Basics
Paste any live link into the box and click Add & Watch. LiveCatch reads the stream's status: if it's scheduled you'll see starts in 2h 05m; if the channel is offline you'll see not live yet – polling; if it's live, recording starts within seconds. Each link gets its own card in the queue with a live status, size and elapsed time. Click Stop to end a recording early (the file is kept), Open to jump to the file, Log to see exactly what happened.
Close the window and LiveCatch keeps working from the system tray. Your PC has to stay on and awake: in Windows Settings → System → Power, set Sleep to Never while you're recording.
Quality and files
Choose 720p, 1080p, 1440p, 2160p or best per recording. LiveCatch records the highest quality the streamer actually broadcasts up to your choice, and when the file is finished it shows the real result on the card – for example 3840x2160 · vp9 · opus. Files are saved as Title [id] date time.mp4 in the output folder (default Videos\LiveCatch). A 1080p stream is roughly 2–3 GB per hour; 4K can be 10–20 GB for a long stream.
Recording a YouTube live stream
Paste the youtube.com/watch?v=… link of the live or scheduled stream, or a channel link like youtube.com/@channel to catch its next live. Scheduled streams show a countdown and start on time; premieres work the same way.
Already live? With Pro, LiveCatch rewinds and records from the very beginning. Above 1080p? YouTube only serves 1440p/4K for lives through its DASH feed, which can only be recorded from the start – the app explains this when you add the link and lets you choose 4K-from-start or 1080p-from-now.
Recording a Twitch stream
Paste twitch.tv/channelname. If the channel is offline LiveCatch polls until it goes live and records from that moment. With Pro, if the stream was already running when you added it, the app downloads the full VOD after the stream ends so you have the complete broadcast (the streamer must have VODs enabled – most do).
Recording a Kick stream
Paste kick.com/channelname. Works like Twitch: waits when offline, records when live. Pro platform.
Recording a TikTok LIVE
Paste tiktok.com/@username/live (or just tiktok.com/@username). LiveCatch has a dedicated TikTok engine that finds the live room even when TikTok shows a login wall, and picks the reliable stream source. Pro platform.
If TikTok in your country requires being logged in to watch lives, export a cookies.txt while logged in (see members-only streams) and set it in Settings.
Recording a Facebook Live
Paste the link of the live video (the facebook.com/…/videos/… address from the share button). For pages that stream regularly, add the link as soon as the live is announced and LiveCatch waits. Pro platform.
Other sites
Any link the recording engine understands is accepted and shown as "Other" – Rumble, Vimeo live events, Dailymotion, Bilibili, SOOP, Chzzk, TwitCasting, Niconico, DLive, YouNow, 17LIVE, Showroom and many broadcaster feeds. These aren't individually tested; if one fails, send us the log. Instagram Live is not supported.
Watch a channel (Pro)
Tick Watch channel before adding a channel link. LiveCatch records that stream, then goes back to waiting and records the next one, and the next – with a counter on the card. It survives restarts: the app re-arms watched channels when it opens.
Members-only and age-restricted streams (Pro)
Install the browser extension "Get cookies.txt LOCALLY", open the platform while logged in, click the extension → Export. In LiveCatch Settings, browse to that cookies.txt. The file stays on your PC and is only used to open streams your account can already watch. Chrome and Edge can't be read directly on Windows (their cookie database is encrypted); Firefox can be selected without exporting.
Troubleshooting
"Not live yet – polling" but the stream is on
Click Log. It shows what the platform answered. Usually the fix is get_tools.bat (see next item); for TikTok, a cookies.txt.
Recordings suddenly fail on every stream
The platform changed something. Double-click get_tools.bat in the LiveCatch folder – it updates the recording engine in seconds. Do this first, before anything else.
The video plays but won't fast-forward
Recordings from version 2.0 onward are seek-fixed automatically. For an older file, drag it onto fix_seeking.bat in the app folder.
Windows blocked the app
SmartScreen: More info → Run anyway. See the download page.
A stream stopped mid-way
Everything up to the interruption is saved and playable. Check the log for the reason (usually the streamer's connection). Watched channels resume automatically if the streamer comes back.
Licence and PCs
Pro keys allow 2 active PCs. To move: Upgrade to Pro → Deactivate on this PC, then activate on the new one. The app checks the key online at launch and keeps working offline for 14 days. Lost your key? It's in your Lemon Squeezy order email; the support page can resend it.