OBS Wheel Overlay
A spinning wheel that sits on top of your stream with nothing around it: no page, no buttons, no background. Build it below, paste one link into a Browser source, and spin it with a key, a click or a scene switch.
Right click the source in OBS, choose Interact, then press Space or click the wheel.
Everything after the # in this link stays in your browser and in OBS. Browsers never send that part to a web server, so your list of names is not uploaded anywhere.
What This Overlay Is, and Why It Is Different From Capturing a Tab
The usual way to put a wheel on stream is to capture a browser tab or a whole website. You get the wheel, but you also get the page around it: the editor, the buttons, the background colour and whatever else the site shows. Then you spend ten minutes cropping, keying out colours and hoping nothing moves.
This overlay is a separate page built only for broadcast. It draws the wheel, an optional title and a winner card, and leaves every other pixel fully transparent. Drop it on top of your camera, your game or a starting soon screen and it looks like part of your scene, because there is nothing else to hide.
True transparency
No chroma key and no colour filters. OBS reads the page's transparent background directly, so edges stay clean on any scene.
One link holds everything
Names, title, label, sound and trigger all live in the link. Save it in your notes and the same overlay comes back next week.
Fair draws
The winner is chosen with your browser's secure random generator before the wheel moves, and every name has the same chance.
Set It Up in OBS Studio in Three Minutes
Build the wheel above and copy the link
Type or paste your names, one per line. Pick a title and decide what starts a spin. The preview updates as you type, and Copy link puts the finished overlay link on your clipboard.
Add a Browser source
In OBS Studio, press the + button under Sources and choose Browser. Name it something you will recognise during a live show, such as Giveaway Wheel, and paste the link into the URL field.
Set Width 1080, Height 1080
The overlay is square, so a square source frames it with no empty bands. Scale the source down in your scene to place it. Shrinking keeps the wheel sharp; stretching a small source up is what makes overlays blurry.
Tick Control audio via OBS
The ticks and the win chime then get their own slider in the Audio Mixer. Most streamers sit the wheel around 30 to 40 percent of their mic level so the ticks build tension without covering their voice.
Leave the two refresh boxes unticked
Shutdown source when not visible and Refresh browser when scene becomes active both reload the page. A reload brings back the full list, which undoes the winners you removed. The one exception is described under the Source loads trigger below.
Three Ways to Start a Spin
Pick the one that matches how you run your show. You can change your mind any time by copying a new link.
A tip for the scene trigger: in OBS Settings, Hotkeys, find your Giveaway scene and set a key for Switch to scene. One key press then cuts to the wheel and starts the spin, with no mouse anywhere near your overlay.
Every Setting in the Link
The builder writes these for you. They are listed here for anyone who wants to edit a link by hand, generate one from a bot, or keep several versions for different shows.
| Setting | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
| names | The entries, separated by new lines (%0A) or commas. Up to 500. | names=Maya%0ALeo%0ANoor |
| title | Text above the wheel, up to 80 characters. Leave it out for no title. | title=Sub%20Giveaway |
| label | The small word on the winner card, up to 30 characters. | label=Champion |
| on | What starts a spin: key, scene or load. | on=scene |
| remove | 1 takes each winner off the wheel and shows how many names are left. | remove=1 |
| show | Seconds the winner card stays, 0 to 120. 0 keeps it until the next spin. | show=12 |
| sound | 0 turns the tick and chime off. | sound=0 |
A finished link looks like https://namewheel.org/overlay#names=Maya%0ALeo%0ANoor&title=Raffle&on=scene&remove=1. A comma inside a name splits it in two, so write names without commas.
Running a Giveaway With Several Winners
Turn on Take each winner off the wheel and every winner leaves the wheel when their card closes, or at the very next spin if the card stays up. The corner shows how many names are left, which gives chat something to watch between rounds.
- Collect entries the way you normally do, then paste the final list into the builder and copy a fresh link.
- Update the URL in the Browser source properties. OBS loads the new list straight away.
- Spin for third place first and first place last. The wheel shrinks with each round and the last spin gets the most attention.
- Say each winner's name out loud and write it down. The overlay does not keep a history, on purpose, so nothing about your viewers is stored.
For prizes with real money behind them, viewers sometimes ask for proof. The overlay picks fairly, but it does not keep a record anyone else can check. For those draws, run a certified draw: it locks the entry list first, records the result with a public verification page, and gives you a link to paste in chat. The guide to picking a winner with video proof walks through it.
Make It Look Like Part of Your Scene
Give it room
A wheel needs space to read on a phone screen, where many viewers watch. In a 1920 by 1080 canvas, a wheel about 700 pixels tall reads well even on a small screen.
Use a short title
Two to four words work best: Sub Giveaway, Who Picks the Map, Raffle Round 2. Long titles shrink to fit, and small text disappears in compressed video.
Match your colours with a filter
Right click the source, open Filters and add Color Correction. A small hue shift moves the wheel's violet and teal toward your brand colours without touching anything else in the scene.
Let the winner card breathe
Eight seconds is enough for most streams. If you read out a winner's message or wait for them to answer in chat, set the card to 0 seconds and it stays until the next spin.
When Something Does Not Work
The wheel shows a black square
The link was probably pasted into a Window Capture or a Media source. It has to be a Browser source. Also check that the Custom CSS box still contains the OBS default, which keeps the background transparent.
Space does nothing
The Interact window needs focus. Click once inside it, then press Space. Pressing Space in the main OBS window goes to OBS, not to the page.
No sound
Check that Control audio via OBS is ticked and that the source is not muted in the mixer. Then confirm the link does not contain sound=0.
The scene trigger never spins
It needs OBS Studio's own Browser source, so update OBS if you run an old version. In Studio Mode it fires on Transition, not when you preview the scene.
Removed winners came back
The page reloaded. Untick Refresh browser when scene becomes active and Shutdown source when not visible, unless you use the Source loads trigger on purpose.
The names look tiny
Large lists draw smaller labels. Above about 40 names, consider grouping entries, or run a first round to cut the list to finalists.
OBS Overlay Questions
Is the OBS wheel overlay free?
Does the overlay work with Streamlabs and other streaming apps?
Are my viewers' names uploaded anywhere?
How is the winner picked?
Can I spin the wheel with a Stream Deck?
What size should the Browser source be?
Can I prove a stream giveaway was fair?
How many names can the overlay hold?
Want the full wheel on stream instead?
The streaming guide covers capturing the main NameWheel wheel with all of its themes, sounds and modes, plus a giveaway routine that keeps chat calm.