How do you set up a chat poll?
- Open the Chat Poll setup page.
- Pick Twitch, Kick or Both and type just the channel names.
- If you want a poll ready before the stream, type a question and 2 to 6 options under Ready-Made Poll. It goes up with
!poll start. - Set the Poll Length (1 minute by default), how long the results stay on screen and who can vote.
- Pick a color, a position and the poll language, copy the URL and add it to OBS as a Browser Source at 640 × 560.
The preview on the setup page plays a poll with simulated voters, faster than real time, then starts the next one. The Try it buttons add 10 votes, add 30 seconds, end the poll and start a new one. They only change the preview, never the poll in OBS.
How do you start a poll from chat?
Only the broadcaster and moderators can run polls, on Twitch and on Kick. VIPs and viewers can't: a viewer typing !poll changes nothing.
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
| !poll Question | A | B | C | Puts up a new poll with 2 to 6 options, for the Poll Length in the URL |
| !poll 90s Question | A | B | The same, with its own length: 90s, 2m, 1m30s or 1:30 |
| !poll Question? | Puts up a quick poll with Yes and No as its options |
| !poll start | Puts up the ready-made poll saved in the URL |
| !poll extend 30s | Adds time to an open poll that has a timer |
| !poll end | Ends voting now; the winner shows after the Stream Delay |
| !poll cancel | Takes the poll off the screen, results and all |
Split the question and the options with |. Options past the sixth are left out, and so are repeats, even in a different case. The question can be up to 80 characters and each option up to 30. A new poll replaces the one on screen.
A command word needs the right arguments: !poll extend 30 seconds does nothing instead of putting that up as a question. A plain number before the question isn't read as a length, so !poll 3 or 4 games? | 3 | 4 keeps its question. The poll doesn't answer in chat; you see the result on screen.
How do viewers vote?
- The number of the option on its own, like
2. !vote 2or!2, for viewers used to bot polls.- The option itself:
speedrunvotes for Speedrun, in any case and with or without accents or Turkish letters.
The whole message has to be the vote. 2 please, 4Head or 1 more game don't count, so normal chat never turns into votes. When an option is a number itself, its text wins: in a poll of 3 | 4 | 5, typing 3 votes for the option 3, not the third option.
Twitch's own /vote command is for Twitch's native polls, so tell chat to type the number. The poll shows a hint like "Type 1 to 3 in chat" under its options.
Can a viewer vote more than once?
No. Every Twitch or Kick account counts once. With Viewers Can Change Their Vote on, which is the default, a new number moves the vote; turn it off and the first vote is final. A vote for an option that doesn't exist never costs a viewer the vote they already had.
With Who Can Vote set to Subscribers, only viewers with a sub or founder badge can vote, plus you. With everyone voting, A Sub Vote Counts makes a sub's vote count 2 or 3 times. The poll says so on screen, and the percentages use those weighted votes.
If a mod times out or bans an account while the poll takes votes, its vote comes off, which helps undo a wave of spam bots.
What happens when the time runs out?
Viewers watch your stream a few seconds behind chat, so when their screen shows 1 second left, the poll has already closed in chat. Votes keep counting for the Stream Delay after the timer ends, 5 seconds by default, while the poll shows Last votes. Set it to how far behind your viewers are; Twitch and Kick are usually 2 to 10 seconds behind.
Then the winner lights up in gold with a crown and the other options dim. When two or more options share the most votes, the poll calls it a tie. The results stay up for Results On Screen, 30 seconds by default, then the poll fades out. Set it to 0 to keep them up until the next poll or !poll cancel.
With Poll Length at 0 the poll has no timer and stays open until a mod types !poll end. !poll extend only adds time to a poll that has a timer.
How can you change the way it looks?
- Hide Results Until the End: the bars stay hidden while voting is open and only the vote count shows, so early votes don't sway the rest.
- Color: purple (default), green, red, gold, cyan or pink.
- Position: the poll sits at the top or the bottom of the browser source and grows from there with the number of options.
- Poll Language: English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese or Turkish for the words on the poll, like Results and the Yes and No of a quick poll.
With both platforms on, the poll shows how many votes came from Twitch and from Kick next to the total. The source is transparent, so only the poll card shows on stream.
What happens if OBS closes or the source reloads?
The poll and its votes are saved inside OBS, so a reload or an OBS restart brings it back where it was. The timer keeps running while OBS is closed.
Nothing reads your chat while OBS or the source is off, so votes typed in that time aren't counted. That's why "Shutdown source when not visible" should stay off; the OBS guide explains it. The saved poll belongs to that OBS and those channels.
What can't Chat Poll do?
- Post in chat. It only reads chat, so it never announces the poll or the winner there; the poll on stream shows both.
- Show Twitch's or Kick's own polls. Twitch's can't be read without logging in, so to work the same on both platforms the votes come from chat.
- Take Channel Points or Bits votes. Every viewer has one vote, or 2 or 3 as a sub when you turn that on.
- Multiple choice. Each viewer picks one option.