What Is a Raid on Twitch? Steven Gannon Walks Streamers Through Starting, Receiving and Managing Raids
Steven Gannon explains the /raid command, the settings worth changing and the etiquette that turns one raid into a steady network of creators
LOS ANGELES, California, USA – October 23, 2026 – Steven Gannon, a streaming and creator-growth educator, has published a practical guide to Twitch raids, one of the platform’s most useful and most misunderstood community features. It covers what a raid is, how to start and receive one, which settings matter, and the habits that make other streamers want to raid back.
A raid lets a streamer send their live audience to another channel, usually at the end of a broadcast. Everyone connected to chat moves across together, and the receiving channel sees a message in chat announcing who raided and how many viewers came along.
“A raid is the closest thing Twitch has to a handshake between creators,” said Gannon. “You end your night by putting your community in front of someone else, and that person tends to remember it. For small channels, that’s how real networks start.”
How to start a raid
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Near the end of the stream, type /raid followed by the channel name in chat, for example /raid ChannelName. The command also works from the mobile app.
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Not sure who to raid? Open the Raid Channel quick action in the Creator Dashboard, or type /raidbrowser, to see live channels Twitch suggests, with filters for the same category, channels you follow and channels of a similar size.
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A countdown appears at the top of chat while viewers get ready. After 10 seconds, click Raid Now, or let the bar run out and the raid starts on its own. Click Cancel to call it off.
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Raiding doesn’t end the broadcast, so close the stream from Stream Manager once the raid has gone through.
How to receive and manage raids
Gannon recommends checking incoming raid settings before a raid ever arrives. In the Creator Dashboard, under Settings and then Stream, creators can allow or deny raids, set a viewer-count range for incoming raiders, require a minimum account age and limit raids to groups such as friends, teammates or followed channels. A Stop Raids for 1 Hour quick action pauses incoming raids mid-stream, and broadcasters and moderators can look back at recent raids from the chat settings menu under Tasks.
“When a raid lands, stop what you’re doing and greet them,” Gannon said. “Thank the raider by name, tell the new people what the stream is about and give them a reason to stay. The first minute decides most of it.”
Raid etiquette
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Raid channels in the same or a related category, so the audience actually fits.
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Favor creators of a similar size, where a raid makes a visible difference.
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Drop a short message in the receiving chat saying who you are and what you were streaming.
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Return the favor. The Raided You filter in the Raid Browser shows channels that raided you in the past 30 days.
Why raids help a channel grow
Every raid puts a channel in front of people who are already in the habit of watching live, and every incoming raid is a chance to win a few of them over. Interest in the feature has spread well beyond streamer circles, and mainstream outlets now cover the tools built around it, including a Jerusalem Post comparison of raid features across streaming services.
“Treat raids like part of your schedule, not an afterthought,” Gannon said. “Pick a handful of channels you genuinely enjoy, raid them regularly and show up when they go live. Over a few months that circle turns into returning viewers who already know your name.”
Gannon’s full walkthrough, How to Raid on Twitch, is available on Medium.
About Steven Gannon
Steven Gannon is a streaming and creator-growth educator who writes about stream setup, raids, channel discoverability and community building for Twitch and Kick streamers.
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Website: https://medium.com/@StevenGannon/how-to-raid-on-twitch-21c8fedfca92?postPublishedType=initial
