How to Rollback OBS Studio to a Previous Version on Linux? OBS Studio is currently the most widely used open-source software that allows the capture of videos, and even live broadcasting. There may be new bugs or some undesired change made during an update, and you may want to get back (or roll back) to some previous version that worked for you better. In this post, I’ll guide you on downgrading OBS Studio on a Linux distro to an earlier version.
Step 1: Identify the Current Version of OBS Studio
In this case, users need to find out the version of OBS Studio installed prior to rollback.
- Open the terminal.
- Run the following command:
This will show you the version of OBS Studio installed in your current operating system.
Step 2: Find the Desired Version of OBS Studio
First of all, to install an older version of OBS Studio you have to know which version you would like to install. You can go and search for the specific version you want in the OBS Studio release archive or downloadable package which depends on your Linux distribution. OBS Studio versions can be found on:
- OBS Studio GitHub Releases
- The OBS Studio archive section at the official website of the program
- The package manager of your particular Linux distribution is APT, DNF, etc.
Step 3: Uninstall the Current Version of OBS Studio
Sources and transitions in case something goes wrong. It’s, however, important to uninstall the current OBS Studio build before going back to an earlier build. Here’s how you can do it depending on your Linux distribution:
For Ubuntu/Debian-based Distributions:
- Open the terminal.
- Run the following command to remove OBS Studio:
It will also remove the version currently installed in OBS Studio.
For Fedora-based Distributions:
- Open the terminal.
- Run the following command to remove OBS Studio:
For Arch-based Distributions:
- Open the terminal.
- Run the following command:
Step 4: Add the OBS Repository (If Needed)
For some distributions, you may have previously installed OBS Studio from the repository of the OBS Project. To downgrade to a certain version, you may have to use or add this repository in case it was not included at first. But if you decide to switch back to a particular version of the package,you have to know where to find the repository or the given package.
Ubuntu/Debian:
Add the OBS Studio repository if it’s not already added:
Use the following command to check the available versions:
If you find the older version you want, you can install it directly using the version number:
For example, if you want to install OBS Studio version 27.1.3, use:
Fedora:
If you’re using Fedora, you can downgrade the OBS version using the DNF package manager:
In case the specific version is not available with the said repository, the RPM package of the particular version could be installed from the Fedora OBS repository or directly from the OBS Project in case of inability to download from the mentioned repository.
Arch Linux (Including Manjaro): Thanks to the downgrade utility the process of rollbacking packages in Arch Linux is much easier.
Install the downgrade package if you don’t already have it:
Use downgrade to rollback to a previous version of OBS Studio:
A list of available OBS Studio version will be presented as follows: Choose the version you would like to install by keying the relevant number. In the last step when you are being questioned whether you do want to add the package to the ignore list – answer ‘yes’ to avoid OBS Studio getting updated to the last version.
Step 5: Install the Stable Version Manually,
If the Package Manager Does Not Support It However, if your specific version is not available on your package manager or in the repository then you have to download it from the OBS Studio archive or GitHub releases section.
For Ubuntu/Debian: Visit the OBS Studio Releases page or any other source of your choice and download the
.deb file of the particular version you prefer.
After downloading it, one has to open the terminal and get to the directory containing the. deb file.
Install the package manually using:
If there are missing dependencies, run:
For Fedora:
- Download the .rpm package from the OBS Studio releases or RPM Fusion archive.
- Install it using the following command:
For Arch Linux:
You can use the downgrade command as mentioned earlier or manually build the package from the Arch User Repository (AUR).
Download the older package version from the Arch Linux archive and install it using:
Step 6: Prevent Automatic Updates (Optional)
After you have followed all these processes, to roll back OBS Studio to another version, you may wish to block your system from updating OBS Studio to the latest.
For Ubuntu/Debian: You can hold the OBS Studio package to prevent it from being upgraded:
To uphold the package when you’re ready to upgrade again, run:
For Fedora: Fedora does not provide a “hold” option, but you can turn off the auto-update for dnf or, in specific circumstances, update a couple of packages only.
For Arch Linux: After using the downgrade tool it will ask to add OBS Studio to the ignore list. If you want to manually add it to the IgnorePkg list in your /etc/pacman.conf, open the file and add:
Step 7: Verify Installation
Finally, after rolling back OBS Studio to a previous version, verify that the correct version has been installed by running:
Ensure the output matches the version you intended to install.
Conclusion
It is advisable to roll back OBS Studio to an older version in Linux in case you facing some problems in this contemporary version, or you just wish to grind back to a traditional version of OBS Studio, which means that you are willing to compromise on updated features for reliability in different situations. For different distributions, the procedures may be slightly different, but in general, each of them consists of the removal of the present version, the search for the required one, and the installation either by hand or using the appropriate commands of the package system. Also, always remember to disable automatic update features if you prefer not to have OBS Studio automatically update again.
