it's enough for the program to be open; programs that are playing sound are sure to show up).
2. Open the Twitch card's settings ▸ Video/VOD tab.
3. In the Audio excluded from VOD row, press Choose.
4. The Audio Excluded From The Replay window opens. It has two sections:
   • Running Applications — the programs running at the moment.
   • Audio Outputs — the computer's output devices.
5. Tick your music program's box.
6. Close the window with the confirm button at the bottom, then Save the card window.

The single-choice rule

Only one application or one output can be chosen: Windows can exclude only one application per capture. Clicking another row changes the choice; clicking the selected row again clears it.

If you want to exclude several programs: Route those programs to the same audio output in the Windows sound settings, and choose that output in the Audio Outputs section.

Application or output?

Requirement for choosing an audio output: That output device must exist in the mixer as a channel. If it doesn't, the sound keeps going to the VOD and this warning appears on screen: "The audio device to exclude from the VOD is not a channel in the mixer, so its sound goes to the VOD. Add the device to the Audio Mixer." Fix: mixer ▸ + ▸ Desktop (output) devices ▸ that device.

Things to know

• The recording isn't affected: The music is in the recording file on your computer. The VOD setting only affects Twitch's stream replay.
• Only one Twitch card carries the second track: the first Twitch card that has its switch on and a choice made. If that card is turned off during the stream, the track moves to the next suitable Twitch card (that card reconnects for a few seconds).
• Other platforms: YouTube, Kick and custom RTMP cards don't have this row; the music stays in those platforms' stream replays.
• If the selected program isn't running right now, it shows as a dimmed row in the window; you can clear the choice from there.
• It can also be used on a free account.
• Copyright risk: If you play copyrighted music without making this choice, the music goes into the stream replay; Twitch may mute parts of the replay or you may get a copyright notice. This feature gives no protection for the live stream itself: the responsibility for playing copyrighted music live lies with the streamer.

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Per-account-card audio level (Platform Audio Setting)

Each stream card (YouTube, Twitch, Kick, custom RTMP) can use its own audio mix if you want. For example, music quieter on YouTube and louder on Twitch.

Where?

Account card settings ▸ Audio tab ▸ the Audio setting row.

Options

• Audio Mixer Settings (default) — The card uses the mixer's levels as they are. In this mode no sliders are shown on the card.
• Platform Audio Setting — A row belonging only to this card opens for each channel in the mixer:
  • The channel's name, with "mixer X dB" (the mixer level) below it,
  • This card's meter (the channel's sound going to this card),
  • This card's slider (−60 … +12 dB),
  • This card's dB value.

How does it work?

• Changes you make on the card affect only that card's stream. They don't affect the mixer, the other cards, the recording, the VOD track or your headphones.
• It's live during the stream: While the card window is open, moving a slider affects that card's stream immediately; you don't need to press Save and the encoder isn't rebuilt. Save makes the setting permanent; Cancel, or closing the window without saving, undoes the change you made live, and the card returns to its saved levels. So during a stream, fine-tune and keep the level you like with Save.
• The card's meter shows the sound actually going into the card while it's streaming, and the sound that will go to the card while it isn't.
• There's no adding, removing or muting of channels on the card; only levels. The rows follow the mixer's channels live.
• A channel with its speaker off goes to no card. A sound you don't send to the stream in the mixer won't go to the stream no matter what you do with its level on the card (so audio doesn't leak by accident).
• A channel newly opened in the mixer (or deleted and added again) enters the card at its mixer level.
• The card level is applied to the channel's filtered sound. The card can go at most 30 dB above the mixer level: if you pull a channel down to −60 dB in the mixer and set it to 0 dB on the card, the card's sound still stays low.
• If Settings ▸ Audio ▸ Stream loudness is on, each card's total is also leveled toward that target.

Recommended

• If you want the same sound on all platforms, leave it on Audio Mixer Settings; managing from one place lowers the risk of mistakes.
• Platform Audio Setting is for situations like these:
  • One platform's audience wants the music quieter,
  • You want to give a sound (for example the alert sound) quieter on one platform,
  • You want to keep speech more up front on the vertical (short video) card.

When set wrong

• If you leave the microphone very low on one card, that platform's viewers don't hear you while the other platforms hear you normally; it's hard to notice because the mixer's meter looks normal. After setting up the card, look at each card's meter once.

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Cutting the stream audio (panic)

The Cut / restore stream audio action (shortcut or Forge Control) cuts only the sound going to the stream: the live stream and the Twitch replay track go out silent. Your headphones and the recording continue; the channels' buttons aren't touched. While it's cut, the bottom strip shows STREAM AUDIO CUT and a notification appears ("Stream audio cut" / "Stream audio live").

• When: An unexpected sound in the house, copyrighted music that started playing by accident, a private phone call.
• Caution: If it stays cut, the stream continues silently. It resets on its own when the stream ends; the next stream starts with sound.

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The Effects channel (Forge Control)

Sound effects played from the Forge Control tablet come out of a mixer channel named Effects.

• The channel's name depends on the language; it can't be renamed.
• Removing it closes the channel and stops any effects that are playing; the channel reopens when the next effect is played.
• Level, speaker, headphones and Channel Settings are the same as on other channels. Speaker and headphones start on.
• Each effect's own level is in Settings ▸ Control Center ▸ the Effects section. On each row:
  • a level slider (−30 … +6 dB),
  • a Listen button,
  • an eye button on built-in sounds (shows again, or hides, a built-in sound you hid on the tablet),
  • a Remove button on sounds you added yourself (asks for confirmation; the deletion happens with Save).
• With Add sound you can add your own sound (at most 30 seconds). Forge Control is part of the Premium package; on a free account this section is dimmed.

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Settings ▸ Audio

Main menu (☰) ▸ Settings ▸ the Audio section.

Format (info rows)

These rows are for information; they can't be changed.

Peak meter type

• What it does: How the mixer meters measure the peak.
• Options:
  • Sample peak (fast) — the default. Shows the largest of the digital samples.
  • True peak — Also calculates the peaks that form between samples. These peaks don't show up in the digital numbers, but they can cause clipping after passing through the encoder and the speaker.
• Recommended: For everyday use, Sample peak is enough. Switch to True peak when you're carefully setting the limiter ceiling or channel levels; the meter reads a little higher and closer to reality.
• When set wrong: It has no effect on the sound; only what the meter shows changes. A sound that seems not to "touch" 0 dB with sample peak may actually be clipping.

Stream loudness

• What it does: Slowly brings the perceived loudness of the total mix going to the stream to the target value. So that one part of the stream isn't too quiet and another too loud.
• Options: Off (default) / −14 LUFS / −16 LUFS.
• Where it applies: To the stream path, each card's own mix and the VOD track. It isn't applied to the recording — the recording stays raw (useful if you'll edit it later).
• How it works: The measurement uses a 3-second window (it doesn't react instantly to speech or game explosions), the correction is very slow (about 0.5 dB per second), it corrects by at most ±10 dB, and it doesn't pull quiet parts up to the target.
• Recommended:
  • Off if you've already set your levels well in the mixer.
  • −14 LUFS if your setup varies (different games, different music): the platforms' loudness level is around here; louder streams get turned down by the platform, and this level gives the fullest result without being turned down.
  • On mostly-talk streams (chatting, podcast style), −16 LUFS is more comfortable to listen to and leaves more room for sudden sounds.
• When set wrong: If the levels in the mixer are very unbalanced (music louder than speech), this setting won't fix that; it only raises or lowers the total. Set the balance in the mixer first.

Devices ▸ Common output device

• What it does: The device you hear for all channels whose headphone button is on and whose output device is "Common output from Settings".
• Options: System default (Windows' default output) or the devices' real names.
• Recommended: If you have several audio outputs, choose your headphones by name. Windows' default can change on its own (when a monitor or a USB device is plugged in); choosing by name keeps your monitoring where it is.
• If the selected device isn't plugged in: Monitoring goes silent and the row shows "Device name (not connected)". Forge deliberately doesn't switch to another device: to avoid accidentally playing to the room speakers instead of the headphones and having the sound fill the microphone. Plug the device in or choose another one.
• When set wrong:
  • If you route the common output to another device that the desktop channel captures, the alert/chat sounds play from that device; Forge removes them from the desktop capture, but still check once by listening whether "the sound is going to the stream twice".
  • If you choose speakers and the microphone is on, the sounds you're monitoring fill the microphone; an echo forms on the stream. When streaming, monitor with headphones.

VST3 folders

• What it does: The folders where VST3 plugins are searched for.
• Windows' standard VST3 folder comes ready in the list and can't be removed. Folders you add yourself have an X next to them.
• Add folder: If your plugins are outside the standard folder, add that folder.
• Rescan: Press it after installing a new plugin so it appears in the list. The scan runs right away with the folder list shown in the window; it doesn't wait for Save. While scanning, the button is dimmed.

Recording audio bitrate

The recording audio quality is in Settings ▸ Recording (Horizontal) / Recording (Vertical) ▸ the Audio row under the Bitrate heading (details in the recording chapter). The stream audio quality is in the Audio bitrate row of each account card's Video tab (96–320 kbps; a value typed by hand is snapped to the nearest valid step).

