If you have completed one of the greatest streams of all time, chances are you don’t want it to disappear all of a sudden. This is where, Twitch facilitates creators to save their streams in a variety of ways, allowing viewers to watch them later.
Once you have ended a stream, there are actually a couple of ways in which you can save your stream. This is where we are dedicating this article to all the content creators on how to save Twitch streams.
Also Read: How to Download Twitch Clips
Save Your Twitch Streams Using VODs and Highlights
Video On Demand, also commonly known as VOD, are streams recordings along with the original chats and messages. All Twitch Partners, Twitch Turbo Subscribers, and Amazon Prime Members can keep their VODs for 60 days.
For general users, the number is drastically reduced to mere 14 days, after which Twitch deletes your VODs. Although for Twitch Streamers, there is a workaround where you can turn your VODs into Highlights which won’t expire ever.
That being said, there are also other ways in which you can keep your previous broadcasts saved outside your public Twitch channel. Not to mention, you can also download your Twitch VODs and Highlights to view offline as well.
Note: Our guide only discusses how to save your own Twitch streams to view offline. There is no official way in which you can save someone else’s stream. But you can always use a third-party application such as Twitch Leecher.
Enable Twitch VODs on Your Channel
You need to enable the VODs on your channel before you start to save any of your broadcasts. Follow the steps mentioned below:
Step 1: At first head over to the Twitch website and log in to your account.
Step 2: From the top-right corner, click on your profile icon and select Creator Dashboard.
Step 3: From the same left sidebar, select Settings and click on Stream.
Step 4: Scroll down until you find VOD Settings. Now, toggle on the option that says Store past broadcasts. Once you are at it, you can always toggle another option, Always Publish VODs. This allows you to publish your VODs as soon as you end your broadcast.
Note: Twitch also allows streamers to exclude certain games and categories from their VODs.
As soon as your stream ends, you can actually find the recordings of your broadcast understand the Content section of the Creator Dashboard. Simply click on Content from the left sidebar and select Video Producer. You can manage all your VODs including deleting and unpublish them from the same page.
How to Create Permanent Highlights from Twitch VODs
Once you have saved your VODs, it is going to stay on your channel for 60 days (for Partners, Turbo, and Prime Users) and 14 days (for regular users). But at the same time, you can keep it for an indefinite amount of time, by turning your VODs into Highlights. Here’s how to do it:
Step 1: Head over to your Creator Dashboard. From the left sidebar select Content and click on Video Producer.
Step 2: Pick the stream that you want to keep and select Highlight from the right side.
Step 3: An editing window will show up where you can expect to pick the time frame for the parts of the VOD you want to save as Highlights. To cover the entire timeline, you can simply stretch the yellow bar. There is also a dedicated Start and End option to highlight your boundaries.
Step 4: Once you are done, click on Publish Highlights to save your entire VOD altogether.
Note: Highlights are a great way to showcase the best moments of your streams as well. Use it to your advantage to drive more traffic.
Save Your Twitch Streams for Offline
For the majority of the streamers, chances are you are already using one of the streaming programs such as OBS or Twitch Studio. These programs already allow you to save your stream and seamlessly post them on other platforms including YouTube or Reddit.
But, if you are unable to make the most out of these applications, you can still download your VODs and Highlights right from your channel. Follow the steps mentioned below to download your broadcast:
Step 1: Head over to your Creator Dashboard. From the left sidebar select Content and click on Video Producer.
Step 2: Choose the VOD or Highlight that you want to download and select the 3 vertical dots from the right side.
Step 3: Once the drop-down menu appears, simply click on Download. It might take a few moments before Twitch prepares the video. For a longer duration of videos, it might take a while. All of your videos will be saved in mp4 formats.
Recommended: How to Host on Twitch
So there you have it, some of the most prominent ways in which you can save your Twitch videos to view them offline.
