Your studio speaks the OBS WebSocket protocol (version 5). Bitfocus Companion therefore connects to it as it would to an OBS: you enter host, port and password from the “Remote Control” page, tab “OBS WebSocket API”, into the connection “OBS: Studio”.
An Elgato Stream Deck does not connect by itself. It hangs on a computer by USB, and Companion on that computer is the bridge to the studio.
What you need
- A studio that has been started once. Address and password are created with the first start and stay the same afterwards.
- Bitfocus Companion on a computer (Windows, macOS or Linux, free).
- For the connection itself, a running studio: the API is only reachable while it runs.
Set up Companion
- In the studio, open the “Remote Control” page and there the tab “OBS WebSocket API”. Host, port and password are at the top, each with a button to copy it.
- In Companion, open Connections, search for “OBS” and add the connection OBS: Studio.
- Enter the host under Server IP / Hostname, the port under Server Port, the password under Server Password.
- Set Server Connection Type to Secure WebSocket (wss) and save.
Companion connects once your studio runs. After that your scenes can be picked in the actions.
If there is no field Server Connection Type, the OBS module of your Companion is an older one and connects
unencrypted over ws://. That works too: your studio accepts both on the same port. Over ws:// the password
itself is never transmitted, everything else is. Update Companion if you want wss://.
Elgato Stream Deck
A Stream Deck has no network of its own. It needs a computer it is plugged into by USB, and a program on that computer that talks to the studio. The studio runs on our servers, not on your computer. That decides which program fits.
| Program on the computer | Reaches your studio |
|---|---|
| Bitfocus Companion | Yes. This is what is described above. |
| Elgato’s Stream Deck software with Elgato’s OBS plugin | No. The plugin is built for an OBS running on the same computer. |
| Elgato’s software with a plugin by somebody else that asks for host, port and password | Speaks the same protocol. We have not tried any of them yet. |
With Companion it goes like this:
- Quit Elgato’s Stream Deck software. It and Companion cannot serve the device at the same time.
- Plug the Stream Deck into the computer Companion runs on. Companion shows it under Surfaces.
- Set up your buttons in Companion, not in Elgato’s software.
The computer with the Stream Deck has to be on and online during the stream. Your stream does not depend on it: if the computer goes off, the stream goes on, only the buttons do nothing any more. The desk in the browser stays reachable.
What the buttons do in your studio
Your studio always has preview and program, like OBS in Studio Mode.
| Action in Companion | What happens in the studio |
|---|---|
| Scene – Set Preview Scene | Puts the scene on preview. |
| Transitions – Perform Transition | The take: preview and program swap. |
| Scene – Set Program Scene | Cuts the scene straight to program. |
| Audio – Mute, Audio – Source Volume | Mutes a sound source or sets its volume. |
| Streaming – Controls | Starts and stops the stream, for all destinations. |
Source – Refresh Browser Source, source Overlay |
Reloads the overlay page. |
The scenes have the names they have in your studio. The sound sources are SRT 1, SRT 2 and so on for your
inputs, and Overlay for the sound of your overlay page.
Your studio has no recording, no filters and no transitions. Buttons for those do nothing. The change between scenes is always a hard cut.
When Companion does not connect
| What you see | What to check |
|---|---|
| No connection although everything is entered | Is your studio running? “Remote Control” then says “Reachable”. |
| The connection is refused | Copy the password again. If you generated a new one while the studio was running, the previous one applies until the next start. |
No connection with wss, but with ws |
Server IP / Hostname must hold the host as a name, as the page shows it, not an IP address. |
| No connection from a company network | The port is not a usual web port. Some networks do not let it out. Try a phone hotspot. |
The password
Whoever has host, port and password controls your studio: scenes, sound, starting and stopping the stream. Do not show the page on stream. The button next to the password generates a new one. Every tool that uses the old one has to be set up again afterwards. If your studio is running, the new one only applies after the next start.
From a phone
For a phone you do not need Companion. The same tab has QR codes for the apps OBS Blade (iPhone, iPad, Android) and Moblin (iPhone, iPad): scan, connected.