How to download your Twitch VOD before it expires
A VOD is the saved recording of your stream. It is the raw material for every clip you will ever make. It is also on a timer. When the timer ends, Twitch deletes it, and Twitch does not give it back.
Here is how long you have, how to make sure it is saved, and how to get it onto your computer.
How long does Twitch keep a VOD?
It depends on your account. These numbers come from the Twitch help page on video on demand:
| Account | How long your VODs stay |
|---|---|
| Most channels | 7 days |
| Affiliates | 14 days |
| Partners | 60 days |
| Turbo and Prime | 60 days |
Twitch can change these rules, so check the help page for the current ones. The safe habit does not depend on them: download what you want within a few days, whatever your account is.
If you stream in vertical format as well, the vertical copy has its own timer. When we checked, it expired 7 days after the stream.
Step 1: make sure Twitch saves your streams
Twitch only saves past broadcasts when the setting is on. In your Creator Dashboard, open the stream settings and look for "Store past broadcasts". Turn it on before you go live. Menu names move around, so if you cannot find it, search the Twitch help pages for the current path.
A stream that was not saved cannot be recovered. You will learn this once. It is better to learn it from this article.
Step 2: find the VOD
Open the Creator Dashboard, go to the content section and open your videos. You get a list of broadcasts with date, length and a thumbnail. Twitch also shows how many days are left before a VOD is deleted. Start with the ones that have the fewest days left.
Step 3: download it
Open the menu on the broadcast you want and choose the download option. Twitch prepares the file and your browser saves it. A long stream takes a while to prepare. Wait for the download to actually start.
Only download your own VODs, from your own dashboard. Twitch has no official way to download VODs from other channels. Tools that use hidden addresses to do it go against the Twitch terms, and they stop working whenever Twitch changes something. Do not give your Twitch login to a website you found in a search.
Step 4: plan for the size
A VOD is big. A 4-hour stream is about 11 GB. That means:
- Disk space. Check you have it before you press download.
- Download time. Depends on your internet.
- Upload time. If you send the file to a clip tool, you upload all 11 GB again. At the median upload speed in the United States it takes about 21 minutes. At 10 Mbps it takes about 2.4 hours.
If your upload is slow, start it in the evening and leave the computer on. VodLift takes the file you downloaded. Sending only the audio first, to save time, is planned. It is not built.
The other option: record in OBS
If you record in OBS while you stream, you already have the file. It does not expire. It is often better quality than the VOD, because it skips the Twitch encoder. The price is disk space and a bit more load on your computer.
Name the files with the date. "Final_v2_REAL.mkv" is not a system.
Do not use "Export to YouTube" as a way around this
Twitch can export a VOD to YouTube. That is fine as a backup. But downloading the video back from YouTube with a downloader breaks the YouTube rules. Use the Twitch download or your OBS file as the source.
A habit that takes five minutes
After every stream:
- Check that the VOD shows up in your list.
- Download it today or tomorrow.
- Copy it to a backup drive if the stream mattered.
- Upload it to your clip tool.
- Delete the local copy when you are done with it.
What if it is already gone?
Then it is gone. Twitch cannot restore it. You may still have Twitch clips, because clips are separate from the VOD. They are short: Twitch's own clip tools limit a clip to 60 seconds. Twitch lets you download your own clips, so do that for the ones that matter.
Highlights
A Twitch highlight is a saved part of a VOD. If one stream has one great moment and you cannot download the whole thing today, make a highlight of it. Check the current Twitch rules for how long highlights are kept, because we have not verified that and it can change.
Short version
Turn on "Store past broadcasts". Know your timer: 7 days for most channels, 14 for Affiliates, 60 for Partners, Turbo and Prime. Download your own VODs from your own dashboard soon after the stream. Expect a big file, or record in OBS and skip the whole problem. Then turn the file into clips. VodLift is in a closed test and takes the file you download. Join the waitlist on vodlift.com if you want to try it when it opens up.