If you want to preview how your Twitch stream will look before going live, you can run a streaming test with Twitch’s Inspector tool. You can also use a third-party streaming solution like Restream to test it.
How to do a streaming test for Twitch
With the Twitch Inspector tool, you can run streaming tests and diagnose issues with your broadcast.
1. Access Twitch Inspector.
2. Log in and authorize Inspector to access your Twitch account if you haven’t already.
3. Click the Run A Stream Test button and then follow the steps that appear in the pop-up.
4. You’ll need to get your stream key and paste it into a broadcasting software such as Restream Studio or OBS. You can follow our simple tutorial to retrieve your Twitch stream key.
5. Paste your stream key into your streaming software in the appropriate field. You can learn more about how to use a stream key with broadcasting software in our guide to stream keys.
6. You’ll need to add ?bandwidthtest=true to the end of your stream key when you paste it into your streaming software.
7. Go live. Your stream won’t appear online or send your followers a notification.
How to do a Twitch test stream with streaming software
A second way to test a live stream on Twitch is by using streaming software such as Restream Studio or OBS Studio.
Twitch test stream with Restream Studio
- Log in to your Restream account or create a new Restream account if you don’t have one already.
- Select Record Video and Audio.
- You’ll enter the Restream live streaming studio, but none of your channels will be connected. You can adjust your stream settings and then select Start Recording.
- When you’re done recording, you can rewatch the video to see if there were any stream performance issues.
- When you’re ready to go live, Connect your Twitch account to Restream. Then, from your Restream dashboard, select Stream with Studio. You can start broadcasting on your Twitch channel from the Restream live streaming studio.
After you finish making your recording with Restream Studio, you can go live on Twitch. Restream Studio is a browser-based live streaming solution that lets you go live on multiple platforms simultaneously. You can stream to Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Kick and more.
Pro tip: You can also use Restream to schedule a pre-recorded video to go live. You can do a recording to test your stream but you can also create a full video, save it, and then schedule it to go live at a later date. See how to upload and stream a pre-recorded video in our help center.
Twitch test stream with OBS Studio
- Launch OBS Studio.
- Go to your Settings, and then Stream.
- Select Twitch from the drop-down menu at the top.
- Connect your Twitch channel to OBS if you haven’t already.
- Check the box next to Enable Bandwidth Test Mode. Then click OK to save your changes.
- Click Start Streaming. You’ll get an error message reminding you that the stream won’t be live on Twitch; click OK.
- Check out your quality indicators at the bottom of the screen in OBS. This includes your stream quality, frame rate and CPU usage.
