OBS-Replay-Buffer-for-IT-Support/README.md

OBS Replay Buffer for IT Support

IT support tool that runs OBS Studio's replay buffer silently on VDI sessions, giving users a system tray button to save the last N minutes of screen activity when an issue occurs. Clips are saved to a central UNC share organized by username.

How It Works

1. DEM assigns this to targeted users at logon via App Volumes (OBS) + file transfer + logon task
2. OBS launches hidden with the replay buffer running — users never see the OBS interface
3. A system tray icon appears — right-click → Save Replay
4. The clip saves to \\server\ITCaptures\<username>\YYYY-MM-DD_HH-MM-SS.mkv

Architecture

Component	Role
App Volumes AppStack	Delivers OBS Studio to targeted VDI sessions
DEM File Transfer	Drops OBS config files into %APPDATA%\obs-studio\ at logon
DEM Logon Task	Runs Start-OBSReplayBuffer.ps1 at logon
config.psd1	Central config — UNC path, buffer duration, OBS executable path
Start-OBSReplayBuffer.ps1	Creates user capture folder, writes OBS profile, launches OBS + tray icon
Show-ReplayTray.ps1	WinForms system tray icon — right-click menu with Save Replay / Exit
Invoke-ReplaySave.ps1	Sends SaveReplayBuffer to OBS via WebSocket v5 (built into OBS 28+)
obs-config/	OBS profile, scene collection, and WebSocket config delivered by DEM

Repository Structure

obs-replay-buffer/
├── config.psd1
├── scripts/
│   ├── Start-OBSReplayBuffer.ps1
│   ├── Show-ReplayTray.ps1
│   └── Invoke-ReplaySave.ps1
└── obs-config/
    ├── global.ini
    ├── profiles/
    │   └── ITMonitor/
    │       └── basic.ini
    ├── scenes/
    │   └── ITMonitor.json
    └── plugin_config/
        └── obs-websocket/
            └── config.json

Prerequisites

• OBS Studio 28+ packaged as an App Volumes AppStack (WebSocket v5 is built in — no plugin needed)
• VMware App Volumes to deliver OBS to targeted users
• VMware DEM to deliver config files and run the logon task
• A UNC share writable by VDI users for clip storage
• A network share to host this repo's files, accessible from all VDI machines

Configuration

Edit config.psd1 before deploying:

Key	Description	Default
UNCPath	Base UNC path for clip storage — username subfolder created automatically	\\server\ITCaptures
BufferSeconds	Replay buffer duration in seconds	120
WebSocketPort	OBS WebSocket port — must match obs-config/plugin_config/obs-websocket/config.json	4455
OBSExecutable	Full path to obs64.exe on the VDI machine	C:\Program Files\obs-studio\bin\64bit\obs64.exe
ProfileName	OBS profile name — must match the folder under obs-config/profiles/	ITMonitor
SceneCollection	OBS scene collection name — must match the filename under obs-config/scenes/	ITMonitor

Deployment

Step 1 — Host the repo on a network share

Place this repo (or a copy of it) on a share accessible from all VDI machines, e.g.:

\\stcu-fs01\IT-Tools\OBS-Record\

Step 2 — DEM: File Transfer tasks

Create these file transfer tasks in DEM, scoped to the target user group. All run at logon.

Source (on network share)	Destination (on VDI session)
obs-config\profiles\ITMonitor\	%APPDATA%\obs-studio\basic\profiles\ITMonitor\
obs-config\scenes\ITMonitor.json	%APPDATA%\obs-studio\basic\scenes\ITMonitor.json
obs-config\plugin_config\obs-websocket\config.json	%APPDATA%\obs-studio\plugin_config\obs-websocket\config.json
obs-config\global.ini	%APPDATA%\obs-studio\global.ini

Note: basic.ini is intentionally not delivered by DEM — it is written dynamically at logon by Start-OBSReplayBuffer.ps1 so that the correct UNC path (including username) and primary monitor resolution are baked in per session.

Step 3 — DEM: Logon task

Create one logon task in DEM (scoped to the same target group). Set it to not wait for completion.

powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -NonInteractive -WindowStyle Hidden -File "\\stcu-fs01\IT-Tools\OBS-Record\scripts\Start-OBSReplayBuffer.ps1"

This script handles launching both OBS and the tray icon — no second task needed.

Step 4 — Assign App Volumes AppStack

Assign the OBS AppStack to the same user group in App Volumes. The logon task will exit cleanly if OBS is not present or already running.

User Experience

• A shield icon appears in the system tray at logon — no other UI is visible
• Right-click the icon → Save Replay to save the last BufferSeconds of screen activity
• A balloon notification confirms success or failure
• Clips appear at \\server\ITCaptures\<username>\ named by timestamp

Changing the Buffer Duration

Update BufferSeconds in config.psd1. The value is written into the OBS profile at each logon, so no repackaging of the App Volumes AppStack is needed.

Notes

Scene Collection JSON

The obs-config/scenes/ITMonitor.json file was generated to target monitor index 0 (primary display). If it does not capture correctly on first use:

1. Launch OBS normally on a test machine with the AppStack assigned
2. Manually configure a Display Capture source pointed at the primary monitor
3. Save, then copy %APPDATA%\obs-studio\basic\scenes\ITMonitor.json back into this repo

The basic.ini and WebSocket config are reliable and should not need adjustment.

OBS Tray Icon vs. IT Tray Icon

OBS itself also places a tray icon when minimized to tray. Users will see two icons — the OBS icon and the IT Screen Recorder shield icon. The OBS icon can be right-clicked to quit OBS, which would break the replay buffer. If this is a concern, a future enhancement could hide the OBS tray icon via a startup flag or OBS config setting.