# Connect the Browser Companion

The Tilecast Browser Companion is an optional Chrome extension for displays that run Browser Player. It will contribute extra Player capabilities that a plain browser tab cannot reach on its own. It currently contributes none: this page covers connecting it so future capabilities light up when they ship.

The Companion is optional. A Browser Player works fully without it, and removing the Companion never breaks playback.

## Before you start

- Use a Browser Player page on the display. See [Use Browser Player](../install-browser/).
- Use Chrome or Microsoft Edge with permission to install extensions.

## Connect the Companion

1. Install the Tilecast Browser Companion extension in the display's browser.
2. Open the Browser Player page on the display.
3. Open the Companion from the browser toolbar and select **Connect this player**.
4. Approve the browser's permission prompt for exactly your Tilecast address.
5. Reload the player page.

The grant covers only your Tilecast address. The Companion never asks for access to every site, and it does nothing on pages outside your player.

## Check the connection

Open the Screen in Studio and look at its diagnostics. Connected capabilities appear in the **Player capabilities** row. Since the Companion currently contributes none, the row stays empty until the first capability ships — an empty row does not mean the connection failed.

If a future capability never appears, check that the extension is installed, the origin grant is still in place, and the player page was reloaded after connecting.

## Disconnect

Open the Companion popup and select **Disconnect**. The browser forgets the address grant, the bridge unregisters, and the contributed capabilities disappear from the next status report. Playback continues unchanged.

For the exact protocol and security contract, see the engineering doc on [Player capabilities](https://github.com/gbyo/tilecast/blob/main/docs/player-capabilities.md).