Put your run of show on a Stream Deck
NextShow exposes every control action as a simple link: one URL advances the active segment, one steps back, one jumps to a specific segment. Anything that can fire a web request can press those buttons for you. Bind the URLs to a Stream Deck with Bitfocus Companion and the show advances from hardware, with no browser focus needed.
What Bitfocus Companion is
Companion is free, open source software from Bitfocus that turns an Elgato Stream Deck into a real production control surface. Where the consumer Stream Deck app thinks in hotkeys, Companion thinks in shows: its buttons speak to switchers, audio consoles, and playback, and plain HTTP requests, the part NextShow uses. Download Companion from the Bitfocus site, install it on the machine at your console, and open its web configuration page. That is the whole footprint: no plugin to add to NextShow, no account to link.
Get your NextShow control link
Every control action in NextShow is a URL built from your show's Edit link.
- Open your run of show and copy the Edit link from the Share panel. The long code at the end is the share id.
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Build the control URL:
https://app.nextsuiteapp.com/api/nextshow/share/YOUR_SHARE_ID/control?action=next -
Swap
action=nextforaction=prevto step back, or use?to=3to jump straight to segment 3 (segments count from 1). -
If the Edit link is password-protected, add
&password=YOUR_PASSWORD.
Treat control URLs like passwords. The share id in the URL is what grants control, so only paste these into tools you trust.
Test it before you wire anything: paste the URL into a browser tab and press Enter. You get a short success response, and every open View link moves to the new segment. That is the whole trick. If it works in a browser, it will work from a button.
Bind it to a button in Companion
- In the Companion web configuration, open Connections and add the Generic HTTP module.
- Pick a button on the Stream Deck grid, add an action from the Generic HTTP connection, and choose GET.
- Paste your control URL and give the button a label like NEXT. Press it: the run of show advances, and every open link follows.
- Make three buttons, NEXT, BACK, and a jump to your opening segment, and you have a hardware transport for the whole rundown.
Build your run of show, then wire the buttons
No Stream Deck? Anything that opens a URL works
The same links work from any tool that can fire a web request. Bind one to a vMix shortcut or Web Controller script, call it from an OBS automation tool that can send an HTTP request, put it in a phone shortcut, or bookmark it on the producer laptop. The control link does not care what pressed it: NextShow moves the active segment, saves it, and broadcasts it to every screen the same way.
Make OBS follow your run of show →
Questions
Does the person pressing the button need a NextShow account?
No. The control link carries its own access, the same way the Edit link it comes from does. If the Edit link has a password, add it to the control URL as a password parameter.
What can I control from a Stream Deck?
The active segment: next, previous, and jump to a specific segment by number. It is the same action as pressing the segment in Show Control, so every open View and Edit link follows instantly.
Does this work with vMix or OBS?
Yes. Any tool that can fire a plain web request can use the same control links: a vMix shortcut or script, an OBS automation plugin with an HTTP action, or even a browser bookmark on the producer laptop.
