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Kick Platform Guide

Overview

Kick is a live streaming platform that competes with Twitch. Stream Daemon monitors your Kick channel for live streams using the Kick API with optional OAuth authentication.

Features:

  • ✅ OAuth 2.0 client credentials flow
  • ✅ Automatic fallback to public API
  • ✅ Stream status detection
  • ✅ Viewer count tracking
  • ✅ Stream title extraction
  • ✅ Works without authentication (public API)

API Rate Limits: Higher with OAuth authentication, lower with public API

Requirements

Option A: Public API (No Authentication)

  • Nothing! Just a Kick username
  • ✅ Works immediately
  • ⚠️ Lower rate limits
  • ⚠️ May be less reliable

Option B: OAuth Authentication (Recommended)

  • Kick account with 2FA enabled
  • Kick Developer Application
  • Client ID and Client Secret

Setup Instructions

Option A: Public API (Quick Start)

No setup required! Just add your username:

# In .env
KICK_ENABLE=True
KICK_USERNAME=your_kick_username

# That's it! No credentials needed.

Stream Daemon will use Kick's public API to check stream status.

Limitations:

  • Lower rate limits
  • Potentially less reliable during high traffic
  • No authentication benefits

Option B: OAuth Authentication (Recommended)

Step 1: Enable 2FA on Your Kick Account

Important: Kick requires 2FA to access Developer settings

  1. Login to Kick:

  2. Enable 2FA:

    • Click your profile (top right) → Settings
    • Go to Security tab
    • Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
    • Follow the setup process (usually via authenticator app)
    • Save backup codes securely

Step 2: Create Kick Developer Application

  1. Go to Developer Settings:

    • In Kick, go to Settings → Developer
    • Or visit the Developer Portal (if available)

  2. Create New Application:

    • Click "Create Application" or "New App"
    • Application Name: "Stream Daemon" (or your choice)
    • Description: Optional - describe your bot
    • Scopes/Permissions: Select "Read Access" or "read:channel"
      • This allows checking stream status
      • No write permissions needed
    • Click "Create" or "Submit"

  3. Get Credentials:

    • After creation, you'll see:
      • Client ID - Copy this
      • Client Secret - Copy this immediately (may not be shown again)
    • Store both securely

Note: Kick's Developer Portal may vary in layout. Look for "Developer", "Applications", or "API" in settings.

Step 3: Configure Stream Daemon

Option A: Using Environment Variables (.env)

# Enable Kick monitoring
KICK_ENABLE=True

# Your Kick username
KICK_USERNAME=your_kick_username

# Kick OAuth credentials
KICK_CLIENT_ID=your_kick_client_id
KICK_CLIENT_SECRET=your_kick_client_secret

Option B: Using Secrets Manager (Recommended for Production)

In your .env file:

# Enable Kick monitoring
KICK_ENABLE=True

# Your Kick username
KICK_USERNAME=your_kick_username

# Configure secrets manager
SECRETS_MANAGER=doppler
SECRETS_DOPPLER_KICK_SECRET_NAME=KICK

In Doppler (or your secrets manager):

# Add Kick credentials to Doppler
doppler secrets set KICK_CLIENT_ID="your_kick_client_id"
doppler secrets set KICK_CLIENT_SECRET="your_kick_client_secret"

See Secrets Management Guide for complete setup.

Configuration Reference

Required Settings

Variable Description Example
KICK_ENABLE Enable Kick monitoring True
KICK_USERNAME Channel to monitor yourstreamer

Optional Settings (OAuth)

Variable Description Example
KICK_CLIENT_ID Application Client ID abc123xyz789
KICK_CLIENT_SECRET Application Secret secretkey123

Other Optional Settings

Variable Description Default
SETTINGS_CHECK_INTERVAL Check frequency (minutes) 5
SETTINGS_OFFLINE_CHECK_INTERVAL Frequency when offline 5
SETTINGS_ONLINE_CHECK_INTERVAL Frequency when live 2

How It Works

Authentication Modes

Stream Daemon supports two modes for Kick:

Mode 1: OAuth (Client Credentials)

When: KICK_CLIENT_ID and KICK_CLIENT_SECRET are set

  1. Exchanges credentials for OAuth access token
  2. Uses authenticated API endpoints
  3. Higher rate limits
  4. More reliable

Mode 2: Public API (Fallback)

When: No credentials set, or OAuth fails

  1. Uses Kick's public API endpoints
  2. No authentication needed
  3. Lower rate limits
  4. May be less reliable during peak times

Automatic Fallback: If OAuth fails, Stream Daemon automatically tries public API.

