How to Bring Back a Deleted Scene in OBS from a Backup

What exactly needs to be restored in OBS

OBS scenes aren't stored separately from one another—they live inside a scene collection. That collection holds the scenes themselves, the sources, their on-screen positions, filters, and some of the settings. If you deleted a scene and OBS managed to save the changes, it's no longer in the current collection file.

An OBS profile is mainly responsible for streaming, recording, hotkey, and output settings. It doesn't replace a backup of the scene collection. So to restore, look for a collection export, a copy of the scene file, or a backup of the OBS settings folder.

Before restoring, don't delete your current files. Even if the scene is gone, your present configuration may contain useful sources and settings that you'll need to transfer later.

Where to look for a scene collection backup

The most convenient option is a file that was created in advance through the OBS "Scene Collection" menu and the export option. Usually this is a JSON file. A copy may also be in a backup folder, on an external drive, or in the system's file history.

If you manually copied your OBS settings, check the folder with the scene collections. On Windows it's usually located at %AppData%\obs-studio\basic\scenes. On macOS the path is ~/Library/Application Support/obs-studio/basic/scenes, and on Linux it's ~/.config/obs-studio/basic/scenes.

These folders may contain collection files with various names. Go by the modification date, and don't open the only copy you found for editing. First make another copy of the file so you don't lose the original.

How to import a deleted scene through OBS

If you have a collection export, launch OBS and first save your current collection via "Scene Collection" → "Export." This creates an extra fallback point in case the wrong file gets picked during restoration.

Then open the "Scene Collection" menu and choose "Import." Point it to the backup JSON file. After importing, the collection will appear in the list of available collections. Switch to it and check whether the needed scene, sources, and correct item order are there.

If you need to bring back just one scene rather than the whole collection, use scene copy and paste if those options are available in your version of OBS. First open the restored collection, copy the needed scene, switch to your working one, and paste it. If that feature isn't available, temporarily use the restored collection or move the sources over manually.

What to do if you only have a copy of the OBS folder

When the backup contains the entire obs-studio folder, fully close OBS. Make sure in Task Manager or your system monitor that the program has actually finished running. Then rename your current settings folder—without deleting it—and copy the backup folder into its former place.

After launching OBS, check the scene collections and profiles. This method can bring back not only the deleted scene but also old streaming, recording, hotkey, and connected device settings. If needed, save the desired collection separately via the export function, then restore your current configuration.

If the backup was made with operating system tools, restore only the folder or collection file, not the entire disk. On Windows this might be File History, on macOS it's Time Machine. The menu names depend on your system version and how the copy was created.

Why a restored scene may look wrong

A collection saves source settings but doesn't always bring back the media files themselves. If a video, image, or music file was moved, renamed, or deleted, OBS will show the source with an error. Point it to the new file path or put the file back in its original folder.

Also check that you've opened the restored collection and not another one with a similar name. If the scene is there but nothing shows on the canvas, look at its sources, visibility icons, layer order, and device connections. Screen capture and browser sources may need to be configured separately.

If there's no suitable copy, automatically restoring a deleted scene usually won't work. In that case, check your file history, backup drives, and old exported collections. Don't save an empty or modified collection over the copy you found.

In short: what to do step by step

1. Close OBS and find the collection export or a copy of the settings folder.
2. Save your current configuration without deleting it.
3. Import the JSON via the "Scene Collection" → "Import" menu.
4. Check the scenes and media file paths, then export the restored collection to a new file.