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To find OBS logs after a YouTube stream stops, open OBS and choose Help > Log Files > Upload Last Log File if OBS has closed, or Upload Current Log File if it is still open. If you cannot use OBS, retrieve the session log from your operating system’s OBS logs folder. Crash reports are separate files in the crashes folder, so check both locations and match their timestamps to the affected session.

First, distinguish a stopped stream from an OBS crash

A YouTube broadcast ending does not by itself prove that OBS crashed. OBS logs record what happened during an OBS session; they do not, on their own, establish why YouTube ended a broadcast. If the OBS files do not explain the stop, investigate the broadcast’s platform-side information separately.

There are two different diagnostic artifacts to look for: a regular session log and, if OBS crashed, a crash report. The regular log may be available even when no crash report exists. A missing crash report is not proof that the broadcast ended normally.

Upload the log from the affected OBS session

  1. If OBS is still open: select Help > Log Files > Upload Current Log File. This uploads the log for the active OBS run.
  2. If OBS has closed: reopen OBS and select Help > Log Files > Upload Last Log File, provided the last log still belongs to the session when the stream stopped.
  3. Check the result: OBS provides an uploaded-log URL. Keep that URL with the incident details when asking for help.

For a past incident, do not substitute a newly generated log from a later test. OBS support guidance recommends reproducing an issue in the session whose current log is uploaded; that approach is useful for a future reproduction, but it does not make a later run’s log evidence about the earlier stop. OBS forum log-sharing instructions.

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Find the files directly if OBS is unavailable

Open the relevant folder for your operating system and look for files with timestamps matching the affected run. Check the regular logs and crash reports separately.

Operating system Regular session logs Crash reports
Windows %APPDATA%obs-studiologs %APPDATA%obs-studiocrashes
Linux ~/.config/obs-studio/logs ~/.config/obs-studio/crashes
macOS ~/Library/Application Support/obs-studio/logs ~/Library/Application Support/obs-studio/crashes

On Windows, enter %APPDATA%obs-studiologs or %APPDATA%obs-studiocrashes in File Explorer’s address bar. On Linux and macOS, open the corresponding path in your file manager or terminal. These are the documented locations in OBS support guidance; custom or portable installations may use a different data location. Windows log-folder guidance and OBS community crash-report guidance.

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Match and preserve the relevant artifacts

  1. Write down the approximate time the stream ended and whether OBS showed or logged an apparent crash.
  2. In the logs folder, identify the regular session log whose timestamp corresponds to the run in question.
  3. In the crashes folder, look for a separate report created around that time. A report may not be present if OBS did not crash.
  4. Keep the matching log and report as separate files. Label each by artifact type and session time; do not treat a crash report as the regular log or vice versa.
  5. When requesting support, provide the uploaded log URL if available, the separate crash report if one exists, your OBS version, operating system, and approximate time of the stop.

Preserve matching files promptly. OBS sources do not specify how long logs are retained or guarantee that older files remain available after later sessions.

If OBS will not start

Retrieve existing files from the local folders first, if they are available. If you need to launch OBS diagnostically, its launch-parameter guide documents --verbose for more verbose logs and --safe-mode to start while disabling third-party plugins, scripts, and websockets. These options can help investigate a launch problem; they do not establish the cause of the earlier stream stop or recover a missing prior-session log. See the OBS Launch Parameters guide.

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