Setup Guide

Get RYLI running, then go live.

Two parts. Part one gets RYLI installed and talking to OBS — do it once and you are done. Part two is how you actually start a show, which depends on where you sell. Never used OBS before? You are in the right place; no experience needed.

A Windows PC — or a Mac running Parallels Desktop
OBS Studio (free — part one walks you through it)
Optional: a phone to use as your product camera
About 15–25 minutes, start to finish

Part one — get RYLI running

✨Step 1 — Install RYLI

Start here

RYLI is a free download and installs like any other Windows app. The same installer covers both plans — Pro unlocks with a key, nothing separate to download.

Download and run the installer

Grab it from the button at the bottom of this page, or from anywhere else on this site. Windows may warn you about an app from a new publisher — RYLI is code-signed, so click More info → Run anyway if you see it.

Open RYLI and let the wizard start

RYLI opens straight into a short setup wizard. It asks where you go live, sorts your microphone and camera, and connects OBS for you. You can replay it any time from Settings → About.

Activate Pro (only if you bought it)

Paste your key in Settings → About and hit Activate. Every new install also gets a 10-day trial with everything unlocked, so there is nothing to buy to try it.

🎥Step 2 — Install OBS Studio

The free broadcast software

OBS is what actually sends your stream out. RYLI does not replace it — RYLI's overlay is a layer that sits inside it. If you already stream with OBS, skip to step 3.

Download OBS Studio

Go to obsproject.com/download and grab the installer — free, official, under a minute.

Run it with the default options

There is nothing to configure yet. Leave "Launch OBS Studio" checked when it finishes.

Skip the Auto-Configuration Wizard

OBS may offer to auto-configure your stream on first launch. Click Cancel — RYLI handles the settings that matter.

🔗Step 3 — Connect RYLI to OBS

One button, no scene-building

RYLI adds its overlay to OBS for you. You never copy a link or type a number.

Turn on OBS's WebSocket server

In OBS: Tools → WebSocket Server Settings, tick Enable WebSocket server, and Apply. This is what lets RYLI talk to it.

Press "Connect & Add Overlay to OBS"

It is in RYLI's wizard, and afterwards in Settings → Connections. RYLI creates the browser sources itself. Windows may ask whether to allow RYLI through the firewall — choose Allow, or OBS cannot load your overlay.

Check your overlay is on the canvas

You should see the RYLI strip appear in OBS. RYLI also adds a second source for her audio, so her voice gets its own fader in your mixer instead of riding on Desktop Audio.

Optional — put your face in the jumbotron

In Settings → Appearance & FX → Webcam, turn on your camera and pick your device. It is free on every plan and off by default. This is piped through RYLI, not a second OBS source.

📱Step 4 — Your product camera OPTIONAL

Point a phone at the table

Most live sellers use a phone as their main camera so viewers see the product, not just a face. DroidCam is the usual way to do it. Skip this if you already have a camera in OBS.

Install DroidCam on your phone and this PC

Phone app from Google Play or the App Store; the PC client from droidcam.app/windows. You need both halves.

Install the DroidCam OBS plugin

A separate small installer from droidcam.app/obs. Without it OBS cannot see your phone. Run it, then fully close and reopen OBS.

Connect by USB if you can

Same Wi-Fi works, but a USB cable gives the most stable, lowest-lag feed — worth it for live selling.

Add it as an OBS source

In OBS click + under Sources → DroidCam Source → pick your phone. Prop it facing your product. RYLI's overlay sits on top of this.

Part two — start your show

You are set up. How you actually go live depends on where you sell — pick yours.

🟢Going live on Whatnot

Start every show from RYLI

This is the one step people miss. RYLI can only read a window she opened herself. If you start your show from your own browser — even the same account, even the same show — she sees nothing: no bids, no chat, no leaderboards, no celebrations, no sales tracked. The overlay will sit there looking fine and doing nothing. Always begin with the Launch Whatnot Show button at the top of RYLI.

1. Click "Launch Whatnot Show" in RYLI

It is the button in RYLI's header. This opens a dedicated window just for Whatnot — the one RYLI watches. Log in there as normal; it stays separate from your everyday browser.

2. In that window: Shows → OBS Tools → Connect to OBS

These are Whatnot's own buttons, on their site. Connect to OBS sits in the bottom-right of the page.

3. Start Show → Open Show

Also Whatnot's buttons. This is what actually puts you live.

4. Leave that window running

Run the whole auction from it, or leave it open in the background and control the show from a phone or tablet on the same account. Either way, do not close it mid-show.

Set your Whatnot username in RYLI

Settings → Platforms. This is how RYLI knows to track only your shows — if you browse someone else's stream, she stops recording so their buyers never end up in your history.

🍎Running RYLI on a Mac

It works, through Parallels

RYLI is a Windows app. On a Mac it runs inside Parallels Desktop, and hosts are already streaming that way. RYLI recognises when it is running in Parallels and sets itself up accordingly — you press the same button everyone else presses, and there is no address to look up.

Keep OBS on the Mac side

This is the setup to aim for. OBS runs natively on macOS where it can use your Mac's own video encoder, and RYLI runs in the Windows window beside it. RYLI finds OBS across that boundary by itself.

Press "Connect & Add Overlay to OBS" exactly as normal

Settings → Connections. RYLI checks the Windows side first, then the Mac hosting it, connects to whichever is running OBS, and points OBS back at an address that can actually reach it. Windows may ask whether to allow RYLI through the firewall the first time — choose Allow, or OBS cannot load your overlay.

Type your own OBS password instead of copying one

Parallels' shared clipboard can be slow, and OBS generates a long random password. In OBS go to Tools → WebSocket Server Settings, type a short password of your own, and Apply. Then type that same one into RYLI — no copy-paste to lag or paste half of.

If RYLI cannot find OBS

Check OBS is open with Enable WebSocket server ticked, then press the button again. Still nothing? In Parallels open Settings → Hardware → Network, switch from Shared to Bridged, restart the Windows VM and try once more.

You can also run OBS inside Windows

That works too, with no special setup. The trade-off is that OBS cannot reach your Mac's hardware encoder from inside the VM, so it falls back to encoding on the processor — fine on some machines, heavy on others. Try the Mac-side setup first.

Everything in the Whatnot tab still applies — including starting your show from RYLI's own button. A native macOS build is not available yet; if you are running RYLI on a Mac we would genuinely like to hear how it goes: hello@ryli.app.

🟣Twitch OVERLAY ONLY

The overlay works. The live data doesn’t — yet.

RYLI's overlay already works on Twitch today — it is an OBS browser source, so it goes wherever OBS goes. Your camera, themes, sounds, hype meter and Ryli's voice all run exactly as they do anywhere else.

What is not there yet is reading your Twitch chat and events, so leaderboards and celebrations have nothing to react to. That connection is in progress. In the meantime, in RYLI choose "I stream, but don't sell live" during setup — or in Settings → Platforms — and the sales pages stay out of your way.

⚫TikTok Shop LIVE OVERLAY ONLY

The overlay works. The live data doesn’t — yet.

Same position as Twitch: the overlay itself works anywhere OBS streams, but RYLI cannot yet read TikTok's bids and chat, so the live reactions have nothing to feed on.

TikTok also gates OBS streaming behind a follower threshold on their side, which is worth knowing before you plan around it. Set RYLI to "I stream, but don't sell live" for now.

That's the whole stack.

OBS sends the stream, your camera shows the product, and RYLI's overlay reacts live on top — including your own face cam when you want it. Questions along the way? Email hello@ryli.app — happy to help.

Download RYLI