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To edit stream recordings with Streamlabs Desktop Highlighter, set its capture hotkey and replay duration before you go live, use the hotkey to save moments during the stream, then return to the Highlighter tab to arrange, trim, preview, and export the captured clips as a reel. This guide follows the Highlighter tab in Streamlabs Desktop—not the separate Streamlabs Replay app—and shows how to prepare stream moments for another social channel.
What Streamlabs Desktop Highlighter does
Highlighter is a workflow for capturing moments while streaming and assembling the saved clips into a highlight reel afterward. Streamlabs’ guide, How to Use Streamlabs Desktop Highlighter, documents the controls and sequence below.
Streamlabs also uses the name Replay for a separate app and has described Replay as “formerly Highlighter.” That overlap does not mean the Replay app and the Highlighter tab in Streamlabs Desktop have identical interfaces or features. The steps here apply specifically to Streamlabs Desktop Highlighter.
Set up Highlighter before your stream
- Open Streamlabs Desktop and select Highlighter. Choose the Highlighter tab in the left panel.
- Set the capture hotkey. Choose a key you can press during your stream without disrupting your game or other on-screen work. Check that it does not conflict with another shortcut you rely on.
- Set the replay duration. This is the clip duration Highlighter uses when you trigger a capture. Choose a duration that gives the moment enough context without routinely saving more footage than you need.
Set both controls before going live: the documented capture workflow relies on them. If you stream without setting or checking the hotkey and duration, you may not capture the moments you intended.
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Capture moments while live
Go live in your usual setup. When a moment is worth keeping, press the Highlighter hotkey. Highlighter captures the configured replay duration; continue streaming and use the hotkey again for other moments. It is useful to trigger a capture promptly after the event so the saved segment includes the moment and its surrounding context.
Build and edit the highlight reel after the stream
- End the stream, then return to Highlighter. Open the Highlighter tab in Streamlabs Desktop to work with the clips you captured.
- Choose the clips for the reel. Toggle clips on or off to include or exclude them. Delete clips you do not want to keep.
- Put the clips in order. Reorder them to make the reel easy to follow. For a documentary-style recap, consider whether a viewer who did not watch live can understand why each selected moment matters.
- Trim clips that run too long. Hover over a clip, choose Trim, then drag its edges to shorten the selection. Review the cut so it starts and ends cleanly rather than removing necessary context.
- Set transitions and optional elements. Adjust the transition type and length. Add an intro or outro if useful, and add background music if wanted.
- Preview the assembled reel. Watch it through before exporting. Check clip order, cuts, transitions, sound, and whether any disabled or unwanted moment remains in the finished sequence.
- Export the reel. Click Export and choose the export settings offered in your version of Highlighter. The official procedure does not establish one universally best preset, aspect ratio, or bitrate; choose settings appropriate for the destination where you intend to publish.
- Upload the downloaded file. After export finishes, upload the reel to your chosen social channel and follow that channel’s current upload requirements.
Make the reel work for its destination
Decide where the reel will be published before selecting export settings. A clip prepared for a landscape video page may not suit a vertical short-form destination, and the Highlighter guide does not promise a particular aspect-ratio conversion or platform-specific preset. Use the export options actually shown in your Desktop version, then check the downloaded file before uploading.
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- Watch the exported file from beginning to end, not only the in-app preview.
- Check that speech and music are audible and balanced, and that the opening and ending are intentional.
- Confirm the selected clips and their order still make sense to someone who did not see the live broadcast.
- Use music and footage you have permission to publish on the destination platform; a track being available in an editor does not by itself establish that you have rights for every platform or use.
When a separate editor may be a better fit
Highlighter’s documented purpose is to capture stream moments and assemble those clips into a reel. If you need to build a project from arbitrary imported media or do more general timeline editing, Streamlabs also documents a separate Video Editor workflow covering media import, splitting and trimming timeline clips, filters, and local export. Its guide also describes an option to publish to YouTube drafts. See Streamlabs Video Editor guide for that separate workflow; it is not required to use Desktop Highlighter.
Streamlabs Replay is another distinct product reference, not a substitute for the Desktop tab instructions above. Its published material describes an AI game-highlighter app with automated recording, clip trimming and compilation, subtitles, music, intro/outro, and horizontal or vertical export options. Consult the current Replay interface and documentation if that is the product you are using; do not assume those capabilities or controls are present in Desktop Highlighter.
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Troubleshooting Highlighter edits
- Pressing the hotkey does not capture a moment: Before the next stream, open Highlighter and confirm the hotkey is set and not conflicting with another shortcut. The documented capture path depends on that setting.
- The saved clip is too short or too long: Adjust the replay duration in Highlighter before going live. For clips already captured, use the clip’s Trim control to shorten the selected section.
- A moment is missing after the stream: Check the Highlighter tab for the clips that were actually captured. The documented workflow does not describe a way to recover a moment that was never saved with the hotkey.
- The reel contains a clip you do not want: Toggle it off to exclude it or delete it. Preview the reel afterward to verify the resulting sequence.
- The exported reel is unsuitable for the destination: Re-export using the available settings that fit the destination, if supported, and inspect the downloaded file. The guide does not specify a universal preset or guarantee platform-specific formatting.
Or let it run in the cloud
Highlighter edits clips after you capture them; it does not keep a YouTube channel live around the clock. If your goal is instead to keep uploaded videos looping on a YouTube live stream, StreamNeo is a separate cloud service: upload a recording or build a playlist, add your YouTube stream key, and go live. Nothing has to stay on at home; it streams the uploaded video as made, up to 4K 60fps, at one flat price per slot, with automatic recovery if YouTube drops the stream. The first day is free with no card. Monthly: $9.99 per month. See StreamNeo or start the free first day.
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