Frequently Asked
Questions

Yes. u-alert is a self-hosted Windows desktop app designed to replace StreamElements — animated Twitch alert overlays, a chat bot with custom commands and timers, loyalty points, and OBS browser source widgets. Everything runs on your PC, not a cloud server.

The key difference: StreamElements requires your stream to relay events through their servers. u-alert connects directly to Twitch's EventSub WebSocket from your machine, so alerts work even if our backend is temporarily unreachable.

After installing and launching u-alert, open OBS Studio (or Streamlabs OBS) and add a Browser Source. Set the URL to:

http://localhost:9001/overlay

That's it. The overlay connects automatically and your stream alerts will fire in real time whenever a Twitch event triggers.

Yes. u-alert works with any streaming software that supports browser sources — including OBS Studio, Streamlabs OBS, XSplit, and others. Just add a Browser Source pointing to http://localhost:9001/overlay.

Currently, u-alert is Windows-only (Windows 10 and 11). Mac and Linux versions are not available at this time. We may expand platform support in the future based on demand.

u-alert supports animated stream alerts for the following Twitch events:

1. New followers
2. New subscribers (first-time)
3. Gift subscriptions
4. Bits (Cheer events)
5. Raids
6. Donations

Each event type has its own customizable overlay built in the drag-and-drop alert builder.

Yes. The built-in Twitch chat bot supports:

1. Custom commands with cooldowns and permission levels
2. Recurring timer messages on configurable intervals
3. Built-in commands like !commands and !so

No third-party bot account or external service is required.

No. Alerts fire directly from your PC to OBS — there is no cloud relay in the alert path. Our backend servers are only involved in authentication and billing verification on startup.

If our servers are temporarily unreachable, a 7-day offline grace period kicks in automatically. Your subscription stays active and your stream is never interrupted.

When u-alert starts up, it contacts our backend to verify your subscription. If the check succeeds, it caches the result locally with a timestamp.

If the check fails — because your internet is down or our servers are temporarily unreachable — u-alert falls back to the cached result. As long as the last successful check was within the past 7 days, the app runs normally.

Yes. All new subscribers get a 7-day free trial. Your card is required to start, but you won't be charged until day 8. Cancel before the trial ends and you won't be billed anything.

Cancel from inside the u-alert app — no support ticket needed:

1. Open the u-alert desktop app
2. Click Settings in the sidebar
3. Under Subscription, click Manage Subscription
4. This opens the Stripe billing portal in your browser
5. Click Cancel plan and confirm

Your access continues until the end of the current billing period. You can also use this portal to update your payment method or download invoices.

u-alert is $7.99/month, billed monthly via Stripe. One plan includes everything: alert overlays, alert builder, chat bot, loyalty points, and all OBS overlay widgets. No tiers, no feature gates, no ads.