• Recommended for streaming: 160 kbps (the cards' default). Clean for speech and music, a value every platform readily accepts. 192–256 kbps for music-heavy streams.
• When set wrong: Too low a bitrate (96 kbps) causes "metallic" distortion on music. Too high a bitrate needlessly eats the stream's bandwidth on a weak internet connection.

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Audio shortcuts

Audio actions that can be assigned in Settings ▸ Shortcuts:

About Push-to-talk and Push-to-mute:

• These two shortcuts don't change the speaker button; they temporarily silence the channel completely. While silenced, the channel doesn't go to the stream or the recording; if you're monitoring it in your headphones it goes silent there too, and its meter stops.
• As soon as Push-to-talk is assigned, the microphone is silent unless you hold the key. If you assign the shortcut and forget it, you might think "my microphone isn't working"; if you don't use it, delete the assignment.
• Modifier keys (Ctrl, Alt, Shift) are also checked: if Ctrl+F5 is assigned, F5 alone won't open the microphone.
• Camera/capture card audio channels also belong to the microphone class (see the caution note in 6.3). Application channels aren't affected.

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Common problems and solutions

There's an echo on stream / my voice goes out twice

Possible causes, from most to least common:

1. The same device is open on two channels. Look for the yellow "audio may double" warning in Channel Settings. Remove the extra channel.
2. Your microphone sound is also being played to an output device. The "listen to this device" option in Windows' microphone properties, or the "hear yourself" feature of headset software, plays the microphone to an output; the desktop channel captures that output and your voice goes to the stream a second time, delayed. Forge detects this and shows the notification "…: your microphone is also in this channel and reaches the stream twice". Fix: turn off that listening feature, or turn off the speaker of the channel capturing that output. Caution: muting the microphone channel doesn't cut this path; the sound keeps going through the other channel.
3. You're monitoring through speakers. Sound coming out of the speakers goes into the microphone. Use headphones.
4. The same program's sound also comes in through an input channel. A program put on an application channel is removed only from desktop (output) channels; input channels aren't touched. If the program plays its sound to a virtual audio device and that device's input endpoint is added to the mixer as an input channel, the sound goes out twice. Remove one of the two paths.

I hear myself / the game with an echo in my headphones (no problem on stream)

A channel's headphone button is on and you're already hearing the same sound from Windows too. Turn off the headphones of the microphone or application channel (see 6.6). For the desktop channel, Forge prevents this echo itself; if you moved the desktop channel's monitoring to another device (for example separate headphones), turn off its headphones.

My voice isn't on stream

• Is the microphone channel's speaker on? Is its name dimmed?
• Is the meter moving? If not: does Channel Settings ▸ the Device row say "(not connected)"? Is microphone permission turned off in Windows?
• Is the Noise gate threshold too high? Turn the gate off temporarily and try.
• Is a Push-to-talk shortcut assigned?
• Is stream audio cut ("STREAM AUDIO CUT" in the bottom strip)?
• If the card is in Platform Audio Setting mode, is the microphone level too low on that card?
• If the notification "No audio is coming from the … channel. Check the device connection or Windows sound settings." appeared (it appears when no audio has flowed from the device for more than 3 seconds during a stream or recording), check the device's connection and that it isn't muted in the Windows sound settings.

I can't hear a browser / media source

These sounds play from Forge. The channel's headphone button must be on and the output device chosen correctly. If the common output device isn't plugged in, monitoring goes silent. If the source's eye is off or the source is in an inactive scene, the channel stays in the mixer but no sound comes in.

A channel suddenly disappeared

• If it's an application channel: The program is closed; when it opens, the channel comes back.
• If it's the Chat or Notifications channel: The source may not be visible in the active scenes.
• If it's a media channel: The source may be hidden with Close when hidden (restarts) on.
• If it's a device channel: If the device was unplugged, the channel isn't deleted; it shows dimmed with "(not connected)"; during a stream or recording the notification "… device was unplugged - the channel has no audio." appears.
• If the mixer would have more than 24 rows: The extra source channels don't show in the list (see 6.2, Channel limit).

Windows notification sounds aren't heard on stream

If there's an application channel in the mixer, the desktop channel captures program by program; Windows' system sounds aren't captured in this mode (see 6.8). This is a deliberate limit and is what most streams want.

The sound rises and falls (pumping)

The compressor threshold is too low / the ratio too high, or the release too short; or the auto level target is too high. Reset the compressor to its defaults and try one setting at a time.

The sound doesn't match the picture

• If the sound comes first: add Sync offset to the relevant channel (see 6.7 Timing).
• If the sound comes later: first check whether there's a high-latency VST3 plugin (the ms labels in the Plugins section); remove it or choose a lower-latency setting. If the plugin is needed, delay the image of the source that needs to match the sound (usually the camera) with the Render delay filter (see 6.7 Timing).

There's music in the Twitch stream replay

• Is the Audio excluded from VOD row filled in on the Twitch card? If it says "None", no choice has been made.
• If you chose an audio output, does that output exist as a channel in the mixer? (A warning notification should have appeared.)
• If you have several Twitch cards, only the first Twitch card with its switch on and a choice made carries the second track.

Game audio from the capture card cuts in and out

If you added the capture card's audio with the source's Capture the device's audio switch, the Push-to-talk, Push-to-mute and Mute / unmute microphone shortcuts don't mute that channel; only your real microphones go silent (see 6.3, 6.14). If you added the capture card's audio as a separate input channel from + ▸ Input devices, the program counts that channel as a microphone and the shortcuts mute it too; to keep game audio separate from the microphone shortcuts, add the audio with the source's Capture the device's audio switch.

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Quick setup suggestion (typical gaming stream)

1. Microphone: Choose the specific device. Set the gain so that the meter's peaks move around the yellow zone (roughly −18 … −7 dB) while you talk. In Channel Settings:
   • Noisy room: AI noise removal on (strength 1.00) — or, without Premium, Noise gate on, threshold 6–10 dB above the room noise.
   • Compressor on, defaults (−18 dB, 3:1, 6 ms, 120 ms).
   • Limiter on, ceiling −1 dB.
   • Optional: Auto level on, target −16 LUFS.
   • Headphones off.
2. Desktop Audio: Set the gain so that the game sound stays clearly below your voice. No filters needed.
3. Voice chat program (if you talk with friends): Open a channel from + ▸ Applications. If you don't want your friends' voices on stream, turn off its speaker. The desktop channel drops this program's sound on its own. If you hear an echo in your headphones, turn off the headphones of this channel and the desktop channel.
4. Music program: Open an application channel and set its level below your voice. If you stream on Twitch, exclude this program from the VOD on the Twitch card.
5. Notifications: If you want viewers to hear the alert sounds too, turn on its speaker; set its level a little below the microphone.
6. Chat: Leave the speaker off and the headphones on (the default).
7. Settings ▸ Audio ▸ Common output device: Choose your headphones by name.
8. Make a short test recording and listen to it: is your voice clear, does the game drown you out, is there doubled audio?

Platform Cards: Accounts, Encoder and Quality

In Forge, every stream destination is a card. A card corresponds to one account and one output, and works like a small streaming program of its own. Its encoder, bitrate, resolution, stream key and audio level belong to it alone. You can stream to YouTube in 1440p AV1, to Twitch in 1080p H.264 and to Kick at yet another bitrate, all at the same time. Cards don't affect each other: if one drops, the others keep streaming.

This chapter first explains how cards are added and linked, then goes through every row of the card window. The longest part is about choosing an encoder and the quality settings. There you'll find what each setting does, why its default is what it is, and when you should change it.

Card types

Cards are added from the Stream Accounts box on the top bar or from the + button at the end of the card strip. Both open the Add account window. This window offers six card types:

There is no vertical card for Twitch or Kick, because these platforms have no separate vertical stream ingest. The only way to send a vertical picture to Twitch is the Also send the vertical canvas option inside Enhanced Broadcasting (see 7.6).

How a new card starts out

• The card starts off. If a card without a key (stream key) started on, Go Live would give a "no key" error every time.
• The card's settings window opens right away, because your first job is to link the account or enter an address and key anyway.
• YouTube Landscape, Twitch and Kick cards start with 1080p output. The long side is calculated from the horizontal canvas's aspect ratio. The reason: if your canvas is 1440p and the card followed the canvas, 1440p would be sent to Twitch and Kick. Kick's ingest accepts at most 1920×1080. Twitch's regular stream also tops out at 1080p. So a stream sent at 1440p might not go out at all. 1080p is a safe starting point on all three platforms. If you want higher on YouTube, you choose it yourself on the card and your choice stays.
• Vertical cards and Custom RTMP cards follow the canvas size.
• When you add a vertical card, the vertical canvas becomes visible automatically, because you can't adjust anything without seeing the vertical layout.

