Twitch Chat

Overview

The Twitch destination connects Now Playing to your Twitch channel’s chat. When enabled, it can:

• Auto-announce every track change to chat
• Respond to viewer commands like !song or !trackid
• Allow admin users to manually set the current track via chat

This is one of the most popular destinations. Viewers love knowing what track is playing without having to ask.

Prerequisites

• A Twitch account (your main account or a dedicated bot account)
• Now Playing desktop app running and connected to a track source
• An active internet connection

Connecting Your Twitch Account

1. Open the Dashboard at app.nowplayingapp.com
2. Navigate to Settings in the top navigation
3. Under Destinations, click Twitch Chat
4. Click Connect Twitch Account
5. You’ll be redirected to Twitch to authorize Now Playing. Only the permissions needed to post chat messages are requested.
6. After authorizing, you’ll be returned to the dashboard showing your connected account.

Once connected, toggle the Enabled switch in the Twitch Account card to activate the integration.

Tip

Many DJs create a dedicated bot account (e.g., “YourNameBot”) so track announcements come from a recognizable bot name rather than their personal broadcaster account. This keeps chat cleaner and makes it obvious which messages are automated. To set up a bot account, click Authorize Bot Account in the Chat Bot Account card and follow the instructions to sign in with your bot account in a private browser window.

Channel Selection

By default, Now Playing posts to the channel matching your connected Twitch username. If you want to post to a different channel (for example, if you’re a guest DJ on someone else’s stream), enter that channel name in the Channel field. Leave it blank to use your own channel.

Auto-Announce

When auto-announce is enabled, Now Playing automatically posts a message to your Twitch chat every time the currently playing track changes. This happens in real-time as you transition between tracks.

Message Template

You can fully customize the message format using template variables. The default template is:

🎵 Now Playing: {{artist}} - {{title}}

Available Template Variables

Variable	Description	Example Output
{{artist}}	Track artist name	Daft Punk
{{title}}	Track title	Around The World
{{album}}	Album name	Homework
{{bpm}}	Beats per minute	121.0
{{key}}	Musical key	Am
{{label}}	Record label	Virgin
{{genre}}	Genre	House

Example Templates

Here are some templates DJs commonly use:

🎵 Now Playing: {{artist}} - {{title}}

▶ {{artist}} - {{title}} [{{bpm}} BPM / {{key}}]

🔊 {{title}} by {{artist}} ({{label}})

Show Online Message

When enabled, Now Playing posts a message like “Now Playing is online!” to chat when the bot first connects. This lets your viewers know track ID is available. You can toggle this off if you prefer a quieter chat experience.

Track ID Command

The Track ID command lets viewers ask what’s currently playing by typing a command in chat. This is useful even if you have auto-announce enabled: viewers who joined mid-track can catch up on what’s playing.

Configuration

• Commands: A space-separated list of trigger words. Default: !song !trackid !id. You can add as many aliases as you like.
• Reply Template: The message format for responses. Supports the same template variables as auto-announce, plus {{user}} which inserts the username of the viewer who asked.

Default reply template:

@{{user}} 🎵 {{artist}} - {{title}}

This replies with an @mention so the viewer sees the response even in a busy chat.

Tip

You can disable auto-announce but keep the Track ID command active if you prefer a quieter chat. Viewers can still find out what’s playing by typing !song, but chat won’t be interrupted on every track change.

Admin Command

The admin command lets trusted users manually set the current track via chat. This is useful for scenarios where Now Playing can’t automatically detect the track. For example, use it if you’re playing vinyl or a track from a source that isn’t connected.

Configuration

• Command: The trigger word. Default: !nowplaying
• Authorized Users: A space-separated list of Twitch usernames allowed to use this command. The channel owner always has access regardless of this list.

Usage

An authorized user types:

!nowplaying Artist Name - Track Title

Now Playing will then display that track info on your overlay and announce it as if it were automatically detected.

Testing

After configuring your settings, click Send Test at the bottom of the page to send a test message to your Twitch chat. This verifies that the connection is working and lets you preview how messages will look.

Don’t forget to click Save Settings after making changes. Settings are not auto-saved.

Troubleshooting

Bot not posting to chat

• Verify your Twitch account is connected (look for the green “Connected as” indicator)
• Make sure the Enabled toggle is on
• Check that the Now Playing desktop app is running and connected to a track source
• Try the Send Test button to verify the connection

Messages appear from the wrong account

• If messages come from your personal account instead of a bot account, use the Authorize Bot Account button in the Chat Bot Account card to link a separate bot account.

Track ID command not responding

• Verify the Track ID command is enabled (toggle is on)
• Check that the command triggers match what viewers are typing (default: !song !trackid !id)
• The bot must be connected to the correct channel