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--- resource:install_obs_plugin [2025/10/10 20:59] – [Install Steps] admin
+++ resource:install_obs_plugin [2026/03/15 13:26] (current) – [macOS] admin
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 ====== Installing An OBS Plugin ======
+When you download an OBS plugin you will either receive:
-When you download an OBS plugin you will either get an installer which will auto install the plugin or you will download a bunch of files to place into the correct directory/directories. This page tries to set out the steps required for manual installation.
+  * An installer that installs the plugin automatically
+  * A ZIP file containing files that must be copied into the correct OBS folders
-===== Windows Install – Older Plugin Versions Note =====
+This page explains how to manually install an OBS plugin from a ZIP file.
-From ''version 2.0.12'' onwards, the plugin no longer provides a Windows installer. This is because the OBS plugin template code (used by this plugin) was removed by the OBS team.
+===== Windows Plugin File Structure =====
-If you are installing a newer version of the plugin into the ''ProgramData'' folder and have an older version already installed, you will need to manually remove those older files once. After this clean up, future plugin updates will simply overwrite the existing plugin folder in ''C:\ProgramData\obs-studio\plugins''.
+This section describes the folder structure used by plugins on Windows.
-Older versions of the plugin installed files directly into ''C:\Program Files\obs-studio''. You will need to delete these files, as they may interfere with the new installation.
+After extracting the plugin ZIP file you should see a folder named after the plugin.
+For example:
-Delete the following files/folders if they exist:
+<file>
+obs-plugin-countdown
-  * ''obs-plugin-countdown'' folder inside ''C:\Program Files\obs-studio\data\obs-plugins''
+</file>
-  * ''obs-plugin-countdown.dll'' and ''obs-plugin-countdown.pdb'' files inside ''C:\Program Files\obs-studio\obs-plugins\64bit''
+Inside this folder there are usually two subfolders:
-===== Windows - Standard Install =====
+  * ''bin'' – contains the main plugin files (''.dll'', ''.pdb'')
+  * ''data'' – contains supporting files (''.json'', ''.ini'', assets, etc.)
-==== Plugin Files ====
+-----
-You should have a zip file that extracts into a folder that contains the plugin folder inside. This should be named ''obs-plugin-countdown''. It will contain two sub folders:
-  * A ''bin'' folder that will have the ''.dll'' and ''.pdb''files inside (the main plugin files)
+===== Windows – Standard Install =====
-  * A ''data'' folder containing the supporting files (e.g., ''.ini'', ''.json'', ''.data'', or folders with assets)
-Plugins are usually built for either 64-bit or 32-bit OBS. From v28+ OBS is only available in 64-bit on Windows.
+This is the normal installation method for OBS installed using the standard installer.
 ==== Install Steps ====
-OBS plugin files should be located in the following folder:
+=== Step 1 – Extract the Plugin ===
+Extract the plugin ZIP file.
+You should now have a folder named:
 <file>
-C:\ProgramData\obs-studio\plugins
+obs-plugin-countdown
 </file>
->Note: The ''ProgramData'' folder is a hidden folder on Windows. To see hidden files and folders:
+=== Step 2 – Copy the Plugin Folder ===
->  - Open ''File Explorer'' from the taskbar.
->  - Select ''View > Show''.
+Copy the entire plugin folder into:
->  - Select ''Hidden items'' to view hidden files and folders.
-=== Step 1 - Main Plugin Files ===
-Copy the plugin folder, in this case named ''obs-plugin-countdown'' to the following folder location:
 <file>
 C:\ProgramData\obs-studio\plugins
 </file>
-=== Step 2 - Restart ===
+Your final structure should look similar to:
-Restart OBS to detect the new plugin.
-===== Windows - Install Into OBS Folder =====
+<file>
-If you want to install the plugin for portable stand alone installs of OBS you can copy the files/folders into the OBS folder itself following these instructions.
+C:\ProgramData\obs-studio\plugins\obs-plugin-countdown
+</file>
-==== Plugin Files ====
+> Note: The ''ProgramData'' folder is hidden by default.
-You should have a zip file that extracts into a folder that contains the plugin folder inside. This should be named ''obs-plugin-countdown''. It will contain two sub folders:
+>
+> To show hidden folders:
+>  - Open **File Explorer**
+>  - Click **View → Show**
+>  - Enable **Hidden items**
-  * A ''bin'' folder that will have the ''.dll'' and ''.pdb''files inside (the main plugin files)
+=== Step 3 – Restart OBS ===
-  * A ''data'' folder containing the supporting files (e.g., ''.ini'', ''.json'', ''.data'', or folders with assets)
-Plugins are usually built for either 64-bit or 32-bit OBS. From v28+ OBS is only available in 64-bit on Windows.
+Restart OBS.
