Twitch Setup Guide

Everything you need to go live on Twitch with ScoreCam, from creating an account to sharing your viewer link. A complete guide for first-timers.

Your Viewer URL

Twitch can feel overwhelming at first, but the core concept is simple: you have one permanent channel page that is always yours. When ScoreCam goes live, your channel automatically shows as live. When you stop, it goes offline. There is nothing extra to press on the Twitch side.

The most important thing to understand about Twitch: your viewer URL is always twitch.tv/your_username and it never changes. That is the only link your viewers ever need.

Share it in a team group chat, on your school's website, or post it the day before the game. When you go live, anyone at that URL will see the stream appear automatically.

Step 1: Create a Twitch Account

If you do not have a Twitch account, go to twitch.tv and sign up. A few things to keep in mind:

  • Choose a username that represents your team or organization, because it becomes your permanent channel URL. You cannot easily change it later.
  • Verify your email address. This is required before you can stream.
  • Once created, your channel is live at twitch.tv/[your_username] immediately. Bookmark it and save it to share with viewers.
Pick a good name. If you are streaming for a school team, something like "westsidelions" or "lincolnhigh_basketball" is memorable and shareable. Avoid numbers and underscores when possible.

Step 2: Your Stream Title and Category

Two things appear on your Twitch channel page: the title (the name of the stream) and the category (the game or topic, for example a sport). How you set the title depends on which connection mode you use in ScoreCam.

Twitch API Mode (Recommended): ScoreCam Sets Your Title

In Twitch API mode, ScoreCam sets your Twitch channel title for you. On the pre-stream screen you will see a Stream Title field, and ScoreCam updates your Twitch channel title when you tap Start Streaming. You can also set a Default Stream Title in the setup wizard or account settings so it is filled in automatically each time.

ScoreCam does not set your category. You only need to choose your category once. Open the Twitch app → tap your profile photo (top left) → Creator Dashboard → Edit Stream Info, then pick a category (search Sports & Fitness or a specific sport). Twitch remembers it for future streams, so this is a one-time step.

Stream Key Mode (Manual): Set Both Yourself

In manual Stream Key mode, ScoreCam does not update your channel, so set both the title and the category yourself on Twitch before each game. Open the Twitch app → tap your profile photo (top left) → Creator Dashboard → Edit Stream Info, set a title like "Westside vs. Lincoln, Varsity Basketball", and choose a category. From a browser you can do the same at dashboard.twitch.tv → Stream Manager → the pencil icon next to Stream Info.

You can update the title at any time, including while you are already live. Viewers will see the updated title immediately on your channel page.

Step 3: Connect ScoreCam to Twitch

There are two ways to connect ScoreCam to your Twitch account:

Twitch API Mode (Recommended)

In the ScoreCam setup wizard, select Twitch and choose Twitch API. After the wizard finishes, ScoreCam signs you in through a Twitch login screen and fetches your stream key automatically. No copy-pasting required, you are done. This mode also lets ScoreCam set your channel title for you (see Step 2). If you edit this account later in Settings, its Service Type is shown as Twitch - Authentication.

Stream Key Mode (Manual)

Go to dashboard.twitch.tv → Settings → Stream. Your Primary Stream Key is displayed. Click Copy and paste it into the ScoreCam wizard. The Twitch RTMP ingest URL (rtmp://live.twitch.tv/app/) is already pre-filled in ScoreCam, so you only need to paste the key. If you edit this account later in Settings, its Service Type is shown as Twitch - Stream Key.

Twitch API mode is recommended because your stream key never needs to be manually copied (ScoreCam fetches it automatically), and ScoreCam can set your channel title for you. Stream key mode works just as well, but requires you to log in to the Twitch dashboard each time you reset or change the key.

Step 4: Go Live from ScoreCam

Tap Go Live in ScoreCam, then tap Start Streaming on the pre-stream screen. That is it. Twitch automatically shows your channel as live the moment it receives the stream. There is no separate button to press on Twitch. Within about 10 to 20 seconds, anyone watching twitch.tv/[your_username] will see the stream appear.

When you tap Stop in ScoreCam, the channel goes offline automatically.

Things to Know

  • Your stream key never expires, so it works for every game. Only reset it if you think it was compromised.
  • Twitch offers very low viewer latency, typically 5 to 10 seconds from the venue to your audience, the lowest of the major platforms.
  • After the stream ends, Twitch automatically saves the VOD (video on demand) to your channel for 14 days so people who missed it can watch the replay.
  • Twitch does not require any setup before each stream the way YouTube does. As long as ScoreCam has your credentials, you can tap Go Live anytime.

Step 5: Share the Link with Viewers

Your viewer link is always twitch.tv/[your_username]. A few ways to share it quickly:

  • Twitch app: Tap your profile icon → Share Channel to copy the URL to your clipboard, ready to paste into a message.
  • Or just type it out. It is short and memorable.
Viewers who follow your channel on Twitch get an automatic push notification or email when you go live. Encourage your audience to follow once and they will never miss a game.