OBS countdown timer for Twitch and YouTube streams

Show a “stream starts in…” countdown on your starting-soon scene. count.live works as an OBS browser source, supports a transparent background, and counts down to the exact time your stream begins.

Set it up in OBS Studio

  1. Create your countdown: set the date and time your stream starts, a title such as “Stream starts in”, and an end message such as “We’re live!”.
  2. Copy the link and add &embed=1 to the end. This hides the page’s buttons so only the countdown shows.
  3. For an overlay, also add &bg=transparent and choose a text color with &fg= (for example &fg=ffffff for white).
  4. In OBS, open your scene, click + under Sources, choose Browser, and paste the link into the URL field.
  5. Set the width and height, for example 1280 × 640, then position and resize the source on your scene.

A finished overlay link looks like this:

https://count.live/?date=2026-12-31T20%3A00%3A00-05%3A00&title=Stream%20starts%20in&end=We're%20live!&units=h,m,s&bg=transparent&fg=ffffff&embed=1

Streamlabs Desktop works the same way: add a Browser Source and paste the link.

Tips for streamers

  • Same time every day? Set the countdown to repeat daily (or weekly) in the builder. It resets itself after each stream, so you never have to edit the link.
  • Show the right units: for a starting-soon screen, hours, minutes and seconds (units=h,m,s) read best.
  • Fonts and colors: pick a font and colors in the builder to match your overlay, then copy the link.
  • Restart cleanly: in the browser source settings, “Refresh browser when scene becomes active” reloads the countdown each time you switch to the scene.
  • Viewers in other time zones: the countdown runs to an exact moment, so your “starts in” time is right for everyone.

Share it with your viewers too

The same countdown link (without bg=transparent) is a nice thing to post in Discord, on X or in your Twitch panels, so viewers can see exactly how long until you go live.

Frequently asked questions

Can the countdown have a transparent background in OBS?

Yes. Add &bg=transparent to the countdown link and pick a text color with &fg=, then use it as a browser source. Only the numbers and text are drawn on top of your scene.

Does it count down to a time or a duration?

To a specific date and time, so it stays correct even if you reload OBS. For a regular schedule, set it to repeat daily or weekly.

Is it free?

Yes. count.live is free, needs no account, and countdowns you share or embed never show ads, so nothing unexpected appears on your stream.