NextPrompt
← All guides Integration guide

Control a teleprompter from Bitfocus Companion

To control a teleprompter from Bitfocus Companion, add the Generic HTTP module and give each button a GET action pointed at a NextPrompt control URL: play, pause, restart, or speed. The share id in the URL carries access, so there is no API key, no module to install, and nothing to authenticate. Store the share id in a Companion variable and your whole button page re-targets to a new Event in one edit.

Step by step

  1. Copy the Controller link. In NextPrompt, open the Share panel for your Event and copy the Controller link. The long random string in it is the share id that grants control; treat the link like a password.
  2. Add a Generic HTTP connection in Companion. In Companion, add the Generic HTTP module as a connection. No credentials are needed; every NextPrompt action is an unauthenticated GET carried by the share id in the URL.
  3. Store the share id as a variable. Put the share id (and the password, if the link has one) in a Companion custom variable. Build each button's URL from the variable, so a new Event means updating one value instead of rewriting every button.
  4. Create the buttons. One button per action: play, pause, restart, speed up, speed down, and any exact speeds you use often. Each is a Generic HTTP GET action with the matching control URL.
  5. Run it with the rest of the show. Companion sits between your Stream Deck hardware and everything you already control, so the prompter buttons live next to your switcher, playback, and lighting keys. Presses reach every connected prompter screen in real time.

The URLs behind the buttons

Replace the origin with the domain your NextPrompt links already use, and CONTROL_ID with the share id from your Controller link (or a Companion variable holding it): 

.../api/nextprompt/share/CONTROL_ID/control?action=play
.../api/nextprompt/share/CONTROL_ID/control?action=pause
.../api/nextprompt/share/CONTROL_ID/control?action=restart
.../api/nextprompt/share/CONTROL_ID/control?action=speed&value=2.5
.../api/nextprompt/share/CONTROL_ID/control?action=speed&value=up
.../api/nextprompt/share/CONTROL_ID/control?action=speed&value=down

Speed takes an exact value from 0 to 5, or up / down for the same nudge as the on-screen arrows. A password-protected link needs &password=YOUR_PASSWORD appended.

Open a teleprompter

Get started free

Questions

Does NextPrompt have a Companion module?

It does not need one. Companion's Generic HTTP module covers it, because every NextPrompt control action is a plain GET URL. There is nothing to install and no API key to manage.

What actions can Companion fire?

Play, pause, restart to the top of the current Script, an exact scroll speed from 0 to 5, or a speed nudge up or down. Add the password parameter if the Controller link is protected.

Can the prompter operator and Companion both drive?

Yes. Actions interleave and the last one to land wins. For a single automated driver that is seamless; with a live operator too, agree on who is pacing which segment.

Keep going

More guides

What is a teleprompter A teleprompter shows scrolling text so you can read a script while looking at the camera or audience. Learn what a teleprompter is, how it works, and how to use one free. How to use a teleprompter Learn how to use a teleprompter: load your script, set the speed and size, place it near your lens, and control the scroll from another device. Includes a free tool. How does a teleprompter work A teleprompter scrolls your script on a screen at your line of sight, often reflected over the lens by angled glass so you read while looking at the camera. Here is how. Teleprompter vs autocue Teleprompter and autocue are two names for the same tool: a screen of scrolling text you read while looking at the camera. Learn where each term comes from. Stream Deck teleprompter control Put teleprompter play, pause, restart, and speed on Stream Deck keys. Every NextPrompt control action is a plain URL a Stream Deck button can fire. No plugin needed. vMix teleprompter control Control a browser teleprompter from vMix: fire play, pause, restart, and speed as HTTP GET requests from vMix Scripting and shortcuts, beside your existing show control. OBS teleprompter setup and control Run a teleprompter with OBS: put the reading screen by your lens or in a browser source, and fire play, pause, and speed as HTTP GET requests from OBS automation.

Open a teleprompter in your browser

Free to start. No install, no app, no card. Paste your script, open it on the screen you read from, and control the scroll from another device.

Get started free Try it live