# Show alerts on stream

Put follow, sub, cheer, raid and other alerts on your overlays, choose what plays each one, test it, play media and control the alert queue live.

Updated 23 September 2026

## Before you start

You need an overlay in OBS: [Add a widget to OBS](https://bloopbot.com/docs/widgets-in-obs) takes you from **New overlay** to a Browser Source, and everything below happens in that overlay’s editor. Alerts come with every channel, and so do the **Show alert**, **Play media** and **Alert queue** steps that drive them. So does a media library for their pictures and sounds: every channel can upload 25 MB, paid plans hold more, and the **Media storage** line under Limits in [What your plan includes](https://bloopbot.com/docs/what-your-plan-includes) shows yours.

- An **alert layer** is where one alert draws on an overlay. It shows one **alert design**: the look, text, picture and sound of that alert.
- A design belongs to your channel, not to one overlay, so you can place it on as many overlays as you like and change it from any of them.
- Every alert, and every file a flow plays, waits its turn in one **alert queue** and plays one at a time, so nothing overlaps or talks over anything else.
- A real alert needs its Twitch event — a follow, a raid. Every test in this guide works without going live, and says whether viewers will see it.

## 1. Add an alert to an overlay

1. Open **Widgets** and click the overlay that should show the alert.
2. Choose **Add** on the left of the editor. The **Alerts** group has one card per alert type: **Follow alert**, **Sub alert**, **Resub alert**, **Gift sub alert**, **Cheer alert**, **Raid alert**, **Redemption alert** and **Custom alert**. A card already placed on this overlay is marked **On this overlay**.
3. Drag a card onto the canvas to drop it where you let go, or click it to add it in the middle.
4. Read the message at the bottom of the editor. The first time you add a type, Bloopbot makes its design and a flow that plays it: “Added the raid alert — its flow Alert: raid is created when you publish.”
5. Press **Publish**. The editor says **Published — OBS updates now. Created flow Alert: raid.** The new flow is switched on, and your overlay in OBS has the layer.

![The overlay editor’s Add tab: the Layers, Add and Media tabs, a Search layers box, then the Alerts group, one card per alert type, each with a drawn preview and a line about it — Follow alert and Raid alert marked On this overlay, then Sub, Resub, Gift sub, Cheer, Redemption and Custom alert.](https://bloopbot.com/docs/screenshots/alerts-add-gallery.jpg)

_Add → Alerts: one card per alert type. Follow and Raid are already on this overlay._

Adding a type your channel already has a design for makes nothing new: it places that design, and the message says “Placed your existing raid alert — same design as your other overlays.” **Custom alert** makes a new design named `custom-1` (then `custom-2`, and so on) with no flow, for a flow of your own to play with **Show alert**. **Redemption alert** asks which reward plays it: pick it under **Plays on** (step 4).

The same design can sit on several overlays at once — raids big in the middle of your gameplay scene and small in a corner of your chatting scene. The layers share the design; only their place and size on each canvas differ.

## 2. Change how the alert looks

Click the alert on the canvas, or its row under **Layers**. The panel on the right edits the design the layer shows, named in its header: **Alert · shows the raid design**. When the design is placed on another overlay too, the panel says so — **Also on Gameplay — edits here change it there too.**

![The settings panel for a selected Raid alert: “Alert · shows the raid design” with the design name as a menu; a Preview of the card reading “friendlyviewer is raiding, with 42 viewers”; the Test as a raid and Test on stream… buttons with the line “Test plays here in the editor only. Nothing reaches OBS until you publish.”; “Also on Gameplay — edits here change it there too.”; and Plays on reading “Plays on Raid · 1 flow” with the flow Alert: raid, its Open flow link and a Choose what plays it… button.](https://bloopbot.com/docs/screenshots/alerts-layer-panel.jpg)

_A Raid alert selected: the design it shows, its preview and tests, where else it is placed, and what plays it._

- **Preview** shows the design at card size with sample words, above its two tests (step 5).
- **Text**: **Title** and an optional **Subtitle**, which can use `$(name)`, `$(amount)`, `$(months)`, `$(tier)`, `$(message)` and `$(viewers)` — **Insert…** adds one — and **Show the viewer’s message**.
- **Image & sound**: **Image** (step 3), **Video**, **Sound** and **Volume**, each picked from your media library.
- **Motion**: how long it stays **On screen**, and how it animates in and out.
- **Alert queue settings**, at the bottom: **Gap between** alerts and the **Queue limit**. They are shared by every alert and media layer on your channel.

