How to raid on Twitch

The five-second version

1. Type /raid <streamer> in your own chat (replace <streamer> with their Twitch username — no@, no twitch.tv/).
2. Twitch starts a 90-second countdown. Your viewers see a banner with the destination streamer's preview.
3. When the countdown ends, every active viewer is sent to the other channel and the raid alert fires on the receiving side.

That's the whole mechanic. The rest of this guide is about doing it well — picking a target, raiding without breaking momentum, and scaling raids into the multi-streamer format known as a raid train.

Step 1 — Pick who to raid

The single biggest mistake new streamers make with raids is treating them as a "send my viewers somewhere, anywhere" afterthought. Treat each raid as a recommendation: the streamer you raid should be someone your audience will actually enjoy. Good criteria:

• Live right now. Raiding an offline channel sends your viewers to an empty stream. Always confirm the target is currently live before starting the raid.
• Similar or adjacent content. If you're streaming lofi production, raid another music streamer — not a Fortnite tournament. The raid sticks better when the vibe matches.
• Similar size or smaller. Raiding someone with 10× your audience washes you out — most of your viewers leave after a minute. Raiding someone your size or slightly smaller is where the relationship-building actually happens.
• Reciprocity. Streamers who raid you tend to stay on your radar. Build a small pool of 5–10 collaborators and rotate. That's the seed of a community.

If picking the right target every stream feels like a chore, the StreamScanner Smart Raid Recommender does it for you: an AI-driven scan of your community surfaces streamers who'd appreciate your viewers most. It prioritizes people who've raided/subbed/gifted you (Supporter Priority), tags each suggestion with a reason ("Follows you", "Raided 3x", "Good viewer match"), and lets you preview + raid in one click. Pairs well with this guide.

Step 2 — Set up the raid before you go offline

Don't wait until the literal second your stream ends to think about raiding. The cleanest flow:

1. About 5–10 minutes before ending, tell chat you'll be raiding soon. Drop hints about the target — "we're heading over to a really cool synthwave producer next" — so viewers are primed to follow.
2. Verify the target is live. Open their Twitch page in a second window. Confirm their stream is actually broadcasting, not just scheduled.
3. Type the raid command. In your own chat, type /raid theirusername and hit Enter. The 90-second countdown starts immediately.
4. Talk through the countdown. Use the 90 seconds to thank your chat, plug your social, and explain what's special about the streamer they're about to meet.

Step 3 — Cancel a raid (if you need to)

If you typed the wrong username, the target just went offline, or you changed your mind, type /unraid in your chat. The countdown stops and no raid is sent. You can then restart with a different target.

Raid vs. host vs. shoutout

These three actions sound similar but do different things:

• Raid (/raid): sends your live viewers to another channel and ends your stream. The raid creates a banner alert + a chat message on the receiving side. This is the most disruptive and most rewarding option.
• Host: Twitch removed the host feature in 2022. The closest equivalents are now raids (active handoff) and the auto-redirect when your channel is offline.
• Shoutout (/shoutout): generates a clickable card in your own chat highlighting another streamer, but doesn't send anyone anywhere. Use this to acknowledge a previous raider without redirecting your audience.

Being a good raid recipient

When someone raids you, a banner pops up in chat saying "X viewers from Y just joined". A wave of new viewers floods in over the next 30 seconds. What to do:

• Greet them by name. Mention the streamer who raided you out loud. Their viewers feel seen, the raider feels credited, your stream's chat shifts up a gear.
• Use /shoutout theirusername. That generates the card in chat showing who raided and what they were last streaming. It's the canonical "thank you."
• Don't change activity for at least 5 minutes. New viewers came in expecting what they were already watching. Don't start a closing ritual the moment you get raided.
• Raid forward. When you end your own stream, consider raiding to keep the chain going — that's how raid trains work.

Scaling up: coordinated raid trains

A raid train chains raids back-to-back: streamer A raids streamer B, B raids C, and so on, sometimes for hours. Every participant gets a compounded viewer boost. (Wondering how that differs from a one-off raid? Raid train vs raid.)

The hard part of a raid train isn't the /raid command — it's the coordination: who streams when, who hands off to whom, what to do when slot 7 goes dark unexpectedly. That's where RaidRunner comes in. Create an event, set the slot duration, share the link, and streamers claim their spot. The schedule is the source of truth.

Frequently asked

What does the /raid command actually do?

It triggers a 90-second countdown on your channel, then sends every currently-watching viewer to the target channel and ends your broadcast. The target sees a "raid alert" in their chat and is responsible for greeting the incoming viewers.

Can I raid an offline channel?

No — the raid command fails if the target isn't live. Always verify before raiding.

How many viewers does a raid send?

All viewers who are actively watching at the moment of the raid. Most stay for a few minutes; some drop off, some convert into followers. Healthy retention is 30–60% over the first 15 minutes.

How is a raid different from a shoutout?

A raid moves viewers; a shoutout just mentions another streamer in your chat without sending anyone over.

Can multiple streamers raid the same channel at once?

Yes. The target sees stacked raid alerts. This is the terminal handoff of large raid trains — multiple streamers ending their slots simultaneously into the main host channel.