Is there an officially supported way to retrieve chat messages from an ended Twitch VOD for video post-production?

API
1

I am developing a Windows desktop application for video post-production. The application converts livestream chat messages into timeline-synchronized overlay assets for use in video editing software.

For Twitch, the intended use case is post-production after a livestream has ended. A user would provide a Twitch VOD and use its chat history to create an overlay synchronized with the video timeline.

I have reviewed the current Twitch API documentation, but I have not found a documented endpoint for retrieving historical chat messages from an ended VOD.

I would like to make sure the application uses only methods that Twitch officially supports or permits.

My questions are:

  1. Is there currently a documented Twitch API or other officially supported method for retrieving chat messages associated with an ended VOD?
  2. If not, is there an official process or contact channel through which a developer can ask whether another method may be used for this specific post-production use case?
  3. Are there any specific requirements that a commercial desktop application should follow when providing this functionality?

I am not looking for instructions for undocumented endpoints. I want to determine the officially supported and policy-compliant approach before deciding how this functionality should be implemented.

2

No

Depends on the channel, but if you are operating officailly for the channel becuase they want you to, then you have permission no?

I’m not a lawyer and this is seeking legal advice

Short of capturing chat in real time, which has it’s own complications, (again legal advice)

See https://twitch.uservoice.com/forums/310213-developers for feature requests.

3

Thanks for the clarification.

Just to clarify my second question: I understand that a channel owner may authorize an editor to work with their content. My concern is separate from the channel owner’s permission.

I am specifically asking whether Twitch itself provides any official process or contact channel for requesting permission to access or use an undocumented method for retrieving historical VOD chat data, since the documented Twitch API does not provide this functionality.

I want to avoid using any undocumented Twitch service in a commercial application unless Twitch itself has explicitly permitted it.

Is there an official Twitch contact or process for that type of request?

4

This isn’t a undocumented method

For something that doesn’t exist no.

Is the solve here after getting authentication to operate.

And/or ensuring your are compliant with relevant privacy legal rules, you need legal advice.

5

Thanks, that helps clarify the officially supported approach.

I have one final question so I can make the correct product decision.

There is an existing open-source tool called TwitchDownloaderCLI that can retrieve chat associated with ended Twitch VODs. Its software is MIT licensed, but I understand that the software license and Twitch’s platform rules are separate matters.

Would it be permitted for a commercial desktop application to use or bundle TwitchDownloaderCLI specifically for retrieving chat from ended VODs, assuming the user is authorized to work with the channel’s content?

I am asking specifically about Twitch’s platform/developer rules, not the MIT license of the tool.

6

Again I’m not a lawyer and this is a legal question. It’s been a hot minute since I looked at licenses so I cannot say for sure here.

Said tool violates the developer agreement, in my opinion, by utilsing things it’s not allowed to utilise, because:

there are no documented/supported routes for getting chat of vods.

Additionally, it can/will break at any time becuase whatever it’s calling isn’t “stable” and can change/break at any time.

My approach here would be to, as already stated:

capture in real time from channels I am authorisd to be in, after they sign up to the service.

Then I don’t have to download anything after the fact, and can use officially supported and stable API’s and interfaces.

TLDR’s

  • I’m not a lawyer and this isn’t legal advice, which is what you are asking for
  • Theres a lot of possible PII issues here so you need to consult a lawyer
  • There are no supported API’s for downloading chat of vods
  • The optimal solution/solve is to capture in real time via EventSub/IRC as that is stable/supported, and has clear authentication mechanims to grant/revoke access/permission
7

Thanks for the clarification. This gives me enough information to avoid relying on unsupported VOD chat retrieval in the product and to consider officially supported real-time capture instead.