How to add your own alert video to your stream

Most alert tutorials end the same way: pick one of ours, recolour it, done. That is fine until you have already paid someone to make an alert that looks like your channel, and it is sitting in a folder because there was nowhere to put it. This walkthrough is the other half of that transaction — getting your own file onto a key you can press. It is a genuinely different job from picking a preset: the file already carries its motion, its timing and its sound, so the only decisions left are where it sits, how big it is, and how long it stays.

6 steps ~6 minBeginner Updated August 2026

How do you use your own alert video in OBS?

Upload the file to Kloot’s Media tool, set it to Fire, and pin it to a deck key. Pressing the key plays your clip on your existing Kloot overlay source. Transparent WEBM composites over gameplay with no black box. Free covers two items and clips up to 60 seconds.

You set it up here

It lands here — fired by hand

Manual
LIVE👁 1,248
Your file — cut out, not boxed

What you’ll build

Your own alert video on a deck key, firing over your gameplay in one press — transparency intact, on the browser source you already have in OBS.

Step by step

  1. 1

    Add your Kloot overlay to OBS (once)

    Paste your single Kloot overlay URL into one Browser source and size it to your canvas. If Kloot is already in your scene from another tool, skip this — your own clips ride the same source. Media does not add a browser source, and it does not remove the ones your other software needs; it changes what is inside the one you already have.

    Sizing the source to your full canvas matters here more than for most tools — a clip positioned bottom-left is positioned bottom-left of the source, not of your screen.

  2. 2

    Upload your alert

    Open the Media tool, press Add media, and drag your file in. WEBM and MP4 upload directly. A QuickTime .MOV is converted for you into an alpha-preserving WEBM, which takes a minute or two and is a Creator feature. Kloot probes the file in your browser first — length, dimensions, whether it actually carries transparency — so a file that will not work tells you now instead of halfway through the upload.

    If your alert came as a .MOV and you are on Free, re-export it from your editor as WEBM (VP9) and it uploads directly with no conversion needed.

  3. 3

    Set it to Fire

    An alert is a Fire item: it plays once and hides itself, and its deck key is momentary. Fire clips may run up to 30 seconds — past that a clip stops being an effect and becomes a scene, so Kloot disables Fire with an explanation and points you at Hold instead. Press the key again while it is playing and the clip restarts rather than being swallowed.

  4. 4

    Place it and size it

    Pick one of the nine zones and nudge it with a pixel offset, or set it to Full stage to fill the frame. Scale runs from 10% to 200% of the file’s own size. Everything is saved against the 1920×1080 canvas, so it lands in exactly the same spot every stream regardless of what you are playing.

    Alerts read best either full stage or anchored to a lower corner. Centre-stage at 100% covers your crosshair, which you will notice about four seconds into a firefight.

  5. 5

    Check the sound — and the OBS checkbox

    If your alert has an audio track, set the gain your audience hears and press Listen to audition it privately. Listen is separate from that gain on purpose: turning the clip up so you can hear it would change what goes out, which is not what auditioning means. Then tick “Control audio via OBS” on the Kloot browser source, or the clip is perfectly audible to you and silent on stream.

    The OBS checkbox is the single most common thing to miss. Test it once with a recording rather than finding out live.

  6. 6

    Pin it to a key and fire it

    Pin the item to your deck. The key takes the clip’s own artwork and plays it as a thumbnail, so you can tell two alerts from the same pack apart by their motion rather than by a nearly-empty first frame. Press it from your browser deck or your phone. Nothing fires on its own — Kloot has no chat integration and no event listeners, so an alert goes out because you pressed it.

How your own clip runs, live

Upload once, then it is one press. Here is the whole loop — what you do, what the overlay shows, and what your viewers actually see.

  1. You upload· step 1

    Drop the files in — several at once

    Drag a folder of alerts, frames and sounds into the Media tool. Each file is probed in your browser first for length, dimensions and whether it actually carries transparency, so anything that will not work says so before it uploads rather than halfway through.

    You: Drag and drop
    Overlay: Nothing yet — a new item is never live
    Viewers: Sees nothing. This is setup.
  2. We convert, if needed· step 2

    A .MOV gets turned into a WEBM for you

    WEBM and MP4 go straight through. A QuickTime .MOV is converted server-side to alpha-preserving VP9, which takes a minute or two — the item shows as processing and cannot be fired until it is ready, rather than pretending and failing on stream. Conversion is a Creator feature.

    You: Wait, or carry on setting up
    Overlay: Item reads “processing”
    Viewers: Still nothing
  3. You pin it· step 3

    Put it on a deck key

    Pin the item to a key. The key takes the clip’s own artwork rather than a generic glyph, and video keys play their thumbnail — because a stinger’s opening frame is often nearly empty, and two alerts from one designer’s pack routinely share it. You recognise your own clips by motion.

    You: Pin to deck
    Overlay: Still clear
    Viewers: Still nothing
  4. You fire it· step 4

    Press the key, mid-game

    A Fire item plays once and hides itself. A Hold item stays up until you press again, looping if it has anything to loop. Nothing triggers on its own — there is no chat integration and no event listener anywhere in Kloot, so a clip only ever goes out because you pressed something.

