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How to Raid on Twitch (and Why Raids Grow Channels)

Updated: 2026-07-06 · Written by the vodfetch founder

A raid sends your live audience to another channel when you end your stream. Here's how to start one, the etiquette that makes raids work, and how to use them to grow.

What a Twitch raid is

A raid moves your live viewers to another channel at the end of your broadcast. Instead of your stream simply ending, everyone lands in the target channel's chat together, usually announced with a raid banner. For the receiving streamer it's a burst of new viewers; for you it's a way to end streams with a gift instead of a goodbye.

Raids are a native, free Twitch feature — and the closest thing small streamers have to a discovery engine they control themselves.

How to start a raid

While you're live, open your Stream Manager. In Quick Actions, click 'Raid Channel', type the target channel's name and confirm. Alternatively, type /raid channelname directly into your own chat.

A countdown starts and your viewers see the raid banner. When it executes — or when you click 'Raid now' — everyone who stayed is carried over to the target channel. End your stream after the raid lands, not before.

Raid settings and safety

In your creator settings you control who may raid you: everyone, only friends and teammates, or nobody — and you can block specific channels. If an incoming raid brings a rough wave, moderators can temporarily switch chat to Follower-only or Emote-only mode while it passes.

Raid etiquette that actually builds relationships

Raid channels around your own size or slightly smaller — twenty viewers landing in a five-viewer stream change someone's night; the same twenty in a five-thousand-viewer stream evaporate. Stay in the target's chat for a few minutes, introduce your community, and don't ask for anything back.

Consistency compounds. Raiding the same handful of compatible channels builds real raid circles, and that repetition — adjacent communities meeting again and again — is where the growth effect actually comes from.

After the raid: the stream is still worth keeping

Great raids usually cap great streams, and the broadcast itself expires like every VOD — after 7 to 60 days depending on your status. If you want to keep the stream, or cut the raid moment into a clip for socials, save it as MP4 first — vodfetch does it free, in your browser.

How to download a Twitch video

  1. 1

    Open the Stream Manager

    While you're live, go to your dashboard's Stream Manager.

  2. 2

    Click 'Raid Channel' (or type /raid name)

    Pick a live channel — ideally similar size and compatible content.

  3. 3

    Confirm and let the countdown run

    Your viewers see the raid banner; when it executes they move over together.

  4. 4

    Land with your community

    Say hi in the target chat, hang out a few minutes, then end your own stream.

Frequently asked questions

What does raiding mean on Twitch?

Sending your live viewers to another channel at the end of your stream. Everyone lands in the target's chat together, giving that streamer an immediate audience boost.

How do I start a raid?

While live: Stream Manager → Quick Actions → 'Raid Channel', or type /raid channelname in your own chat. After the countdown your viewers move to the target channel.

Can I control who raids me?

Yes — in your creator settings you can allow raids from everyone, only friends and teammates, or nobody, and you can block specific channels. Moderation tools help absorb rough incoming raids.

Do raids actually help you grow?

Raids between similar-sized, compatible channels are one of the few discovery levers small streamers control. The effect comes from repetition — steady raid circles expose adjacent communities to each other again and again.

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