CS_OBS: Automatic OBS Launcher

CS_OBS is a lightweight Linux utility that automatically starts and stops OBS with the Replay Buffer enabled when you start playing a game. It serves as a flexible replacement for Nvidia ShadowPlay, giving you the power and customization of OBS Studio with automatic game detection. The application is designed to be simple, efficient, and easy to configure.

Note: While Windows support exists in the code, this application is primarily developed and tested on Linux. Windows functionality is untested.

Features

• ShadowPlay Replacement: A flexible alternative to Nvidia ShadowPlay that works with any graphics card and gives you the full power of OBS Studio.
• Automatic OBS Control: Automatically launches OBS with the Replay Buffer when a whitelisted game starts, and closes it when the game stops.
• Whitelist System: You have full control over which games trigger OBS to launch.
• Process Picker: A user-friendly process picker to easily add running games to your whitelist.
• Manual Control: Add and remove games from the whitelist manually.
• System Tray Integration: The application runs in the system tray for easy access and minimal intrusion.
• Linux-Focused: Developed and tested primarily on Linux, with automatic detection of Flatpak and system OBS installations.

Installation

1. Download the repository: Either download as ZIP from GitHub or clone with git clone https://github.com/LeeseTheFox/CS_OBS.git

2. Install system dependencies:

   # Fedora
   sudo dnf install python3-pip python3-gobject gtk3 python3-tkinter
   
   # Ubuntu/Debian  
   sudo apt install python3-pip python3-gi python3-gi-cairo gir1.2-gtk-3.0 python3-tkinter

3. Install Python dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Install OBS Studio (if not already installed)

5. Run the application:

   python3 cs_obs.py

Usage

1. Configure the application:

   • The first time you run the application, it will create a config.json file.
   • Add the games you want to be whitelisted using the "Process picker" or by adding them manually.
   • Click "Start the service" to begin monitoring for game launches.

2. System Tray:

   • The application will run in the system tray.
   • Right-click the tray icon to show/hide the main window or quit the application.

Configuration

The config.json file is automatically created in the same directory as the application. Here's a detailed explanation of the configuration options:

{
    "obs_path": "path/to/your/obs/executable",
    "whitelisted_games": [
        "game1.exe",
        "game2"
    ]
}

• obs_path: The path to your OBS executable.
  • Linux (System): "obs" (if it's in your system's PATH) or /usr/bin/obs
  • Linux (Flatpak): "flatpak run com.obsproject.Studio" (auto-detected)
  • Windows (untested): "C:\\Program Files\\obs-studio\\bin\\64bit\\obs64.exe"
• whitelisted_games: A list of game process names that will trigger OBS to launch.
  • Native Linux games: Typically no extension (e.g., "csgo", "Crab Game.x86_64")
  • Proton/Wine games: Include the .exe extension (e.g., "Discovery.exe")
  • Windows games (untested): Executable name with .exe extension