    You: One press
    Overlay: Your clip composites over the scene
    Viewers: Sees your artwork, not a preset
  5. It clears· step 5

    Fired clips clean up after themselves

    A Fire item ends on its own. A held frame waits for the same key again. If a clip’s decoder ever dies mid-playback the renderer hides it rather than leaving the last frame frozen on your stream — the switch stays reading ON, which is honest about what actually failed.

    You: Nothing, or press again
    Overlay: Back to a clean scene
    Viewers: Moment over, stream unbroken

When your own file beats a preset

Every other tool draws something Kloot designed. This is the one that draws what you brought:

You already paid a designer

When: A folder of alerts, stingers and frames is sitting on your drive because there was never anywhere to put them.

Why it works: The work is done and the money is spent. Media is the part that was missing — a place to put the files and a key to fire them from.

Your brand is not a stock preset

When: Your channel has a look, and the effects on your deck do not share it.

Why it works: Generic effects read as generic. Firing something a viewer recognises as yours is a different signal entirely, and it costs one upload.

You want your own cam frame

When: You have a PNG frame that fits your layout better than any template.

Why it works: Held media takes your own file at your own position and size, and stays up all stream. No template to compromise with.

You bought a pack and never installed it

When: An overlay pack downloaded, unzipped, and abandoned because wiring it into OBS meant a source per file.

Why it works: Upload the files, pin the ones you use, ignore the rest. The pack becomes a deck page instead of a folder.

The three shapes an uploaded file takes

A clip you fire, a frame you hold, a still you put up. Every preview below sits on the same checkerboard the panel uses, so transparency reads as transparency.

Fire · plays once

A clip you fire

The stinger, the alert, the celebration — one press, then gone.

A sub lands, you press the key, your designer’s animation plays over the game and clears itself. Fire clips may play for up to 30 seconds; past that a clip is a scene rather than an effect, and Kloot points you at Hold instead.

Momentary key — press, it plays
Hold · stays until you press again
Your PNG
your cam, underneath

A frame you hold

The webcam border or overlay plate that stays up all session.

Your own transparent PNG at your own position and size, holding a corner until you toggle it off. Video holds loop rather than freezing on their last frame, so an ambient background actually stays ambient.

Switch — press on, press off
Hold · a still

Your logo

A still you put up

A logo, a rules card, a sponsor plate, a QR you drew yourself.

Images cost nothing to hold and are exempt from the two-video concurrency limit, so a still can sit on screen alongside whatever else you are firing.

Switch — up until you clear it

Where it lands on your stream

A held frame sits behind your widgets and holds its corner; a fired clip takes the front layer for as long as it plays. Both ride the one browser source you already added.

Your stream · OBS output
LIVE
Held
Both on the one browser source you already added
Held frame — behind your widgets Fired clip — in front of everything

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Uploading an MP4 and expecting transparency. MP4 has no alpha channel — the rectangle is the format, not a bug.
  • Forgetting “Control audio via OBS”, then wondering why chat never reacts to the sound.
  • Setting a 40-second clip to Fire. Anything that long wants Hold — Kloot will say so, but it surprises people.
  • Centring a full-size alert over the middle of the screen, then firing it mid-fight.
  • Sizing the OBS browser source smaller than the canvas, so every position lands somewhere unexpected.

Frequently asked

Can Kloot fire my alert automatically on a new follower?

No. Kloot never reads chat and never connects to your platform account, so there are no follow, sub, raid or bits triggers on any plan. Every alert is fired by you pressing a key on your deck or your phone. That is a deliberate design choice, not a missing feature — nothing appears on your stream that you did not put there.

What file format should my alert be?

WEBM with an alpha channel (VP8 or VP9) is the right answer for anything that needs transparency. MP4 uploads fine but has no alpha channel, so it will show as a rectangle. A .MOV is converted to alpha-preserving WEBM for you on Creator and Pro.

How long can my alert be?

A Fire item may play for up to 30 seconds on any plan. The plan ceiling on the file itself is 60 seconds on Free and 5 minutes on Creator and Pro, so a longer clip can still be uploaded and held on rather than fired.

Does this need another browser source in OBS?

No. Your clips run through the same single Kloot overlay URL as every other tool. It is worth being precise about this: Media does not reduce your source count either — it changes what plays inside the source you already added.

Can I do this on the free plan?

Yes. Free holds two media items with clips up to 60 seconds and 25 MB per file, which is enough for one alert and one held frame. Creator ($15/mo) raises it to 50 items and 5-minute clips and removes the watermark.

Why is my transparent video showing a grey box?

Almost always the export. Alpha survives only in specific formats, and the failure is silent — you get a grey or black rectangle rather than an error. The transparent WEBM walkthrough covers exactly why, and how to fix an export that looks fine but is not.

You already paid for it.
Put it on a key.

Upload the alert your designer made, pin it to your deck, and fire it without leaving your game. Two items and 60-second clips are free — no card, no bot, no extra browser source.

Start free

Free plan · Creator $15/mo · Pro $25/mo · Event Pass $9 for 3 days