Find your stream key and server URL on Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram or Kick, then paste them into SplitCam. The platform steps come from their help pages, read on 6 November 2026; we did not open the signed-in screens.
Menu and button names come from each platform's help pages, read on 6 November 2026; platforms rename them, so follow your screen.
Check first: a Twitch account; a streaming suspension (24 hours to 30 days) blocks going live even with the right key.
1. Sign in to Twitch in a desktop browser, open the Creator Dashboard, go to Settings, then Stream, and reveal or copy the key.
2. Take the server address from Twitch's recommended-ingest page (personal to you) or let your streaming software choose. Twitch writes addresses as rtmp://<server>/app/<key> (our reading: with two fields, the address stops at /app).
Same key next time? Twitch says you need not re-enter it unless it is reset (by you, by a password change, or by Twitch, which may do so after an account takeover).
Reset: on the same Stream page, at any time.
Twitch with SplitCam →
Check first: a phone-verified channel, no live-streaming restriction in the past 90 days, age 16 or older. Enabling live streaming for the first time can take up to 24 hours (YouTube's encoder article).
1. In YouTube Studio, click Create, then Go live (the Live Control Room).
2. Open the Stream tab (first stream: add the details, click Create stream).
3. Copy the Stream URL and the Stream key (hidden until revealed). The lock icon by the URL switches to the encrypted RTMPS address.
Same key next time? Reusing settings brings the earlier key back; for one key on purpose, choose Select stream key, then Create new stream key.
Reset: use the refresh icon by the hidden key; only a channel owner or manager can.
YouTube with SplitCam →
Check first: an account at least 60 days old; a Page or professional-mode profile with 100+ followers; for a Page, access to create content. Use a computer.
English labels (other languages differ):
1. Open facebook.com/live/create (for a Page, switch into it first).
2. Under “Choose where to post” pick your profile or Page and “Go live”, then under “Select a video source” choose “Streaming software”.
3. Copy the “Server URL” and the “Stream key (or persistent stream key)”.
4. Paste both into the matching fields of your streaming software (SplitCam steps) and press “Go Live Now” when the preview appears.
Same key next time? A standard key cannot be reused. For a key you can reuse, switch on “Persistent stream key” under “Advanced Settings”; it allows only one live video at a time.
Reset: we found no reset steps to quote. A summary of Meta's API FAQ (which we could not open) says a persistent key can be reset on the live creation page; find the label on your screen.
Check first: Instagram's Help Center says only public accounts with 1,000+ followers can start a Live video. Live Producer, the screen with the key, works only on instagram.com in a computer browser (Instagram's 2022 Live Producer post).
1. Open instagram.com, click Create, then Live video.
2. Type a title and choose Practice (nobody sees it) or Public (your followers see it).
3. Live Producer shows your own server URL and stream key. Copy both.
4. Paste them into the matching fields of your streaming software (SplitCam steps) and start streaming. When the preview matches, click Go live. To finish, click “End live video” first, then stop the software, or the live freezes on the last frame.
Same key next time? No, it changes every time you use Live Producer. Copy or reset it on that screen.
Check first: in the Kick help pages we read, nothing limits who may stream beyond having an account (the beginner's checklist adds verifying your email).
1. Open dashboard.kick.com/channel/stream (two Kick articles link to it), or look for “Stream URL and Key” in the dashboard menu; Kick's articles name three different menu spots.
2. Copy the key and the stream URL from your own screen; we could not open the dashboard to see where the URL appears.
Same key next time? Kick says each key is specific to your channel; its help pages do not say whether a key expires.
Reset: use the reset option on the same page. Kick says it does not keep the old key.
Kick with SplitCam →
TikTok has no steps here. Its current LIVE Studio help pages, read on 6 November 2026, describe TikTok's own app, which signs in with your TikTok account; they do not describe a stream key. What you need to go live varies, so check inside TikTok.
Any other service that gives you an RTMP server address and a stream key: add both in SplitCam as a custom channel (paste steps).
On Windows, macOS, iOS and Android you can always paste the key by hand; signing in is optional wherever it is offered.
Open Stream Settings, choose “Add new stream” and pick the service. Fill in “Stream name”, “Stream URL” and “Stream Key”, then “Save and close”. For Twitch and YouTube SplitCam has the server side ready, so you usually paste only the key. For a custom channel, paste the URL too; fill in whatever else is empty. Signing in to Twitch or Google (YouTube) lets SplitCam fetch the key again by itself; the other choice is “Configure manually”. Kick sign-in (11.0.13 and later) fills in the server and the key.
Open Stream Settings and choose “Add Channel”. Pick a service, then sign in or choose “Configure Manually”. For a server that is not listed, choose “Custom Server” and fill in its two fields, the server and the key. Signing in to Twitch or YouTube loads your broadcast settings. Kick sign-in works on a Mac too; if SplitCam does not fill in the URL and key, paste them.
Add a channel. The “Choose Channel” screen offers “Sign In to Service” or “Configure Manually”. The first service in the list is “Custom Server”: put the RTMP address in “Stream URL” and the key in “Stream Key”.