How many cards you can open

• The program can hold at most 32 cards. When the limit is reached, Add account is dimmed. Hovering over it shows "Card limit reached: at most 32 cards can be added." With Premium, this is also the practical limit on how many cards can go live at once.
• On the free plan you stream to one account at a time. If you try to add a second card with a free account, the Premium window opens ("A free account streams to one card. The second and further cards are unlocked with a subscription.").
• Extra cards left over from a Premium period aren't deleted; they stay visible. But only one of them can be on at a time. When Premium ends, the on cards over the limit are turned off automatically while there is no stream or recording. When you try to turn on an off card, the question "Turn on the {} card?" appears. This window offers to turn off the card that is on and turn on the new one (Turn on …, turn off … button), or gives the Upgrade to Premium option. Hovering over a locked card shows the tip "Streaming to several accounts at once comes with Premium".
• With Premium, all cards can go live at the same time.

Two cards with the same YouTube account in the same orientation

Two horizontal cards (or two vertical cards) linked to the same YouTube account can't be on at the same time. When you turn on the second one, the newly turned-on card switches itself off and you get the notification "This YouTube account is already on in the horizontal stream. A second card can't go live in the same direction with the same account." ("vertical stream" for vertical). The reason: Forge uses a single persistent stream on the channel for each orientation (see 7.2). Two cards can't send picture to the same stream at once. One horizontal and one vertical card with the same account, however, work together.

The card strip and the card menu

Each card appears on the strip in its platform's color. On it are the account name (or the card name you gave it), a switch (on/off) and a status pill:

The tooltip that opens when you hover over the card shows the server address. During a stream, the error text, the line "Connection lost, reconnecting…" and the Encoder: line also appear. The Encoder line says which hardware the card is encoding with at that moment: NVENC for NVIDIA, AMF for AMD, VPL for Intel. If the hardware encoder couldn't be opened and encoding fell back to the processor, the name of the software encoder shows here.

Clicking the card opens its settings window. The three dots or a right-click open this menu:

• Broadcast settings: the card window.
• Open chat: the card's chat window.
• Remove: the question "Remove this card?" appears. The card and the stream key stored on this computer are deleted together.

The New card design option in the Stream Accounts menu switches between the large card view with images and the old thin pill view.

Linking an account

YouTube, Twitch and Kick cards have a Link account button. On Twitch and Kick it sits at the very top; on YouTube it sits below the thumbnail.

1. Press Link account. The platform's sign-in and permission page opens in your default browser, and the button reads "Waiting for browser...".
2. Choose your account and grant permission. The browser shows the "Your account is connected" page. You can close the tab and go back to Forge.
3. The button now reads Connected: account name and becomes inactive.

While linking, Forge automatically fetches:

• The server address and stream key. You don't need to copy them by hand. Kick only gives the server's host name. Forge adds the required application path to the end itself; otherwise Kick closes the connection.
• The persistent stream on YouTube. Two separate streams are used, named "Forge Live Studio" for the horizontal card and "Forge Live Studio Vertical" for the vertical card, and each carries its own key. If a stream with that name exists on the channel it is reused; otherwise it is created. This separation is why horizontal and vertical cards can stream on the same channel at the same time.
• Permissions to write the title and category, and for chat and notifications.

The Unlink button breaks the link. It is active only while an account is linked. Unlinking is applied when you press Save; if you press Cancel, the account stays linked. While a link is in progress on another card, the Link account row on this card is hidden; only one link happens at a time so two browser permission pages don't get mixed up.

The same Kick account can be linked on only one card at a time. If it's linked on another card, the warning "This Kick account is also connected on another card. Disconnect it there first." appears. If Kick returns the account that is linked on another card without asking for an account on the permission page, you'll see "Kick returned the account without asking: … is already connected on another card."; sign out of that account on Kick and try again.

If linking fails, the reason arrives as a notification:

When linking succeeds, the notification 'Account "…" connected' appears.

Linking an account is required on Twitch and Kick. If one of these cards is on and its account isn't linked, pressing Go Live doesn't start the stream. Instead, the "Sign in to your Twitch account" / "Sign in to your Kick account" window appears with a Sign in button. Once you complete the sign-ins, the window closes.

Custom RTMP cards have no account linking. You enter the server address and key yourself.

If the account's authorization is lost (password changed, permission revoked), you get a notification such as "YouTube account authorization expired — reconnect it with Link account on the card". Relinking with Link account on the card is all it takes.

Card window: Info tab

The card window's title shows the platform's name. The window has three tabs: Info, Video (on Twitch, Video/VOD) and Audio. The window always opens on the Info tab. The bottom strip has Open Chat Window on the left and Save / Cancel on the right. If you close the window with unsaved changes, you're asked "Save changes to the {} card?"; you can save, drop the changes with Continue without saving, or go back to the window. Save is inactive while Server address is empty, because a card without an address makes no sense.

Rows whose labels are written in the accent color (Channel address, Server address, Stream key) are fields that need to be filled in.

Order of the rows

On all cards

• Card name: The name shown on the strip. On YouTube, Twitch and Kick cards, if you leave it empty the platform and account name are used (shown dimmed in the field). A Custom RTMP card starts with the name "Custom RTMP". If you have two cards on the same platform (for example two YouTube channels), this is how you tell them apart. The card name is visible only in Forge; it isn't sent to the platform.
• Server address: The rtmp://server/application format. It fills in automatically when you link an account. If you paste the full address the platform gives you together with its key as a single line, Forge splits the key off automatically and moves it into the Stream key field when you leave the field. The split happens when you leave the field, not while you type; otherwise an address you type by hand would be cut in the middle. The YouTube card starts with YouTube's general ingest address, the Twitch card with Twitch's. The Kick card's address starts empty and arrives when the account is linked.
• Stream key: The key you type is masked. The eye icon next to it (Show) reveals the key. The key is kept in Windows' encrypted vault, only on this computer. It isn't written to the settings file, the log or error texts. If a key is saved, the field shows "Saved - type to replace". When the window closes, the key you typed is wiped from memory.
• Saved key → Delete key: Visible only when a saved key exists. Removes the key from this computer. The deletion happens when you press Save; if you press Cancel, the key stays where it is. Clearing the field and saving doesn't delete the key. This was done on purpose: a field emptied by accident shouldn't cost you your key.

On YouTube, Twitch and Kick cards

• Link account / Unlink: Explained in 7.2.
• Stream title: Written to the platform when the stream opens. On YouTube the title belongs to the broadcast itself and is written to the new broadcast entry created at every stream start. If the title is empty, the YouTube broadcast is named "Forge Live Studio". On Twitch and Kick it is written to the channel title.
• Category: When you start typing, the platform's category list opens below. The search runs about 0.4 seconds after you've typed at least 2 letters and stopped typing; a request isn't sent to the platform on every keystroke. You should pick from the list. Picking stores the category's ID on the platform and closes the list. If you type a name by hand and don't pick from the list, Forge searches the platform for the name you typed and uses what it finds; that name may match a different category. If nothing is found, no category is written to the channel and the notification "Category not found: …" appears. Searching requires a linked account ("Link your account to search categories."). The YouTube category list follows the country code in the Settings > General > Streaming region row.
• Channel address: Your channel's address ("The chat window opens from this address too"). The card's chat window is set up with this address. On Twitch and Kick, if the field is empty and the account is linked, chat opens from the linked account's channel. On YouTube, while there's a live stream, the chat window opens that stream's chat; when there's no live stream, it shows a waiting page.

The title and category can be changed during the stream too. When you press Save, they're written to the platform right away. Changing these fields doesn't drop the stream and the encoder isn't rebuilt. If they can't be written, the notification "Stream info could not be written: …" appears.

Title and category fill in by themselves: When you connect the account (or disconnect and connect again), if the card's Stream title and Category fields are empty they are filled with the title and category of your last stream on the platform. A field you have typed in is not touched. On YouTube only the title and category are taken; privacy and made-for-kids stay as chosen on the card.

On YouTube cards only

• Privacy: Public (default), Unlisted, Private. Use Private or Unlisted for test streams.
• Made for kids?: Yes, it's made for kids / No, it's not made for kids. On a new card neither is selected. YouTube requires this declaration for every broadcast. Forge doesn't decide for you: if no choice has been made, the card doesn't go live, and pressing Go Live brings up the question "Is this stream made for kids?". Once you answer, your choice is saved to the card and the card joins the stream.
• Ads: On (default) / Off. When on, Ad frequency (Low, Medium (default), High) appears below it. Because Forge opens the broadcast through YouTube's programming interface, your channel setting in YouTube Studio doesn't carry over to the new broadcast on its own. That's why the ad setting is on the card. The moment the stream goes live, the setting is written to YouTube again, because YouTube can drop the setting during the transition. If your channel isn't eligible for monetization, the notification "YouTube: channel isn't eligible for monetization, ads couldn't be turned on" appears once per stream. If it can't be written for another reason, you'll see "YouTube: ads couldn't be turned on — turn on ads for this stream in YouTube Studio".
• Thumbnail: The stream's small image. You pick it with Choose file and remove it with Remove. It's shown with its aspect ratio kept in a 160×90 preview box. If nothing is selected the box says "No image"; if the file can't be decoded it says "Could not read image".
  • Format and size: Use JPG or PNG. The picker lists only JPG and PNG files; YouTube accepts these two formats as thumbnails. The size the program recommends is 1280×720 (16:9). YouTube requires a width of at least 640 pixels. 1280×720 looks sharp in a 16:9 player and fits comfortably under the 2 MB limit.
  • The 2 MB limit: Forge doesn't accept files of 2 MB or more. As soon as you pick one, it shows a yellow warning ("… KB — choose a file smaller than 2 MB") and offers the Fit to 2 MB button. This button shrinks the image, keeping its aspect ratio, to at most 1280×720 and compresses it as JPG until it's under 2 MB. The result is written to a separate file; your original image isn't touched. If it can't be brought down, it says "Could not fit under 2 MB". If the file can't be read at all, it says "Could not read the file — choose another one" and the fit button doesn't appear, because an image that can't be decoded can't be shrunk. The reason for the limit: if a large file were silently rejected, the stream would open without a thumbnail and you'd only notice after the stream. That's why the warning comes at the moment you pick.
  • Channel verification: YouTube accepts custom thumbnails only on verified (phone-confirmed) channels. Forge can't check this in advance. If your channel isn't verified, the stream still opens; only the thumbnail isn't uploaded.
  • The thumbnail is uploaded when the stream opens. If you change the thumbnail during the stream and press Save, the new thumbnail is uploaded right away. If the upload fails, the reason appears in the card's tooltip as "Thumbnail couldn't be uploaded: …".

