The full Whirl guide

Everything step by step, with pictures: from creating your channel to going live, clipping your best moments and putting Whirl on your phone.

1. Create your channel 2 min

Your channel is your home on Whirl: your page, chat and videos all live here.

1

Sign up

  1. Open onwhirl.com and press Sign up (top-right).
  2. Pick a channel name: 3–20 letters, numbers or _. This becomes your link: onwhirl.com/c/yourname.
  3. Add your email and a password you don't use anywhere else.
  4. Tick I'm 13 or older… and press Sign up.
Press the 👁 eye in the password box to check what you typed.
Create your channel Channel nameyourname Emailyou@example.com Password••••••••••👁 I'm 13 or older and accept the Terms
The sign-up form

2. Find your stream key 1 min

OBS needs two things to send your stream to Whirl: the Server and your secret Stream key.

2

Open your Creator dashboard

  1. Press 🎥 Go live at the top of Whirl.
  2. In Connect OBS you'll see Server and Stream key.
  3. Press Copy next to each one when OBS asks for it.
⚠️ Never show your stream key on stream or send it to anyone. If it leaks, press New key: the old one stops working instantly.
🎥 Connect OBS Serverrtmp://…/liveCopy Stream key••••••••••••••••Copy New key Never show your stream key on stream.
Server + Stream key in your dashboard

3. Connect OBS 3 min

OBS Studio is free streaming software for Windows, Mac and Linux. Download it from obsproject.com.

3

Paste your details into OBS

  1. Open OBS and click Settings (bottom-right).
  2. Go to the Stream tab.
  3. Service: choose Custom…
  4. Server: paste the Server from Whirl.
  5. Stream Key: paste your Stream key.
  6. Click OK.
Settings GeneralStreamOutputAudioVideo ServiceCustom… ▾ Serverrtmp://…/live Stream Key•••••••••••• OK 123
Settings → Stream → Custom (illustration)

4. Add your game & camera 2 min

4

Sources: what viewers see

  1. In the Sources box, click +.
  2. Game Capture → Mode: Capture specific window → choose your game. Start the game first.
  3. Optional: Video Capture Device for your webcam. Drag it into a corner.
  4. Optional: Audio Input Capture for your mic.
If Game Capture shows black, try Window Capture or run OBS as administrator.
+🎮 Your game 📷 cam Sources🎮 Game Capture📷 Video Capture Device +
Game full-screen, webcam in a corner

5. Best quality settings

In OBS: Settings → Output (Output Mode: Advanced) and Settings → Video.

SettingUse thisWhy
EncoderNVIDIA NVENC H.264 (or AMD/Intel hardware, else x264)Uses your graphics card, so the game stays smooth
Rate controlCBRSteady quality for viewers
Bitrate4500–6000 KbpsSharp 1080p without buffering
Keyframe interval2 sLower delay + precise clips
Output resolution1920×1080 (or 1280×720 on slow internet)
FPS60 for games, 30 for chatting
Rule of thumb: your upload speed should be at least 1.5× your bitrate. Test it at a speed-test site before going live.

6. Go live 10 sec

6

Start Streaming

  1. In OBS click Start Streaming. The button turns into Stop Streaming and a green square with a timer appears.
  2. Open your channel onwhirl.com/c/yourname: you'll see the LIVE badge.
  3. Share your link. Followers get a 🔔 notification automatically.
  4. When you're done, click Stop Streaming. About 30 seconds later it's saved under Past broadcasts.
LIVE👁 42✂️ Clip CHATnovagg!rexxclip itluna🔥🔥 yournameRanked grind 🎯
Your channel while you're live

7. Make clips

7

Clip the last 90 seconds

  1. On a live channel press ✂️ Clip (or Alt + X).
  2. Drag the green handles to choose 5–60 seconds. Drag the middle to move the whole clip.
  3. Quick buttons: Last 15s / 30s / 60s.
  4. Tick 📱 Vertical 9:16 for TikTok, Reels or Shorts.
  5. Add a title and press Publish clip.
✂️ Create clip 30.0sPublish clip
Drag the handles, then Publish

8. Chat & moderation

8

Keep chat fun

  • Reply: click someone's name or ↩. They get highlighted when mentioned with @name.
  • Mod tools: hover a message: 🗑 delete, ⏱ 10-minute timeout, ⛔ ban.
  • Dashboard → Chat moderation: slow mode, followers-only chat, blocked words, add moderators.
  • ⚑ Report anything that breaks the rules. Urgent reports go to the top.
novathat was insane rexx@yourname GG spam99buy followers…🗑 ⏱ ⛔ Hover a message to moderate it
Mentions are highlighted; mods get quick tools

9. Tips 0% cut

In your Creator dashboard → Channel info → Tip link, paste your PayPal.me, Ko-fi or Stripe link (must start with https://). A 💸 Tip button appears on your channel. Money goes straight to you, and Whirl takes nothing.

Get the Whirl app

Whirl installs straight from your browser. No app store needed. It gets its own icon and opens full-screen like any app.

onwhirl.com⋮ New tabInstall appSettings Whirl⋮ → Install app

🤖 Android

  1. Open onwhirl.com in Chrome.
  2. Tap Install Whirl on the download page, or tap ⋮ (top-right) → Install app.
  3. Tap Install. Whirl appears on your home screen.
⬆︎ CopyAdd to FavouritesAdd to Home Screen Share ⬆︎ → Add to Home Screen

🍏 iPhone

  1. Open onwhirl.com in Safari (it must be Safari).
  2. Tap the Share button ⬆︎ at the bottom.
  3. Scroll down and tap Add to Home Screen → Add.
onwhirl.com⬆︎ Add to Home ScreenCopy ⬆︎ (top-right) → Add to Home Screen

📱 iPad

  1. Open onwhirl.com in Safari.
  2. Tap Share ⬆︎ in the top-right of the address bar.
  3. Tap Add to Home Screen → Add.

💻 Windows & Mac

In Chrome or Edge, open onwhirl.com and click the install icon (a screen with a down-arrow) at the right of the address bar, or press Install Whirl on the download page. Whirl opens in its own window and appears in your Start menu / Launchpad.

Fix common problems

ProblemFix
OBS says "Failed to connect to server"Check the Server is pasted exactly and that Whirl is online. Copy it again from your dashboard.
OBS connects then disconnects straight awayWrong or old stream key. Copy it again, or press New key and paste the new one.
Viewers see bufferingLower the bitrate to 3000–4500 Kbps or the resolution to 720p.
Black screen in OBSUse Window Capture instead of Game Capture, or start the game before OBS.
Viewers can't hear the streamClick 🔇 Click to unmute on the player. Browsers start videos muted.
Clip button missingClips only work while the channel is live, and you must be logged in.
No "Install" option on iPhoneIt must be Safari: Chrome on iPhone can't add web apps to the home screen.

Still stuck? Read the FAQ or the Community Guidelines.