The design name in the header is a menu. **Show a design** switches this layer to another of your designs; **New design** copies the one shown under a new name, for this layer only; **Rename design…** and **Delete design…** are covered in step 4. A design name is lowercase letters, numbers, `-` or `_`.

Your changes save to your draft as you make them. OBS keeps showing the published design until you press **Publish** — see [Arrange your overlay](https://bloopbot.com/docs/arrange-your-overlay), step 5.

## 3. Show the viewer’s avatar

Under **Image & sound**, **Image** offers **Their avatar**, **From library** or **None**. **Their avatar** shows the Twitch profile picture of whoever the alert is about: the follower, subscriber, cheerer or redeemer; the raiding channel for a raid; and the gifter for gifted subs.

![The Image & sound section of a gift sub design: Image set to Their avatar (beside From library and None), Shape set to Circle, Fallback set to avatar-fallback.png with its picture below, Whose avatar set to Gifter beside Recipient, and the line “The Twitch profile picture of whoever the alert is about… Falls back to avatar-fallback.png when there is none, such as an anonymous gift.”](https://bloopbot.com/docs/screenshots/alerts-design-avatar.jpg)

_A gift sub design showing their avatar: circle-shaped, with a fallback picture and the Gifter / Recipient switch._

1. Choose **Their avatar**.
2. Pick a **Shape**: **Circle** or **Rounded square**.
3. Pick a **Fallback** from your media library for when there is no avatar to show, or leave it on **None** for no picture.
4. On a design that plays on **Gifted subs**, **Whose avatar** appears: **Gifter** or **Recipient**. For a gift of several subs at once, Recipient shows the first person who got one.
5. Publish.

A flow’s **Show alert** step has an **Avatar of** field. Leave it blank for whoever triggered the flow, or give a Twitch name, with or without `@` — a shoutout command sets it to `$(1)` so the card shows the channel being shouted out.

- The fallback shows straight away, with no wait, for an anonymous gift, a name Twitch does not know, a picture that will not load, or when Twitch takes longer than half a second to answer. An alert never waits for a picture.
- Someone who has just changed their picture may appear with the old one for up to an hour.
- A design with a **Video** plays the video instead of the picture.
- Tests from the alert panel show your own Twitch picture. Alerts sent by a script with a write key show the fallback.

## 4. Choose what plays it

**Plays on** says which flows play the design, for example **Plays on Raid · 1 flow**, with a row per flow naming its trigger and an **Open flow** link. A flow with checks before its **Show alert** step is marked **(with conditions)**, because not every event gets through. **maybe played by 2 flows** counts flows that choose their design from a variable, so whether they play this one depends on the event. A design no flow plays reads **No flow plays this yet**.

1. Press **Choose what plays it…**.
2. Tick each event that should play this design: **Follow**, **Sub**, **Resub**, **Gifted subs**, **Cheer**, **Raid** or **Channel points redemption**. For a cheer, type a number in **Minimum bits** before you tick it, or leave it empty for any cheer; a raid has **Minimum raiders**; a redemption needs its reward chosen first.
3. Each tick adds an ordinary flow named after the design — **Alert: raid**, or **Alert: custom-1 on cheer** for a design named after something else — and its row reads **created when you publish**. Untick it to take it back. Unticking a flow that is already live turns it off when you publish.
4. To have only your own flows play the design — a command, a timer, a webhook — leave every event unticked. That is **Only when a flow plays it**.
5. Press **Done**, then **Publish**.

![The Choose what plays it… popover for a design named custom-1: “Tick an event to make it play custom-1…”, then unticked boxes for Follow, Sub, Resub, Gifted subs, Cheer with 500 typed as its minimum, Raid with a Minimum raiders box, and Channel points redemption with a box for the reward’s name; yellow warnings that Follow, Gifted subs and Raid already play other designs; the Only when a flow plays it line; and Done.](https://bloopbot.com/docs/screenshots/alerts-plays-on-picker.jpg)

_Choose what plays it: every event unticked on a custom design, 500 typed as the cheer minimum, and warnings where another design already plays that event._

A yellow line such as “Raid also plays raid — ticking this shows both” means another design already plays on that event. Tick it anyway and both alerts play, one after the other.

The picker only ticks flows that do nothing but show this alert. Anything else — a chat command, extra checks, a thank-you in chat — is a row with **Open flow**, and you change it on the Flows page like any flow. Starting from Flows instead? The **Alerts** pack in the [flow marketplace](https://bloopbot.com/docs/templates-and-packs) installs the same kind of flows, plus **Show an alert from chat**: a moderator’s `!alert raid Ada` plays the `raid` design for Ada without a chat reply.

