How to Download Twitch VOD Videos

VOD (a.k.a. Video on Demand) is a popular feature on the Twitch livestreaming service as it allows for fans to view past broadcasts of their favorite streamers when they're offline.

Due to the fact that these saved videos expire after a certain period of time has passed though, both streamers and viewers often like to download them and either store them locally or upload them to another service such as YouTube for viewing later.

Illustration of a person watching a video game while downloading the video stream from Twitch — Lifewire / Bailey Mariner

Here's how to download your own Twitch VOD videos and those belonging to other users.

How to Download Your Own Twitch Videos

Twitch streamers can download all of their own previous broadcasts directly from the Twitch website. Depending on what sort of account you have though (i.e. regular user, Twitch Affiliate, or Twitch Partner) your window for downloading previous broadcasts will vary between 14 to 60 days after the initial stream, after which the video will auto-delete itself.

Enabling Broadcast Auto-Archiving: On the Twitch website, click on the drop-down menu in the top-right corner and select Settings. From this page, click on Channel & Videos link and then scroll down to the Channel Settings section. Check the box for Automatically archive my broadcasts. All of your future broadcasts will now save to your profile once they finish.
Downloading Your Videos: From the main drop-down menu, click on Video Manager. This will take you to a library of all of your saved videos of past broadcasts. Under each video thumbnail will be a link that says Download. Click on it to save the video to your computer.

You are not able to download someone else's past broadcasts from the Twitch website.

How to Download Someone Else's Twitch Videos

Twitch Leecher is a free program designed specifically to download videos from Twitch. It's a third-party app, which means that it is in no way endorsed or supported by Twitch, but it is very well designed and boasts a clean interface that makes it significantly less intimidating when compared to other such programs.

The best thing about Twitch Leecher is that it can download Twitch videos made by any user on the network. This program is also updated on a very regular basis to keep pace with major Twitch updates and its creator is easy to get in touch with via the links within the app should users have any support requests. Here's how to install Twitch Leecher and begin using it to download Twitch VODs.

Go to the official Twitch Leecher page on GitHub and to get the latest available version of the program. The link should be at the bottom of the latest blog post under the subheading, Downloads. Choose the program link with the .exe extension.
Your computer will now prompt you to either run the program or save it. Click on Run and follow the prompts to install the program on your computer.
After the installation has completed, locate Twitch Leecher by opening up your Windows 10 Start Menu and clicking on the All apps icon in the top-left corner (or All Programs in the lower-left for Windows 10 users). Twitch Leecher should be listed at the top of the next menu with other recently installed programs (if any). It may also be listed in alphabetical order
Click on the Twitch Leecher icon to open the program and then select the Search button in the top menu.
Open up your regular web browser such as Edge, Chrome, or Firefox, and go to the official Twitch website.
Find the channel of your chosen Twitch streamer either by searching for it in the top search bar or, if you already follow them, via the left Followed Channels menu.
Once on the profile page, select Videos next to the Twitch channel name.
Find the video you wish to download and right-click on it with your mouse. Select Copy Link if using Edge, Copy Link Location in Firefox, or Copy link address if using Chrome.
Go back to Twitch Leecher and choose the Urls tab. Copy the video link into the white box by pressing Ctrl and V on your keyboard or right-click your mouse and select Paste. Press Search.
Your chosen Twitch video should appear with a Download button in its lower-right corner. Select it.
On this next screen you can choose the resolution size of the video download and where you want the video to save on your computer. You can also give it a custom filename and choose start and end points for the video. This last option is super-useful as many Twitch videos can be several hours long and will require a lot of memory if saving the entire clip.
Once all of your options are set, select Download. Your video will soon be available in your chosen file location.