OBS + Bitfocus Companion Setup for Church: Volunteer Buttons for Scenes, Stream, and Recording

What you’ll build

By the end of this guide, a volunteer will have a page of buttons on a Stream Deck or a tablet:

Row	Buttons
Scenes	Wide · Pastor · Worship · Slides · Lyrics over camera
Service	Start Service · Start Stream · Start Recording · End Service

Each scene button lights up when that scene is live, and the stream and recording buttons turn red while they’re running.

(New to Companion? Start with Bitfocus Companion for churches.)

Before you start

• OBS Studio 28 or later on the streaming computer.
• Bitfocus Companion installed on the same computer or another computer on the same wired network.
• Scenes with plain names in OBS: “Wide,” “Pastor,” “Worship,” not “Scene 4.” (See the OBS complete church guide.)

Step 1: Turn on OBS’s WebSocket server

1. In OBS, open Tools, then WebSocket Server Settings.
2. Check Enable WebSocket server.
3. Note the server port (4455 by default).
4. Keep Enable Authentication on, and copy the password with Show Connect Info.
5. Click OK.

Step 2: Add OBS in Companion

1. Open Companion’s admin page (Companion’s launcher opens it, usually at http://127.0.0.1:8000).
2. Go to Connections and add OBS Studio.
3. Enter the OBS computer’s IP address (127.0.0.1 if Companion runs on the same computer), the port, and the password.
4. Save. The connection shows as connected when it’s working.

Step 3: Build the buttons

In Companion’s Buttons page, click an empty button and:

1. Name it in plain words: “Pastor.”
2. Add a press action: OBS’s “set program scene” (or “set preview scene” if you use Studio Mode), and pick the scene.
3. Add a feedback so the button changes color when that scene is in program.

Repeat for each scene. For the service row, use OBS’s start/stop streaming and recording actions, with feedbacks that turn the buttons red while active.

Step 4: Make “Start Service” one button

A single button can run several actions at once, and you can add a short delay before any of them. A typical “Start Service”:

• Start recording
• Start streaming
• Switch to the “Welcome” scene

If you also control other gear in Companion, add it here: turn on the projector, recall a camera preset, unmute a mic. (See controlling projectors, PTZ cameras, and mixers.)

Step 5: Protect the buttons that end things

• Put End Service and Stop Stream in a corner, in a different color, or on a second page.
• Test every button during a run-through, not during worship.

More layout ideas: designing Companion pages for volunteers.

Where WorshipMetrics helps

• Present’s Companion tab shows these same buttons beside your slides. (See Companion buttons inside WorshipMetrics.)
• Tech Manager watches the OBS computer and alerts your team if the stream or recording stops, even if a button was pressed by mistake.
• Cloud OBS control lets a helper switch scenes and confirm the stream from any browser, when nobody’s at the booth.

Next: the vMix version of this guide, or a touch panel with an Android tablet.