**Renaming** a design (**Rename design…** in the header’s menu) renames it on every overlay that shows it, and the flows that play it by name follow when you publish — their rows read **renamed to this design when you publish**. **Deleting** one (**Delete design…**) that flows still play lists them and offers **Turn them off** or **Move them to the Trash**, so no flow is left playing a design that is gone. It all happens when you publish, and a layer that showed the design then draws nothing until you pick another.

## 5. Test it

There are two tests in the alert panel, and they reach different places:

| Test | Where it plays | What it plays |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Test as a raid** (or **Test** on the layer’s toolbar) | The editor’s canvas only. Nothing reaches OBS. | The design in your draft, with sample words |
| **Test on stream…** | Your live overlay in OBS — viewers see it. It asks first: **Play it on stream**. | The published design, with a sample viewer called Ada. It joins your real alert queue, waits its turn and shows on the Live page as **Test · raid**. It never posts to Twitch chat. |
| **Simulate** in the top bar → **Test events** | The canvas, and OBS as well if you tick **Also play on the live overlay in OBS** | A test for every alert type on this overlay |
| **Test fire** in the flow editor | Nowhere: it is a dry run | The flow on a made-up event. Its Run log shows whether the checks passed and says it “would play” the alert. |

**Test on stream…** answers in a sentence under the button: **Playing now on your overlay.**, **Queued — number 2 in line.**, or one of the notes under [If something looks wrong](https://bloopbot.com/docs/alerts#troubleshoot). It plays the design itself, whether or not a flow plays it, so the conditions in a flow are not checked by it — use the flow’s **Test fire** for those. [Test alerts and check OBS delivery](https://bloopbot.com/docs/alerts-in-obs) covers checking the Browser Source itself.

## 6. Play images, videos and sounds

A **Media** layer is where a flow’s **Play media** step shows an image or a video, and plays a sound. Media waits its turn in the same queue as your alerts, so a sound never plays over an alert.

1. Add a **Media** layer from **Add** and put it where the pictures should appear. Its **Fit** is **Fit inside the box** or **Fill the box**.
2. Open the **Media** tab on the left of the editor — or **Media library** on the Widgets page — and drop your files in: PNG, JPEG, GIF or WebP pictures, and MP3, OGG, WAV or WebM sounds and clips, up to 5 MB each. Every channel can upload 25 MB; paid plans hold more, and the **Media storage** line under Limits in [What your plan includes](https://bloopbot.com/docs/what-your-plan-includes#limits) shows how much yours holds.
3. In a flow, add **Play media** and choose its **File**, **Seconds on screen** (1 to 60; a video or a sound stops when the time is up) and **Volume**.
4. Publish the overlay, and switch the flow on.

![The overlay editor’s Media tab: a drop zone reading “Drop files here, or choose” and “Up to 5 MB per file”, then three files — avatar-fallback.png marked No flow plays this, confetti.png marked Played by Confetti on big cheers, and airhorn.wav marked Played by Airhorn — each with its size, a play button and a more menu.](https://bloopbot.com/docs/screenshots/alerts-media-library.jpg)

_The Media tab: each file shows which flows play it. ▶ plays it in the editor only._

Each file in the list says what plays it — **Played by Airhorn**, or **No flow plays this** — so you can see what a file is for before you delete it. For example, a chat command `!airhorn` with one **Play media** step playing `airhorn.wav` for 3 seconds plays the sound on every open overlay that has a Media layer, in its turn after any alert already playing. Media reaches only overlays with a Media layer.

## 7. Control the queue while you are live

The **Live** page has an **Alerts** card. It says what the queue is doing — **Idle**, **Playing** (with what is on screen, who or what sent it and the seconds left), **Paused**, or **Waiting for an overlay with alerts in OBS** — and lists **Up next**.

![The Alerts card on the Live page: Playing, “raid · Ada · Test · raid · 6s left”, then Up next listing “follow · Ada · Test · follow” and “raid · Ada · Test · raid”, and the Skip, Pause, Replay and Clear buttons.](https://bloopbot.com/docs/screenshots/alerts-live-card.jpg)

_The Live page’s Alerts card: a raid playing with 6 seconds left and two more tests up next._

- **Skip** ends what is on screen, and the next one starts.
- **Pause** holds the queue: new alerts wait until you press **Resume**.
- **Replay** plays the last one again.
- **Clear** throws away everything waiting; what is on screen finishes.

