How to upload emotes to TwitchSlots, prefix, file rules and review, in order.

Who can upload emotes

Custom emotes on Twitch belong to the Affiliate and Partner programs. Twitch’s “First Steps for New Affiliates” article puts creating your first emote at the top of the list, and new Affiliates get a free Tier 3 subscription to their own channel, so you can use your own emotes without buying a sub.

Not Affiliate yet? You can still prepare the files now. When the Emotes page unlocks, upload the set you already have instead of starting from a blank canvas. Extensions such as 7TV and BetterTTV accept emotes without Affiliate status, but only viewers with the extension see them.

How many emote slots you get

Twitch’s Emote Slots article says Affiliates get 5 emote slots immediately and can unlock up to 20 in total; Partners can unlock up to 60. Both also get emote slots on Tier 2 and Tier 3 subscriptions.

• Sub points unlock more Tier 1 slots: a Tier 1 sub counts 1 point, Tier 2 counts 2 and Tier 3 counts 6.
• Affiliate milestones: slot 6 at 10 sub points, slot 7 at 20, slot 10 at 50, slot 15 at 150 and slot 20 at 300.
• Once a milestone is reached, the slot is unlocked permanently, even if your sub points drop later.
• Bits Tier emotes have their own slots: the 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000 Bits Reward tiers are unlocked from the start.
• Follower Emotes: Affiliates and Partners can put up to five emotes in a free follower tier.

Five slots fill fast. Spend them on reactions your chat uses every stream — hello, laugh, love, hype, sad — before inside jokes.

Get the files right first

Most failed uploads are file problems, so check these before you open the dashboard. Twitch’s emote formatting requirements are:

• Static emotes: PNG, square, with a fully transparent background.
• Auto-resize mode: one square image between 112×112 and 4096×4096 px, under 1 MB. Twitch makes the smaller sizes.
• Manual mode: three files at 28×28, 56×56 and 112×112 px of the same image. Twitch’s Subscriber Emote Guide says each must be under 100 KB.
• Animated emotes: GIF, square, at most 60 frames, up to 1 MB in auto-resize mode or 512 KB per file in manual mode, and no more than 3 flashes in any one second.
• Lines should be sharp at 100% zoom, and any text must be spelled correctly and easy to read.

Before uploading, look at each emote at 28 px next to a line of chat text. If you can’t tell what it is, crop tighter or thicken the outline. The free emote checker on this site tests a file against these rules in your browser.

Step 1: set your emote prefix

Every emote code on your channel starts with your prefix. Twitch’s guide says you must set one before you can upload or manage emotes. The full code is the prefix plus the name you type: prefix + Love = prefixLove.

Pick it carefully. According to Twitch, Partners in good standing can change their prefix once every 60 days; other monetized streamers get a one-time change after changing their username. Short and close to your channel name is easiest for viewers to type.

Step 2: upload into a slot

1. 1
   Open the Emotes page

   Creator Dashboard → Viewer Rewards → Emotes. Subscriber, Bits tier and follower emotes all live here.

2. 2
   Press + under a tier

   This uploads straight into that slot. “Upload New” saves to your Library instead, where it stays inactive until you assign it to an open slot.

3. 3
   Choose the mode

   Leave auto-resize on and add one large square file, or turn it off and add the 112, 56 and 28 px files.

4. 4
   Type the emote code

   The name after your prefix, such as Love, Hype or Sip. Make it the word chat would say anyway.

5. 5
   Press Upload Emote

   The emote is saved to your Library and assigned to the slot you picked.

Animated emotes use the same page. In auto-resize mode Twitch uses the first frame of the GIF as the static image, so make that frame a clear pose; you can also upload a custom thumbnail.

Step 3: wait for review (or skip it)

New emotes are reviewed by Twitch staff before viewers can see them. Until then they show as Pending Approval with a watch icon. Twitch’s Animated Emotes FAQ says manual review “can sometimes take a few days”, especially when you upload many emotes at once.

Some creators skip review. Twitch’s instant upload rules: Affiliates qualify after streaming on at least 60 unique days over a rolling year (days before Affiliate don’t count) without a recent warning or suspension; new Partners qualify 60 days after becoming Partner and since their last warning or suspension. A warning or suspension removes instant upload, usually until another 60 days pass.

If an emote is rejected, Twitch emails the general reason. Fix that one thing and resubmit; Twitch warns that abusing resubmission can cost you instant upload or other privileges. The content rules themselves are in the Emote Guidelines on Twitch’s Safety Center.

A first set for five slots

• Hi — a wave. Used at the start of every stream and every raid.
• LOL — eyes squeezed shut, mouth open.
• Love — hearts, for subs and gifted subs.
• Hype — fists up or a jump, for big moments.
• Sad or F — a tear, for losses and goodbyes.

Keep the same character, outline and colors across all five, so the set reads as yours in a busy chat. When slot 6 unlocks, add the reaction your chat types most in words.

Checklist before you press Upload

1. 1
   Affiliate or Partner?

   The Emotes page needs one of the two.

2. 2
   Prefix set?

   Required before any upload.

3. 3
   Square and transparent?

   PNG for static, GIF for animated.

4. 4
   Under the limits?

   1 MB auto-resize; manual files under 100 KB (static) or 512 KB (animated).

5. 5
   Readable at 28 px?

   Check it next to chat text, not zoomed in.

6. 6
   Code people will type?

   Short, obvious, spelled right.

Sources

• Twitch Help, Subscriber Emote Guide — help.twitch.tv/s/article/subscriber-emote-guide
• Twitch Help, Emote Slots — help.twitch.tv/s/article/emote-slots
• Twitch Help, Emote Formatting & Instant Emote Upload Requirements — help.twitch.tv/s/article/emote-guidelines
• Twitch Help, Animated Emotes — help.twitch.tv/s/article/animated-emotes
• Twitch Help, Follower Emotes — help.twitch.tv/s/article/follower-emotes
• Twitch Help, First Steps for New Affiliates — help.twitch.tv/s/article/first-steps-for-new-affiliates

All checked on 6 November 2026. Twitch changes these pages from time to time; if a number here disagrees with the dashboard, the dashboard wins.