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To show the current playlist filename on a YouTube Live stream, play the playlist through an OBS VLC Video source and place an OBS text source over it. The text source needs a way to update when the playlist changes: try the TUNA plugin’s text-file output, or use a custom OBS script to write the filename to a text file that OBS reads.

Those approaches are not guaranteed to work identically across OBS, VLC, plugin versions, media formats, and operating systems. Test the overlay with your actual playlist before relying on it live.

What you need

  • OBS Studio and VLC installed. OBS’s Media Sources guide says the VLC Video source supports media playlists and requires VLC; for 64-bit OBS, install 64-bit VLC.
  • A playlist added to an OBS VLC Video source.
  • An OBS text source layered above the video.
  • A method to update a text file with the current item’s filename. TUNA is one community-reported option; a custom script is another.

Set up the playlist and overlay in OBS

  1. Install VLC with the matching architecture. If you use 64-bit OBS, use 64-bit VLC, as directed by the OBS media-source documentation.
  2. Add the playlist. In your scene, add a VLC Video source and configure its playlist. Confirm that the playlist plays and advances through items before building the overlay.
  3. Add a text source. Add an OBS text source, position it over the video, and enable its option to read text from a file. Select the text file that your plugin or script will update. The exact text-source label can vary by operating system and source type.
  4. Connect the filename updater. Configure TUNA, if it works with your setup, to write information about the playing item to the selected text file. Alternatively, make or adapt an OBS script that detects an item change, gets its path, extracts the filename, and writes it to that file.
  5. Check playlist transitions and the final stream. Verify that the displayed name changes for each item, is readable against the video, and appears in the YouTube Live output—not only in the OBS preview.

Choose the right value to display

“Title” and “filename” are not interchangeable. VLC treats an item’s path, optional playlist name, and title metadata as separate fields. A video file can have embedded title metadata that does not match its filename. OBS’s current VLC-source implementation and VideoLAN’s VLC Lua API documentation reflect these distinctions.

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If you need the actual filename, derive it from the item path by taking the final path component. Test with a file whose embedded title intentionally differs from its filename; that reveals whether your overlay is showing the field you intended.

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Local file paths and remote URLs need different handling. A local path’s final component is usually the filename, but URL-encoded characters and query strings can complicate remote paths. Decide how those should appear and test them rather than assuming a title field will resolve them.

Two ways to update the text file

Approach How it works What to validate
TUNA plugin A community forum answer reports that TUNA can write information about the playing file to a text file, which an OBS text source can display. Forum reports are anecdotal and mixed, including a report that it did not work for a video case. Check compatibility with your OBS, plugin, media format, and operating system.
Custom OBS script OBS supports Lua and Python scripting. A script could observe playlist changes, obtain the item path, extract the filename, and update the text file. The official OBS Scripting Guide documents scripting support, not a ready-made filename-overlay recipe. Event handling, APIs, and cross-platform behavior require version-specific validation.

The sources do not establish controlled reliability or setup-time comparisons between these options. Choose based on whether you need the actual filename or embedded title, compatibility with your installed versions, maintenance effort, and whether your playlist uses local files or remote URLs.

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Test before going live

  • Use several playlist items with visibly different filenames, including one whose embedded title differs from its filename.
  • Check that the text changes when the VLC playlist advances and does not remain stuck on the previous item.
  • Test punctuation, spaces, and any non-ASCII characters used in your filenames.
  • Check local paths and remote URLs separately if you use both.
  • Restart OBS and confirm that the text source still reads the intended file and updates correctly.
  • Run a YouTube Live test or private rehearsal and inspect the stream output for legibility, timing, and correct item changes.

Troubleshooting

The overlay is blank

Confirm that the text source points to the same text file the plugin or script updates, that the file contains readable text, and that the source is visible and layered above the video. Also verify that the VLC playlist is playing.

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The displayed text is a title, not the filename

Your updater may be reading title metadata or a playlist name instead of the media path. Extract the final component of the path and test with a file whose embedded title is deliberately different.

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The text does not change between videos

Check whether the updater detects playlist-item changes and rewrites the file at each transition. Community reports do not establish universal TUNA compatibility, so test the installed plugin and OBS versions with your exact video files; if it fails, consider a custom script after validating the relevant OBS scripting APIs.

A URL appears instead of a clean filename

For remote media, the item path may be a URL rather than a local filename. Define how to handle URL encoding, query strings, and remote paths in the updater, then test representative URLs.

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YouTube Live and rights checks

Showing a filename does not establish that you have permission to stream the video or that it complies with YouTube’s rules. Confirm that you control the content or have the necessary rights, and review YouTube’s current copyright and reused-content policies for your channel and use case.

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Or let it run in the cloud

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