Clap

The "Clap" emote represents a pair of hands clapping and is used to express applause, appreciation, or approval during livestreams. It's a straightforward visual representation of clapping that allows viewers to show support or celebrate moments during streams.

The emote can be used both sincerely to praise impressive gameplay or streamer achievements, and sometimes ironically or sarcastically in response to fails or jokes. It's one of the more literal and universally understood emotes in the Twitch ecosystem.

Unlike some of the more iconic Twitch emotes with specific origins tied to particular streamers, the "Clap" emote is more of a generic concept that has been implemented across various third-party extensions like BTTV (BetterTTV), FFZ (FrankerFaceZ), and 7TV.

The emote began as simple text usage in Twitch chat, where users would type "Clap" between words for emphasis. Over time, this evolved into visual representations through these third-party extensions, with each platform hosting its own versions of clapping hands.

The emote has further evolved into variants like "PepeClap" (featuring the Pepe the Frog character) and other themed versions. While there isn't a specific year of origin for the original concept, the visual clapping emotes became popular as third-party extensions gained traction in the mid-to-late 2010s.

The "Clap" emote is commonly used in these situations:

• After a streamer makes an impressive play or achieves something noteworthy
• To show agreement with something a streamer has said
• During hype moments where viewers want to collectively show appreciation
• In a spam format ("Clap Clap Clap") to create a visual wall of applause in chat
• Between words for emphasis, such as "That was an amazing Clap performance Clap"
• Sarcastically after fails or mistakes, often with a slow-clap implication
• During stream transitions, announcements, or when welcoming new subscribers/followers