Short answer
Before you start
- Your Twitch account open in a desktop browser, since Store Past Broadcasts can't be turned on in the app
- Free disk space, because a multi-hour stream makes a big file
- For someone else's videos: their permission, not a browser extension
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Step by step
- 01
Turn on Store Past Broadcasts before you go live
Twitch Help: On-Demand Content on Twitch ↗You finish a great stream, go looking for it, and it's gone. Ouch. For Twitch to keep your streams, open your Creator Dashboard and switch on Store Past Broadcasts in your stream settings. It can only be turned on from the web, not in the Twitch app. If you stream from your phone, enable it on the web first, or those broadcasts won't be saved.
Do it before your next stream: Twitch can't recover a broadcast that wasn't saved.
What you should see: In your stream settings, the Store Past Broadcasts toggle is switched on.
- 02
Find your VOD in Video Producer before it expires
Twitch Help: On-Demand Content on Twitch ↗Twitch doesn't keep your streams forever. Past broadcasts last 7 days for most channels, 14 days for Affiliates and 60 days for Partners and Prime or Turbo users. After that they're deleted. If you stream in 2K or vertical, that version lasts 7 days, then the 1080p or horizontal version stays for the rest of the window.
To find them, open your Creator Dashboard, then Content, then Video Producer. Use the drop-down at the top left of the video list to filter by video type.
What you should see: Video Producer shows your list of past broadcasts, with the video type filter at the top left.
- 03
Download the VOD to your computer
Twitch Help: On-Demand Content on Twitch ↗Next to each video there's a three vertical dots menu. Click it, choose Download, and the video saves to your device. With a long stream, the download can take a while to start, so give it time.
Twitch has no bulk download, so it's one video at a time. And if Twitch's audio recognition muted parts of the VOD, the file you download stays muted in those parts.
What you should see: The video file shows up in your computer's downloads folder.
- 04
Can't download it yet? Save it as a Highlight
Nicole Rojas | YouTube | 2:03 ↗VOD expires in two days and your drive is full? There's a way out. In her video, Nicole opens Video Producer, picks a stream and clicks Highlight, which opens Twitch's editor. The gold bar marks what will be kept. Use Split Segment and Delete Segment to drop the chatty intro or the bit where your stream cut out.
Then add a title and click Publish Highlights. As Nicole explains, once it finishes processing the Highlight is saved permanently, and you can download it from the three dots menu just like a VOD.
What you should see: Your new Highlight appears in Video Producer with the title you gave it.
- 05
Download your clips from Content, Clips
Twitch Help: How to Create, Edit, and Share Clips ↗Clips live somewhere else. Go to your Creator Dashboard, then Content, then Clips. You can search by title or category and filter by who clipped it or by date. Twitch lets you download landscape or portrait versions of clips of your channel and of clips you created yourself.
If only the landscape version is there, the portrait one hasn't been made yet. Click Edit (the scissors), choose Edit Layout, adjust the framing, then apply and save. Give it a minute and the portrait download shows up.
What you should see: When you open a clip in the Clips Manager, the landscape and portrait versions sit side by side.
- 06
For other people's videos, ask first
Twitch: Terms of Service ↗You saw a great VOD from another streamer and want to keep it. Twitch gives you no button for that. Its Terms of Service don't allow downloading any part of the service except where Twitch expressly permits it, and they rule out robots and scrapers for pulling content too.
The simple route is to message the creator and ask for the file, or for permission to use a clip of it. Sites and extensions that promise to grab any Twitch video sit outside what Twitch allows, and you'd be handing browser access to someone you don't know. That's why you won't find one recommended here.
What you should see: You have the creator's reply in writing, with the file or their permission.
If something does not work
- Your last stream isn't in Video Producer
- Most often, Store Past Broadcasts was off when you went live. Then the stream doesn't exist on Twitch's servers and Twitch can't get it back, because it doesn't own a time machine. If the setting was on, an incompatible configuration or an unstable connection can also stop it saving: check with Twitch Inspector.
- You clicked Download and nothing happens
- Long videos can take a while before the download starts. Wait a few minutes before clicking again, and download one video at a time, since Twitch has no bulk download.
- The downloaded VOD has silent stretches
- Those are the parts Twitch's audio recognition muted, and downloading doesn't bring the sound back. If you think it's a mistake, Twitch has an appeal process for muted audio. For next time, the OBS audio tracks guide helps you keep music out of your VOD.
- A clip only downloads in landscape
- The portrait version hasn't been created yet. Edit the clip with the scissors icon, open Edit Layout, make an adjustment, apply and save. Wait about a minute for it to render and the portrait option appears.
Test before you go live
- Store Past Broadcasts is switched on from the web before your next stream.
- You know how many days you have left to grab your latest VOD.
- The streams you want to keep are on your drive, saved as Highlights or exported to YouTube.
- No downloader extension for other people's videos is installed in your browser.
- And that's it, your streams won't vanish without you noticing.
Cómo editar tus streams de Twitch para subirlos a YouTube
Related video from Nicole (in Spanish) ↗Common questions
How long does Twitch keep VODs?
As of October 9, 2026: 7 days for most channels, 14 for Affiliates and 60 for Partners and Prime or Turbo users. Highlights and uploads don't expire, but together they share a 100-hour storage limit.
Can I download another streamer's VOD or clips?
Not their VODs, not from Twitch. Ask the person who made it. For clips, Twitch lets you download the ones you created yourself, even on someone else's channel. To share other people's clips, send the link, and ask before you post them anywhere else.
Are Twitch downloader sites and extensions safe?
We don't recommend them. Twitch's Terms of Service don't allow downloading content except where Twitch expressly permits it. Twitch's help center says third-party tools exist for bulk-downloading your own videos, but it doesn't name any. Before installing something that wants access to your browser, use the official buttons.
How do I download a Kick clip?
Kick has an official button. Open the clip and click Download, and it saves as an .mp4 file. Kick clips run 10 to 180 seconds. If it's someone else's clip, same rule as always: ask before you post it elsewhere.
Can I send a VOD to YouTube without downloading it?
Yes. Connect your YouTube account on Twitch's Connections page and use the Export option in Video Producer. To upload videos longer than 15 minutes, your YouTube account needs to be verified. The full walkthrough is in the guide to editing your Twitch streams for YouTube.
How long can a Twitch clip be?
Up to 60 seconds. You set the length with the slider when you create it, and you can trim it later in the Clips Manager.