Card window: Video tab, Output

Resolution

The first row of the list is Canvas size (W × H): the card sends the canvas as it is. Common steps are listed below it. The short side is 2160, 1440, 1080, 936, 720 or 540, and the long side is calculated from your canvas's aspect ratio. Even on a 16:10 or 21:9 canvas, no distorted size appears in the list. On a vertical card the list shows vertical steps. You can also type a size into the box by hand (between 320×180 and 3840×3840). A size you type by hand is pulled to the canvas's aspect ratio, so the picture isn't distorted.

• If you pick a size smaller than the canvas, the picture is scaled down with a high-quality downscaling filter (Lanczos).
• A size larger than the canvas can be picked as well. This is a deliberate option: YouTube applies a better processing stage to inputs of 1440p and above, and a cleaner picture reaches the viewer. Upscaling a 1080p canvas to 1440p and sending it to YouTube really does raise the quality viewers see.
• If the card's aspect ratio doesn't match the canvas, the warning "The card's aspect ratio (…) does not match the canvas (…) — the edges are filled with black bars." appears below the row. The picture isn't stretched.

On the Twitch card, while Enhanced Broadcasting is on, the first entry in the list is Auto (Twitch), and that is the default: your canvas size is reported to Twitch, and Twitch sets up the highest step it allows for your account (for example 1440p). The highest track Twitch gives is shown in yellow on the row (see 7.6). The Enhanced Broadcasting size is stored separately from the regular stream's size, so a 1080p you picked for the regular stream does not cap Enhanced Broadcasting.

Cards don't have a separate frame rate. Every card uses the canvas frame rate. The frame rate is set in one place, the Settings > Video > Frame rate row.

Which resolution?

Choosing an encoder: AV1, HEVC, H.264

This section is the most important part of the guide. Choosing the right encoder (codec) lets you send viewers a much sharper picture with the same internet connection.

What a codec is

The picture on the screen can't be sent without compression. Raw 1080p60 video comes to about 3 gigabits per second. A codec is the compression method that brings this down to a few megabits. Codecs have evolved in generations. A newer generation gives a better picture at the same bitrate. Put another way, it gives the same picture at a lower bitrate.

This ratio comes from YouTube's own recommended bitrate table: for the same resolution and frame rate, YouTube recommends about 70% of the H.264 bitrate for AV1 and HEVC (for example, at 1440p60, 24 Mbps for AV1/HEVC and 34 Mbps for H.264). It recommends the same value for AV1 and HEVC.

In practice, "more efficient" means this: a 6000 kbps stream with AV1 looks roughly as clean as an 8500 kbps stream with H.264. The difference is especially visible in fast-moving scenes and in detail such as in-game foliage, particles and smoke. When the bitrate runs short, H.264 "smears" and turns blocky in these scenes. AV1 holds on to detail longer with the same bits.

Forge encodes with the hardware encoder on your graphics card: NVENC on NVIDIA, AMF on AMD, QuickSync (VPL) on Intel. From capture to compression, the picture never leaves the graphics card. A hardware encoder barely affects the game's frame rate, because encoding is done in a separate part of the graphics card.

The "Encoder" row in the card window

On the Video tab, the first row under the Encoder heading is Codec. The options:

• Auto: Uses H.264 today. The safest option for anyone who doesn't want to know anything; it works on every platform.
• H.264
• HEVC: Appears in the list only if your graphics card can encode HEVC.
• AV1: Appears in the list only if your graphics card can encode AV1.
• Match Twitch: Appears only on the YouTube landscape and Kick cards, and only while there is a Twitch card with Enhanced Broadcasting on. The card uses one of Twitch's Enhanced Broadcasting tracks as is (see 7.6).

The list shows only the codecs your graphics card can actually encode. Showing one that isn't there and then failing when it's picked would be misleading the user. If you don't know whether your graphics card supports AV1, just look at the list.

If a saved choice isn't present on the hardware, because it was carried over from another computer or after a driver update, your choice isn't deleted. It appears in the list with a note such as "HEVC (not supported by this hardware - H.264)" or "AV1 (could not be checked - H.264)", and the stream opens with H.264 in the meantime. "Could not be checked" means the driver didn't respond at startup; it doesn't mean the hardware lacks support, and it's asked again at the next startup. Opening the stream with the safe codec is better than not opening it at all. When the hardware is suitable, your choice becomes valid again.

If a driver update breaks a particular codec, Forge can switch that codec off remotely without waiting for an update. In that case, cards with HEVC or AV1 selected still go live, but they're encoded with H.264. The Encoder: line in the card's tooltip shows what's actually being used at that moment.

Which graphics card encodes which codec

This table is a general guide. The list in the card window isn't built from the table but from the real answer the graphics card driver gives when asked at startup. On Intel, AV1 is used only on the graphics card's fixed-function (low-power) encoding path. If your driver doesn't offer this path, AV1 doesn't appear in the list.

Encoder capabilities can differ even within the same generation. For example, some versions of the GTX 1650 carry the previous generation's encoder and can't encode B-frames in HEVC. Because the card window also asks the hardware about B-frame support, in this case the row hides itself (see 7.7).

If no hardware encoder can be found on the graphics card at all (a very old or virtual graphics card), Forge still opens the stream by encoding H.264 on the processor. In this case the Encoder: line in the card's tooltip shows the software encoder. Encoding on the processor can slow the game down. This is a fallback path, not a permanent solution.

AV1 on YouTube: when and why

Short answer: If your graphics card is a GeForce RTX 40/50, Radeon RX 7000/9000 or Intel Arc, choose AV1 on the YouTube card. On older cards use HEVC, and if that isn't there either, H.264.

Why is it trouble-free on YouTube?

1. YouTube re-encodes every stream. The stream you send doesn't go to viewers. YouTube converts it into its own formats and produces quality steps to suit every device. So whether the viewer's device can decode AV1 doesn't matter. What you send is only YouTube's input.
2. The cleaner the input, the cleaner the output. YouTube's re-encoding adds loss; it doesn't bring back missing detail. AV1 gives YouTube a cleaner input at the same upload speed. The result viewers see is better too.
3. YouTube accepts AV1 and HEVC. Forge sends these codecs using the enhanced form of RTMP that carries the newer codecs.

What does AV1 gain at which upload speed? The table below is written for a single YouTube card. If several cards are on, the total of all of them counts (see 7.8). The "minimum" and "recommended" values in parentheses come from YouTube's own table.

The rule can be summed up like this: the tighter your upload, the more valuable AV1 is. If your upload speed is very wide, H.264 looks good too, but AV1 still delivers the same quality with about 30% less bandwidth. The remaining bandwidth is then left for Twitch and Kick cards at the same time.

The cost of AV1 and things to watch

• AV1 encoding puts more load on the graphics card's encoder than H.264. If the game uses the graphics card to the limit and several cards are encoded at the same time, the encoder may not keep up. You'll see this in the tooltip of the Dropped indicator on the status bar, in the Skipped (encoder) row. If this row is rising, first lower Preset by one step (P6 → P5 → P4). On NVIDIA, if that isn't enough, set lookahead to 8 frames.
• With AV1, the Filler data row doesn't appear (see 7.7).
• On AMD graphics cards there is no B-frames row for AV1 and HEVC. AMD's hardware doesn't encode B-frames in these codecs. On Intel there are no B-frames with AV1 either. Because H.264 picture quality on AMD has historically lagged behind NVIDIA and Intel, the gain from switching to AV1 on YouTube is even bigger for RX 7000/9000 owners.
• Older cards (RTX 30/20, GTX 16, RX 6000) have no AV1. For YouTube, HEVC is a good middle road: YouTube recommends the same bitrate for it as for AV1, so it gives almost the same gain over H.264.

Why H.264 on Twitch

On the Twitch card, while Enhanced Broadcasting is off, the Codec list shows HEVC and AV1 next to Auto and H.264 if your graphics card supports them. Choosing HEVC or AV1 opens a warning window: "Enhanced Broadcasting is turned off. While Enhanced Broadcasting is off, Twitch does not support the … codec." Cancel leaves the choice unchanged. Select anyway applies it; from then on the card streams with the codec you picked, and the responsibility is yours.

