OBS Filters Hotkey

Open a source's filter list with a keyboard shortcut. For example, press Q to jump straight to the delay and other effects on your microphone.

Quick start (no build)

1. In OBS, go to Tools → Scripts.
2. Click + and add scripts/open_filters_hotkey.lua.
3. Right-click the source you want (e.g. your mic) → Filters.
4. Click + under Audio/Video Filters and add Open Filters Hotkey.
5. Open File → Settings → Hotkeys and search for Open Filters.
6. Bind a key (e.g. Q) to the entry for that source.
7. Press the hotkey anytime to open that source's filters window.

Native plugin (recommended for production)

The compiled plugin provides the same behavior with better integration. Filter names appear as Open Filters Hotkey in the filter list.

Download pre-built plugin

Every push to master triggers a GitHub Actions build. Download the latest native plugin from either:

• Nightly release — Windows .zip (and Linux/macOS when those builds succeed)
• Actions → latest workflow run → Artifacts — platform-specific packages

Install on Windows:

1. Download obs-filters-hotkey-*-windows-x64.zip from the nightly release.
2. Extract and copy obs-filters-hotkey.dll to %ProgramFiles%\obs-studio\obs-plugins\64bit\
3. Copy the obs-filters-hotkey folder to %ProgramFiles%\obs-studio\data\obs-plugins\obs-filters-hotkey\
4. Restart OBS.

Build from source (Windows)

Requires CMake 3.28+ and Visual Studio 2022.

cmake --preset windows-x64
cmake --build build_x64 --config RelWithDebInfo

The built plugin is copied into the project's build_x64/rundir/RelWithDebInfo/obs-plugins/ folder. Copy obs-filters-hotkey.dll and the obs-filters-hotkey data folder into your OBS install:

• %ProgramFiles%\obs-studio\obs-plugins\64bit\
• %ProgramFiles%\obs-studio\data\obs-plugins\obs-filters-hotkey\

Build (macOS / Linux)

cmake --preset macos        # or ubuntu-x86_64
cmake --build build_macos --config RelWithDebInfo

See the OBS plugin template wiki for full setup details.

Usage

1. Add the Open Filters Hotkey filter to any audio or video source.
2. Assign a hotkey in Settings → Hotkeys (search for "Open Filters").
3. Press the hotkey to open that source's filter dialog.

The filter is a pass-through — it does not modify audio or video. You can add one instance per source; each gets its own hotkey binding.

Open a VST plugin interface directly

OBS has no public API to open a specific filter's settings panel, but VST 2.x filters expose an Open Plug-In Interface button that can be triggered programmatically.

1. Add Open Filters Hotkey to your source (e.g. mic).
2. In the filter settings, set Open target to VST plugin interface.
3. If you have multiple VST filters on the same source, enter the filter's display name under Filter name.
4. Bind your hotkey in Settings → Hotkeys.

Pressing the hotkey opens the VST GUI directly — no need to navigate the filters window first. If no matching VST filter is found, it falls back to opening the filters window.

Note: The VST must already be loaded (a plugin selected in the VST filter dropdown). This works with OBS's built-in VST 2.x Plug-in filter only, not VST3 hosts like atkAudio.

Example

Source	Hotkey	Action
Mic/Aux	Q	Opens mic filters (Delay, etc.)
Webcam	F	Opens webcam filters

License

GPL v2 — same as OBS Studio.