Using Sidekick with Raid Train Express: Follow the Whole Train, Free
Backstage Sidekick is a free helper for Whatnot mods, hosts and riders. Paste a Raid Train Express tracking number and it shows who's live, who's up next and a countdown to every handoff, with one-tap lines for welcomes, thank-yous and the lineup.
Raid trains are organized on Raid Train Express, our partner. For a specific train’s slots, lineup or rules, message its organizer on Whatnot. For how Raid Train Express itself works, see the Raid Train Express help center. For questions about Sidekick, we’re here.
A raid train runs on handoffs. Every few minutes the room moves to a new show, and somebody needs to know who’s live, who’s next, when the switch happens, and who to thank. On a busy train that’s usually a mod juggling the train page, the chat and the clock at once.
Backstage Sidekick puts the whole train next to the show, free.
Follow the train in Sidekick
- Get Sidekick, free: a Chrome side panel or the iPhone and iPad app.
- Open the Train tab and enter the train’s tracking number from its page on Raid Train Express, like K7M-3XQ. Not the invite code.
- That’s it. No sign-in to Raid Train Express or Backstage is needed to follow a train.
What the Train tab shows
- The train and its host, with a LIVE badge while it runs.
- Show notes and rules from Raid Train Express, folded away until you need them.
- Who’s live right now, with a Go to their show button.
- Every slot in order: done, live with the time left, up next with a countdown, and everyone after with their start time.
- A handoff line on the up-next row: ”🚂 We’re headed to @next-seller now — stay on the train to follow along!”, one tap away when it’s time.
- Live updates: lineups change mid-train, so the Train tab keeps refreshing while it’s open.
One-tap lines for every handoff
Once a train is connected, a Raid train category appears in Sidekick’s phrase deck, with the lines that repeat at every stop:
- 👋 Welcome the show: “Welcome in! 👋 We just rolled in with @previous-seller — glad you made the trip!”
- 🔥 Shop + giveaway hype: ”🔥 Shop’s live and the giveaway’s running — stick around, you don’t want to miss it!”
- 🙏 Thank the host: ”🙏 Shoutout to @host for putting this raid train together — go give them a follow!”
- 📋 Repost the lineup: ”🚂 Tonight’s raid train lineup: 1) @first 2) @second…”, so nobody hand-types it into every show.
Like every phrase in Sidekick, a tap sends to chat or copies, and you can turn on /announce or /hide. The phrases are outlined in the mode’s color, yellow for chat, red for hidden, green for copy, so you always know what a tap will do.
Everything else Sidekick does on the night
A train brings a crowd, and Sidekick keeps up with it:
- A who-to-thank list of raids, tips, sponsors and giveaway winners, in the order they arrived, with a clock showing who’s been waiting.
- A phrase deck of welcomes, follow reminders and giveaway hype, with a separate phrase set for each seller you mod for.
- Size and brand chips for size callouts in one tap.
- A prebid radar for the listings already getting bids.
More in the Whatnot moderator toolkit.
Selling on the train yourself?
If you’re riding the train as a seller, Backstage Live in Chrome or the iPad app finds your slot on its own, counts you down to it, has the raid message ready, and catches every raider, first-time buyer and sale the train brings in.
Next steps
- Find a train: the Raid Train Express schedule.
- Build a train: Raid Train Express.
- Get Sidekick free: backstagelive.app/sidekick.