Stream Detection

Stream Daemon checks your channel every SETTINGS_CHECK_INTERVAL minutes:

  1. When Offline:

    • Checks every SETTINGS_OFFLINE_CHECK_INTERVAL minutes
    • Waits for stream to go live

  2. When Live:

    • Checks every SETTINGS_ONLINE_CHECK_INTERVAL minutes
    • Monitors viewer count
    • Detects when stream ends

  3. State Transitions:

    • Offline → Live: Posts "Stream Started" announcement
    • Live → Offline: Posts "Stream Ended" message (if enabled)

Platform-Specific Messages

Create custom messages just for Kick using platform-specific message files.

Quick Setup

Create these files in your project root:

messages_kick.txt (Stream started messages):

🟢 LIVE on Kick! {stream_title} - https://kick.com/{username}
Kick stream starting: {stream_title} - Watch at https://kick.com/{username}
Now live on Kick with {stream_title}! ⚡ https://kick.com/{username}
Going live on Kick! {stream_title} - https://kick.com/{username}
⚡ Streaming on Kick: {stream_title} - https://kick.com/{username}

end_messages_kick.txt (Stream ended messages):

Stream ended! Thanks for watching on Kick! 🟢
That's a wrap! See you next time! ⚡
Stream offline - Thanks for hanging out! ❤️
Offline now - Don't forget to follow! https://kick.com/{username}

Available Variables

  • {stream_title} - Current stream title from Kick
  • {username} - Your Kick username
  • {platform} - Will be "Kick"

Fallback Behavior

If messages_kick.txt doesn't exist, Stream Daemon falls back to:

  • Global messages.txt file
  • Built-in default messages

See Messages Guide for complete message customization.

Discord Integration

Role Mentions

When your Kick stream goes live, mention a specific Discord role:

# In .env
DISCORD_ENABLE_POSTING=True
DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL=https://discord.com/api/webhooks/...

# Mention this role when Kick goes live
DISCORD_ROLE_KICK=1234567890123456789

Getting Role IDs

  1. Enable Developer Mode in Discord:
    • User Settings → Advanced → Developer Mode (toggle ON)
  2. Right-click any role → "Copy Role ID"
  3. Paste into DISCORD_ROLE_KICK

Example Discord Post:

@KickNotifications
🟢 LIVE on Kick!
yourstreamer is live on Kick!
Epic Gaming Session
https://kick.com/yourstreamer

Testing

Quick Test

Test your Kick configuration without going live:

# Run Kick-specific test
python3 tests/test_doppler_kick.py

# Or with Doppler
doppler run -- python3 tests/test_doppler_kick.py

Expected Output

With OAuth:

🔐 Testing Kick OAuth authentication...
✓ Kick OAuth authenticated successfully
📡 Testing Kick API...
✓ Stream status detected
✅ Kick test completed successfully!

With Public API:

🔐 No Kick credentials - using public API...
📡 Testing Kick public API...
✓ Stream status detected
✅ Kick test completed successfully!

What Gets Tested

  • ✅ OAuth credentials work (if provided)
  • ✅ Can access Kick API
  • ✅ Channel username is valid
  • ✅ Stream detection is functional
  • ✅ Public API fallback works

Troubleshooting

"Kick Authentication Failed"

Problem: OAuth credentials invalid

Solutions:

  1. Verify Client ID is correct
    • Check for typos
    • Ensure no extra spaces
  2. Verify Client Secret is correct
    • Regenerate if lost
  3. Check 2FA is enabled on your Kick account
    • Developer settings require 2FA
  4. Verify application wasn't deleted
    • Check Kick Settings → Developer
  5. Try public API mode - comment out credentials: 
    # KICK_CLIENT_ID=...
# KICK_CLIENT_SECRET=...

"Username Not Found"

Problem: Cannot find Kick channel

Solutions:

  1. Verify username is correct
    • Use exact Kick username
    • Do not include @ symbol
    • Example: xqc not @xqc
  2. Check channel exists:
    • Visit https://kick.com/your_username
    • Verify channel is accessible
  3. Check for username changes
    • Kick allows username changes

"Stream Not Detected" (when you're live)

Problem: Stream Daemon doesn't see your live stream

Solutions:

  1. Verify stream is actually live:
    • Check https://kick.com/your_username
  2. Check SETTINGS_CHECK_INTERVAL:
    • Default is 5 minutes
    • Reduce if needed for faster detection
  3. Try with OAuth credentials:
    • Public API may have delays
  4. Check Kick platform status:
    • Service might be experiencing issues

"Rate Limit Exceeded"

Problem: Too many API requests

Solutions:

  1. Use OAuth authentication:
    • Higher rate limits than public API
    • Set up Client ID + Secret
  2. Increase check interval: 
    SETTINGS_CHECK_INTERVAL=10  # Check every 10 minutes
  3. Check for multiple instances:
    • Ensure you're not running duplicates

"Public API Not Working"

