Vortexia adds audio-reactive visuals to Streamlabs Desktop as a Browser Source, and it also connects to Streamlabs itself. Those are two different things and the second is the useful one. As a Browser Source it renders GPU fractals that react to your audio per frequency band. Connected to your Streamlabs account through a socket token, it also reacts to events: donations, subscriptions, resubs, follows, bits, hosts and raids each trigger a distinct visual treatment rather than a generic flash. A raid pulls the camera back and sends a bright band outward; a donation shakes the frame and rings a golden ripple; a follow is a soft ripple, deliberately the gentlest, because if small events feel big then big events stop feeling big. This is the part audio visualizers cannot do. Butterchurn, Synesthesia and Resolume all analyse sound well, but none of them has any connection to Streamlabs or Twitch, so none can know a donation happened. Alert widgets do know, but they draw a card in a corner rather than driving your whole background — most streamers run both, with Vortexia underneath. Setup is a socket token pasted into the Platforms tab, no OAuth dance. Free at 720p with a watermark; Plus is $4.99 a month.
How to use Pro Visuals for Streamlabs Desktop
Get your socket token. In Streamlabs, open Account Settings -> API Settings -> API Tokens and copy the Socket API Token.
Connect it in Vortexia. Dashboard -> Platforms -> Streamlabs, paste the token and connect. Events start arriving immediately.
Add the visual to Streamlabs Desktop. Add a Browser Source, paste your viewer URL, set 1920x1080 and place it beneath your other sources.
Rehearse before you go live. Use the dashboard trigger buttons to fire each event once, so nothing surprises you mid-stream.
Specs & output
Engine
Neon Pulse
Render Mode
inferno
Iteration Depth
90
Default Zoom
1.80
Colour Shift
320°
Output (Free)
720p / 30fps + watermark
Output (Plus)
1080p / 60fps, no watermark
Output (Pro)
4K / 60fps, brand-kit logo overlay
Audio Source
Browser tab audio (FFT, real-time)
Last Updated
2026-08-24
Frequently asked questions
Which Streamlabs events drive the visual?
Donations, subscriptions and resubs, follows, bits, hosts and raids. Each maps to its own treatment rather than one shared flash, so a raid and a follow do not look alike.
How is this different from a Streamlabs alert box?
An alert box shows a card, an image and a sound in one corner. Vortexia changes the entire background. They complement each other rather than compete, and most people keep their alert box and put Vortexia behind it.
How do I connect it?
Streamlabs issues a socket API token in your account settings. Paste it into the Platforms tab in the Vortexia dashboard. There is no OAuth redirect to configure and nothing to install.
Does it work in Streamlabs Desktop specifically, or only OBS?
Both. Streamlabs Desktop has the same Browser Source that OBS Studio does, so the setup is identical: paste the URL, set 1920x1080, tick Control Audio.
Do I have to be live for the event reactions to work?
For real events, yes. But you can rehearse without going live: the dashboard has manual trigger buttons for sub, donation, raid, hype train, bits and follow, plus keyboard shortcuts and trigger links, so you can see each treatment and decide whether you like it first.
About the author
Yousef @ Vortexia — Vortexia Engine Creator.
Yousef builds Vortexia — a browser-based, GPU-accelerated audio-reactive visual engine used by streamers and DJs on Twitch, Kick, YouTube Live and TikTok Live.