The reason: Twitch's regular stream ingest accepts only H.264. Twitch doesn't transcode every channel. On many channels the stream you send goes to viewers as it is. That stream has to play on every device: phones, TVs, old computers. The only codec every device can decode is H.264. That's also what testing showed: a regular Twitch card sending HEVC or AV1 appeared "live" in the program, but Twitch swallowed the stream and no picture reached viewers. That's why the program offers this choice on the regular stream only with a warning. An older HEVC/AV1 choice saved without confirming the warning is used as H.264 when streaming.

The supported way to use HEVC and AV1 on Twitch is Enhanced Broadcasting (see 7.6). On that path Twitch decides the codec and the qualities by default, and you can choose them yourself if you want. Twitch usually carries 1440p (2K) streams with HEVC, and 1080p and below with H.264.

If Twitch one day enables HEVC or AV1 on the regular stream, Forge can lift this rule remotely without waiting for an update.

Why H.264 on Kick

Kick's streaming guide states plainly that it accepts only H.264; HEVC isn't supported. The reasoning from Twitch applies here too: the stream that reaches viewers has to play on every device.

Choose H.264 on the Kick card (or leave it on Auto; Auto means H.264 today). Forge's Kick card doesn't restrict the list the way Twitch does. If your graphics card supports them, HEVC and AV1 appear in the list too, but don't pick them on Kick: Kick doesn't accept that stream and the broadcast doesn't reach viewers.

Why do the settings in Kick's own guide differ from Forge's defaults? Kick's guide recommends the low-latency setting and single pass on the hardware encoder. Forge's card, however, starts with Tuning target: Quality and Two passes (quarter resolution). Low latency and single pass give up the encoder's buffering of a few frames: the gain is a few tens of milliseconds. The Kick player's own delay, on the other hand, is measured in seconds, so viewers don't see that difference. The quality difference, however, shows in moving scenes. That's why Forge recommends Quality on Kick as well. The other basic rules Kick asks for (H.264, CBR, a 2-second keyframe, at most 1080p60) are already met by the defaults of Forge's Kick card. Kick's maximum bitrate is 8000 kbps; the card doesn't cap this by itself, so don't raise the video bitrate above 8000.

Codec choice summary

Twitch only: VOD audio and Enhanced Broadcasting

The second tab of the Twitch card is called Video/VOD. At the top are two rows that exist only on Twitch.

Audio excluded from VOD

The audio you choose is heard on the live stream, but doesn't go into Twitch's stream replay recording (VOD). It's used to keep your VOD from being muted or deleted when you play copyrighted music. It's available on the free plan too. If nothing is chosen, the row reads "None (music stays in the VOD)"; if something is chosen, it shows the name of the chosen application or output. The Choose button opens the Audio Excluded From The Replay window. This window has two lists:

• Running Applications: Applications currently producing sound. The chosen application is remembered by the program's name, so you don't have to choose it again at every startup.
• Audio Outputs: An audio device. Choosing a device excludes all applications routed to it together. An application newly opened on that device during the stream is excluded too. The device must exist as a channel in the Audio Mixer; otherwise you get the warning "The audio device to exclude from the VOD is not a channel in the mixer…".

Only one choice can be made. Windows can exclude only one application per capture. If you want to exclude several applications, route them to the same audio output and choose that output.

Technically, Forge sends Twitch a second audio track: live viewers hear the first track, the VOD hears the second. If nothing is chosen, the second track isn't opened at all, so no bandwidth is wasted. If several Twitch cards are on, the VOD track belongs to the first Twitch card that is on and has a choice filled in. If that card turns off, the track moves to the next Twitch card. That card reconnects for a few seconds.

Enhanced Broadcasting (Twitch)

When Enhanced Broadcasting (Twitch) (off by default) is turned on, before starting the stream Forge tells Twitch's configuration service about your graphics card, your canvas and whether your graphics card can encode HEVC. Twitch decides for itself which quality steps to send, with which codec and at which bitrate. Forge encodes all of these steps and sends them over a single connection. As a result, several quality steps (for example 1080p, 720p, 480p) reach viewers. This is the way to give viewers a quality choice even on channels that aren't partners.

What does Twitch decide?

• Codec: Twitch usually gives 1080p and below in H.264 and 1440p (2K) in HEVC. 1440p is only for Twitch Partners and Affiliates, and your graphics card must be able to encode HEVC. If your graphics card can encode AV1, Forge tells Twitch that too; whether to give AV1 is Twitch's decision.
• Bitrate: On this path Twitch goes up to 7.5 Mbps for 1080p and up to 9 Mbps for 1440p. The quality above the regular stream's 6000 kbps guideline comes from this path.
• Number of steps: On Partner and many Affiliate channels, Twitch can produce the lower steps on its own servers. Your graphics card then encodes fewer steps.
• Viewer quality: Twitch does not offer 2K playback to viewers in some regions. Those viewers see 1440p in the list but cannot pick it (a location restriction) and watch 1080p. Your stream still goes out in 1440p; this is Twitch's decision on the viewer side and cannot be changed from the program.

What changes in the card window?

• While Enhanced Broadcasting is on, the first option of the Resolution, Codec, Video bitrate, Keyframe interval, Preset, B-frames and Lookahead rows is Auto (Twitch), and that is the default: Twitch decides the value. The value Twitch gives is shown in yellow on the row, next to the label: live during the stream, from the last stream when you are not live. If the card has never streamed with Enhanced Broadcasting, no yellow text appears. For the resolution the highest track is shown; hover over it to see all tracks. For the video bitrate the total and the number of tracks are shown.
• If you choose a value other than Auto, it is used instead of Twitch's. If you pick H.264 under Codec, HEVC and AV1 are not offered to Twitch at all; if you pick HEVC or AV1, the highest track is encoded with that codec. Video bitrate goes to Twitch as a total bandwidth cap; Twitch may then give fewer or lower steps. Keyframe interval, Preset, B-frames and Lookahead apply to all tracks. These choices are stored separately from the regular stream's settings; when you turn Enhanced Broadcasting off, the regular stream's values come back.
• The Audio bitrate row stays visible, but on this path Twitch's reply also decides the audio bitrate.
• The Rate control and Filler data rows, and on NVIDIA the Tuning target and Multipass rows, stay visible and are applied.

Things to watch

• Each quality step uses a separate encoder session on the graphics card. That means more encoder load. On the YouTube landscape and Kick cards, Match Twitch reduces this load (see below).
• Graphics card: Twitch supports this path on NVIDIA GeForce (GTX 900 series and later) and AMD Radeon (RX 6000 series and later) graphics cards. Twitch states no support for Intel graphics cards; Enhanced Broadcasting may not work on Intel. If Twitch sends a configuration for the Intel encoder, Forge recognizes and uses it. When it doesn't work, the stream still opens (see below).
• If the service can't be reached, the service rejects the stream, or no step comes back that Forge can encode, the stream isn't blocked. The card falls back to a single-quality regular stream with the settings on its own Video tab, and the notification "Enhanced Broadcasting was not applied, the card connected with plain RTMP: …" appears. If the card was turned on while the stream was running, the notification is "Enhanced Broadcasting was not applied this session - card joined with plain RTMP". If Twitch's reply contains a warning, it is shown as "Twitch Enhanced Broadcasting warning: …".
• Also send the vertical canvas (off by default): Visible while Enhanced Broadcasting is on. Your vertical canvas goes to Twitch over the same connection as a second format. In the Vertical resolution row you choose 1080 × 1920 (default) or 720 × 1280. If your vertical canvas is smaller than the chosen size, the canvas size is used. If Twitch doesn't provide the vertical track, the notification "Enhanced Broadcasting did not provide the vertical track - only horizontal is going out" appears.

Match Twitch (YouTube landscape and Kick)

On the YouTube landscape and Kick cards, the Codec list shows Match Twitch while there is a Twitch card with Enhanced Broadcasting on. When you pick it, the card does not use its own encoder settings but exactly the settings of one of Twitch's Enhanced Broadcasting tracks: YouTube takes Twitch's highest track, Kick takes the highest H.264 track that does not exceed 1080p and 8000 kbps. Because the settings are the same, the graphics card encodes that picture once and sends it to both platforms; encoder load and the number of sessions go down.

While this option is selected, the card's Output section and the encoder rows are hidden. Instead, the From Twitch row shows in yellow the value the card will take (for example "1440p60 · HEVC · 8000 kbps"). If the Twitch card has not streamed with Enhanced Broadcasting yet, it says "Taken from Twitch when the stream starts". Audio bitrate stays on the card itself.

• If the Twitch card is off, Enhanced Broadcasting is off or no configuration comes from Twitch, the card connects with its own settings (Auto = H.264). The same happens on Kick if there is no suitable H.264 track.
• Matching is set up when the stream starts. A card switched on during the stream joins with its own settings.
• If the Twitch card is rebuilt during the stream (changing and saving a setting, or switching the card off and on), the matched card carries on with the old values without interruption. Sharing ends for that stream and is set up again on the next one.
• The trade-off: the card takes Twitch's bitrate. YouTube may accept a higher bitrate for 1440p; if you want the best quality on YouTube, choose the card's own settings.

