Smart Lower Thirds lets you create, manage, and automate beautiful lower thirds powered by a built-in local webserver, scene binding, hotkeys, and importable templates.
From unlimited lower thirds to scene-aware automation, Smart Lower Thirds is designed to fit into any professional OBS workflow.
Build as many layouts as you need for hosts, guests, segments, sponsors, social tags, and more.
The plugin exposes a persistent Browser Source overlay that works across all your scenes.
Show the right lower third at the right time with OBS hotkeys and automatic scene binding logic.
Fine-tune typography, colors, animation, avatars, and positioning in a dedicated dock and settings window.
Package lower thirds as shareable templates using minizip-powered `.zip` bundles.
Show several lower thirds at once—host, guest, topic, social tags, and call-to-action—when you need more data on screen.
Smart Lower Thirds runs a small local webserver that serves your overlay as a persistent Browser Source, keeping your graphics in sync across every scene.
Once configured, the plugin automatically provides a Browser Source URL you can reuse across scenes:
http://127.0.0.1:8089/smart-lower-thirds.html
Add a Browser Source once, then reuse it in all your scenes. When you update a lower third, the overlay updates everywhere—no extra wiring needed.
Manage all your lower thirds and plugin settings from the dedicated Smart Lower Thirds dock inside OBS Studio.
Fine-tune typography, animations, colors, avatars, and behavior using the fully featured settings dialog.
Design your own HTML/CSS templates using simple, readable placeholders that Smart Lower Thirds replaces at runtime.
These can be used in both HTML templates and CSS:
| Placeholder | Description |
|---|---|
{{TITLE}} |
Main text such as name, topic, or headline |
{{SUBTITLE}} |
Secondary text, role, or description |
{{PROFILE_PICTURE}} |
Avatar image file name / URL |
{{ID}} |
Unique instance ID used for styling & animations |
{{LT_POSITION}} |
Selected position class (bottom-left, top-right, etc.) |
{{BG_COLOR}}, {{TEXT_COLOR}} |
Dynamic colors injected from the settings dialog |
This system makes it easy to share templates, restyle overlays, or integrate Smart Lower Thirds into your existing brand.
Smart Lower Thirds gives you full control over when each lower third appears through OBS hotkeys and scene-based automation.
Hotkey integration: assign OBS hotkeys per lower third to show, hide, or toggle animations. Works great with Stream Decks, macro pads, or any control surface supported by OBS.
Scene binding: automatically show a specific lower third when entering a scene and hide it when leaving.
To keep overlays clean, triggering a lower third via hotkey or scene binding will hide all other active lower thirds so the focus stays on the one that is bound.
If you want multiple lower thirds visible at the same time (e.g., host + guest + topic), you can enable them manually from the dock.
Share your lower thirds, reuse setups between projects, and build your own template library using minizip `.zip` bundles.
Each template can contain:
Export them, version them with git, share them with your team, or sell them in your overlay shop.
Installing Smart Lower Thirds is straightforward. Once installed, everything is managed directly inside OBS Studio.
http://127.0.0.1:8089/smart-lower-thirds.html.
If Smart Lower Thirds helps your production, you can support ongoing development and unlock more resources.
Your support helps maintain the plugin, add new features, and build more tools for the OBS community.
🔗 Lower Thirds Shop:
ko-fi.com/mmltech/shop
☕ Ko-fi:
ko-fi.com/mmltech
💸 PayPal:
paypal.me/mmlTools
Even a small tip makes a difference—thank you for supporting open tools for creators.
Smart Lower Thirds is built on top of powerful open-source libraries. Please consider giving them a star as well.
Special thanks to everyone in the OBS and open-source community contributing tools, feedback, and inspiration.