obsproject/obs-studio

Migrate string-based exceptions during initialization to localized error codes/types

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#13394 opened on May 3, 2026

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Good first issuekind/tech-debt

Description

Currently during initialization OBS will simply throw const char * for issues

https://github.com/obsproject/obs-studio/blob/085a51ab0f0573412a368905bb9a843e2de4cecd/frontend/OBSApp.cpp#L1054-L1061

and run_program happens to know to catch those with

https://github.com/obsproject/obs-studio/blob/085a51ab0f0573412a368905bb9a843e2de4cecd/frontend/obs-main.cpp#L693-L696

This is both messy and also means that these errors can not be localized.

All of these potential errors during initialization should throw a proper exception type that identifies the kind of error with an optional error message for developers, then catch the specific type and display the localized error message appropriate for the error.

Contributor guide

Tech stack
ccpp
Domain
desktop
Issue type
refactor
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-3 hours
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
fresh
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
C++ exceptionsOBS initialization flowLocalization concepts
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
35
Research direction
The issue involves modifying the initialization error handling in OBSApp.cpp and obs main.cpp. Currently, string based throws and catches are used. The solution should create a proper exception class (e.g., ObsInitException) that includes an error code or type, then catch that specific exception in run program and display a localized error message. The localization system should be used to provide user facing messages based on the error code.