The other rows of the Encoder section

The rows in this section change with the selected codec and the graphics card. A row that can't be used isn't shown dimmed; it isn't shown at all. The value of a hidden row isn't forgotten. When the codec changes and the row comes back, your choice is still there. Only a valid value is ever sent to the encoder.

Hovering over the rows shows a short tooltip. What these tooltips say is explained below, with the reasons.

On YouTube and Kick cards with Match Twitch selected, only Codec, Rate control and Audio bitrate of these rows are visible (see 7.6).

Rate control: CBR

This row isn't an option; it's information. The stream is always encoded with CBR (constant bitrate). YouTube, Twitch and Kick all ask for CBR when streaming; Kick doesn't accept variable bitrate at all. Variable bitrate makes sudden peaks depending on the scene. Those peaks strain your internet line and the platform's ingest and lead to dropped frames. A "right answer" that could be picked wrongly isn't offered.

The encoder's buffer (VBV) equals 1 second of bitrate on NVIDIA and AMD. The smaller the buffer, the closer the bitrate stays to the target second by second, and your line is protected from sudden peaks. A smaller buffer causes visible quality drops on scene changes; a larger one allows sudden peaks. On the Intel encoder the buffer is 2 seconds; that's the value that gives stable results with this encoder.

Filler data

Off (default): In a calm scene (a menu, a paused game), the encoder's need drops below the target bitrate and less data really is sent.

On: In these calm moments the stream is topped up to the target with empty filler bytes. Your upload graph becomes a flat line, and the line is used at full capacity all the time.

Why is it off by default? Filler bytes add nothing to the picture, but they take up room on the line. In testing, on a setup whose line was at its limit, turning filler on closed the margin the encoder leaves on its own in calm moments. The line overflowed, the send queue filled up and frames dropped. Filler only straightens the graph, not the picture.

When to turn it on? If your upload speed is far above the total of the cards that are on, and the platform's "bitrate is fluctuating" warning bothers you, you can turn it on. If your line is at its limit, leave it off. Filler isn't applied with AV1, and the row doesn't appear either.

Video bitrate

Picked from the list or typed by hand (between 500 and 51000 kbps). The list contains these values: 2500, 3500, 4000, 4500, 6000, 8000, 9000, 12000, 15000, 20000, 25000, 30000, 40000, 51000. The list goes up to 51000 because YouTube recommends up to 50000 kbps for 4K60 H.264. There's deliberately no slider; it produced meaningless values like 7676.

Why a default of 6000 kbps? Twitch's regular stream guideline for 1080p60 is 6000 kbps, Kick accepts up to 8000, and YouTube asks for at least 6000 for 1080p60 H.264. Since a new card starts at 1080p, 6000 is a common starting point that works safely on all three platforms.

The rule in the row's tooltip: Stay under the platform cap; keep below 80% of your upload speed. Detailed recommendations are in 7.8.

Forge doesn't touch the bitrate on its own. There's no "automatic quality" that lowers the bitrate by itself when the internet slows down. The value you choose is the target for the whole stream. What happens if the internet can't keep up is explained in chapter 8.

Audio bitrate

Options: 96, 128, 160, 192, 256, 320 kbps. The audio encoder (AAC, 48 kHz stereo) accepts only these steps. If you type another value by hand, it's pulled to the nearest step.

Recommendation: 160 kbps (default). Here are the reasons, platform by platform:

160 kbps leaves no audible loss for speech and game audio, and since it stays at Twitch's upper limit, it's safe on every platform. The audio bitrate is a small share next to the video bitrate, but it does count toward your upload total.

Keyframe interval

Options: 1, 2, 4 seconds. Default and recommended: 2 s.

What's a keyframe? The encoder doesn't draw every frame from scratch. Most frames carry only the difference from the previous frame. A keyframe, on the other hand, is a complete picture that can be decoded on its own. At 60 fps, a 2-second interval means one keyframe every 120 frames.

Why 2 seconds?

• The player of a viewer who just joined waits for the first keyframe. The longer the interval, the later the viewer gets a picture.
• Platforms split the stream into small segments, and each segment must start with a keyframe. Twitch and Kick ask for 2 seconds. YouTube recommends 2 seconds and asks you not to exceed 4 seconds.
• When the stream drops, the reconnection also starts with a keyframe.

1 s means more frequent keyframes. Keyframes are expensive; at the same bitrate the picture degrades a little. 4 s saves a few bits, but viewers joining and the platform's segmenting are delayed; since Twitch and Kick ask for 2 seconds, there may be warnings or problems there. Unless you have a specific reason, leave it at 2. The list ends at 4 seconds because the encoder chain supports 1–4 seconds and YouTube doesn't want more than 4 seconds either.

Preset

Why P5? Beyond P5, the graphics card has to do much more work for little gain. With multistreaming, this directly means how many cards you can encode at the same time.

When to change it? If only one card is on and your graphics card is powerful, P6 is worth a try. If the Skipped (encoder) counter is rising, drop to P4.

The naming is NVIDIA's. On AMD and Intel, each step is mapped to that vendor's closest real equivalent:

On AMD, P6 and P7 map to the same setting for H.264 and HEVC, because AMD offers no higher step for these codecs.

Tuning target (NVIDIA only)

• Quality (default and recommended)
• Low latency: The encoder gives up buffering a few frames. It sacrifices quality and turns lookahead off. The Lookahead row then disappears.

Platform latency is already a few seconds. The few frames (milliseconds) the encoder saves aren't something viewers will notice. Quality, however, is noticeable. Low latency only makes sense if you're streaming to a special server with very low latency.

Multipass (NVIDIA only)

The encoder first examines each frame with a rough pre-pass and distributes the bits accordingly.

• Single pass: The least work; the roughest bit distribution.
• Two passes (quarter resolution) (default): The pre-pass is done at a quarter of the resolution. At a constant bitrate it noticeably improves the distribution, at a low cost.
• Two passes (full resolution): Better distribution, more graphics card work. Worth trying with a single card on a powerful graphics card.

B-frames

The list goes from 0 up to the highest value the hardware supports for that codec (at most 4). Default: 2.

What's a B-frame? Normal difference frames (P) look only at the past. A B-frame is encoded by looking at both the previous and the next frame. If an object moves between two frames, a B-frame predicts it from both directions and describes it with far fewer bits. At the same bitrate it gives a noticeably better picture; the gain shows most in moving scenes.

The cost: The encoder has to wait for the next frame, which means a delay of a few frames. At 60 fps, 2 B-frames are about 33 milliseconds, invisible next to platform latency. The encoder also needs a little more memory and work.

Why 2? Most of the gain comes in the first 2 frames. 3–4 add very little extra quality and increase work and delay. Both the setting YouTube recommends for H.264 and the example setting Twitch gives for NVIDIA use 2 B-frames.

When is the row missing?

• On AMD graphics cards with HEVC and AV1. The hardware doesn't encode B-frames in these codecs. On AMD, H.264 allows at most 3.
• On Intel with AV1. On Intel H.264 and HEVC, the upper limit is 2 or 4 depending on the hardware.
• On older NVIDIA cards with HEVC (GTX 10 and earlier, such as a GTX 1650 with the older encoder, if the hardware doesn't support it).

If a setting from another computer (for example 4) is above this hardware's limit, it's pulled down to the limit when the window opens. The value you see is the value that gets sent.

Lookahead (NVIDIA only)

Options: Off, 8 frames, 16 frames, 32 frames. Default: 16 for H.264 and HEVC, 8 for AV1.

What does it do? Before encoding, the encoder sees the frames ahead of it. If it knows a big movement or scene change is coming, it saves bits for that moment. It doesn't spend them in a calm moment, and it doesn't go hungry during movement. It's the direct cure for the complaint that "the picture turns to mush for a moment during movement". When lookahead is on, temporal adaptive quantization is also turned on if the graphics card supports it. This is an extra method that distributes bits smartly over time as well.

The cost: Delay and encoder work. At 60 fps, 16 frames are about 0.27 seconds. That's invisible next to the platforms' delay of a few seconds, but it's visible in the quality.

Why 8 with AV1? AV1 encoding is heavy already. At 1440p AV1, the encoder works close to the limit of its work budget. 8 frames give most of the gain without straining the encoder.

32 frames load the encoder with more work for very little extra gain. Worth trying on a powerful single-card setup.

The row doesn't appear in these cases: while Tuning target = Low latency (the two are opposites) and on AMD and Intel graphics cards.

Why are there no Tuning target, Multipass and Lookahead rows on AMD and Intel? These three rows are effective only on the NVIDIA encoder. On AMD and Intel, changing them doesn't change the result. A control that has no effect isn't shown.

Settings that aren't on the card and are applied automatically

These settings don't exist as rows on the card. Their values were chosen through testing and are applied automatically on every stream:

How do you benefit from encoder sharing? If you're sending 1080p60, H.264, 6000 kbps to Twitch and Kick at the same time, make every row the same on both cards. The graphics card then does one encode instead of two. If a single row differs (for example one at 6000, the other at 7000), two separate sessions are opened. The number of encoder sessions a graphics card can open at once is limited, and each session is extra load. The upload total, however, isn't affected by sharing: a separate stream goes to each platform.

