How do I stop a stream on Twitch?

Stop the software that is sending it. In OBS, click Stop Streaming in the Controls dock. If you want to send your viewers to another channel first, type /raid and the channel name in your chat. If the channel still shows live afterwards, something else is still sending or Disconnect Protection is holding the slate for up to 90 seconds.

Why is my stream still live after I closed OBS?

Something else is still sending video. Usual causes: OBS is running in the cloud, a stream drop protection server is holding your broadcast open, or a second device is using your stream key. Stop the cloud or server session, then check your channel page. If you use Streamable, click End Stream in the dashboard and confirm.

Does ending the stream in Streamable also stop the server?

No. End Stream stops the broadcast and leaves the server running, so you can go live again quickly. Click Shut Down Server Now in the stream-ended prompt, or Shut Down Server at the top of the dashboard. Otherwise the server stops on its own soon after if you do not go live again.

How to End a Stream on Twitch and Kick (and Why It Won't Stop)

Q: How do I end a stream on Kick?

Click Stop Streaming in OBS, or end the stream in the KICK Go Live app. Kick then shows an offline banner and saves your VOD to your channel page. Kick's help center lists no end-stream control in the Creator Dashboard.

The short answer

To end a Twitch or Kick stream, stop the software that is sending it. In OBS, click Stop Streaming. Kick then shows viewers an offline banner and saves your VOD to your channel page. If you stream through a cloud encoder or a stream drop protection server, closing OBS or your phone app is not enough, because the server keeps the broadcast up on purpose. Stop it on the server too.

Step 1:Before you end: send your viewers somewhere

On Twitch, a raid sends your whole audience to another channel when you finish. Type /raid followed by a channel name in your chat, for example /raid TwitchPresents, or open the channel browser with /raidbrowser. A countdown appears in chat, viewers can opt out, and the raid begins on its own when the countdown ends unless you cancel it or click Raid Now. If you change your mind, /unraid cancels it. Twitch's own advice is to raid at the end of your broadcast.

Start the raid first, then end the stream once it has gone through.

Step 2:Stop streaming in OBS

In OBS Studio, click Stop Streaming in the Controls dock (lower right by default; if you cannot see Controls, turn it on under the Docks menu). OBS may ask you to confirm; click Yes.

On Kick, that is the whole step. Kick's help center says: click Stop Streaming in OBS, and Kick shows your viewers an offline banner and saves the VOD to your channel page. Kick's help center describes ending a stream from your encoder or the KICK Go Live app, and lists no end-stream button in the Creator Dashboard, so there is nothing else to click there.

On Twitch the same applies: the stream ends when your encoder stops sending. Check the Creator Dashboard or your channel page afterwards to confirm you show as offline.

Step 3:Stopping from your phone

If you stream from the KICK Go Live app, ending the stream there saves it as a VOD on your channel, the same as a desktop stream. If you stream to Twitch or Kick through a phone IRL app such as Moblin (an iOS IRL streaming app) or IRL Pro, use that app's own stop button. If that app is sending to a cloud server and not straight to the platform, see the next section: stopping the app only stops the first leg.

My stream won't stop

The most common reason a stream stays live after you close everything is that something else is still sending. The usual causes:

A cloud encoder or relay is still running. If OBS runs on a server, closing OBS on your own PC changes nothing: the cloud copy keeps broadcasting until you stop it there.
Disconnect protection is holding the channel open. Twitch's Disconnect Protection shows a slate for up to 90 seconds if your connection drops, then ends the stream as normal. Twitch Help says that if the slate keeps your channel online after you ended the stream normally, you can toggle Disconnect Protection off and back on in your Stream Settings.
A second encoder is using your stream key. A scheduled restream, a second PC, a phone app or a forgotten tab can all reuse the key. If you cannot find it, resetting your stream key on the platform cuts off anything that still has the old one. On Kick, use the Reset button in the Streamer Dashboard; any software you still use then needs the new key.

Ending a stream in Streamable

Streamable (streamable.run) runs OBS in the cloud and sends your broadcast to Twitch, Kick or YouTube from its server. Your phone or desktop OBS is an input to that server, so closing it does not end the broadcast. With Stream Drop Protection on, the server switches to your offline scene and stays live, which is what it is for.

To end the broadcast, open your Streamable dashboard and click End Stream (End All Streams when you stream to several destinations). Streamable asks "Are you sure you want to end streaming?" and tells you "This will stop your broadcast." Confirm. To stop only some destinations, deselect them and the button changes to Stop Stream on 1 Destination (or however many you deselected).

End Stream stops the broadcast but leaves your server running. Streamable then shows "Your stream has ended." with a Shut Down Server Now button. If you are done for the day, click it, or click Shut Down Server at the top of the dashboard. If you leave it, the server stops on its own soon after, as long as you do not go live again. Destination settings stay locked until the server is off.

Want the opposite: keep the stream up when your signal drops?

If you reached this page because your stream ended when your phone lost signal, you need the opposite fix. Read how to stop Twitch and Kick streams ending when your phone loses signal.