Network requirements and firewall settings

Screenbird uses HTTPS and WebSocket Secure over port 443 and nothing else. On a locked-down network, add the domains below to your allowlist: one list for the dashboard and one for the screens (the player).

When do you need this?

Most home and office networks work right away. You need this list if the network blocks unknown domains, runs a proxy or web filter, or if the screens sit on a separate VLAN with limited internet access.

Domains for the dashboard

For the computers your team manages content on:

  • screenbird.app: the dashboard itself
  • dev.screenbird.app: staging, only needed if your team works with it
  • *.supabase.co: database and sign-in, over WebSocket too
  • cdn.screenbird.app: files, images, videos, and your own fonts
  • integrations.screenbird.app: the app previews in the dashboard
  • lh3.googleusercontent.com and avatars.githubusercontent.com: profile pictures from connected accounts
  • challenges.cloudflare.com: the security check when you sign in or sign up
  • wss://api.screenbird.app: live updates between the dashboard and the screens
  • js.stripe.com and *.js.stripe.com: the payment window when you sign up and when you change your plan
  • api.stripe.com and hooks.stripe.com: completing the payment, 3D Secure included
  • m.stripe.com and m.stripe.network: Stripe's fraud check

Needed only for certain features:

  • apis.google.com and docs.google.com: the picker for Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides
  • images.pexels.com: the stock photo library
  • api.qrserver.com: QR codes in design templates
  • geocoding-api.open-meteo.com: location search in the Weather app

Domains for the screens

For every device running the player:

  • player.screenbird.app: the player itself
  • api.screenbird.app: pairing, heartbeat, and fetching content, over WebSocket too
  • cdn.screenbird.app: the content the screen plays
  • media.screenbird.app: installers and app updates
  • integrations.screenbird.app: every app and design runs inside this
  • mirror.screenbird.app: only needed for screen mirroring, over WebSocket too
  • fonts.googleapis.com and fonts.gstatic.com: fonts in apps and designs

Needed only for certain apps:

  • www.youtube.com and player.vimeo.com: the video apps

If you do not use a connection or an app, you do not have to allow the matching domain.

Ports and protocols

  • HTTPS over port 443 for all traffic
  • WebSocket Secure (WSS) over that same port 443 for live updates between the dashboard and the screen

No other ports are in use.

Bandwidth

How much bandwidth you need depends on how big your content is. A screen downloads a file once and plays it locally after that, so once the download is done there is barely any traffic. When idle, a screen only keeps the connection alive with a heartbeat every 60 seconds. If the WebSocket cannot get through, the screen still fetches its content every hour. Live streams and apps that keep pulling fresh data do keep using bandwidth, depending on the source.

Short network outages do not interrupt playback: downloaded content keeps playing.

Testing whether the network is set up right

On the device, open a browser and go to:

  • https://player.screenbird.app: this should show the pairing screen with a pairing code
  • https://screenbird.app: this should show the dashboard sign-in page

If either one fails, check the firewall logs to see which of the domains above is blocked.

Where is my data stored?

  • The database runs at Supabase in Paris (region eu-west-3).
  • The offsite backups sit at Backblaze in Amsterdam (region eu-central-003).
  • The dashboard, the apps, and the files are delivered over Cloudflare's network, which runs on edge locations worldwide.

The full list of processors and the retention periods are in the privacy statement on screenbird.app.

Help with a corporate rollout

Rolling out a lot of screens behind a corporate network and need documentation for your IT department? Email support@screenbird.app.

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