There are a few reasons that you might want to do a private stream on Twitch, one of the main reasons being to test out that your setup is working as expected before you go live to your audience as there’s nothing worse than going live, notifications being sent out, only to find that there’s something not working or your connection isn’t stable.
That’s why a feature like a private stream would be ideal similar to those you can do on Youtube.
Sadly twitch doesn’t offer private streams, but there is a workaround although it’s not the most convenient.
The only real way to do it, it to set up a completely new Twitch account that is only used to test your settings. Here’s how to do it.
Follow the instructions below to set up a new twitch account and generate your stream key.
- Visit the Twitch website:
Go to https://www.twitch.tv/ in your web browser. - Sign up for a Twitch account:
Click the “Sign Up” button in the top-right corner of the page. Fill out the required fields, including your username, password, email address, and date of birth. - Complete the CAPTCHA:
To confirm that you’re not a robot, complete the CAPTCHA challenge. - Verify your email address:
Check your email for a verification message from Twitch. Click on the link provided in the email to verify your account. - Log in to your Twitch account:
Visit https://www.twitch.tv/ and click the “Log In” button in the top-right corner. Enter your username and password, then click “Log In”. - Access your Dashboard:
Click on your profile icon in the top-right corner, then select “Creator Dashboard” from the drop-down menu. - Navigate to the Stream Key settings:
In the Creator Dashboard, click on the hamburger menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the top-left corner, then go to “Settings” > “Stream”. - Generate your Stream Key:
On the “Stream Key & Preferences” page, you will see your Primary Stream key. If you haven’t generated a key yet, click the “Generate” or “Copy” button to create and copy your Stream Key.
Treat this key as confidential; do not share it with others, as it allows anyone with the key to stream on your channel.
Setting it up in OBS
Next you want to hop into your OBS software.
- Launch OBS:
Open OBS Studio on your computer. - Access OBS profiles:
Click on “Profile” in the top menu bar. - Create a new profile:
From the “Profile” drop-down menu, select “New”. A window will appear prompting you to enter a name for the new profile. - Name your profile:
Give your new profile a descriptive name, such as “Twitch Streaming Test” or any other name that helps you identify the profile’s purpose.
Click “OK” to create the profile. - Configure your new profile:
With your new profile selected, you can now configure your settings for your Twitch stream.
Click on “Settings” in the bottom-right corner, then select the “Stream” tab. Choose “Twitch” as the service, and paste your Twitch stream key (which you previously generated) into the “Stream Key” field.
Next, you’ll want to make sure that you’ve got the settings set up exactly as you have in your other twitch profile in terms of video output, etc. This shouldn’t change, but it’s always worth checking it over to be sure.
Now it’s just a case of going live.
You’ll be able to find your private stream by opening the profile page of your new Twitch account and the stream will be there.
It’s not exactly private, but it’s highly unlikely that anyone would stumble across it unless you were streaming a game with zero competition and it’s sadly the only real option you have at the moment.
Just remember that once it’s time to go live on your main account that you switch the profiles in OBS.