Bitrate: recommendations per platform and resolution

Your upload speed comes first

Bitrate is limited by your internet's upload speed, not its download speed. The rule:

The total video + audio bitrate of the cards that are on shouldn't exceed 80% of the upload speed you measured.

Why is a 20% margin needed? Internet speed isn't constant. Other devices at home, Wi-Fi fluctuation and the provider's busy hours narrow the line. Without a margin, the send queue fills up at the first narrowing and frames drop.

The 20% margin is Twitch's own recommendation: don't push your stream bitrate above 80% of your upload speed for any length of time.

Example: If the measured upload speed is 20 Mbps, the usable total is about 16 Mbps.

• YouTube 1440p60 AV1, 9000 + 160 kbps
• Twitch 1080p60 H.264, 6000 + 160 kbps
• Total ≈ 15.3 Mbps. It fits.
• If you also add Kick at 1080p60, 6000 kbps, the total becomes ≈ 21.5 Mbps and exceeds 16 Mbps. To run all three with these values you'd need about 27 Mbps of upload. At 20 Mbps the three fit together like this: YouTube 1440p60 AV1 at 6000 (YouTube's minimum for 1440p60), Twitch and Kick at 720p60 H.264 with 4500 kbps each. Total ≈ 15.5 Mbps. If you set the Twitch and Kick cards exactly the same, the graphics card does a single encode for both.

A wired connection (Ethernet) is far more stable than Wi-Fi. Use a cable for streaming if you can.

YouTube

YouTube publishes two values for each resolution and frame rate: the minimum value you shouldn't go below and the recommended value. It gives one column for AV1 and HEVC and a separate one for H.264. The values below are YouTube's own table (kbps):

How to read it: below the minimum, YouTube considers the stream low quality. The recommended value is the upper value at which YouTube gets the best result for that size; going above it brings no noticeable gain. Get as close to the recommended value as your upload speed allows. Every point between the two values is valid. The table also shows why AV1/HEVC is valuable on YouTube: for the same size, the recommended value is about 70% of H.264's.

For YouTube Portrait (1080×1920), the values for horizontal 1080p apply. Because the screen in a vertical stream is usually simpler (a face, chat), the lower-middle part of the range is often enough.

Twitch (regular stream)

Twitch's streaming guidelines recommend 6000 kbps for 1080p60 on the regular stream. Don't exceed it. On Twitch a high bitrate also causes problems for viewers: on channels without quality options, viewers download the stream you send as it is. A viewer with slow internet sees a stuttering stream. On Twitch, a higher bitrate (up to 7.5 Mbps for 1080p and up to 9 Mbps for 1440p) comes through Enhanced Broadcasting; there Twitch decides the bitrate and lower quality steps reach viewers too (see 7.6).

1080p60 or 720p60 at 6000 kbps? In fast-moving games (shooters, racing), 6000 kbps is tight for 1080p60, because H.264 turns blocky in moving scenes. 720p60 can look cleaner with the same bits. In calm content (chatting, strategy), 1080p looks sharper. Try both options with your own game.

Kick

Kick's rule: between 1000 and 8000 kbps, at most 8000 kbps, at most 1920×1080 and 60 fps, CBR, a 2-second keyframe. Kick doesn't give separate values per resolution. Within this range, our recommendation:

Kick accepts a higher bitrate than Twitch's regular stream. The card's default of 6000 kbps is a safe start. If your upload speed allows it, try 7000–8000, but don't exceed 8000. Kick's own guide recommends lowering the bitrate in steps of 1000 kbps if the stream stutters.

Custom RTMP

Depends on your server's limit. If the server is yours, your own upload speed and your viewers' download speeds are what decide it.

Quiet Hand: what it means on the card

Quiet Hand is an encoder-friendly pre-processing chain that runs before the picture enters the video encoder. Its aim is this: to strip out what the encoder spends bits on but viewers don't see or don't want to see (flickering interface text, rustling leaves, noise), and leave the freed bits to the real picture. It's the way to send viewers a cleaner picture without raising your bitrate. It applies only to the stream picture. The canvas preview and recordings aren't affected.

How it works is chosen in one place, the Settings > Quiet Hand section (that section is covered separately in the Settings guide). Which card it runs on, in Manual mode, is decided by the Quiet Hand switch in the card window. The switch is at the very bottom of the Video tab. This split keeps the cards independent while gathering the settings clutter in one place.

Mode and the card switch

The Settings > Quiet Hand > Mode row has three options:

When you first switch to Manual, the rows open with Auto's measured values. You don't start from scratch; you fine-tune from a well-known point.

The card's Quiet Hand switch starts on for new cards. This is a deliberate choice: modules that add value shouldn't start off, so you see the difference from the first card.

Changing the mode or a module while streaming doesn't drop the cards. The change takes effect after the stream ends. The tooltip of the rows in Settings says so too.

What each row changes in Manual mode

These rows are in Settings. Their effect is on the card's picture, and they apply only to cards whose Quiet Hand switch is on.

• Sharpness (0.00 – 1.00; Auto value 0.15): The stream's sharpening strength. Downscaling softens the picture somewhat. Sharpness wins that loss back. Important: it only works when downscaling. If the card's output size is the same as the canvas or larger, it has no effect, because without downscaling nothing is lost. In that case sharpening would only add halos to the edges. The effect is graded: zero at a ratio of 1.0, full at 1.5× and above. Example: from a 1440p canvas to a 1080p card (1.33×), about two thirds of the value is applied. From a 4K canvas to 1080p (2×), all of it is applied. A high value sharpens fine text, but overdoing it means halos at the edges and extra work (more bits) for the encoder.
• Sharpen discipline (on/off): Sharpening enlarges only real edges. Invisible micro-noise isn't amplified, and overshoot halos are clipped. It lowers the bit cost of Sharpness. Leaving it on is recommended.
• Dead Band (on/off): Pixels whose difference from the previously sent frame stays below the visibility threshold are written with their previous value exactly. Regions that barely change (game interface, sky, panel text) become free skip blocks in the encoder. Static text stops "breathing", that is, flickering, and the bits go to real motion. A slowly darkening sky doesn't get stuck: the suppressed difference accumulates and passes in a single step once it reaches the visible threshold.
• Trail Tracker (on/off; off in Auto): A temporal pre-filter that follows the direction of motion. It damps the single-frame micro-flicker nobody can see (rustling leaves, particle shimmer, anti-aliasing flicker) along the direction of motion. It doesn't touch real motion or edges. On a scene change it switches itself off for that frame. When on, a Trail Tracker strength (0.00 – 1.00) row appears below it: a low value works cautiously, a high value aggressively. Overdoing it can leave trails in fast scenes. That's why it's off in Auto: its gain depends on the content, so it wasn't included in the measured set. If your bitrate is very tight and your game has lots of foliage or particles, try it in Manual.
• Text-preserving downscale (on/off): If downscaling is done in linear light, thin light-colored text gets thicker and dark text gets thinner. This option does the downscaling in the screen's gamma space, so the text keeps its weight. In measurements, the readability of downscaled text clearly improved. It's only effective when downscaling.

Which mode to choose

• Stay on Auto. For most setups it's the measured best set, and it's applied with the same quality to every card.
• Use Manual when you want to turn Quiet Hand off on one card (for example, if you send a raw picture to your own server with Custom RTMP) or want to try Trail Tracker.
• Off is for comparing: if you want to see what Quiet Hand gains on your content, do one stream with Off and one with Auto and compare the recordings.

Bitrate adaptation

Forge doesn't change the bitrate on its own during a stream. There's no automatic quality of the "the internet slowed down, I'm lowering the quality" kind. The bitrate you choose is the target for the whole stream. Instead, the program gives these assurances: the send smoother spreads out sudden peaks (7.7), reconnection has no time limit, and every new connection starts with a clean keyframe (chapter 8). If the internet consistently can't keep up, the solution is to lower the card's bitrate yourself. You can do this during the stream too (7.10).

Card window: Audio tab

The Audio setting row has two options:

• Audio Mixer Settings (default): The card uses the levels of the main Audio Mixer as they are. With this option no channel rows appear on the card, because there's no card-specific setting.
• Platform Audio Setting: The levels are set for this card only. Each mixer channel appears as a row. The row shows the channel's name, below it "mixer X dB" (its level in the main mixer), the channel's live meter, a slider (from −60 to +12 dB) and the card's own dB value.

What's it for? For example, you want music loud on Twitch and quieter on YouTube. Or your Kick viewers want the game audio louder. You set up each platform's balance separately without touching your main mixer.

• The levels are absolute dB and tied to the channel, not to its position. Even if the channel moves in the mixer, its setting goes with it.
• When a channel is removed from the mixer, its card setting is deleted. A channel newly added to the mixer enters the card with its mixer level.
• An application channel whose application is closed is hidden here too, just as in the mixer.
• On the card there's no adding, removing or muting channels, only levels.
• Audio level changes are applied live. The encoder isn't rebuilt and the stream doesn't drop.

