Studio Mode Operator Skill

Studio Mode Operator

Expert guidance for OBS Studio Mode, the two-scene preview/program workflow used by broadcast operators to stage changes before putting them on air.

When to Use This Skill

Activate studio-mode-operator when users request help with:

Entering and exiting studio mode
- "Enable studio mode"
- "Turn on preview/program"
- "I want to rehearse transitions"
- "Disable studio mode, I'm done directing"
Preview-side staging
- "What's on preview right now?"
- "Queue up the Gaming scene on preview"
- "Preview the BRB scene without switching"
Transitions between preview and program
- "Cut to preview" (immediate)
- "Fade to preview over 500ms"
- "What transition is active?"
- "Change my default transition to Slide"
Transition rehearsal
- "Show me how the transition will look before I fire it"
- "Practice the segment change"
Troubleshooting studio mode
- "The transition button isn't doing anything"
- "My preview scene reverted"

Prefer streaming-assistant for end-to-end stream sessions that only incidentally touch studio mode; reach for this skill when the user's primary focus is the preview/program discipline itself.

Core Responsibilities

Enforce the two-scene mental model — always name both program (live) and preview (staging) when reporting state.
Never clobber program without asking. In studio mode, a scene switch via set_scene bypasses the preview and goes straight to air, which is almost always the wrong thing. Route through preview + transition instead.
Choose the right transition — hard cut for reactive news-style flow, fade for emotional beats, slide/wipe for segment boundaries.
Reconnect state on ambiguity — studio mode can be toggled from the OBS UI without our tools knowing; always verify with get_studio_mode_enabled at the start of a session.

Available Tools

Studio Mode Control

get_studio_mode_enabled - Check whether studio mode is active
toggle_studio_mode - Enable/disable studio mode

Preview Scene

get_preview_scene - Get the name of the scene currently on preview
set_preview_scene - Put a scene on preview (no-op on program)

Program (Live) Scene

get_current_scene / list_scenes - Inspect program and available scenes
set_current_scene - Puts a scene DIRECTLY on program; avoid in studio mode unless the user explicitly wants to skip the transition

Transitions

list_transitions - Available transition types (Cut, Fade, Slide, etc.)
get_current_transition - Which transition is default
set_current_transition - Change the default transition + duration
trigger_transition - Execute the current transition (preview -> program)

Contextual

get_obs_status - Sanity-check OBS is connected

Core Workflow: Preview → Program

This is the canonical loop studio-mode operators run on every scene change:

1. User indicates what they want live ("Switch to Gaming")

2. Confirm studio mode is on:
   - get_studio_mode_enabled
   - If false, ask: "Studio mode is off — do you want to enable it and
     rehearse, or just cut directly?"

3. Stage on preview:
   - set_preview_scene with the target scene
   - get_preview_scene to confirm
   - Report: "Gaming is queued on preview; program still shows BRB"

4. Confirm the transition type is appropriate:
   - get_current_transition
   - If the user said "fade", set_current_transition to "Fade" first

5. Commit to program:
   - trigger_transition
   - The preview scene becomes the new program; program becomes preview

6. Verify:
   - get_current_scene (now Gaming)
   - get_preview_scene (now BRB — swapped)

Transition Selection Guide

| Situation | Transition | Notes | |---|---|---| | Breaking news / reactive cut | Cut | Zero-duration, most responsive | | Segment boundary, same tone | Fade | 300-500ms feels natural | | Topic change, different tone | Fade + longer (800ms) | Gives viewer a mental beat | | Structured show transitions | Slide / Swipe | Signals segment change strongly | | Intentional "jarring" moment | Stinger | Requires a configured stinger media source |

Always prefer the transition the user specifies by name. If ambiguous ("make it smoother"), increase duration on the current transition before switching to a fancier one.

Example Workflows

Example 1: Simple Scene Change via Preview

User: "Go to Gaming"

1. get_studio_mode_enabled → true
2. list_scenes → confirm "Gaming" exists
3. set_preview_scene("Gaming")
4. Report: "Gaming queued on preview. Trigger transition when ready?"
5. User confirms
6. trigger_transition
7. Report: "On air with Gaming"

Example 2: Enabling Studio Mode Mid-Session

User: "Enable studio mode and stage the BRB scene"

1. get_studio_mode_enabled → false
2. toggle_studio_mode
3. get_studio_mode_enabled → true (verify)
4. At this point preview mirrors program — inform the user
5. set_preview_scene("BRB")
6. Report: "Studio mode on. BRB on preview, Gaming still on program.
   Ready to transition."

Example 3: Rehearsing a Fade

User: "Show me how a 1-second fade to Intermission looks before I commit"

1. get_current_transition → {name: "Cut", duration: 0}
2. set_current_transition("Fade", duration_ms: 1000)
3. set_preview_scene("Intermission")
4. Report: "Fade set to 1s, Intermission on preview. Hit trigger to
   rehearse — the actual program won't change until you do."
5. User says: "OK, now do it"
6. trigger_transition
7. Confirm new program

Example 4: Emergency Direct Cut

User: "Just cut to Emergency scene NOW — something on-camera"

1. Skip preview staging (user signalled urgency)
2. set_current_scene("Emergency")
3. Report: "Emergency scene LIVE. Note: we bypassed preview because
   you said NOW — let me know when you want to go back to the
   preview/program flow."

This is the ONE time set_current_scene is preferable in studio mode. Prompt operators to acknowledge they're intentionally skipping preview.

Common Pitfalls

Program and Preview Appear Identical

Cause: Studio mode was just enabled, or a transition just fired. Preview mirrors program at that moment.
Fix: Normal state. set_preview_scene to diverge them.

`trigger_transition` Does Nothing

Cause: Studio mode is disabled — there's no preview to promote.
Fix: get_studio_mode_enabled. If false, either enable it or use set_current_scene for direct cuts.

Transition Is Instant Despite Setting Duration

Cause: The current transition is Cut, which ignores duration.
Fix: set_current_transition to Fade/Slide/etc., THEN duration applies.

Scene Disappeared from Preview After OBS Restart

Cause: Preview state is not persisted across OBS restarts.
Fix: Re-stage with set_preview_scene after reconnecting.

Best Practices

Name both scenes in every status report. "Program: Gaming, Preview: BRB" is unambiguous; "On Gaming" is not.
Confirm transition type before firing on novel scene changes. The transition set last night may not match today's intent.
Use long fades sparingly on live content. 500ms is the sweet spot — longer makes pacing drag unless it's deliberate.
For scheduled transitions (start-of-stream bumper, etc.), prefer automation rules (see streaming-assistant) over manual trigger_transition calls.

Integration with Other Skills

streaming-assistant - Handles the whole stream lifecycle; defer to it for pre-stream checklists. This skill owns only the preview/program loop once streaming is live.
preset-manager - Scene presets are compatible with studio mode; apply on preview, then trigger_transition to put the preset on air.
scene-designer - Layout changes happen to scenes. When you modify program while studio mode is on, preview and program can diverge in content — re-run the transition to converge them.

OBS Version Notes

get_preview_scene / set_preview_scene require studio mode to be enabled. If studio mode is off, these tools will return an error — treat that as a signal to toggle studio mode first rather than a hard failure.
OBS 30 multi-canvas (Sprint 1.0 / FB-42): studio mode applies to the main canvas only. Additional canvases (vertical output, etc.) don't participate in the preview/program flow; they're driven directly.

Agent Skills: Studio Mode Operator

Install this agent skill to your local

Skill Files