How to Go Live on TikTok from Twitch

Going live on Twitch is great, but what happens to all that great content once your stream ends? You can bring that live energy over to the world’s most powerful discovery engine, TikTok, by streaming to both places at the same time. This step-by-step guide will walk you through the entire process of simulcasting your Twitch stream to TikTok LIVE, completely transforming how you reach new audiences.

Why You Should Stream to Both Twitch and TikTok

Streaming to two platforms at once, often called simulcasting, can feel like a lot of extra work. But the payoff is immense, especially for growing creators. While Twitch is a fantastic platform for your core community, its discoverability features can be limiting. TikTok, on the other hand, is built entirely around discovery. Here’s why this hybrid approach is a game-changer for brand growth.

Tap Into TikTok's Powerful "For You" Page Algorithm

When you go live on TikTok, its algorithm doesn't just show your stream to your existing followers. It actively pushes your live video onto the "For You" page (FYP) of users who have shown interest in similar content, like gaming, art, music, or whatever your niche may be. This is your ticket to getting your stream in front of thousands, or even tens of thousands, of potential new viewers who have never heard of you. Each of these viewers is a potential new follower and a future member of your Twitch community.

Build a Non-Stop Content Funnel

Think of TikTok as the top of your marketing funnel. It’s where you attract broad awareness with an engaging, bite-sized experience. Viewers who discover you on TikTok LIVE and enjoy your content are much more likely to follow your call to action, which should be driving them to your primary platform: Twitch. By telling your TikTok audience, "Hey, for the full, wide-screen experience and to see the main chat, come hang out on Twitch!" you create a direct path for new fans to join your established community.

Repurpose Content in Real-Time

One of the biggest challenges for streamers is finding time to edit down long VODs into engaging short-form clips for social media. By streaming to TikTok in a vertical format, you are essentially creating real-time, pre-edited vertical video. Your stream layout will already be optimized for mobile viewing, making it easy for you or your community members to screen-record epic moments and post them as standalone TikTok videos in minutes, not hours. It streamlines your content workflow and keeps your social media channels full of fresh clips.

Increase Your Presence and Stay Top-of-Mind

The more places your audience can find you, the better. Having a live presence on both Twitch and TikTok means you're occupying more digital real estate. Even if someone only stops by your TikTok LIVE for a few seconds, it builds brand recognition. The next time they see one of your clipped videos, they'll be more likely to recognize your name and engage with your content.

What You'll Need Before You Go Live

Before moving on to the technical setup, let's make sure you have everything you need. Getting these prerequisites buttoned up first will save you a lot of headaches later.

• TikTok LIVE Access and a Stream Key: This is the most important requirement. To go live from a computer, TikTok generally requires you to have at least 1,000 followers. This can vary by region and account, but it's the standard benchmark. If you have LIVE access, you'll be able to generate a "Stream Key," which is a unique code that tells your streaming software where to send your video feed.
• A Decent Streaming PC: You're going to be encoding and sending two separate video streams to two different servers simultaneously. This requires more processing power than a single stream. You don't need a supercomputer, but a PC with a modern multi-core CPU (like an Intel i7/i9 or an AMD Ryzen 7/9) and a dedicated graphics card (NVIDIA RTX series or AMD RX series) is highly recommended.
• A Strong and Stable Internet Connection: Your upload speed is everything here. A single high-quality Twitch stream typically requires 6-8 Mbps of upload speed. For a dual stream, you should aim for a consistent upload speed of at least 15 Mbps to avoid dropped frames or lag on either platform. You can test your speed using a site like Speedtest.net, focus on the "upload" number.
• OBS Studio: While there are other streaming software options, we’ll be using OBS Studio for this guide. It's free, powerful, open-source, and has fantastic community support and plugins that make simulcasting much easier. If you use Streamlabs Desktop (SLOBS), the fundamental principles are similar, but the specific plugins may differ.

The Step-by-Step Guide to Streaming on Twitch and TikTok with OBS

This is where the magic happens. We'll break down the process into clear, manageable steps. We'll start with the simplest way to get a stream running and then move into a more advanced setup for creating a professional vertical stream layout.

Part 1: Get Your TikTok Stream Key

First, you need to tell OBS where to send your TikTok stream. To do this, you need your unique Stream Key and Server URL from TikTok.