Open “Channels”, choose “Add New Channel” and pick the platform. For a service that is not listed, pick “Custom”, type the address into “Stream URL” and paste the key into “Stream Key”. Twitch and YouTube can be signed in to instead.
If a key leaks, reset it where the platform offers it (the cards say where) and update your streaming software.
Twitch says never to show the key on stream. Our advice: close the settings window before you share your screen, crop the key out of screenshots, and check exported files and log files for it before you share them.
Facebook and Twitch both say never to share the key. Kick says its staff never ask for it, so a request from anyone claiming to be staff is a scam sign. Kick also warns against giving the key to unchecked services or to anyone who says they need it for testing.
The cards in one view, as read on 6 November 2026.
| Platform | Where the key is | Check first | Same key next time? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twitch | Creator Dashboard → Settings → Stream | No streaming suspension | Yes, unless it is reset (Twitch) |
| YouTube | YouTube Studio → Create → Go live → Stream tab | Verified channel; age 16+ | Reusing settings brings it back |
| facebook.com/live/create → Streaming software | Account 60+ days; 100+ followers | Standard: no. Persistent: yes | |
| instagram.com on a computer → Create → Live video | Public account; 1,000+ followers | No, it changes each time | |
| Kick | Dashboard → “Stream URL and Key” | An account | Expiry not stated; reset gives a new key |
RTMP or RTMPS? An rtmps:// address is the encrypted version of an rtmp:// one; use it exactly as the platform shows it. YouTube offers both and recommends RTMPS; if an rtmps:// address gives an SSL error, its help pages suggest adding port 443 to it. Facebook accepts only RTMPS (plain RTMP stopped on 4 November 2019, per Meta's developer changelog). Kick's articles show only rtmps addresses, on port 443. Twitch's help pages show rtmp:// addresses, while its public ingest list also has rtmps:// entries that the help pages do not describe. Instagram's help pages do not say which one its address uses. We have not confirmed rtmps:// for a custom SplitCam channel on every system; if one is rejected, ask SplitCam Help.
Sources: Twitch: Stream Key FAQ, recommended ingest, ingest list, Creator Dashboard, suspensions, simulcasting. YouTube: encoders, stream settings, RTMPS, encoder settings, getting started, troubleshooting. Facebook: streaming software, time limit, API start, API changelog. Instagram: live video, Live Producer post. Kick: how to stream, connecting, dashboard, phone, mobile games, GoPro, checklist, phishing, safety. TikTok: LIVE Studio FAQ.
Platform names belong to their owners. SplitCam is not affiliated with them.
Still stuck? Ask SplitCam Help; leave the key out of anything you send.
| What you see | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| “Make sure the stream key is correct.” or “Can't stream with this key and URL” (Windows) | A key or an address that is out of date or mistyped | Copy a fresh key and paste it with nothing around it (YouTube also advises a new key if an encoder will not start). |
| “Invalid URL” (Windows) or “This is a server address, not a key” (Android) | A malformed address; on Android also an address typed into the key field | Address in the URL field, only the key in the key field, each copied in full. |
| “The key has a space” or “The key has non-Latin letters” (Android) | A space or a non-Latin letter in the key (the address field is checked the same way) | Delete the space, or switch the keyboard to English and paste again. |
| “Either stream URL or stream key is empty” or “no active streams found” (Windows) | A field is empty, or no stream is switched on | Fill in both fields and make the stream active. |
| “Timed out waiting for connection” (Windows), or an SSL error on an rtmps:// address | A wrong address, scheme or port, or a firewall, antivirus or work or school network blocking streaming (Kick's help lists the last three) | Check them (YouTube's RTMPS guide pairs rtmps:// with 443); on a work or school network, ask its admin to allow streaming. |
The stream key is the secret half of the pair: your streaming software sends it with the video so the platform can route the video to your channel. The RTMP URL (also called the server URL or stream URL) is the address the video goes to.
It depends. Twitch says you need not re-enter its key unless it is reset; Meta says a standard Facebook key cannot be reused; Instagram's Help Center says its key changes every time you use Live Producer.
Use an address from the recommended-ingest page on Twitch, or let your streaming software choose. Twitch writes an address as the server, then /app/, then your key; with two separate fields, the address stops at /app (our reading of its help pages).
The current LIVE Studio help pages from TikTok do not describe a stream key, so we give no steps. If TikTok shows you a server URL and a key, SplitCam for Android takes them by hand (from build 877).
For some platforms, no. Instagram Live Producer works only in a computer browser, Meta files its Facebook streaming-software article under Computer Help, and streaming from the Twitch mobile app needs no key.
Platforms differ. YouTube allows up to 3 active streams per key, and a Facebook persistent key allows one live video at a time; the Twitch and Kick help pages do not say whether two connections can share a key. Each platform issues its own key, so several platforms mean several keys. Twitch sets its own simulcasting rules (Simulcasting Guidelines); see also our multistreaming page.
Download SplitCam, add your platform with its key and, where asked, its URL, and go live.
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