FAQ Questions, answered.

That hasn't been decided yet, and CroStream isn't publicly released. Check the download page for updates.

No. You build everything from the app's own screens by picking events and actions from lists, and every tutorial works that way. The Development section is only for people who want to go further, such as writing their own overlay widgets.

A macro is a list of actions run in order, such as "switch scene, wait 30 seconds, switch back". A trigger decides when a macro runs: a chat command, a channel point redemption, a raid, a hotkey, a timer, a Steam game starting and more. One macro can be run by many triggers. Your first chat command builds one of each in ten minutes.

It covers much of the same ground: chat commands, channel point reactions, alerts, overlays and a points system. It isn't a hosted service, though: CroStream runs on your computer, and it only works while it is running. You can bring your points over from a StreamElements or Streamlabs export. See Viewers.

The desktop app is coming to macOS (Apple silicon, macOS 13 or newer) and Windows first, and to Linux eventually. A headless server version and a Windows companion app for two-PC setups are planned. A few features depend on the system, such as global hotkeys and the screen flash. See the download page.

OBS 28 or newer, which has the WebSocket connection CroStream uses built in. To use the Clip action, also turn on and start the replay buffer. See Connect OBS.

Yes. Every trigger has a Test button that runs its macro with a sample event, without waiting for chat and without spending or refunding anyone's channel points. A few Twitch actions, such as clips and shoutouts, only work while you are live.

Two small windows you can pop out of the main one, for example onto a second monitor. The chat window shows your Twitch chat, lets you reply, and lets you delete messages, time people out and ban. The controls window has your OBS scenes and your pinned macros as one-click buttons. Open them from Chat window and Controls window in the sidebar. See Chat and controls on a second screen.

Yes. Click the pushpin button in the chat or controls window's header (Keep this window on top). It stays above other windows, including a game in windowed or borderless mode. A game in exclusive fullscreen still covers it. CroStream remembers the pin, and where you put each window.

Close to the tray is on in Settings (on a Mac it's called Close to the menu bar). CroStream then keeps running in the background, so your triggers keep working. Click the tray icon to bring the window back, or choose Quit CroStream from its menu to quit. Turn the setting off if you'd rather closing the window quits the app.

Show CroStream, Chat window, Controls window, Clear screen flash (a panic button for screen flashes), Settings…, Report a problem… and Quit CroStream. On Windows and Linux, a left click on the icon shows or hides the main window and a right click opens the menu; on a Mac a click opens the menu.

Where your system supports it, switch on Start when I log in in Settings. Add Start in the tray to have it start with its window hidden. See Desktop app.

System notifications, each with its own switch in Settings: when you go live, when a macro action fails (at most one every 30 seconds; click it to see the run in History), when Twitch or OBS stays disconnected for a while, when an update is available, and login warnings. Turn off any you don't want.

CroStream checks for a new version when it starts and every 6 hours, and downloads and verifies it itself. Nothing installs without you: click Install and restart when it suits you, and CroStream closes, updates and opens again. In Settings → Updates you can choose the Stable or Beta channel, turn automatic checks off, or click Check now. See Updates.

No. CroStream logs in with its own registered application, so there is nothing to set up. See Logging in to Twitch.

Permission to read and send chat, manage channel points, create clips, moderate, change your title and category, see events such as follows and bits, and do what the actions do. The Twitch page in the app shows what your login grants. See Logging in to Twitch.

Twitch logins of the kind CroStream uses can't be renewed automatically, so every so often you log in again. CroStream warns you well ahead: a banner two weeks before the login expires, and a window you have to click through one week before, with a chime so you notice. A desktop notification comes too, unless you turned Login warnings off. Log in again whenever it suits you, ideally not mid-stream. See Login warnings.

Anything that needs Twitch stops: chat commands, redemptions, alerts and Twitch actions. OBS, hotkeys and other parts keep working. Log in again from the warning or from the Twitch page and everything comes back.

Your login is older than a feature that needs a new Twitch permission. Log in to Twitch again from the Twitch page: Twitch asks you to approve the new permission, and the step works from then on.

No. CroStream reads Steam's own files on your computer to see which games you have and what you're playing. Steam has to be installed on the same computer, running and signed in. See Steam.

Yes, for Steam games. One click on the Steam page's suggested automation does it. See Switch your Twitch category when a Steam game starts.

