Songbooks and song requests

Every channel has a public songbook page. Opening the link shows that channel's song list first, and from the same screen you can move to the translated chat, roulette and events, and chat command corners. Some corners are hidden depending on the channel's settings.

• Search by title or artist, or narrow the list by category
• Sort by title, artist, recently added, most sung, random, easiest first, or hardest first
• The "can sing today" presets (easy on the voice, confident picks) and the key filter only appear when the channel actually has matching songs

The heart (want to hear) is not a request. It needs you to be logged in, but you can tap it when the channel is offline and it costs no points. Songs you hearted collect into a most-wanted list the streamer can look at.

The song chart gathers records from many channels in one place. You can switch between three axes — requests, performances, and performance buzz — and between 7, 30, and 90 days, and the page tells you up front when a period still has thin data. Each entry links straight to a channel that performed the song.

Requests are only taken while the channel is live. The panel above the songbook shows whether requests are open right now, how many songs are in the queue, and which rules are in force.

• From chat, using the request command — the channel owner sets it, so follow what that stream announces
• From the songbook page, using the request button next to a song — this needs you to log in
• A channel may keep only one of the two open; if web requests are off, send the command in chat instead

The request type is free, points, or donation, and the channel owner chooses it. With points, the price is shown on the button before you press it and the points leave your balance the moment you do. If a song has its own price, that price wins.

You can also request a song that is not in the songbook. Use the button in the request panel and type the title and artist yourself — the suggestion search only helps, so the manual path stays open even when it finds nothing. These requests always use the songbook's base price.

• The stream has not started yet, or it has just ended
• The streamer has paused requests — you can request again once they reopen
• A rehearsal is running — viewer requests are not taken at all, which is a different state from paused
• The queue is full, or you already have as many songs queued as the per-person limit allows
• The cooldown from your last request has not run out yet

The per-person limit, the cooldown, and the queue limit differ from channel to channel. Whatever is in force for the stream you are watching is shown as chips in the panel above the songbook, and some channels set no limit at all.

The cooldown is measured from the moment you last requested. Cancelling a request does not restart it — the clock keeps running. The panel shows a countdown of what is left.

Perks that let boosters keep more songs queued and wait less between requests are prepared, but no channel can switch them on at the moment. Boosting a channel does not change its request rules today.

Donation requests arrive from donations sent on ci.me, and the amount is counted in beams (not in won). On a donation stream the request buttons in the songbook stay closed; instead, send the request command as the message on your ci.me donation and it enters the queue. If the message does not start with the request command, no request is created and it stays a plain donation.

A donation is a real payment made on ci.me, so we cannot reverse it. Taking the request out of the queue does not refund it. The minimum donation and the anonymous slots still free are shown in the songbook panel before you send anything, so check them first. Donations sent while the gatherbot session was off do not turn into requests.

Even on a free or points stream, a single song may be marked donation only, and then that song can be requested only with a donation. Its detail view lets you copy the exact command to send.

Anonymous donations are handled separately because the requester cannot be identified. There is nothing to count a per-person limit or a cooldown against, so they are governed instead by the total anonymous slots in the session and by the minimum donation. A channel can also refuse anonymous requests entirely. An anonymous request shows in the queue with an anonymous badge and no name.

You can cancel your own queued request from the queue in the songbook panel. A song that has already started cannot be cancelled.

For a request paid with points, you only get the points back if you cancel within the short grace period right after requesting. Once it passes, the button changes to "forfeit": pressing it takes the song out of the queue but the points do not come back. The time left is shown next to your request.

Even if you do nothing, a points request is refunded in full when the streamer skips the song or the stream ends.

Donation requests are never refunded, grace period or not. Even if the request leaves the queue, the donation does not come back. A donation request left unsung when the stream ends stays on the streamer's management screen as an unfulfilled item, so it can be picked up next time.