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To hear when viewers send ordinary chat messages, use the Chat Notifications feature in Streamlabs’ Chat Box widget. Choose a sound and volume, set how long chat must be quiet before a sound can play, and keep the source active on the scenes where you want notifications. These are private audio cues for you—not the same as showing chat on stream or automatically posting messages about follows and subscriptions.
Set up incoming-message sounds in Streamlabs
- Add the Chat Box widget. In Streamlabs, set up the Chat Box widget; its Chat Notifications feature handles sounds for incoming chat messages. Streamlabs’ guide, “How to Set Up Chat Notifications,” dated September 5, 2025, documents this feature.
- Choose and adjust the sound. Select a stock notification sound or upload one, then set its volume. Choose a level you can hear over your game or other audio without making it distracting.
- Set the timing controls. The default cooldown between sounds is five seconds. A separate trigger threshold controls how long chat must be quiet before an incoming message triggers a sound; the setting ranges from five seconds to ten minutes. A short threshold is more likely to alert you as chat resumes quickly, while a longer one makes the cue more about chat returning after a longer lull. The cooldown still limits how frequently sounds can play.
- Keep the source running across scenes. In the Chat Box browser-source properties, Streamlabs recommends turning off Shutdown source when not visible. Add the Chat Box source to every scene where you want notifications available. If you want the audio but not the chat displayed to viewers, place the source below visible elements such as a BRB or game scene.
- Reuse the widget rather than duplicating it. When adding the same widget to another scene, add it as an existing source. Creating duplicate sources can lead to duplicate sounds.
Check it before going live
Send a test message or have someone send one while you are in the scenes where you expect to hear the cue. Check both that the sound plays and that it is audible at your chosen volume. Then change scenes and repeat. Streamlabs’ Chat Notifications guide explains the controls but does not provide a complete test procedure. Its general alerts test function is for alerts, a different feature; a successful alert test does not establish that ordinary-message notifications work.
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Choose the right feature for what you want
| Your goal | Documented option | What it does—and does not do |
|---|---|---|
| Hear an audio cue when ordinary messages arrive | Streamlabs Chat Box notifications | Configures a sound, volume, cooldown and quiet-chat trigger threshold. |
| Put third-party chat content into an OBS layout | Browser Source | OBS’s FAQ describes using third-party chat overlays through a Browser Source; it does not describe native chat-overlay facilities in OBS itself. |
| Show Twitch chat to viewers | StreamElements “Your Stream’s Chat” overlay | A visual Twitch chat overlay with appearance and emote settings. Its guide documents Twitch emotes, including animated emotes and BTTV, FFZ and 7TV emotes; unlisted 7TV emotes are not supported. This is not evidence of an audible ordinary-message notification feature. |
| Post a message when a channel event happens | StreamElements Chat Alerts | Automatically posts configured messages for events such as follows or subscriptions. Set it up in the StreamElements dashboard under Chatbot > Chat Alerts; available event types vary between Twitch, YouTube and Kick. It acknowledges events rather than sounding for ordinary chat messages. |
Streamlabs says its widget URL can be used as a Browser Source in other streaming software. That lets you use a third-party widget with software such as OBS; it does not mean every application has the same built-in notification controls. The StreamElements overlay instructions cover visible Twitch chat, not sound notifications. Choose based on whether you need a private cue, an on-screen chat display or an automated event message.
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Keep notifications available when scenes change
- Include the Chat Box source in each scene where you need to hear it.
- Leave Shutdown source when not visible unchecked, following Streamlabs’ recommendation, so hiding the source does not interrupt timed settings or clear chat during a scene change.
- For audio-only use, keep the source underneath the scene’s visible elements rather than removing it.
- When adding it to more scenes, reuse the existing source instead of making a duplicate.
Troubleshoot missing or unexpected sounds
- No sound at all: Confirm that Chat Notifications are configured in the Chat Box, the selected sound and volume are set, and the source is present in the current scene. Test with a new incoming message rather than relying on a general alert test.
- Sounds stop after changing scenes: Check that the source is included in the destination scene and that Shutdown source when not visible is unchecked.
- Chat appears more often than sounds: Check the cooldown and quiet-chat trigger threshold. The cooldown can suppress closely spaced sounds; the separate threshold means the feature is not necessarily configured to sound for every message during continuous conversation.
- Two sounds play for one message: Look for duplicate Chat Box sources and reuse the existing widget when adding it to other scenes.
- Chat is visible when you only wanted an audio cue: Move the source below the visible scene elements so the sound source remains available without putting the chat display in view.
Or let it run in the cloud
StreamNeo is for keeping uploaded videos playing as a 24/7 YouTube live stream; it does not create chat notifications or stream from a camera. For that separate always-on-stream task, upload a recording or build a playlist, add your YouTube stream key once, and go live. Nothing has to stay on at home; videos stream as uploaded up to 4K 60fps at one price per slot, with automatic recovery if YouTube drops the stream. The first day is free with no card. Monthly pricing is $9.99 per month. See StreamNeo or start the free day.
Quick Recap
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