CroStream talks to the Discord desktop app on the same computer; the browser version of Discord can't do this. Open the Discord app before you go live: if it's closed at that moment, the status isn't set later. See Show "Live on Twitch" on Discord.

Discord only shows activity buttons to other people. Ask a friend to look, and they'll see it.

Discord always shows the name of the application that sets the status. To show a different name, create your own Discord application and paste its ID into Discord application ID on the Discord page. See Discord.

Yes, with an incoming webhook: an address on your PC that apps such as Ko-fi, Bitfocus Companion, a Stream Deck plugin, Home Assistant or your own script can call. A trigger then runs a macro, with what the sender posted available as variables. See Webhooks and Thank Ko-fi donors in chat.

Yes, with the Send a webhook step: it posts text, JSON or a form to another system, and can read a JSON answer back into variables. See Flash your lights on a raid.

It can be, if you take care. Each webhook needs a secret token or a signature, so a stranger who finds the address still gets a 401. Prefer a tunnel that gives you an https:// address, use a signature if the service supports one, and never turn off the check. By default, only programs on your own PC can reach webhooks at all. See Putting a webhook on the internet.

In two folders on your computer: a config folder for what you make (triggers, macros, queues, settings, logins, overlays, widgets) and a state folder for what CroStream records (viewer database, history, media library). On Windows they are %AppData%\CroStream and %LocalAppData%\CroStream; on a Mac both are ~/Library/Application Support/CroStream. Settings → Open config folder opens the first. See Files and folders.

On your computer: your settings, logins and passwords, viewer records and points, history, chat logs and media library. Viewers' names and what they did never leave it. CroStream contains no usage tracking.

The one exception is crash reporting, which sends the developer errors and CroStream's own log lines. In a released version it is off until you turn it on in Settings → Crash reporting. See the next question.

CroStream goes online only to do what you set up: it talks to Twitch for chat, events and actions, checks for updates, and downloads fonts you pick in the overlay editor and emote images for chat. OBS, Steam and Discord are reached on your own computer or network. Actions you add yourself, such as a web request, a Discord webhook post or Send a webhook, send what you tell them to where you point them. Incoming webhooks only listen while one is turned on, and only to who you allow. See Privacy.

Not about how you use it: no usage tracking, no analytics. A released version checks for updates, and sends crash reports only if you turn them on in Settings → Crash reporting. A development build (a test build, not a release) always sends them. Reports hold the error, CroStream's own log lines, the version, your operating system and your Twitch account (ID, name and email, so the developer can follow up). Tokens, chat, viewer names, email and IP addresses inside error text, the query part of web addresses and your home folder path are removed first. Turn it off at any time and nothing more is sent. See Crash reporting, Sentry and Privacy.

Turn on crash reporting, then use Settings → Crash reporting → Report a problem… (also in the tray icon's menu, and under Help on a Mac). Describe what happened and click Send. See Report a problem.

Your triggers, macros, queues and settings are backed up automatically before every change (Settings → Backups). Copy your viewer database, media library and config folder somewhere safe yourself now and then. See Back up and move your setup and Backups.

Yes. Settings → Export & import saves the ones you pick to a file, leaving out logins, secret addresses and webhook tokens. Imported triggers and incoming webhooks start turned off. See Back up and move your setup.

90 days by default. You can change that, turn history off or clear it in Settings. See History.

Yes. The media library takes common image, audio, video and font files. See Media library.

Overlays come with templates, themes, text effects and frames you can pick without any code. If you are comfortable with code, you can also add your own styling and write widgets: see the Development section.

Flashing images can trigger seizures in people with photosensitive epilepsy, including you. Keep flashes short, never chain them, avoid strobing images, and always put a cooldown on the trigger. Every way of clearing a flash at once (a hotkey, the Dashboard, the Controls window and the tray menu) is in A channel point jump scare.

Yes, with browser mode, which runs CroStream without a window and shows the same screens in a web browser. Global hotkeys don't work without a desktop. See Browser mode.

It has no password. Anyone who can reach the address can do everything the app can, so only open it up on a network you trust. By default it can only be reached from the same computer. See Browser mode. To add a password and HTTPS, put a reverse proxy in front of it; everything, custom widgets included, works through one. See Reverse proxies.