Open a Program or File
Created 28 Aug 2026·Updated 11 Sept 2026
Launch something on your PC when an alert fires: a program, a shortcut, a sound file, a document, or anything else Windows knows how to open.
This is the counterpart to Kill a System Process, which closes things.
Quick Start
- Create or edit an alert.
- Add the Open a Program or File action. It is under Automation & Flow.
- Choose the Program or File.
- Decide what should happen If It's Already Open.
- Save and test.
Configuration Options
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Program or File | What to open. The picker starts on programs; switch it to All Files to choose something that is not a program. |
| If It's Already Open | What to do when the same thing is already running. See below. |
| Extra Options (Advanced) | Optional command line options. |
If It's Already Open
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Open It Anyway | Opens another copy regardless. |
| Do Nothing (Don't Open A Second Copy) | Leaves the running one alone. |
TipLink matches on the file name. Shortcuts are matched by the shortcut's own name, not the program it points at, so two different shortcuts to the same program count as two different things.
Extra Options (Advanced)
Command line options passed to the program, for example:
--profile "My Stream"
Wrap anything containing spaces in quotes. Placeholders work here, so you can pass {{ username }} through.
Extra options are only passed to programs (.exe) and batch files (.bat, .cmd). They are ignored for documents, sound files and anything else Windows opens with its default app.
Common Uses
Open a scene collection or profile when you go live
- Trigger: OBS Studio, Stream Started
- Program or File: the program you want alongside your stream
- If It's Already Open: Do Nothing
A viewer-triggered surprise
- Trigger: Points Redemptions, or a channel point reward
- Program or File: a video or sound file
Launch a helper tool on a chat command
- Trigger: Chat Message restricted to moderators
- Program or File: your tool
- Extra Options: anything it needs
Safety
This action runs programs on your PC, so treat it like the Keyboard and Kill Process actions.
- Be careful attaching it to anything a viewer can trigger. Combine it with role conditions, or put it behind a redemption with a cost.
- Use Do Nothing rather than Open It Anyway on anything viewers can set off repeatedly, or you will end up with fifty copies open.
- Add a cooldown to the alert.
Troubleshooting
Nothing opens
Check the path still exists. If you moved or reinstalled the program, pick it again.
Two copies opened
If It's Already Open is set to Open It Anyway, or the running copy was started from a differently named shortcut.
My arguments were ignored
Extra options only reach programs and batch files. Anything opened by Windows' default handler ignores them.
Related
- Kill a System Process - closes a program instead.
- Keyboard Input - presses keys rather than launching anything.
- Cooldowns & Rate Limiting - stop this firing repeatedly.