+The plugin should now be detected automatically.
+-----
+===== Windows – Portable OBS Install =====
+If you are running a portable version of OBS (for example from a USB drive), the plugin files must be copied directly into the OBS folder.
+==== Example Portable Location ====
+For example, OBS may be located at:
-==== Install Steps ====
-Locate the folder where you have the portable version of OBS installed.
-The instructions below use the placeholder ''OBS_Portable'' for the location of OBS.
-For example, if OBS is extracted to:
 <file>
 D:\obs
 </file>
-=== Step 1 - Main Plugin Files ===
+The instructions below refer to this location as ''OBS_Portable''.
-Copy the ''.dll'' and ''.pdb'' files from the plugin ZIP
-(located under ''obs-plugins\64bit'' or ''obs-plugins\32bit'') to:
+==== Install Steps ====
+=== Step 1 – Copy Plugin Binary Files ===
+Locate the plugin binary files inside the extracted plugin folder:
 <file>
-{{OBS_Portable}}\obs-plugins\64bit
+obs-plugin-countdown\bin\64bit
 </file>
-(or ''32bit'' if it’s a 32-bit plugin)
-**Example:**
+Copy the ''.dll'' and ''.pdb'' files into:
 <file>
-D:\obs\obs-plugins\64bit
+{{OBS_Portable}}\obs-plugins\64bit\
 </file>
-=== Step 2 - Data Folder ===
+Example:
-If the plugin includes a ''data'' folder, locate it inside the plugin ZIP:
 <file>
-{{main-plugin-folder}}\data
+D:\obs\obs-plugins\64bit\
 </file>
-Go to the following folder location:
+=== Step 2 – Copy Plugin Data Files ===
+Locate the plugin data folder:
+<file>
+obs-plugin-countdown\data
+</file>
+Go to:
 <file>
 {{OBS_Portable}}\data\obs-plugins
 </file>
-Inside this location create a new folder called the plugin name (same as the unzipped plugin folder name i.e. ''obs-plugin-countdown'')
+Create a new folder with the plugin name:
-**Example:**
 <file>
-D:\obs-studio\data\obs-plugins\<plugin-name>\
+obs-plugin-countdown
 </file>
-Copy the files and folders inside the unzipped ''data'' folder into this new location. There should at least be a folder called ''locale'' inside the ''data'' folder.
+Example final location:
-=== Step 3 - Restart ===
+<file>
-Restart OBS to detect the new plugin.
+D:\obs\data\obs-plugins\obs-plugin-countdown\
+</file>
+Copy the contents of the plugin ''data'' folder into this location.
+=== Step 3 – Restart OBS ===
+Restart OBS to detect the plugin.
-===== Mac OS =====
+-----
-==== Plugin Files ====
+===== macOS =====
-Generally, you should have the following types of files for the plugin:
-  * A ''.plugin'' file (the main plugin)
+Plugins on macOS are packaged differently from Windows plugins.
+Instead of folders such as ''bin'' and ''data'', macOS plugins are usually distributed as a single ''.plugin'' bundle.
 ==== Install Steps ====
-=== Step 1 - Plugin Folder ===
+=== Step 1 – Copy Plugin File ===
-Copy the ''.plugin'' file into the following folder on your Mac:
+You should have a plugin file with the extension:
+<file>
+.plugin
+</file>
+Copy this file into:
 <file>
 ~/Library/Application Support/obs-studio/plugins
 </file>
-**Note: The ''Library'' folder is a hidden folder on MacOS. Use the following command to toggle the view of hidden files and folders. **
+=== Step 2 – Restart OBS ===
-<code>CMD + SHFT + .</code>
+Restart OBS.
+The plugin should now be detected automatically.
-=== Step 2 - Restart OBS ===
+> Note: The ''Library'' folder is hidden on macOS.
-Restart OBS to detect the new plugin.
+>
+> Press the following shortcut in Finder to toggle hidden files:
+>
+<code>
+CMD + SHIFT + .
+</code>
+-----
+===== Troubleshooting – Older Windows Plugin Versions =====
+From ''version 2.0.12'' onwards the plugin no longer provides a Windows installer.
+Older versions installed files directly inside the OBS installation folder.
+If you previously installed an older version you may need to remove those files once.
+Delete the following if they exist:
+  * ''C:\Program Files\obs-studio\data\obs-plugins\obs-plugin-countdown''
+  * ''C:\Program Files\obs-studio\obs-plugins\64bit\obs-plugin-countdown.dll''
+  * ''C:\Program Files\obs-studio\obs-plugins\64bit\obs-plugin-countdown.pdb''
+After this cleanup, future plugin updates will simply overwrite the folder in:
+<file>
+C:\ProgramData\obs-studio\plugins
+</file>

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