Make OBS follow your run of show
OBS can be controlled from outside the app through its websocket interface, which means the tool you use to track your run of show can tell OBS to switch scenes for you. Instead of clicking scenes by hand while you also run the show, advancing a segment can trigger the scene change automatically.
Why link your run of show to OBS
When you stream a scripted show, you produce, host, and switch scenes at the same time. The run of show says the interview is next, so you hunt for the two-box scene in OBS and click it while also reading chat and listening to your guest. Every manual switch is a chance to click the wrong thing at the worst moment. Linking the run of show to your scenes removes that whole class of mistake: the rundown already knows what comes next, so moving the show forward and switching the scene become one motion instead of two. The show stays on script, and your attention stays on the content instead of the buttons.
How OBS websocket control works
OBS has remote control built in. Since OBS Studio 28, every install ships with obs-websocket, an interface that lets outside tools send OBS commands: switch to a scene, show or hide a source, start or stop the stream. You manage it from the Tools menu under WebSocket Server Settings, where you can set a password for it. Once it is on, anything that speaks the protocol can drive OBS: a Stream Deck, Bitfocus Companion, or an automation plugin like Advanced Scene Switcher. Scene switching stops being something only your mouse can do and becomes something any tool in your booth can trigger.
Where NextShow fits
NextShow is the run of show side of that pairing. Your stream's segments, hosts, and scene cues live in one shared rundown, with a Scene column naming the OBS scene each segment expects, so whoever is driving always knows what OBS should be showing. NextShow also exposes simple control links: plain URLs that advance the active segment when something fires them, which is how tools like Companion or a Stream Deck step the rundown forward without touching the browser. The practical setup today is one button that does both jobs. In Companion, one press fires the NextShow control link to advance the run of show and switches the OBS scene over obs-websocket in the same stroke. NextShow does not yet fire OBS scenes on its own when a segment changes, but with the control links and obs-websocket side by side, one press keeps the rundown and the stream in step.
