OBS Settings for Twitch
Last updated: September 1, 2026
Quick Answer
Start by reproducing the issue with a short test, change one OBS or Windows setting at a time, and verify the result with OBS Statistics or a local recording before changing anything else.
Twitch has fairly narrow ingest requirements, which makes it one of the easier services to configure. These values are a solid starting point for a single-PC Windows setup.
Connecting your channel
In Settings → Stream select Twitch and either connect the account or paste the stream key from your Twitch dashboard. Connecting the account also enables the built-in chat and stream information docks.
OBS Studio is not made by Twitch; it is an open source project that publishes to Twitch through the standard ingest endpoints.
Video and encoder settings
- Output resolution: 1920x1080 at 60 fps, or 1280x720 at 60 fps on modest upload speeds.
- Bitrate: 6,000 kbps for 1080p60, 4,500 kbps for 720p60. Non-partnered channels rarely benefit from going higher.
- Rate control: CBR.
- Keyframe interval: 2 seconds.
- Encoder: NVENC, AMF or Quick Sync when gaming on the same machine; x264 with the veryfast or faster preset otherwise.
Audio settings
160 kbps AAC is the practical ceiling for Twitch. Put a noise gate and a compressor on the microphone so voice stays audible over gameplay, and monitor with headphones to avoid an echo loop.
Scenes worth preparing
Starting soon, main gameplay, a chat-focused or camera-only layout and an ending screen cover almost every broadcast. Add browser sources for alerts and chat overlays, and bind scene switches to hotkeys.
General streaming mechanics are covered in the live streaming guide; if the stream drops frames, see dropped frames.
Related guides
Editorial review and sources
Author: ProjectOBS Editorial Team · Updated: September 25, 2026.
Instructions are checked on Windows with representative OBS scenes and compared with the official OBS Knowledge Base, release notes, and issue tracker.
- OBS Knowledge Base
- OBS release notes