Streamlabs Highlighter Now Replay: Make Clips

Updated 14 November 2026 · Standard formula, shown below

Streamlabs Desktop’s Highlighter with Now Replay lets you capture a moment from your live stream after it happens, turning it into a shareable clip without digging through hours of VOD. You mark a time range (or use the hotkey to grab the last 30–90 seconds), and Streamlabs renders that segment as a standalone video file. This guide walks through the whole process, from setup to exporting, and covers the common pitfalls and fixes.

What You’ll Need

Streamlabs Desktop (free version works) installed and logged in.
A stream that has been broadcast from Streamlabs Desktop (local recording alone won’t work with Now Replay).
Enough free disk space for the clip file (a 1-minute 1080p clip is roughly 50–150 MB).
Optional: a hotkey configured for quick clipping during the stream.

Step-by-Step

Open Streamlabs Desktop and make sure you’re logged into the same account you streamed with.
Go to the Highlighter: In the left sidebar, click the Highlighter icon (it looks like a small film strip or a star, depending on version). If you don’t see it, click More at the bottom of the sidebar to reveal it.
Select your stream: The Highlighter shows a list of your past streams. Choose the one you want to clip from. If you don’t see it, make sure the stream was broadcast through Streamlabs Desktop and that you’re on the correct account.
Find the moment: The video player loads the VOD. Use the play/pause and the timeline to locate the exact moment you want to clip. You can also type a time offset (e.g., 12:34) in the time box to jump.
Mark the start: Click the Start button (or press I on your keyboard) at the point where the clip should begin.
Mark the end: Play or scrub to the end point, then click End (or press O). The selected range highlights on the timeline.
Adjust if needed: Drag the edges of the highlighted range to fine-tune the start/end. The duration is shown next to the range.
Click “Create Highlight” (or “Create Clip”). Streamlabs will process the segment—this can take a few seconds to a couple of minutes depending on length and your hardware.
Preview and save: Once processed, a preview appears. Click Download to save the clip as an MP4 file to your computer. You can also share it directly to social platforms if you’ve connected them.
Optional – Use Now Replay during a live stream: Before you go live, go to Settings → Hotkeys and assign a key (e.g., Ctrl+Shift+R) to “Replay Buffer” or “Now Replay”. During the stream, press that hotkey to instantly save the last 30–90 seconds (you set the duration in Settings → Output → Replay Buffer). The clip is saved locally, and you can also find it later in the Highlighter under “Replays”.

Common Mistakes

Using the wrong stream: If you don’t see your latest stream, you might be logged into a different account or the stream wasn’t broadcast from Streamlabs Desktop (e.g., you used OBS Studio).
Not setting the Replay Buffer duration: The default is 30 seconds. If you want longer clips, change it in Settings → Output → Replay Buffer before you go live.
Clipping too long: Highlighter clips are meant to be short. Very long clips (over 10 minutes) can take forever to process and may fail. Keep clips under 5 minutes for best results.
Forgetting to save: After creating a clip, you must click Download to keep it. If you close Streamlabs without downloading, the clip may be lost.
Hotkey not working: If your Now Replay hotkey doesn’t respond, check that the hotkey isn’t already used by another app, and that the Replay Buffer is enabled in Output settings.

Tips

Use the hotkey during stream: It’s much faster than editing after the fact. Just press the key and you have the clip instantly.
Trim in the Highlighter: You can still trim a Now Replay clip after the fact—just open it in the Highlighter and adjust the range before creating the final highlight.
Name your clips: When you download, give the file a descriptive name (e.g., epic-win-2024-01-15.mp4) so you can find it later.
Check your disk space: Highlighter stores temporary files. If you’re low on space, clips may fail to process.
Use the “Share” button: If you’ve connected Twitter, YouTube, or Twitch, you can share the clip directly without downloading—saves time.

Troubleshooting

Clip won’t process or gets stuck: Close Streamlabs Desktop and reopen it. If that doesn’t work, restart your computer. Also, make sure you have at least 5 GB of free disk space.
No streams appear in Highlighter: Verify you’re logged into the correct account. If you streamed from a different platform (e.g., Twitch vs YouTube), the Highlighter only shows streams from the platform you selected in the top-right dropdown. Also, it can take a few minutes after ending the stream for the VOD to appear.
Now Replay hotkey does nothing: Check Settings → Output and ensure “Replay Buffer” is enabled (not just “Stream” or “Recording”). Also, confirm the hotkey is set and not conflicting with another app (like Discord or a game).
Clip is black or missing audio: This can happen if you changed scenes mid-clip or if the audio source was muted. Try creating the clip again with a different range. If it persists, check your stream settings—sometimes hardware encoding causes issues; try switching to software encoding in Settings → Advanced.
Download fails: Try a shorter clip. If that works, the file size was the issue. Also, try clearing the cache: go to Settings → General and click “Clear Cache” (this won’t delete your scenes).

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use Highlighter without streaming?

No. Highlighter requires a stream that was broadcast through Streamlabs Desktop. Local recordings are not supported.

How long can a clip be?

You can select any length from a few seconds up to the full VOD, but clips longer than 10 minutes are prone to processing errors. For Now Replay, the max is determined by your Replay Buffer setting (usually 30–120 seconds).

Where do downloaded clips go?

By default, they go to your Downloads folder, but you can choose a different location when saving. The file is an MP4 video.

Can I edit the clip after creating it?

You can trim the range in the Highlighter before downloading, but you can’t add text or overlays within Streamlabs. Use a video editor for that.

Does Now Replay work on all platforms (Twitch, YouTube, Facebook)?

Yes, as long as you’re streaming through Streamlabs Desktop to that platform. The Replay Buffer is local, so it works regardless of the streaming service.

Why is my clip blurry or low quality?

The clip is rendered at the same resolution and bitrate as your stream. If you stream at 720p, the clip will be 720p. For higher quality, increase your stream settings in Settings → Output.

Method: the standard formula for this calculation, rounded as each result states. See how the calculators work or report an error.