Problem: Fallback to public API fails

Solutions:

  1. Set up OAuth credentials:
    • Public API may be unreliable
    • OAuth is recommended
  2. Check Kick platform status:
    • Public API may be down
  3. Wait and retry:
    • Transient network issues
  4. Check network connectivity:
    • Ensure you can access kick.com

"Secrets Not Found" (when using secrets manager)

Problem: Can't fetch credentials from Doppler/AWS/Vault

Solutions:

  1. Verify secrets manager configuration
  2. Check secret names match:
    • Doppler: KICK_CLIENT_ID, KICK_CLIENT_SECRET
  3. Ensure .env doesn't have credentials
    • Comment them out when using secrets manager
  4. Test secrets manager connection

See Secrets Management Guide for detailed troubleshooting.

API Information

Kick API Endpoints

Note: Kick's API is less documented than Twitch/YouTube. Endpoints may change.

OAuth Endpoints:

  1. Token: POST https://kick.com/api/v2/oauth/token

    • Get access token from credentials
    • Client credentials flow

  2. Channel: GET https://kick.com/api/v2/channels/{username}

    • Get channel info and livestream status

Public API Endpoints:

  1. Channel: GET https://kick.com/api/v1/channels/{username}
    • Public channel information
    • No authentication required

Rate Limits

OAuth Authentication:

  • Higher rate limits (exact limits undocumented)
  • More reliable access
  • Recommended for production

Public API:

  • Lower rate limits (exact limits undocumented)
  • May be throttled during high traffic
  • OK for development/testing

Stream Daemon Usage:

  • ~12 requests/hour at default 5-minute intervals
  • Should be well under limits with OAuth

API Documentation

Note: Kick doesn't have extensive public API documentation yet.

  • Kick Platform: https://kick.com
  • Developer Settings: Kick → Settings → Developer (requires 2FA)
  • Community Documentation: Check Kick developer communities

Security Best Practices

DO:

  • ✅ Store Client Secret in secrets manager
  • ✅ Enable 2FA on your Kick account
  • ✅ Use separate applications for dev/production
  • ✅ Regenerate credentials periodically

DON'T:

  • ❌ Commit Client Secret to git
  • ❌ Share Client Secret in screenshots/logs
  • ❌ Use production credentials in development
  • ❌ Disable 2FA (required for Developer access)

Credential Rotation

How to rotate credentials:

  1. Create new application in Kick Developer settings
  2. Update secrets manager: 
    doppler secrets set KICK_CLIENT_ID="new_id"
doppler secrets set KICK_CLIENT_SECRET="new_secret"
  3. Restart Stream Daemon
  4. Delete old application from Kick settings

Advanced Configuration

Comparing OAuth vs Public API

Feature OAuth Public API
Setup Requires credentials No setup
Rate Limits Higher Lower
Reliability More reliable Less reliable
Authentication Client credentials flow None
Recommended For Production Development/testing

Multiple Kick Accounts

To monitor multiple Kick channels, run separate instances:

Instance 1:

# .env.channel1
KICK_USERNAME=channel1
KICK_CLIENT_ID=app1_id
KICK_CLIENT_SECRET=app1_secret

Instance 2:

# .env.channel2
KICK_USERNAME=channel2
KICK_CLIENT_ID=app2_id
KICK_CLIENT_SECRET=app2_secret

Custom Check Intervals

Fine-tune checking frequency:

# Check every 10 minutes when offline
SETTINGS_OFFLINE_CHECK_INTERVAL=10

# Check every 1 minute when live
SETTINGS_ONLINE_CHECK_INTERVAL=1

Platform Comparison

Feature Kick Twitch YouTube
Auth Required Optional Required Required
Public API ✅ Yes ❌ No ❌ No
OAuth Support ✅ Yes ✅ Yes N/A (API Key)
Rate Limits Variable 800/min 10K quota/day
API Maturity 🟡 Developing 🟢 Mature 🟢 Mature
Documentation ⚠️ Limited ✅ Extensive ✅ Extensive

Known Issues

API Stability

Issue: Kick's API is newer and may have occasional changes or downtime.

Mitigation:

  • Stream Daemon has automatic fallback to public API
  • Errors are logged for debugging
  • Retry logic handles transient failures

Documentation Gaps

Issue: Kick doesn't have comprehensive public API docs yet.

Mitigation:

  • Stream Daemon uses community-discovered endpoints
  • Code includes comments explaining API usage
  • Updates will be released as Kick's API matures

2FA Requirement

Issue: Developer settings require 2FA enabled.

Not an issue:

  • 2FA is good security practice anyway
  • One-time setup
  • Protects your account

See Also

Last Updated: 2024 API Status: Kick's API is actively developing. This guide will be updated as their API matures.