Frequently Asked Questions

There are a number of questions that are so frequent that they've received their own commands on Discord, so this page is to lessen the use of those commands in the hope that someone will actually read this.

How can I tell what platforms are supported?

As StreamFX supports multiple platforms natively, we've added the following symbols to the descriptions:

• denotes availability on Windows.
• denotes availability on Linux.
• denotes availability on MacOS.

What release type / update channel should I prefer?

Type	Description
🔴Alpha	Alphas are as unstable as things can get, and should be avoided at all cost in Production or Live enviroments. They contain the latest changes of any kind, and may include an unusual amount of problems. Bugs, Crashes, Freezes, Corruptions, etc should all be fully expected when using these.
🟠Beta	Betas are more stable than Alphas, but may contain the same amount of bugs and crashes. They should be avoided in Production or Live enviroments.
🟡Candidate	Release Candidates are potential Stable releases which still need some testing, but may be used in Production or Live environments. Some bugs and crashes should be expected.
🟢Stable	Stable builds have passed all important tests and should be ready for Production or Live environments.

What does 🔴, 🟠 and 🟢 mean on a Feature?

Type	Description
🔴Experimental	Experimental features are experiments that may or may not end up as permanent functionality of StreamFX. These should be avoided for Production or Live enviorments, as they may behave unexpectedly and cause unforeseen consequences. These features may also be removed at any point, or have their entire functionality changed without notice.
🟠Unstable	Features marked Unstable have passed the Experimental stage and will stay in StreamFX. These may be used in Production or Live enviroments with caution, as their functionality may change in the future. They may also still behave unexpectedly and cause unforeseen consequences.
🟢Stable	Stable features are ready for Production or Live environments. These have been well tested and usually behave exactly as advertised, and usually do not change drastically.

What OBS software is supported by StreamFX?

As StreamFX depends on libOBS and Qt, we require a proper OBS Studio fork that provides the necessary interfaces:

Software	Supported?	Reason
OBS Studio	✅	The original OBS Studio is supported as long as you meet the System Requirements.
StreamElements.live	❔	Partially supported, as it is a simple fork of OBS Studio. Ensure that your version meets the System Requirements and that you picked the correct installation location.
Streamlabs OBS	❌	Not an OBS Studio fork, it merely uses libOBS for its functionality. As neither Qt nor a proper obs-frontend-api is present, StreamFX does not support it.
XSplit	❌	Why did you even ask?

How can I tell that StreamFX has been successfully installed?

If you're using a version newer than 0.8, you will see a StreamFX menu in the top menu bar. You should see the encoders, filters, sources and transitions in your OBS client if it is present, unless you did something seriously wrong. If you don't see either, you should return to the Installation Guide and read it.

What versioning scheme is used by StreamFX?

The project closely follows the intended meaning of Semantic Versioning, though we have yet to commit to a 1.0.0 release. StreamFX is still lacking many planned and crucial features for a full release, and as such is still "in Development". Current releases are Production-ready, except for the ones marked as Pre-release/Testing.

What is the release process for StreamFX?

This isn't exactly set in stone, but usually we attempt to keep the same structure which roughly matches the Roadmap. It is also extremely difficult to put into readable words, as a lot more decisions go into what does and doesn't go into a release. While some rules are set in stone, others move faster than we can update the Wiki.

The short version is that we try to release new Testing releases as soon as possible after fixing bugs or introducing new features, while also backporting fixes to Long-Term-Support releases if there are any. There are two stages of Testing, Alpha and Beta, after which a release will be deemed ready for Production.

Will StreamFX adopt Long-Term-Support releases in the future?

Yes. While the exact details are not decided yet, Long-Term-Support will likely only be for 6 months after a new major release is out, due to lack of manpower actually working on the project. Long-Term-Support will only include bug fixes if they can be back-ported.

Why is 32-bit no longer supported?

Just like 16-bit back when 32-bit took over, 32-bit has been vastly outclassed by 64-bit in functionality, speed, extensions, support, and practically every aspect you can think of for more than 10 years. It has inherent limits which simply are no longer sane to support, and just cause everything to run more than 3 times slower than any 64-bit code would. StreamFX therefore no longer officially supports 32-bit, as many of the issue reports simply boiled down to people not understanding the limits of 32-bit.

The project is not alone in this decision, with many other software and hardware creators also opting to drop 32-bit in favor of 64-bit. While some have opted for a slow transition phase, others have dropped it instantly like StreamFX has done. If you are still using 32-bit-only hardware/software, you should consider upgrading or paying someone for a 32-bit libOBS plugin bridge.

What do the suffixes mean in Testing versions?

• a# stands for Alpha #
• b# stands for Beta #
• c# stands for Release Candidate #