Mistake 4: No Scene Collection Backup. Losing your entire OBS scene configuration to a corrupted file or crash.

The pattern: streamer spends 20+ hours building custom scenes, configuring sources, setting up alerts. OBS crashes or scene file corrupts. Configuration is lost. 20+ hours of work to rebuild.

Why this happens:

• OBS scene collections are stored as JSON files in user config
• Files can corrupt during crashes or sudden shutdowns
• Plugin updates sometimes invalidate scene configurations
• Hardware failures can wipe the local OS

Backup workflow:

• OBS: Scene Collection menu → Export → save the JSON file
• Save to cloud storage (Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive) for off-PC backup
• Save monthly minimum, weekly if you make frequent scene changes
• Version-named files: "MyStream-2026-01-15.json" so you can roll back

What's in a scene collection backup:

• Scene structure (which sources are in which scenes)
• Source configurations (URLs for browser sources, devices for capture sources)
• Position and sizing of all sources
• Audio mixer settings
• Filter chains on sources
• Hotkey assignments

What's NOT in a scene collection backup:

• OBS application settings (encoder, output paths, etc.) — those live in different config files
• Plugin installations (need to reinstall plugins separately)
• Streaming credentials (would be re-authenticated on restore)

The discipline: 5-minute monthly backup. Saves 20+ hours when disaster strikes.