Companion and Stream Deck

You can run Kinetra from a Stream Deck with Bitfocus Companion, using Companion’s generic OSC connection. Each button sends an OSC message to Kinetra, such as “take this layer” or “GO this cue”.

Note

There is no Kinetra module for Companion and no Kinetra plugin for the Stream Deck app yet. This page uses Companion’s generic OSC connection.

Set up Kinetra

1. In Kinetra, switch to Advanced mode (Preferences › General › Mode).
2. Open Preferences › Network & API › Server and turn on OSC control. Note the OSC port (default 9000).
3. If Companion runs on another computer: turn on Allow access from other devices on the network and add the Companion computer’s IP address under Allowed computers.

See MIDI and OSC for details.

Set up Companion

1. In Companion, add a connection: search for Generic OSC (osc-generic).
2. Set the target host to Kinetra’s computer: 127.0.0.1 if it’s the same computer, otherwise its IP address.
3. Set the target port to Kinetra’s OSC port, for example 9000.

Make a button

1. In Kinetra, under Preferences › Network & API › Server › Addresses, pick the layer, cue or source and copy its address.
2. In Companion, add a button with the action Send message without arguments (or with an integer 1).
3. Paste the address as the OSC path.

Useful addresses:

Button	OSC path
Take or clear a layer	/kinetra/layer/<screen id>/<layer id>/toggle
Take a layer	/kinetra/layer/<screen id>/<layer id>/take
Clear a layer	/kinetra/layer/<screen id>/<layer id>/clear
Run a cue	/kinetra/flow/<cue id>/go
Next row of a source	/kinetra/source/<source id>/next
Clear a screen	/kinetra/screen/<screen id>/clear
Clear all	/kinetra/clear-all
Panic	/kinetra/panic

The full list is in the Control API reference.

Show what’s on air on the buttons

Kinetra can send on-air status back to Companion:

1. In Companion’s Generic OSC connection, turn on listening for feedback and note its port, for example 9001.
2. In Kinetra, set Send on-air status to to Companion’s computer and that port, for example 127.0.0.1:9001.

Kinetra sends /kinetra/layer/<screen id>/<layer id>/onair with 1 (on air) or 0 (off air). Use it in Companion to light a button red while the layer is on air.

Tips

• Use toggle for one button per graphic: press to take, press again to clear.
• Use cues for anything with several steps, and give each cue a Stream Deck button.
• Copy addresses from Kinetra instead of typing IDs.

Common problems

Nothing happens

• Check that OSC status in Kinetra says Listening on ….
• If Companion is on another computer, check Allowed computers and LAN access.
• Check that the button sends to the right host and port, over UDP.
• If the button sends 0 as its value, Kinetra ignores it. Send no value or 1.