- Supported Bit Versions
- 64-bit
- Source Code URL
- https://github.com/jonathanrelf/program-display
- Minimum OBS Studio Version
- 32.0.2
- Supported Platforms
- macOS
Program Display is an independent, open-source macOS plugin for people who regularly send the OBS Studio Program feed to a dedicated external display or capture device.
Display numbering can change after a Mac, dock, adapter or capture device is reconnected. Restoring a fullscreen projector by a saved monitor number can therefore target the wrong screen. Program Display remembers descriptive hardware identity instead. When OBS starts—or the selected display returns—it resolves that identity against the displays connected now and requests the fullscreen Program projector only when the match is safe and unique.
If the destination is missing, ambiguous or cannot be identified confidently, Program Display fails closed instead of falling back to another display.
What version 0.1 includes
Release status and compatibility
Version 0.1.0 is a source-first preview. Runtime behaviour has been tested only with OBS Studio 32.2.2 on macOS 27, Apple Silicon and an Elgato 4K S display/capture path.
The generated plugin declares a macOS 13 deployment target and contains arm64 and x86_64 slices. Those are build properties, not tested-support claims: macOS 13 through 26 and Intel runtime behaviour have not yet been physically tested.
There is no signed and notarised one-click package in this release. Building from source requires Xcode 26.5 or newer, providing the macOS 26.5 SDK or newer, and CMake 3.28 or newer. Apple's Xcode system requirements list macOS 26.2 or newer as the host requirement for Xcode 26.5, so the current source-first release does not provide a practical installation path for older macOS versions.
Important OBS API limitation
The public OBS frontend API can request a projector, but it does not return a handle that a plugin can query or close. Program Display therefore reports Output requested rather than claiming the projector is independently verified. Changing the destination after a request currently requires restarting OBS.
Program Display does not route audio. Configure OBS monitoring or operating-system audio routing separately.
Before using it
OBS Save projectors on exit must be disabled before Program Display is used. OBS persists projectors by numeric monitor position, while Program Display resolves a remembered physical destination. Allowing both mechanisms to restore output could create duplicate projectors or target the wrong display.
Links
Version 0.1.0 release and source download
Documentation and source code
Bug reports and support
Useful bug reports include the OBS and macOS versions, Mac model, display or capture-device model, complete hub/adapter/cable path, and the exact restart or reconnect sequence. Please review logs before sharing them because diagnostic display hashes are persistent pseudonymous identifiers.
Independent project
Program Display is a third-party community plugin. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the OBS Project. Its name, logo and other artwork do not use OBS Project branding.
AI-assisted development and artwork disclosure
OpenAI Codex generated and revised portions of the C++, Objective-C++, CMake, tests and documentation during the initial development of Program Display, and was also used for targeted research and code review. OpenAI image generation created the project logo from a maintainer-reviewed brief. The maintainer made the product and architecture decisions, reviewed the source changes and visual output, ran the automated test suite, and performed the documented hardware checks. AI-assisted work was not treated as a substitute for understanding the code, maintainer review or physical testing.
Program Display is free software licensed under GPL-2.0-or-later.
Display numbering can change after a Mac, dock, adapter or capture device is reconnected. Restoring a fullscreen projector by a saved monitor number can therefore target the wrong screen. Program Display remembers descriptive hardware identity instead. When OBS starts—or the selected display returns—it resolves that identity against the displays connected now and requests the fullscreen Program projector only when the match is safe and unique.
If the destination is missing, ambiguous or cannot be identified confidently, Program Display fails closed instead of falling back to another display.
What version 0.1 includes
- A compact native dock for selecting and inspecting the Program destination.
- Automatic restoration after OBS restart or display reconnection.
- Strong and explicitly confirmed weak display-identity matching on macOS.
- Clear Output requested, Display missing and Error states.
- A universal arm64 and x86_64 build configuration.
- No private OBS frontend headers or implementation types.
Release status and compatibility
Version 0.1.0 is a source-first preview. Runtime behaviour has been tested only with OBS Studio 32.2.2 on macOS 27, Apple Silicon and an Elgato 4K S display/capture path.
The generated plugin declares a macOS 13 deployment target and contains arm64 and x86_64 slices. Those are build properties, not tested-support claims: macOS 13 through 26 and Intel runtime behaviour have not yet been physically tested.
There is no signed and notarised one-click package in this release. Building from source requires Xcode 26.5 or newer, providing the macOS 26.5 SDK or newer, and CMake 3.28 or newer. Apple's Xcode system requirements list macOS 26.2 or newer as the host requirement for Xcode 26.5, so the current source-first release does not provide a practical installation path for older macOS versions.
Important OBS API limitation
The public OBS frontend API can request a projector, but it does not return a handle that a plugin can query or close. Program Display therefore reports Output requested rather than claiming the projector is independently verified. Changing the destination after a request currently requires restarting OBS.
Program Display does not route audio. Configure OBS monitoring or operating-system audio routing separately.
Before using it
OBS Save projectors on exit must be disabled before Program Display is used. OBS persists projectors by numeric monitor position, while Program Display resolves a remembered physical destination. Allowing both mechanisms to restore output could create duplicate projectors or target the wrong display.
Links
Version 0.1.0 release and source download
Documentation and source code
Bug reports and support
Useful bug reports include the OBS and macOS versions, Mac model, display or capture-device model, complete hub/adapter/cable path, and the exact restart or reconnect sequence. Please review logs before sharing them because diagnostic display hashes are persistent pseudonymous identifiers.
Independent project
Program Display is a third-party community plugin. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the OBS Project. Its name, logo and other artwork do not use OBS Project branding.
AI-assisted development and artwork disclosure
OpenAI Codex generated and revised portions of the C++, Objective-C++, CMake, tests and documentation during the initial development of Program Display, and was also used for targeted research and code review. OpenAI image generation created the project logo from a maintainer-reviewed brief. The maintainer made the product and architecture decisions, reviewed the source changes and visual output, ran the automated test suite, and performed the documented hardware checks. AI-assisted work was not treated as a substitute for understanding the code, maintainer review or physical testing.
Program Display is free software licensed under GPL-2.0-or-later.