Best OBS Settings for Recording Code Tutorials: Sharp Text, Small Files

If you’ve ever recorded a coding tutorial and the final video turned your beautiful syntax highlighting into a blurry mess, or if the file ended up being a 50GB monster for a 30-minute screencast, you’re not alone. The default OBS settings are optimized for gaming, not for sharp, static text.

The secret lies in choosing the right Rate Control method and prioritizing resolution accuracy over raw bitrate. In this guide, you’ll configure OBS Studio step by step to achieve crystal-clear text in recordings while keeping file sizes reasonable.

Why Default OBS Settings Fail for Code Recordings

OBS ships with CBR (Constant Bitrate) as the default rate control. CBR allocates the same amount of data per second regardless of scene complexity. This works well for fast-paced gaming footage where every frame changes dramatically, but it’s wasteful for code tutorials where most of the screen is static text.

What you need instead is a quality-based rate control method like CQP or CRF, which dynamically allocates bits only where they’re needed. Static frames get fewer bits (small file), and complex transitions get more (sharp quality).

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Step 1: Configure Output Settings

Navigate to Settings > Output. Change the Output Mode to Advanced and click the Recording tab.

Recording Format

Set this to Fragmented MP4 (.mp4) or MKV.

Video Encoder

Choose the best encoder available on your system:

GPU/System	Recommended Encoder	Notes
NVIDIA GPU	NVIDIA NVENC H.264 (or HEVC)	Hardware-accelerated, minimal CPU impact
macOS	Apple VT H.264 Hardware Encoder	Native hardware encoding via VideoToolbox
CPU only	x264	Software encoding, higher CPU usage (last resort)

Rate Control (The Key Setting)

This is the most important setting for code recordings. Do NOT use CBR. Instead:

• Windows / NVIDIA GPU: Use CQP (Constant Quantization Parameter).
• x264 (CPU encoding): Use CRF (Constant Rate Factor).

Both methods work on the same principle: you set a quality target, and the encoder dynamically adjusts the bitrate to maintain that quality level.

CQ Level / CRF Value

Set this between 20 and 23 for the optimal balance:

Value Range	Quality	File Size	Use Case
16–18	Near-lossless	Heavy	Archival quality, post-production editing
20–23	Excellent (sweet spot)	Moderate	Tutorials, screencasts, YouTube uploads
25+	Noticeable degradation	Small	Text starts looking blurry, avoid for code

Additional Encoder Settings

• Keyframe Interval: 2 seconds.
• Profile: high.

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Step 2: Configure Video Settings

Navigate to Settings > Video.

Base (Canvas) Resolution

Set this to your monitor’s native resolution (e.g., 1920x1080, 2560x1440, or 3840x2160).

Output (Scaled) Resolution

For code tutorials, set this to the same value as your Base Resolution. This is critical.

If you absolutely must downscale (e.g., for upload size constraints), use Lanczos (36 samples) as the Downscale Filter. It produces the sharpest results among all available filters.

Frame Rate (FPS)

Set Common FPS Values to 30.

For programming tutorials and screencasts, 60 FPS is unnecessary. Your screen content is mostly static text with occasional mouse movement and scrolling. At 30 FPS:

• Mouse movement remains perfectly smooth.
• File size is reduced by approximately 50% compared to 60 FPS.
• Encoding overhead is halved, freeing CPU/GPU resources.

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Step 3: Configure Color Settings

Getting color settings right ensures your editor theme (VS Code, IntelliJ, Vim, etc.) looks exactly as intended in the final recording.

Navigate to Settings > Advanced.

Setting	Recommended Value	Why
Color Format	NV12	Most compatible format across encoders and players
Color Space	709	Standard for HD/web content (BT.709)
Color Range	Limited	Prevents blacks from looking washed out or crushed

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Bonus Tips: Make Your Text Even Sharper

Beyond OBS settings, how you set up your screen before recording has a massive impact on text readability.

1. Increase Your Editor Font Size

Bump your code editor zoom by 10–20% beyond your normal working size. What looks perfectly readable on your monitor at arm’s length will appear small in a YouTube embed or a Teams call window.

// VS Code: Add to settings.json
{
  "editor.fontSize": 16,       // up from default 14
  "terminal.integrated.fontSize": 15
}

2. Use High-Contrast Themes

Dark themes with vibrant, saturated colors record significantly better than pastel or low-contrast themes. The compression algorithm preserves sharp color boundaries better when there’s strong contrast between the text and background.

Recommended themes for recording:

• Night Owl — Rich blues with high-contrast syntax colors.
• Dracula — Deep purple background with vivid neon accents.
• Tokyo Night — Balanced dark theme with excellent color separation.
• One Dark Pro — High contrast with well-differentiated token colors.

3. Disable Font Anti-Aliasing (Edge Case)

If you’re recording at a very low output resolution (720p or below), font anti-aliasing (font smoothing) can actually make text appear blurrier by adding semi-transparent pixels around character edges. In these cases, consider disabling it in your editor settings.

// VS Code: Disable anti-aliasing
{
  "editor.fontLigatures": false,
  "workbench.fontAliasing": "none"
}

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Quick Reference: Complete OBS Settings Cheat Sheet

Category	Setting	Value
Output	Output Mode	Advanced
	Recording Format	Fragmented MP4
	Encoder	NVENC H.264 / Apple VT / x264
	Rate Control	CQP (GPU) or CRF (CPU)
	CQ/CRF Level	20–23
	Keyframe Interval	2s
	Profile	High
Video	Base Resolution	Native monitor resolution
	Output Resolution	Same as base (no scaling)
	Downscale Filter	Lanczos (if scaling)
	FPS	30
Advanced	Color Format	NV12
	Color Space	709
	Color Range	Limited

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Conclusion

The difference between a blurry code recording and a razor-sharp one comes down to three decisions: using quality-based rate control (CQP/CRF) instead of constant bitrate, keeping your output resolution at native without downscaling, and recording at 30 FPS instead of 60.

These settings ensure every character in your code editor is perfectly legible while keeping file sizes manageable. Combined with a high-contrast theme and slightly larger font size, your recordings will look professional and be easy to follow for your audience.