Set up the OBS replay buffer

The replay buffer keeps the last few minutes of gameplay in memory and writes them to disk only when you press a hotkey. It is the perfect companion to qlipq: you capture moments as they happen, and qlipq queues each saved clip for editing.

1. Choose an output mode

Open Settings → Output. Either Simple or Advanced mode works; Advanced unlocks multiple audio tracks (recommended for qlipq's per-track mixing).

2. Enable the replay buffer

  • Simple mode: tick Enable Replay Buffer, then set Maximum Replay Time (e.g. 120s).
  • Advanced mode: go to the Replay Buffer tab and set Maximum Replay Time.
Format: choose mkv (or fragmented mp4) as the recording format. Plain mp4 can corrupt if OBS crashes mid-record; qlipq reads mkv happily and you can remux on export.

3. Set the recording path

Under Settings → Output → Recording, set the Recording Path. This is the folder you will add to qlipq's watched folders.

4. Enable multiple audio tracks (optional but recommended)

In Advanced output mode you can record each audio source to its own track:

  1. Settings → Output → Recording → Audio Track: tick the tracks you want to record (e.g. Track 1 = mix, Track 2 = desktop, Track 3 = mic).
  2. In the main window's Audio Mixer, open the gear → Advanced Audio Properties and assign each source to tracks via the Tracks checkboxes.

qlipq detects every audio track in the file, so you can mute the mic or rebalance levels per clip at export time.

5. Set a filename format qlipq can read

Go to Settings → Advanced → Recording → Filename Formatting. qlipq parses the timestamp from the name and treats any leading text as the source (game/scene). Good options: 

%CCYY-%MM-%DD %hh-%mm-%ss
%CCYY-%MM-%DD_%hh-%mm-%ss

Want the game name in the clip too? Prefix it, e.g. set the format to Apex %CCYY-%MM-%DD %hh-%mm-%ss or include the scene name. qlipq will surface it as the {source} token in your naming template.

6. Assign hotkeys

Open Settings → Hotkeys and bind:

  • Start Replay Buffer
  • Save Replay — press this to write the last N minutes to disk
  • Stop Replay Buffer

7. Run it

  1. Start the replay buffer (hotkey, or the button in the Controls dock).
  2. Play. When something good happens, press Save Replay.
  3. OBS writes a clip into your recording folder.
  4. qlipq picks it up in the Queue — open it, trim, and export.
Next: point qlipq at your recording folder in Getting started.