Switching scenes live

This page covers the two ways to change what your overlay is showing mid-stream, and which one to use.

There are two ways to wire scenes up, and they answer different questions. Pick one per browser source - you can use both in the same OBS setup.

  • Per-scene URLs. One browser source per pulz scene, each on a fixed ?scene= URL, each dropped into the OBS scene where it belongs. Switching happens in OBS, at the speed OBS switches. A per-scene source never changes what it shows.
  • One live URL. A single browser source on ?live=1 that follows whatever scene you have on air in pulz. Switching happens in pulz - from the dashboard, your phone or a Stream Deck - and OBS is never touched.

The live URL

It is the same overlay address with live=1 in place of the scene number. The copy button always hands you a per-scene URL, so build the live one by swapping that part and keeping your key:

Until you have put something on air, a live source shows your first scene, so it is never blank because you have not pressed anything yet.

Switching from the dashboard

Two places do the same thing. Use Overlays while you are building, and Stream Control while you are live.

From the Overlays page

  1. Open Overlays and find the scene's card.
  2. Press the play button on the card.Its label is Put this scene on air.
  3. Check the card now reads On air.Only one scene carries that marker at a time.

From Stream Control

  1. Open Stream Control and find the Scenes card.It lists the same scenes you build on the Overlays page.
  2. Press a scene to put it on air, or press Next scene to step forward one.The scene on air is tagged Live.

Switching from a phone or a Stream Deck

Every action has a plain web address, so anything that can open a URL can switch your scenes with nothing installed. The addresses are on the Automations page, each with its own copy button. Your trigger URL covers the whole list; these are the two that move scenes.

  • Switch scene: https://pulz.bio/t/your-token/scene?to=2 - the number is the scene number shown on the card in Overlays, not its position in the list.
  • Next scene: https://pulz.bio/t/your-token/scene-next - steps forward in scene-number order and wraps back to the first at the end.

On a Stream Deck

  1. Drag the System > Website action onto an empty key.
  2. Paste the trigger URL into the URL field.
  3. Tick "Access in background".Without it the key opens a browser window. pulz answers with a small page saying what happened and closes itself, but a window flashing up mid-stream is still a window flashing up mid-stream.
  4. Name the key and give it an icon.

On an iPhone or iPad

  1. Open Shortcuts and create a new shortcut.
  2. Add the Get Contents of URL action and paste the trigger URL.
  3. Rename the shortcut, then add it to your Home Screen or a Lock Screen button.

The same URL works from a browser bookmark, an AutoHotkey line, a bot you already run, or an IFTTT applet. A bot has to be running to receive anything. A URL does not.

What switching does and does not do

  • It changes what a ?live=1 source shows, and nothing else.
  • A ?scene= source ignores it completely. That is the point of a fixed URL.
  • It does not touch OBS. pulz cannot change your OBS scene, hide an OBS source or start your stream - OBS listens on your own machine and a hosted page cannot reach it.
  • Asking for a scene number you do not have answers No scene 5 and leaves what is on air alone.

FAQ

I put a scene on air and nothing changed in OBS.

Your browser sources are on per-scene URLs, which always show their own scene. Going on air only drives a source whose URL carries live=1.

Can I run a live source and per-scene sources at once?

Yes. They are separate browser sources reading separate URLs. A common setup is fixed scenes in your gameplay and starting soon scenes, plus one live source somewhere you want to change on the fly.

Can a mod switch scenes without my login?

Yes. Copy the Switch scene URL and send them that - there is no login involved, nothing in it reads your data, and it cannot reach another account. Know its real reach though: your trigger token is part of the address, so whoever holds it can edit the path and fire any of your other actions, not only a scene switch. Hand one out to someone you would trust with your privacy screen, and rotate the token when that stops being true.

Does Next scene follow the order of my list?

It follows scene numbers, and those are not always the order the cards sit in - once you have deleted a scene, check the number printed on each card rather than counting positions. From nothing on air, Next scene goes to your lowest-numbered scene.

Do the dashboard buttons and the URLs behave the same?

They run the same action on the server, so a Stream Deck key and a button in Stream Control cannot drift apart.

Set up your trigger URLs

Every action, its arguments and a ready-made URL to copy.