1. Open your browser and go to TikTok.com on your computer.
2. Log in to your account.
3. On the left-hand menu, look for and click on the "Go LIVE" button.
4. This will take you to the LIVE Center. You will see a panel named "Server Settings".
5. Here you will find your Server URL and Stream Key. Copy both of these into a temporary notepad. Never share your Stream Key with anyone! It's like a password for your stream.

Part 2: Setting Up OBS with the Multiple RTMP Outputs Plugin

By default, OBS can only stream to one destination at a time. The easiest and most reliable way to stream to both Twitch and TikTok is by using a free OBS plugin called "Multiple RTMP Outputs."

1. Install the Plugin: Go to the OBS Project plugin page and search for "Multiple RTMP Outputs." Download the installer and run it. Make sure OBS is closed during the installation.
2. Configure Your Main Twitch Stream: Before setting up the TikTok stream, ensure your main stream to Twitch is configured correctly. In OBS, go to File > Settings > Stream. Select "Twitch" as the service and connect your account. We'll treat this as our primary output.
3. Open the Multiple Outputs Dock: After installing the plugin and restarting OBS, you should see a new window or "dock" labeled "Multiple Output." If you don't see it, go to the top menu under Docks and make sure "Multiple Output" is checked.
4. Add Your TikTok Target: In the "Multiple Output" dock, click the "Add new target" button. A settings window will pop up.
   • Give your new target a name, like "TikTok LIVE."
   • In the "RTMP Server" field, paste the Server URL you copied from TikTok.
   • In the "RTMP Key" field, paste the Stream Key.
5. Adjust Encoder Settings (Optional but Recommended): For the encoder, your best bet is using your graphics card (NVIDIA NVENC or AMD HW). You can choose to "Get from OBS," which mirrors your Twitch settings, but for TikTok, we'll want to make a few tweaks for a vertical stream later. For now, this is enough to get a mirrored stream going. Click "OK" to save.
6. Start Both Streams: Your workflow will now be simple. First, click the main "Start Streaming" button in OBS to send your feed to Twitch. Then, go to the "Multiple Output" dock, find your "TikTok LIVE" target, and click its "Start" button. That's it! You'll be live on both platforms.

Part 3: Advanced Vertical Stream Setup for TikTok

Simply sending your 16:9 horizontal Twitch stream to vertical-first TikTok isn't ideal. It results in big black bars at the top and bottom. To look truly professional, you need to create a dedicated vertical 9:16 scene.

The best way to do this is with an incredible free OBS plugin called Aitum Vertical. It creates a secondary vertical canvas right inside OBS.

1. Install Aitum Vertical Plugin: Search for it on the OBS Project forum or the Aitum website, download it, and install it while OBS is closed.
2. Set Up Your Vertical Canvas: When you open OBS, you will now see a vertical canvas next to your main horizontal one. Inside this new vertical canvas, you can right-click and "Add Scene," just like your normal OBS layout. Let’s call this scene "TikTok Feed."
3. Design Your Vertical Layout: This is where you get creative. Inside your new "TikTok Feed" scene, you can add your sources.
   • Game Source: Add your game capture source. Crop and position it to fill up a part of the vertical space. Usually, the middle section is best.
   • Face Camera Source: Add your webcam source. Most streamers place this at the top or bottom of the vertical layout.
   • Chat Box/Alerts: You can even add browser sources for things like your Twitch chat or follower alerts at the bottom to fill the space.
4. Link Aitum Vertical to Your Second Output: This is the final connection. In the Aitum Vertical pane, look for the "Vertical Source" list and select your newly configured "Multiple RTMP outputs" target (e.g. "TikTok"). Now, click on the broadcast button inside Vertical, and it will start the specific stream using your Vertical settings. Now, The Multiple Output plugin will use your beautifully crafted vertical scene instead of your main horizontal feed.

Final Thoughts

Simulcasting to TikTok and Twitch might seem daunting at first, but with the right OBS plugins and a little bit of setup, it’s an incredibly potent strategy for audience growth. By leveraging TikTok's incredible organic reach, you can build a consistent bridge that guides new, engaged viewers directly from their "For You" page to your home base on Twitch.

Of course, once your streams are over, the job of a creator is just getting started. Clipping up those streams into standout videos and publishing them is what keeps the growth engine turning. We built Postbase specifically for the modern creator who revolves around short-form video. Our platform lets you plan and schedule your best TikToks, Reels, and Shorts in one beautiful visual calendar, manage all your comments from every platform in a single inbox, and see which clips are actually performing without getting lost in complicated analytics. It's the simple, modern social media tool made to take the headache out of being a creator.