How to go live on Instagram

Instagram's desktop Live Producer can keep one named key, Manage Persistent Key, that works every live. Turn it on once and paste it on Destinations once. It takes about a minute once you know where to click.

Before you start

• Instagram requires a Professional account (Creator or Business). Personal accounts can't get a stream key. Switch for free in the Instagram app: Settings, Account type and tools, Switch to professional account.
• Instagram's rule: your account must be public and have at least 1,000 followers. Instagram introduced this rule in August 2025, and the Live option simply doesn't appear below it.
• No recent Community Guidelines violations or restrictions on the account.
• Use a computer. Instagram only shows the stream key on instagram.com in a desktop browser, never in the phone app.

Get your Stream URL and Stream key (once)

1. On a computer, go to instagram.com and log in.
2. Click + Create on the left, then Live video.
3. Add a title, keep it Public, and click Next.
4. In Go live with streaming software, click Manage Persistent Key.
5. Click + Add persistent key.
6. Name it Backstage Pass and click Create key. A persistent key stays the same every show.
7. Go back. In the Stream key dropdown, pick Backstage Pass. Then copy the Stream URL and the Stream key.
8. In BackstagePass, open Studio → Destinations and press Connect next to Instagram. Paste them into the Stream URL and Stream key boxes, and press Save.

How going live works

What to do each time you go live, in this order.

1. Before you go live · On Instagram

On Instagram, on a computer. Do this first, so your video has somewhere to land.

1. Click + Create on the left, then Live video.
2. Add a title, keep it Public, and click Next.
3. Check Backstage Pass is picked in the Stream key dropdown. Nothing to copy. Leave this window open.

2. Go live on BackstagePass · On BackstagePass

1. In the control room, check Instagram shows next to Ready on at the top right. Then press GO LIVE.

3. Press Go live on Instagram · On Instagram

Back in the Instagram window.

1. Your video appears on the left, and Go live at the top lights up. Press it. Your audience can see you now.

4. When you end · Both

1. End on BackstagePass, then end the live on Instagram.

Things to take care of

• Leave this Instagram tab open. Closing it cancels the live.
• If you reset the key on Instagram, open Manage next to Instagram on Destinations, press Replace key, paste the new one, and press Save new key.
• You have up to 5 hours after the preview appears to press Go live, so there's no need to rush.
• Desktop lives are limited to about 1 hour. Instagram may end a Live Producer stream after 60 minutes. Plan a shorter show for your Instagram audience, or bring them backstage with CUT THE SOCIALS before the hour is up.
• Instagram is vertical. It's built for 9:16 video. A normal landscape stream is cropped to its centre on phones, so keep yourself in the middle of the frame and avoid text at the left and right edges.
• Recording starts early. Instagram starts recording the moment video arrives, even before you press Go live. Trim the start afterwards if needed.
• You look offline to yourself. To check the live, use a second account or ask a friend.
• Turn on Live Archive in the Instagram app (Settings, Archiving and downloading) if you want Instagram to keep the replay.
• On by default. Once your key is saved, Instagram's page on Destinations has an On by default switch. When this is on, Instagram is already ticked every time you create a new live. You can still untick it for any single live.

Every platform, and the one step most people miss: Connect your destinations.