How to live stream on X (Twitter): Full guide

By the year 2027, the live streaming video market is estimated to be worth at least $184.3 billion. It’s no surprise, then, that nearly every major social media network has live streaming video now — YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and even X (Twitter).

If you’re wondering what kinds of content you can stream on X, or how to build a community with live streams, or even how to monetize X live streams, this guide is for you.

How to go live on X: quick answer

• From your phone: open the X app, tap the post composer, tap Live and then Go live. You can't go live if your posts are protected.
• From your computer with Restream: connect your X account to Restream once and go live from Restream Studio in your browser, or from OBS through Restream. The native connection doesn't need a stream key.
• With an encoder of your choice: create a source in X's Live Studio, copy the RTMP URL and stream key into your encoder and start the livestream.

To broadcast with external software, including Restream, your X account must be verified with an X Premium or Premium+ subscription. X Basic isn't enough, and using streaming software doesn't remove this requirement. See how streaming to X with Restream works.

What is X (Twitter) Live?

X’s live streaming function allows you to broadcast live video to your followers. Twitter first rolled out live streaming with its Periscope service back in 2015. Periscope was popular for a while but usage declined, and it was officially discontinued in September 2021.

Some of X Live’s most beneficial features include:

• Live interactions between you and your viewers
• Tagging a location for more visibility
• Saving a recording of your stream after it’s over
• Adding custom timestamps to your streams to draw your followers’ attention to a specific part
• Monetizing live streams with Media Producer
• Scheduling and promoting live streams in advance
• Using LiveCut to create instant highlights from your live streams

Note: some of these tools, such as scheduling and professional livestream settings, are part of X's Live Studio in Creator Studio, which replaced Media Studio Producer in 2026.

X is the best place to report your live news and build relationships with your audience in a more straightforward fashion. Live videos evoke more trust and interest in viewers than pre-recorded content. Great content ideas for X would be live Q&As, interviews, AMAs or event coverage. 

How to go live on X (Twitter)

You can broadcast live video on your X profile from either your mobile phone or a computer. If you go live on your desktop, you'll need third-party streaming software. Note: to live stream on X through Restream or other external software, X requires a verified account with an X Premium or Premium+ subscription; X Basic isn't enough. You can learn more about X's verification requirements.

Go live on X on mobile

According to X Help, you can go live from the X mobile app as long as your posts aren't protected. Here's how:

1. Tap the camera icon from the post composer.
2. Tap Live at the bottom.
3. Add an optional description and location to the stream.
4. Tap Go Live.
5. End the live stream by pressing the Stop button at the top left.

Go live on X on desktop

You can go live on X on desktop using third-party streaming software such as Restream Studio or OBS Studio. The steps below cover how to use X with Restream Studio.

1. Log in to your Restream account or sign up if you don't already have one.
2. Open Channels, choose Add New and select X.
3. Click Connect X and authorize access to your X account. You don't need a stream key for this connection.
4. Click New Stream and choose Restream Studio.
5. In the studio, make sure your X account is toggled on in your list of destinations.
6. When you're ready, click Go Live. End the stream by clicking the same button.

By streaming on X with Restream, you can create a professional-looking broadcast without extra hassle. Restream Studio lets you:

• Go live on X directly from your browser
• Add custom graphics and logos
• Read live comments from your X stream in Restream Studio
• Invite guests to your stream (the number depends on your plan)
• Change your screen layout or share your screen
• Play royalty-free background music
• Show local video files during the broadcast
• Display links on stream as QR codes
• Monitor your stream’s status
• Upload and stream a pre-recorded video
• Upload and loop a video on stream
• Create and stream a playlist of pre-recorded videos

Create stunning live videos

Restream Studio is the easiest way to create high-quality live videos on multiple platforms at once. It's user-friendly and offers an engaging viewer experience.

Get started

X Live Studio

If you prefer your own encoder, X's Live Studio, built into Creator Studio, is X's tool for professional livestreams. It replaced Media Studio Producer in 2026. You still need encoding software or hardware to use it, but you can schedule broadcasts and manage your livestreams in one place.

To go live with Live Studio, follow these steps:

1. Open Live Studio from Creator Studio (under Tools) and click New Livestream.
2. Enter a title, then select or create a Source and choose the region closest to your encoder.
3. Copy the RTMP URL and Stream Key into your encoder. The RTMPS URL adds transport security.
4. Add a 16:9 thumbnail and set visibility, chat controls and any geo-restrictions. Visibility and geo-restrictions can't be changed once the stream is scheduled or live.
5. Click Go Live to start now, or Later to schedule the livestream.

For more details, see our guide on how to find your X stream key.

How to promote and monetize an X live stream

If you truly want to build a community on X, you’ll need to promote your live streams to attract viewers. X also has tools to help monetize your streams, so you can earn money from your broadcasts.

1. Promote outside of X

If you have a presence on another social media platform, use that community to promote your X streams. Let your followers across all platforms know when you’re going live on X and encourage them to join in.

2. Use hashtags sparingly

X is the platform that made hashtags well-known, and the two are closely associated. However, you don’t need as many hashtags in your tweets these days since users can find tweets by keyword search as well. You’re allowed to use as many hashtags as you like, just keep in mind that too many can seem spammy. Also, X recommends no more than two hashtags per post. 

3. Reuse your X videos

After your stream has ended, you can download it and reuse it later. You could repurpose your videos and create completely new content: stream highlights for YouTube, quick clips for Instagram Reels or TikTok, GIFs, memes or an audio-only version for a podcast. 

4. Use affiliate marketing 

You can add links to posts on X, even if they’re live videos. Use this space to add an affiliate link, and direct your viewers to it to promote products or services. Before you can attract companies and make affiliate deals, you’ll need to build up your audience, however.

5. Join X’s Amplify program

X has two live video monetization options: Amplify pre-roll and Amplify sponsorships. You must be accepted into the program before you can use either. The pre-roll option lets advertisers run ads as pre-rolls on your live content, and the sponsorships option lets you set up one-to-one partnerships with advertisers.

6. Multistream

Don’t limit yourself to X — increase your audience size by going live on other platforms simultaneously. With Restream, you can multistream your live content to multiple platforms at the same time. Choose from popular platforms like YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and many more.

FAQs

Wrap-up

X offers a dynamic way to connect with audiences in real time. Live streaming on X is simple and highly interactive, while also letting you create professional, high-quality broadcasts. You can spark conversations, build relationships, hop on new trends and expand your reach beyond your followers.

When you use Restream to go live on X, you can easily produce broadcasts with professional elements, like backgrounds, graphics, captions, split-screen, background music, live guests and more. You can also multistream to other platforms in addition to X, to multiply your audience.