A useful set of Twitch chat rules is short, specific, and easy to enforce. Most channels need somewhere between five and eight rules. Less than that and edge cases create confusion; more than that and nobody reads to the end.
This article gives example rule sets for three common channel types, plus the principles that make rules work in practice.
What makes a rule work
A rule earns its place if it answers yes to all three:
- A viewer reading it knows what behaviour is allowed and what is not
- A moderator can enforce it consistently without long debate
- It is broken often enough that having it written down saves arguments
A rule that fails any of these (vague, subjective, or never broken) should be cut. "Be a good person" is not a rule. "No personal attacks on other viewers" is.
A small chat-focused channel
For a channel under 50 average viewers where most conversation is one-to-one with the streamer:
- Be respectful. No personal attacks, slurs, or harassment.
- No spam or repeated copy-paste messages.
- No self-promotion. Mention your channel only if asked.
- No backseat gaming unless the streamer invites it.
- Keep the topic loosely on the stream. Off-topic is fine when chat is quiet, not during a tense gameplay moment.
- Listen to the mods.
Six rules. Pin them in chat with a !rules command run every 30 minutes by a chatbot timer.
A gaming channel with frequent raids and large stream events
For a channel that regularly hosts 200 or more viewers, has incoming raids, and runs sub trains:
- Respect everyone in chat. Slurs, harassment, and personal attacks are an immediate ban.
- No spam, no caps lock messages over five words, no excessive emote spam.
- Self-promotion only in raids, with a brief greeting. No follow-back trades.
- Keep chat in English in the main channel; other languages welcome in voice channels and DMs.
- No spoilers without two empty lines of warning text first.
- Backseat gaming only when the streamer asks. Asking once politely is fine; repeating after a decline is a timeout.
- Listen to the mods. They have the authority to enforce these rules without explanation.
Seven rules. Bigger audiences need slightly more structure because each rule covers more conversation per second.
A community or hobby channel
For a channel where the streamer is not the main draw and the community discusses a shared topic (art, music, programming, a specific game franchise):
- Stay on topic. Off-topic chat is welcome in the dedicated channel, not in main.
- Constructive criticism only. No tearing down other members' work.
- Credit creators. If you share someone else's art or music, link to the original.
- No NSFW content in main chat. NSFW channels have their own rules.
- No private financial advice, medical advice, or legal advice. The streamer is not qualified.
- Be patient with newcomers. Everyone was new once.
- Listen to the mods.
Seven rules. Community-driven channels need explicit guidance on what is on-topic and what counts as constructive.
A clip-friendly channel
For a channel where clips and out-of-context highlights are part of the brand:
- Anything said in chat can be clipped and shown to the world. If you are not comfortable with that, do not post it.
- The streamer reserves the right to remove a clip from the channel without explanation.
- Bigger personal moments (death of a family member, mental health crisis) are not clip material. Use judgement.
- No spam or harassment in chat.
- Listen to the mods.
Five rules. Clip-friendly channels often have looser chat rules in exchange for clearer rules about what gets clipped and what does not.
Where to put the rules
Three places, all at once:
- A pinned !rules command in chat, run by a chatbot at the start of stream and every 20 to 30 minutes
- A channel panel below the video, plain text
- A page on your creator profile or Discord that the panel can link to for the longer version
Each place catches a different viewer: chat-readers, panel-browsers, and follow-link clickers.
When to update the rules
Twice a year is enough for most channels. Update when:
- A new category of issue keeps coming up in chat that the existing rules do not clearly cover
- A rule has not been enforced in three months because nobody breaks it (cut it)
- The audience has changed in size or composition enough that the old rules read as overkill or as too loose
Do not silently change rules. If you ban for a new reason, post the rule change as a chat announcement and a panel update together.
The hidden rule
Whatever your written rules, your behaviour as the streamer sets the unwritten one. If you respond patiently to a difficult viewer once, the channel learns that is the norm. If you snap at someone for a minor mistake, the channel learns that too. Most chat culture comes from this, not from the written list.