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Tutorial

How to add an emote on Twitch

It all happens in your Creator Dashboard, one emote at a time. You need an Affiliate or Partner channel, an emote prefix, and your files in the right sizes.

  1. Open the emotes page

    In your Creator Dashboard, click Viewer Rewards in the left sidebar, then Emotes, and stay on the Subscriber Emotes tab. If your interface is in French, look for Récompenses de viewer, then Émoticônes.

  2. Pick your prefix, once and for all

    If you don’t have one yet, Twitch asks you to pick one before your first upload. It goes in front of the name of each of your emotes. Take the time to think it over: an Affiliate can only change it once, after a username change.

  3. Click the + of the right tier

    Your emotes are sorted by subscription tier. Click the + under the tier you want: the emote will go straight into that slot. You can also click Upload New to store it in your Library first, without activating it.

  4. Upload your files

    By default, Twitch is set to Auto-Resize: you upload a single square image from 112 to 4,096 px, and it makes the other sizes. With our files, turn that option off instead to switch to manual mode, then drop the 28, the 56 and the 112 px each in its own box. Each size was checked as it is, whereas auto-resize redoes the scaling its own way.

  5. Give it its code

    In the Emote Code field, type the emote’s name, for example Hello. Twitch adds it after your prefix: with the prefix meow, the full code becomes meowHello, and that is what your viewers will type in chat. The name is reviewed just like the image, so keep it family-friendly.

  6. Submit, then wait for the review

    Click Upload. The emote is saved to your Library and placed in the slot you chose. Until it is approved, it stays greyed out with a small clock. This wait is the longest part: Twitch warns it can take a few days.

No wait for Affiliates who have streamed on at least 60 different days over a rolling year, with no warning or suspension: their emotes go online as soon as they are submitted. Days streamed before becoming an Affiliate don’t count. For follower emotes, free for the people who follow your channel, choose Follower when you assign a slot from your Library (up to 5 emotes).

Animated emotes

And for an animated emote?

Same page, same steps, but in the slots reserved for animated emotes: an Affiliate starts with 5 of them, on top of the others.

In auto-resize mode

A single square GIF from 112 to 4,096 px, 1 MB at most. Twitch uses its first frame as the static image. To use the one we delivered instead, click Use Custom Thumbnails.

In manual mode

Three GIFs in 28, 56 and 112 px, 512 KB at most each. If one is missing, the emote doesn’t go online. If your three files stay under 512 KB, this mode keeps the sizes just as we checked them; otherwise, upload the 112 px GIF in auto-resize mode.

The name

You type it in the Emote Name field, and the full code is built the same way: prefix + name.

A stricter review

Twitch says an emote accepted as a static image can be rejected once animated. Each viewer can also turn animations off in their chat settings.

Sub badges

Adding a sub badge

Badges don’t live with the emotes, but in the monetization section.

  1. In your dashboard, open the menu (the three-line icon), then click Monetization, Subscriptions and Subscriber Badges.
  2. Under Manage Badges, use the drop-down menu to choose the badge to change: the base one, or the one for a tenure milestone (3 months, 6 months…).
  3. Click the + of each box and upload the same image in 18, 36 and 72 px.
  4. Click Save Changes.

No manual review for badges: they show up right away, and only on your channel. At first, you have badge slots up to 1 year of tenure, and more unlock over time. The Founders badge can’t be customised. Tier 2 and Tier 3 flair is set on the same page, and only works with a custom badge.

If it is rejected

If Twitch rejects your emote

You get an email with the general reason for the rejection. You can then fix the emote and submit it again, or submit another one. Just avoid resubmitting the same one over and over: Twitch can then take instant upload away from you. The most common reasons are listed in mistakes that get an emote rejected.

If it is an emote from the shop, we fix it or swap it for free: open a ticket with Twitch’s message.

Not an Affiliate yet?

Your emotes are already useful elsewhere

On Twitch, channel emotes are reserved for monetized streamers, which usually means becoming an Affiliate. In the meantime, you can already use them.

Discord

Each server holds up to 50 custom emoji, which all its members can use on that server. You need to own the server or have permission to create expressions, then go to the Emoji tab in the server settings. Each file must be under 256 KB (PNG, GIF, JPEG or WEBP), and its name at least 2 characters long: letters, numbers or underscores.

BetterTTV

A free browser extension for Twitch and YouTube that lets you upload your own emotes for your channel. Its paid plan goes up to 500 channel emotes, and you can sync your emotes with your Discord server.

7TV

An emote platform for Twitch and Kick, with 1,000 free slots per channel. It works through its browser extension or through compatible apps.

The day you become an Affiliate

Your files are already in Twitch’s formats: just start this tutorial again at step 1.

BetterTTV and 7TV are extensions: your viewers need to have them installed, or use a compatible app, to see your emotes in chat.

Steps and figures taken from the official pages on September 22, 2026: Twitch, subscriber emote guide, Twitch, animated emotes, Twitch, formats and instant upload, Twitch, subscriber badges, Discord, custom emoji, BetterTTV, 7TV. Menus change from time to time: if a label no longer matches, Twitch’s help is the one to trust.

Emotes ready to upload

Your emotes come in 28, 56 and 112 px, the animated ones under 1 MB and the badges in 18, 36 and 72 px, all checked at 28 px. These steps are all that’s left.

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