> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://captivatehelp.newbluelive.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://captivatehelp.newbluelive.com/control-your-show/chapter-index-4/bitfocus-companion-setup.md).

# Set up Bitfocus Companion

Bitfocus Companion was designed for broadcasters who need to trigger preconfigured actions (or sets of actions) during a live production. It transforms the Elgato Stream Deck into a professional switchboard console for an increasing variety of hardware and software broadcast solutions and allows you to integrate Captivate with sophisticated, remote-operated action queues. Companion can be used independently from a Stream Deck surface via web buttons in your browser or mobile device.

Captivate provides rich, unique icons for button presets, and supports Companion’s feedback functionality for a dynamic, easily tailored workflow.

{% hint style="info" %}
Companion supports Bonjour auto-discovery (TXT `class=Captivate proto=ws`). Lead with discovery before falling back to manual config.
{% endhint %}

* [Launch Companion](#launch-companion)
* [Companion Configuration Settings](#companion-configuration-settings)
* [Setting up your Companion Application with Captivate](#setting-up-your-companion-application-with-captivate)
* [Disabling Stream Deck](#disabling-stream-deck)

The Companion application must be downloaded and installed on the machine running Captivate.

## Bypass MacOS Security

When installing Companion on macOS, you may be presented with a security warning:

<div align="left"><figure><img src="https://352477438-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FFCWMxradHcVjURnrXSYX%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-3be418aa540fe178251171cdb8af813493915db8%2Fimage_9357.jpg?alt=media" alt="macOS security warning"><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>

1. To bypass, right-click the Companion DMG file and click **Open**. A different version of the warning appears:

   <div align="left"><figure><img src="https://352477438-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FFCWMxradHcVjURnrXSYX%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-c67b7a3968fcce2767af267fa8b2217a69f3c66b%2Fimage_7873.jpg?alt=media" alt="Open dialog"><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>
2. Click **Open** to proceed.

{% hint style="info" %}
On Mac, drag the Companion icon into the Applications folder when prompted.
{% endhint %}

<div align="left"><figure><img src="https://352477438-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FFCWMxradHcVjURnrXSYX%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-4ef689c4034fe98ecef497f91558fe237a6e2536%2Fimage_6403.jpg?alt=media" alt="Drag to Applications"><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>

<div align="left"><figure><img src="https://352477438-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FFCWMxradHcVjURnrXSYX%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-897d2e5b9ece6af302016ddc88b03918a801fd55%2Fimage_5362.jpg?alt=media" alt="Trash installer"><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>

## Launch Companion

1. Open the Captivate project you would like to control with Companion.
2. Open Bitfocus Companion from your Applications folder (Mac) or Program Files (Win).

   <div align="left"><figure><img src="https://352477438-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FFCWMxradHcVjURnrXSYX%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-80b20bb3a90b6fa46aad241d66a86cc0d8add76d%2Fimage_2245.jpg?alt=media" alt="Companion icon"><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>
3. A small control window opens. Click **Launch GUI**.

   <div align="left"><figure><img src="https://352477438-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FFCWMxradHcVjURnrXSYX%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-7324263b3f39e387675fbb576524ac034d83ffeb%2Fimage_9978.jpg?alt=media" alt="Launch GUI"><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>
4. Bitfocus Companion Admin opens in your default browser.

## Companion Configuration Settings

These settings let Companion detect your Stream Deck hardware, X-keys USB Keypads, and Remote Control Services.

1. Run through the Configuration Wizard on the right side-bar menu. (Opens automatically for first-time users.)

   <div align="left"><figure><img src="https://352477438-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FFCWMxradHcVjURnrXSYX%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-59db37b59c71ccdea220a9af4e4ad9b175a06c74%2Fimage_4599.jpg?alt=media" alt="Configuration Wizard"><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>
2. Select **Use Companion Natively** (recommended) and enable X-Keys USB Keypads if desired. See [Disabling Stream Deck](#disabling-stream-deck) below if you use this option.

   **📌 NOTE**\
   If you need to assign Stream Deck buttons to other applications that don’t support Companion natively, enable the Companion Stream Deck plugin.

   <div align="left"><figure><img src="https://352477438-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FFCWMxradHcVjURnrXSYX%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-6e31f9d7f730f347b0a597209829bf852c5075f0%2Fimage_7762.jpg?alt=media" alt="USB Surface Detection"><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>
3. Click **Next** and choose the **Remote Control Services** you need.

   <div align="left"><figure><img src="https://352477438-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FFCWMxradHcVjURnrXSYX%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-c403d2c21d5ae979422303a1976ffc363caa03bb%2Fimage_8587.jpg?alt=media" alt="Remote Control Services"><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>
4. Finish by clicking **Next** and following the remaining instructions.

   <div align="left"><figure><img src="https://352477438-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FFCWMxradHcVjURnrXSYX%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-45cdb2b42677c107e27f1d5c0b09674fdb99e05d%2Fimage_6282.jpg?alt=media" alt="Finish wizard"><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>

## Setting up your Companion application with Captivate

You land on the **Connections** tab with an **Add Connection** search bar.

1. Search for or scroll to **NewBlue Captivate**.

   <div align="left"><figure><img src="https://352477438-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FFCWMxradHcVjURnrXSYX%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-8766af4908cd072f7637b420f679e90f342b606a%2Fimage_9779.jpg?alt=media" alt="Search NewBlue"><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>

   **📌 NOTE**\
   Companion’s Bonjour auto-discovery will surface running Captivate instances automatically. If your instance does not appear, fall back to manual config.
2. Select **Add NewBlue Captivate**.

   <div align="left"><figure><img src="https://352477438-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FFCWMxradHcVjURnrXSYX%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-48a1cf897ca5c44cb8df28fedc0d56d26d46d2dc%2Fimage_5730.jpg?alt=media" alt="Add NewBlue"><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>

The connection should display OK on a green background in the **Status** column.

<div align="left"><figure><img src="https://352477438-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FFCWMxradHcVjURnrXSYX%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-96d2b8c42561db8fd635570315e6d531dbc9b31f%2Fimage_4744.jpg?alt=media" alt="Connected status"><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>

{% hint style="info" %}
If Disconnected, close Captivate and Companion. Be sure to open Captivate before reopening Companion.
{% endhint %}

## Disabling Stream Deck

To give Companion full control of your Stream Deck hardware, disable the Stream Deck software. Simply closing the application doesn’t fully disable it — background processes continue. Use Activity Monitor (Mac) or Task Manager (Windows).

**On Mac:**

1. Search to open Activity Monitor.
2. Find and highlight StreamDeck.

   <div align="left"><figure><img src="https://352477438-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FFCWMxradHcVjURnrXSYX%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-b3144429f2837066ae2fa3b0e0a5a7a1de0fe9ad%2Fimage_1763.jpg?alt=media" alt="Activity Monitor"><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>
3. Press the Stop button and choose Quit.

   <div align="left"><figure><img src="https://352477438-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FFCWMxradHcVjURnrXSYX%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-020d5112b238edb9459333d4f414e3ceeac21752%2Fimage_247.jpg?alt=media" alt="Quit StreamDeck"><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>

**On Windows:**

1. Search to open Task Manager.
2. Highlight StreamDeck.
3. Select **End Task**.

   <div align="left"><figure><img src="https://352477438-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FFCWMxradHcVjURnrXSYX%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-8d7a6ec245ae797c025d44ced42cfd64d412edc4%2Fimage_1003.png?alt=media" alt="End Task"><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>

Next, see [Assign buttons for project navigation](/control-your-show/chapter-index-4/assigning-buttons-for-project-navigation.md).


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