---
title: Create an overlay
description: Make an overlay, grab its browser source URL, and keep the key secret.
---

An overlay is a single browser source you drop into OBS - it plays your tip alerts, TTS, media requests, Twitch alerts, and whatever widgets you add to it. You can have as many overlays as you like, one per scene if that's your style.

1. **Open the Overlay page**

    In the dashboard, go to **Overlay**. Every account starts with one overlay already created.

2. **Create overlay**

    Click **Create overlay** if you want another. Pick a name - "Starting soon", "IRL", whatever helps you tell them apart - and a resolution (1080p unless you know you want something else). The overlay always renders at exactly that resolution, so it looks identical on every screen; your OBS browser source should be set to the same size. You can change both later from the gear menu (**Rename** / **Change resolution**).

3. **Copy the URL**

    Each overlay has its own secret URL, `https://overlay.tippage.com/your-key`, shown blurred in the list. Use the gear menu's **Copy URL**, then [add it to OBS](/overlay/add-to-obs).

{/* SCREENSHOT /images/overlay/overlay-list.png : The Overlay page with two or three overlays in the list - one showing the green "connected" chip, with the blurred URL field and the gear menu visible. Uncomment the Frame below once taken. */}
{/* <Frame caption="Each overlay is its own browser source, with a live connected chip.">
![The Overlays page](/images/overlay/overlay-list.png)
</Frame> */}

:::warning[The URL is a secret]
Anyone with the URL can open your overlay. That's why it's blurred in the dashboard - overlay keys leak on stream when people screen-share their settings. If yours gets out, use **Rotate key** (gear menu): the old URL stops working immediately and you paste the new one into OBS.
:::

## Running more than one

The green **connected** chip shows which overlays are currently open in OBS. A few rules:

- Multiple overlays can be connected at the same time - handy for splitting widgets across scenes.
- But two connected overlays can't both carry the same "exclusive" widget (tip alert, media player, or soundboard) - alerts can only play in one place. The second one shows a conflict message and retries every 10 seconds.
- The same overlay can't be open in two places at once either.
- You always keep at least one overlay - the last one can't be deleted.

## Deleting

Gear menu, **Delete overlay**. It's permanent and the URL stops working immediately.