Network requirements and firewall settings

When do you need this?

Most home and small-office networks work with Screenbird out of the box. You only need this article if your network has:

  • A strict firewall that blocks unknown domains
  • A web filter or proxy that limits outgoing traffic
  • A separate VLAN for displays without internet access

Required domains

Whitelist these domains for both the dashboard (used by the people managing content) and the player (running on the screen).

Dashboard domains

  • screenbird.app - main application
  • dev.screenbird.app - staging (only needed if your team uses staging)
  • api.screenbird.app - device API
  • *.supabase.co - database and authentication
  • cdn.screenbird.app - static assets and content
  • media.screenbird.app - images and videos

Player domains

  • player.screenbird.app - player application
  • cdn.screenbird.app - content delivery
  • *.supabase.co - connection to your account
  • api.screenbird.app - heartbeat and content sync

Optional domains (used by some apps and integrations)

  • apis.google.com - Google Slides, Sheets, Docs picker
  • *.googleusercontent.com - Google Drive thumbnails
  • images.pexels.com - Pexels image library
  • api.qrserver.com - QR codes in templates
  • geocoding-api.open-meteo.com - location autocomplete in the Weather app
  • challenges.cloudflare.com - Cloudflare Turnstile (used during signup and contact forms)

If you do not use a particular integration, you do not need to whitelist its domain.

Required ports

  • HTTPS (443) - all communication uses HTTPS over port 443
  • WebSocket (443) - real-time communication also goes over port 443

Screenbird does not use any non-standard ports.

Required protocols

  • HTTPS for all traffic
  • WebSocket Secure (WSS) for real-time updates from the dashboard to the player

Bandwidth requirements

  • Player at idle - under 10 KB per minute (heartbeat only)
  • Player playing static images - minimal once content is downloaded
  • Player playing 1080p video - initial download depends on file size, then 0 traffic during playback (videos are cached locally)
  • Player playing live streams (YouTube, RSS) - depends on the stream

For most signage networks, 5 Mbps download is more than enough per screen. Screenbird is designed to work offline once content is downloaded, so brief network outages do not interrupt playback.

Test your network

To verify a screen can reach Screenbird, open a browser on the device and go to:

  • https://player.screenbird.app - should load the player login screen
  • https://screenbird.app - should load the dashboard login page

If either fails, check your firewall logs for blocked requests to the domains listed above.

Need help with enterprise rollout?

If you are deploying many screens behind enterprise networks and need help with whitelist documentation, IT validation, or proxy configuration, contact us at support@screenbird.app and we will help you.

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