Changing a card during the stream

You can press Save while streaming too:

• Title and category are written to the platform right away. On YouTube, privacy, the made-for-kids declaration and the thumbnail are also written to the live broadcast. The stream doesn't drop.
• The card name changes only on the strip in Forge. The stream doesn't drop.
• The Audio tab flows live. The stream doesn't drop.
• If a field that goes to the encoder or the connection has changed, such as server address, key, video or audio bitrate, resolution, encoder, preset, B-frames, lookahead, filler data or Enhanced Broadcasting, that card is rebuilt with the new setting. That platform has a break of a few seconds; the other cards aren't affected. That's why the program rebuilds only when it's really necessary.

Turning a card's switch on or off during the stream adds that platform to the stream or removes it ("… joined the stream" / "… left the stream"). Details are in chapter 8.

Streaming: Step by Step

This chapter explains how to start and manage a stream once your cards are ready: starting, several platforms at once and horizontal plus vertical together, the on-screen indicators during a stream, what happens when the connection drops, and ending the stream. The cards themselves and the encoder settings are in chapter 7.

How streaming works

In Forge, a stream starts with a single button: Go Live on the right of the bottom status bar. This button puts all cards whose switch is on live together. Each card connects to its own platform with its own settings.

• A card whose switch is off doesn't go live.
• If a card is missing something (no address, no key), that card is skipped and the others go live. The skipped card's pill becomes ERROR, and the reason is written in the tooltip. The notification "Card not added to the stream: …" appears on screen.
• If no card is ready, the stream doesn't start and the reason appears on screen as a notification.

Horizontal cards stream the horizontal canvas, vertical cards the vertical canvas. Whatever the scenes, sources and transitions show on the canvas is what goes out on the stream.

Pre-stream checklist

Go through this list before your first stream, and again whenever you change settings.

Account and cards

• [ ] There's a card for each platform you'll stream to, and its switch is on.
• [ ] On Twitch and Kick cards the account is linked (the button in the card window reads "Connected: …"). If it isn't, the stream doesn't start and the sign-in window opens.
• [ ] On a Custom RTMP card, Server address and Stream key are filled in.
• [ ] On the YouTube card, Made for kids? is answered. If not, you're asked when the stream starts.
• [ ] On YouTube, Privacy is right. Do your first test as Private or Unlisted.
• [ ] Stream title and Category are filled in. The category was picked from the list.
• [ ] If you're on the free plan, remember that only one card can be on at a time.

Picture

• [ ] In Settings > Video, the canvas size and frame rate are as you want them.
• [ ] The cards' Resolution suits the platform (1080p or lower for Twitch and Kick).
• [ ] Video bitrate is within the platform's limit: no more than 6000 kbps on Twitch's regular stream, 8000 kbps on Kick (see 7.8).
• [ ] On the Twitch card, Audio bitrate is at most 160 kbps.
• [ ] The Codec is right: AV1 on YouTube if your graphics card supports it, H.264 on Twitch and Kick (see 7.5). Kick accepts only H.264.
• [ ] The canvas you'll stream is not hidden. A card whose canvas is hidden can't go live.

Internet

• [ ] The total video + audio bitrate of the cards that are on is below 80% of the upload speed you measured (see 7.8).
• [ ] A wired connection if possible.

Audio

• [ ] In the Audio Mixer, the microphone, game and music levels are where you want them. The meters sit in the green-yellow zone when you speak.
• [ ] If you use platform-specific audio, the Platform Audio Setting levels on the card's Audio tab are set.
• [ ] If you'll play copyrighted music on Twitch, Audio excluded from VOD is set on the Video/VOD tab.

First stream to YouTube

• [ ] Live streaming is enabled on your channel. When you enable this for the first time, YouTube may make you wait up to 24 hours. If it isn't enabled, Forge says "The channel is not enabled for live streaming (enable it in YouTube Studio)".

Starting the stream

1. Turn on the cards' switches.
2. Press Go Live on the bottom status bar. Instead, you can also use the Start / stop streaming or Start streaming shortcut you assigned in Settings > Shortcuts. Shortcuts also work while you're in a game.
3. Questions appear if needed:
   • "Is this stream made for kids?": if no declaration has been chosen on the YouTube card. Once you answer, the stream continues.
   • "Sign in to your Twitch account" / "Sign in to your Kick account": if that card is on but its account isn't linked. The Sign in button lets you choose an account in the browser. Once the sign-ins are complete, the window closes; start the stream again.
4. The counter in the middle of the status bar first reads Connecting…. The cards' pills become CONNECTING.
5. When a card connects to its platform, its pill becomes LIVE and the card's timer starts running next to it. The counter in the middle starts from zero the moment the first connection is made. It counts from the moment the first data reaches the server, not from when you pressed the button.

On YouTube there's one more step. On YouTube, connecting to the server doesn't mean being live. When the stream starts, Forge opens a new broadcast entry on YouTube: the title, privacy, made-for-kids declaration, ad setting and thumbnail are written to this entry. Once the picture starts arriving, Forge tells YouTube to put the broadcast live and polls for the result. It checks every 3 seconds in the first minute, then every 10 seconds. During this time the YouTube card reads CONNECTING. When YouTube puts the broadcast live, the pill becomes LIVE. This usually takes from a few seconds to half a minute. If it can't be put live within 5 minutes, the card becomes ERROR and shows "YouTube broadcast did not go live within 5 minutes".

On Twitch and Kick, the title and category are written to the channel when the stream starts. If they can't be written, the notification "Stream info could not be written: …" or "Category not found: …" appears. The stream isn't affected and carries on.

Why is Go Live inactive?

The button waits for at least one card that is on, unlocked and whose canvas is visible. Hovering over it shows the reason:

• "Stream card is off": No card's switch is on.
• "The canvas of the enabled cards is hidden": The cards that are on are vertical and the vertical canvas is hidden (or the other way round). Make the canvas visible.

Warnings when the stream didn't start

Multiple platforms

Pressing Go Live while several cards' switches are on starts them all together. Each card:

• Is encoded with its own settings. AV1 1440p to YouTube and H.264 1080p to Twitch can go out at the same time.
• Makes its own connection. One dropping doesn't stop the others.
• Can carry its own audio (Platform Audio Setting on the Audio tab).

How many platforms you can stream to at once depends on two things:

1. Upload speed: A separate stream goes to each platform. The total shouldn't exceed 80% of your upload speed.
2. The graphics card's encoder: Each card with different settings opens a separate encoding session on the graphics card. Cards with exactly the same settings share one session (see 7.7). If the encoder can't keep up, the Skipped (encoder) counter rises.

Example setup (20 Mbps upload, RTX 40 series):

If you also want to add Kick, set the Kick card exactly the same as the Twitch card (same resolution, H.264, same bitrate and other rows). The graphics card does a single encode for both, but the upload still grows, because a separate stream goes to each platform. In this example, adding Kick at 1080p60, 6000 kbps raises the total to ≈ 21.5 Mbps and exceeds the 16 Mbps limit. At 20 Mbps, three platforms fit like this:

6000 kbps is the minimum YouTube gives for 1440p60 AV1. To run all three cards at 1080p60 with the bitrates from the first table above, you'd need about 27 Mbps of upload.

On the free plan

On the free plan you stream to one account at a time. When you want to turn on another card, the question "Turn on the {} card?" offers to turn off the one that's on and turn on the new one. Streaming to several platforms at once comes with Premium.

Streaming horizontal and vertical together

Forge has two independent canvases: horizontal (16:9) and vertical (9:16). The vertical canvas has its own scenes and sources. Ways to stream horizontal and vertical at the same time:

YouTube: two separate cards. Add a YouTube Landscape and a YouTube Portrait card and link both to the same channel. Forge uses a separate YouTube stream for each card ("Forge Live Studio" and "Forge Live Studio Vertical"). Two separate live broadcasts open on your channel at the same time: one horizontal, one vertical. Each has its own title, privacy and thumbnail. A second card in the same orientation with the same account, however, can't be turned on: the notification "This YouTube account is already on in the horizontal stream. A second card can't go live in the same direction with the same account." appears and the newly turned-on card switches off (see 7.1).

Twitch: one connection with Enhanced Broadcasting. On the Twitch card's Video/VOD tab, turn on Enhanced Broadcasting (Twitch) and Also send the vertical canvas. The vertical canvas goes to Twitch over the same connection as a second format. Vertical resolution: 1080 × 1920 or 720 × 1280. If Twitch doesn't provide the vertical track, the stream carries on horizontal only and the notification "Enhanced Broadcasting did not provide the vertical track - only horizontal is going out" appears.

Kick: no vertical card. Kick only takes horizontal streams.

Another service: Custom RTMP Portrait. You can send to another server that accepts vertical streams with a Custom RTMP Portrait card.

Things to watch

• While streaming, you can't hide a canvas that's on air. The canvas's "hide" button says "Cannot hide while live".
• Two canvases together mean more graphics card work: two separate compositions, two separate encodes. The vertical card's bitrate adds to the upload total.
• With the horizontal canvas hidden, you can also stream with vertical cards only.

Indicators during the stream

Status bar (bottom strip)

On the left are the machine and stream health, in the middle the stream counter, and on the right the recording and streaming buttons.