How to Add an Overlay to Streamlabs Desktop (2026 Guide)

If you stream with Streamlabs Desktop, adding an overlay is refreshingly simple once you choose the right workflow. A .overlay file can import a complete Streamlabs scene collection at once — but only when the creator actually supplies that format. Normal PNG, MP4 and WEBM assets are added manually as sources, and that is just as valid.

This guide shows both paths: how to import a genuine .overlay file, how to build scenes from your own graphics, what Widget Themes are, and how to keep every layer working in Streamlabs Desktop.

Quick answer: add an overlay to Streamlabs Desktop

There are two legitimate ways to add an overlay in Streamlabs Desktop:

1. You have a .overlay file: open Settings → Scene Collections → Import Overlay File, choose the file and let Streamlabs create the scene collection.
2. You have PNG, MP4 or WEBM assets: create the scenes you need, then use Sources → + to add each image, media source, camera and widget in the correct layer order.

Do not assume every overlay download includes a .overlay file. Check the files supplied by its creator first. The manual method works with normal overlay assets and gives you complete control over the setup. Streamlabs confirms both workflows in its current official overlay guide.

What are Streamlabs overlays and themes?

A Streamlabs overlay is the visual layer of your stream - your starting-soon screen, webcam frame, alerts, chat box and panels - all designed to match. In Streamlabs you'll see two related terms:

• Overlays / Themes - the full visual design (screens, alerts, the lot). These import as a ".overlay" file or install straight from the Streamlabs Theme Library.
• Widget Themes - a profile that stores all your alert and widget settings (alert box, donation goals, chat box). You can keep several and switch between them.

The big advantage of Streamlabs Desktop is that everything lives in one app. Your overlay, your alerts and your stream settings are bundled together, so you're not juggling a separate browser-source dashboard like you would elsewhere.

How to import an overlay into Streamlabs Desktop

This is the fastest way to get a full setup live. If you've got a ".overlay" file (most overlay packs include one), it imports your entire scene collection in one go.

1. Open Streamlabs Desktop and click the Settings (gear) icon.
2. Go to Scene Collections.
3. Click Import Overlay File.
4. Select the .overlay file you want to upload and click Open.
5. You'll see a short loading screen while it imports - then you land in your scenes, fully set up.

That's it. All your screens, webcam frame, alerts and panels appear as ready-made scenes. From there you can tweak positions, resize anything, and you're live with a complete look in a few minutes.

Adding your own custom overlay

Don't have a .overlay file, or want to build a scene from your own graphics? You can add individual elements by hand just as easily.

Under each Scene, click the + button next to Sources, then:

1. Choose Image (for a static PNG/JPG element like a webcam frame or panel) and click Add Source.
2. Give it a name, click Add New Source, then Browse to find your image file.
3. Repeat for each element - your starting-soon background, webcam frame, chat box, and so on - until your scene is complete.

For animated overlays, use the format supplied with the pack. A transparent WebM is useful for elements such as webcam frames; an MP4 works well for a full-screen background. Add animated files as a Media Source, enable looping when needed, and test the scene before you go live. Your computer, resolution and other active sources determine the performance cost.

Streamlabs Widget Themes (alerts & widgets)

Your Widget Theme is where your alerts and interactive widgets live - your alert box, donation goals, event list and chat box. Think of it as a saved profile for everything that reacts to your viewers.

You can install a ready-made Widget Theme from the Streamlabs library, or create your own: head to your Widget Themes page in the Streamlabs dashboard, click Create Widget Theme, and name it. From there you customise each widget's look and behaviour. Keeping your Widget Theme matched to your overlay's style is what makes your alerts feel like part of the design instead of a generic pop-up.

Advanced tip: Streamlabs also has a Custom Widget feature (in the dashboard, or via the + in your sources under the Widgets section) for creators who want to build widgets with their own HTML/CSS. It's powerful, but you only need it if you're going fully custom.

Free Streamlabs overlays

You don't have to spend anything to get started. Streamlabs has a large library of free overlays and themes you can install in a couple of clicks, and they're a perfectly good way to test the waters.

And if a single screen is all you are after, the free screen makers here need no account at all - Starting Soon, BRB, Offline and Stream Ending, 1080p, no watermark, no sign up.

The catch is the familiar one with free assets: a free Streamlabs overlay rarely matches across the board. You might like one alert style, a different webcam frame, and panels in a third look - which ends up feeling pieced together. A free overlay solves one piece; it doesn't give you a cohesive channel.

If you want a fully matching look, browse the overlay packs - each one is a complete set (screen, webcam frame, alerts, panels) designed together, so you can import it into Streamlabs and see how a cohesive setup actually feels.

Streamlabs Desktop vs OBS - which should you use?

Both are great, and your overlay works in either. The short version:

• Streamlabs Desktop is the most beginner-friendly. The .overlay one-click import, built-in alerts and themes all live in one app - ideal if you want everything bundled and simple.
• OBS Studio is lighter and more flexible, and pairs with StreamElements or Streamlabs widgets via browser sources. Better if you want full control and lower resource use.

There's no wrong answer - pick the one you're comfortable in. Our guides on how to add overlays to StreamElements and the overlay import workflow for OBS & Streamlabs cover the alternatives step by step.

Quick answers

How to add overlays to Streamlabs

In the editor, use the Sources panel and the + button, then pick Image for a PNG or Media Source for a video file. Order matters: a source has to sit above your game capture in the list to be visible over it.

How to display an image while streaming gameplay

Add the image as its own source in the same scene as your game capture, then drag it above the capture in the Sources list. If it disappears the moment you launch the game, your capture is almost certainly in fullscreen exclusive mode; switching the game to borderless windowed fixes it.

Where does Streamlabs keep the overlay files?

Themes you installed live in your themes library inside the app, and files you added yourself stay wherever you saved them on your disk. That second point matters: moving or renaming that folder later breaks the source, and the scene shows a black rectangle instead.

How to move the chat overlay in Streamlabs

The chat box is a source like any other, so select it in the Sources list and drag its red handles in the preview. If dragging does nothing, the source is locked: the small padlock next to its name has to be open first.

How to add a custom scene in Streamlabs

Use the + in the Scenes panel and name it for what it does, for example Starting Soon, Live, BRB or Ending. Building one scene per moment is what lets you switch cleanly during a stream instead of hiding and showing sources by hand. Our guides on making a BRB screen and on Starting Soon screens cover what to put on each one.

Get a Streamlabs-ready overlay set

A Streamlabs overlay is one of the quickest routes to a professional-looking stream - and the free themes will get you going. But the real upgrade is a set where your screens, alerts, chat box, webcam frame and panels all share one style and import as a single ready-made pack.

That is what a matching NeonStreamLab pack is designed for: screens, alerts, panels and overlay assets built in one theme, ready to set up in Streamlabs, OBS or StreamElements using the formats listed on each product page. Once your scenes are in place, the next quick wins are your chat and camera: see how to add a chat overlay and how to add a webcam overlay. Or browse the overlay packs and find a style that already feels like your channel.