A flow can do the same with the **Alert queue** step. Its **Do** field is **Skip what’s on screen**, **Pause the queue**, **Resume the queue**, **Replay the last one** or **Clear the queue** — for example a `!skipalert` command for your moderators, behind a **Who can trigger** check. An alert that has waited ten minutes without playing is dropped rather than shown late.

## If your alerts are in more than one scene

Every open copy of an overlay plays each alert, sound and all, and so does every other overlay that shows the same design. OBS keeps a Browser Source running while its scene is hidden, so two scenes that both hold alert layers play every alert twice — you hear the sound twice even though you see it once.

1. In OBS, open the properties of each Browser Source that holds an alert or Media layer.
2. Tick **Shutdown source when not visible**.
3. Press OK. The source now closes when you switch away from its scene and reopens when you switch back, so only the scene on screen plays.

An alert that arrives while no open overlay shows its design waits in the queue and plays as soon as one does.

## A worked example: raids big, follows small

Your gameplay scene should show a raid across the middle of the screen and a follow tucked into the top-right corner, and your chatting scene should show the same raid alert.

1. Open your **Gameplay** overlay, choose **Add** and click **Raid alert**. It lands in the middle of the canvas. Drag the handle on its right edge until it spans about half the canvas.
2. Choose **Add** again — adding an alert switches the left panel to **Layers** — and click **Follow alert**, then drag it into the top-right corner of the canvas. The line at the bottom of the settings panel shows where it is, for example `x 566 y -361 w 640`.
3. Press **Publish**: “Published — OBS updates now. Created flow Alert: raid. Created flow Alert: follow.”
4. Open your **Just chatting** overlay and add **Raid alert** there too: “Placed your existing raid alert — same design as your other overlays.” Its panel now reads **Also on Gameplay**. Publish.
5. With the Gameplay scene visible in OBS, select the raid layer and press **Test on stream…**, then **Play it on stream**. Do the same for the follow.
6. Tick **Shutdown source when not visible** on both Browser Sources.

![The canvas of an overlay with two alert layers playing over a sample game backdrop: a wide raid card reading “Ada is raiding” with “with 42 viewers” across the middle, and a small follow card reading “Ada just followed” in the top-right corner, each drawn inside its own layer.](https://bloopbot.com/docs/screenshots/alerts-two-layers-canvas.jpg)

_Raids big across the middle, follows small in the corner: each alert card draws inside its own layer._

## What you should see

- Under **Plays on**, **Plays on Raid · 1 flow** with the row **Alert: raid** and **Open flow**; on the Flows page, **Alert: raid** and **Alert: follow**, both switched on.
- **Test on stream…** answering **Playing now on your overlay.**, and the card on the overlay in OBS.
- The Live page’s **Alerts** card reading **Playing** with **raid · Ada · Test · raid**, and the follow under **Up next** until the raid has finished.
- One alert at a time, with the queue’s gap between them.
- A real raid on your channel playing the raid design on every overlay that shows it, once — only the scene on screen plays it.

## If something looks wrong

- The layer draws nothing and its panel says **This layer shows the … design, which doesn’t exist any more**: the design was deleted. Pick another from the design menu in the panel’s header, then publish.
- A banner says **Your old Alert box was retired. Its settings weren’t carried over — add alert layers from Add.** Nothing of the old one plays any more, so add a layer for each alert type you want, then publish.
- A flow is marked as needing attention because it used the old Overlay card step: its message says that action was retired and names the **Alerts** pack. Install the Alerts pack from **Flows → + New flow**, or replace the step with **Show alert**.
- Nothing plays on a real event: **Plays on** reads **No flow plays this yet**, or its flow is turned off. Tick the event under **Choose what plays it…** and publish, or turn the flow on from **Open flow**.
- **Test on stream…** says **OBS does not have the raid design yet. Publish, then test again.** The design is only in your draft.
- It says **Queued, but no overlay open in OBS right now shows the raid design**: no open overlay has a layer for that design. Make the scene with it visible in OBS; the alert plays as soon as one is open.
- The Alerts card reads **Paused**: press **Resume**. It reads **Waiting for an overlay with alerts in OBS**: open the scene that holds your alert layers, or press **Resume**.
- A sound plays twice: the overlay is in two scenes, or open twice. Tick **Shutdown source when not visible** on each Browser Source (see [several scenes](https://bloopbot.com/docs/alerts#several-scenes)).
- Two different alerts play for one event: two designs both play on it. Their **Plays on** lines show it; untick one.