How To Create Walk-On Sounds

A walk-on sound plays when a specific returning viewer sends their first message of the stream.

Add the Sound

  1. Open the Media Library.
  2. Import the viewer's audio file.
  3. Preview it and confirm its volume and length are stream-safe.
  4. Keep an Overlay Builder Browser Source active in OBS or Streamlabs with audio enabled.

Global overlay audio does not require a receiver widget. Use Test Audio in Overlay Builder before building the Automation.

Create the Trigger

  1. Open Bot Commands → Automations and click New.
  2. Name it after the viewer, such as Alex Walk-On.
  3. Under When, choose First chat this stream (Welcome Back).
  4. In its trigger filters, enter that viewer's username.
  5. Leave the cooldown at 0; Welcome Back already fires once for that viewer during the stream session.

A viewer-specific Welcome Back trigger with a username filter

  1. Under Where, select the intended platform.

Use that platform's canonical username rather than a changeable display nickname. Create a separate Automation for each person who needs a different sound.

Add the Audio Action

  1. Under Do, add Send to Overlay → Play Audio Payload.
  2. Select the Media Library audio and set its volume.
  3. Save and enable the Automation.

A complete Media Library audio payload action beneath the optional welcome-message action

Add a Welcome Message — Optional

Add Send chat message before or after the audio action:

Welcome back, {user}!

Keep the message on Same platform as event. Action order controls when it is queued relative to the audio payload.

Understand the Trigger

Welcome Back is for a known returning viewer's first message of the current stream. A viewer's first-ever chat uses the separate First Chat event and does not run the Welcome Back trigger.

The sound is chat-triggered: merely joining or lurking without sending a message does not play it.

Test Safely

Use a temporary test username or the Automation test tools to confirm the filter, audio file, volume, and overlay playback. A real once-per-stream test may require a fresh stream session before the same viewer can trigger it again.

Common Problems

  • Every viewer triggers the sound: Add the intended username filter under Where.
  • The person chats but nothing plays: Confirm they are a returning viewer, their canonical username matches, and the Automation is enabled for that platform.
  • The sound plays in tests but not OBS: Keep an Overlay Builder Browser Source active and enable its audio.
  • It plays only once: That is expected; Welcome Back fires once per viewer per stream session.
  • A new viewer does not trigger it: First-ever chat and Welcome Back are separate events.

For general greeting behavior, see Welcome Back Message and How To Set Up Overlay Audio.