Kuma Companion Dashboard 1.1

See your event panel on your phone and your watch

The mobile app shows the Dashboard panel that runs on your computer, live, on iPhone, iPad and Android. The Apple Watch app puts the boxes you choose on your wrist and buzzes when something needs attention.

What you need

A computer running the KUMA Dashboard with your panel (and Bitfocus Companion if the panel has buttons).
The Kuma Companion Dashboard app, version 1.1, on an iPhone, iPad or Android device. For the watch: an Apple Watch paired with that iPhone.
Either the same Wi-Fi as the computer, or the Dashboard's Relay to connect from anywhere.

The app only shows the panel and presses its buttons. Everything is edited in the Dashboard on the computer. The app has no account and no licence seat of its own.

Same network

Fast, no internet needed. Phone and computer on the same Wi-Fi (no “client isolation”).

Relay

From anywhere over the internet, end-to-end encrypted. Needs the code and password the Dashboard shows.

Connect on the same network

Use this at the venue. It also supports pressing buttons.

On the computer

In the Dashboard open the WEB tab and turn on Enable web server (port 8080 by default).
Set a password. Without a password the app can watch but cannot press buttons.
Turn on Require the password to look at the dashboard too. This is recommended for the mobile apps.

On the phone

Connect screen with the Same network tab selected — The first screen. The Dashboard appears under “Found on this network” when it is switched on.

Open the app. Stay on Same network.
Tap your computer under Found on this network, or type its address, for example 192.168.1.20:8080.
Enter the access password and tap Connect.
Next time, tap the host under Saved.

No Dashboard at hand? Try the demo panel opens a built-in sample so you can see how the app behaves.

Connect from anywhere with Relay

The panel travels through the KUMA relay, encrypted on the computer. The relay cannot read it.

On the computer

In the Dashboard open the WEB tab, section Relay, and choose Turn on.
Read the seven risk statements and tick each one. This is asked every time you switch Relay on.
Choose what viewers may do: Allow control lets them press buttons. Send alerts to phones and watches (push) sends alerts to devices that are connected. Both are off by default.
The Dashboard now shows a 4-character code and a 16-character password (like XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX). The password is new every time Relay is switched on.

On the phone

Connect screen with the Remote (Relay) tab selected — The Remote (Relay) tab asks for the pairing code and the password.

Tap Remote (Relay).
Type the 4-character code (a shared link that ends in #code=ABCD works too).
Type the 16-character password. Case, dashes and spaces do not matter.
Tap Connect. If the host is not online yet, the app waits for it and connects by itself.

View only or controlIf the host did not tick Allow control, a Relay screen is view only. With control on, buttons work. The first press in each connection asks for a confirmation, then shows Pressed or the reason it failed. If the host does not answer within 6 seconds you see No answer from the host.

Relay does not send images, videos or imported fonts, so boxes that use them look plainer. Keep the password private and switch Relay off when you do not need it.

Using the panel

The panel of a speaker dashboard in landscape: speaker, presentation, a timer in amber, slides left and time of day — A panel in landscape. The timer turned amber because a colour rule of the box matched (under 60 seconds left).

The panel fills the screen and keeps the display awake. Tap once to show the ••• handle. Press and hold anywhere to open the menu.

The menu: layout, keep screen on, relay status, push alerts on, disconnect; a notification banner on top — The menu. Under the toggles you see how you are connected and whether push alerts are on. A notification banner (here “00:30 TIMER”) can drop in at any time.

Pages: switch between the pages of your panel.
Layout: Fit whole page shows everything with bars at the edges; Fill width looks like the desktop.
Keep screen on: on by default, so the panel never sleeps.
Disconnect: leaves the host (and stops push alerts to this device).

Foldables: the panel resizes when you fold or unfold. On Android foldables in tabletop or book position it stays on one side of the hinge.

Apple Watch

The watch shows the boxes you pick. It talks to the paired iPhone, never to the Dashboard directly.

Set it up

On the iPhone open the Watch app, find Kuma Dashboard under Available Apps and tap Install.
In the Dashboard, open the editor of a box and go to the Action tab, section Where it shows.
Tick Add to watch on every box you want on your wrist.
Give them a Priority on the watch: 1 is the top of the list, 2 comes next, and so on. Boxes without a number follow in screen order.
Open the panel on the iPhone (same network or Relay). The watch picks it up within a few seconds.

Nothing ticked?If no box has Add to watch, the watch shows every box that presses a Companion button, and no readouts.

What you see on the watch

Apple Watch list showing a timer in amber and the slides left — A vertical list, two boxes per screen. Turn the Digital Crown to reach the rest.

Readouts (a clock, a timer, a status) have a thin outline and no tap. They show the same text and colours as the panel, including colour rules.
Buttons (boxes that press a Companion button) press when tapped: a click, a spinner while it is on the way, then a green check or a red cross with the reason.
The watch needs its iPhone nearby and the panel connected on the iPhone. If the iPhone is out of reach you see iPhone not reachable when you tap a button, and the last values stay on screen.
Buttons work over Relay only when the host allowed control.

Alerts on the watch

Know when a minute is left or the last slides are coming, without looking at a screen.

An alert uses the colour rules you already set on a box. Tick Alert on watch on a box (same place as Add to watch) and the watch buzzes when one of that box's rules starts to match.

Box	Rule on the box	What happens
Timer	seconds left ≤ 60 → amber	The watch buzzes three times and shows 01:00 TIMER when the minute starts.
Slides left	slides left ≤ 2 → red	The watch buzzes and shows SLIDES 2 left when only two remain.

Apple Watch with an orange alert banner reading 01:00 TIMER above the amber timer — The alert banner appears on top for a few seconds, with three buzzes.

How the alert reaches you

Push alerts (with Relay): the Dashboard sends the alert through the relay and Apple's push service. It arrives even when the iPhone is locked in your pocket, and iOS mirrors it to the watch. Needs Send alerts to phones and watches (push) ticked on the computer.
Scheduled alerts (same network too): for countdowns the app works out when a rule will match and schedules the notification ahead of time, so it still fires when the iPhone is locked. It only works for values that change steadily, such as seconds left.
While the app is open: the watch buzzes and shows the banner right away.

Good to knowAlert texts travel through the relay and Apple readable (not end-to-end encrypted), so keep them short and not secret. Values that jump, such as “2 slides left”, need push (Relay) to work with a locked iPhone. Apple delivers pushes within seconds, not to the second. Focus modes silence notifications.

Allow notifications

If you tapped Don't Allow, open Settings → Notifications → Kuma Dashboard on the iPhone and turn on Allow Notifications, Lock Screen and Sounds.
For the watch: the iPhone must be locked, the watch on your wrist and unlocked, and in the Watch app under Notifications → Kuma Dashboard choose Mirror iPhone Alerts.
With Relay, the menu shows Push alerts on once the phone is registered.

If something fails

You see	Why	What to do
Cannot reach the host	Wrong address, web server off, or different network.	In the Dashboard check Enable web server. Use the address shown there. Phone and computer must be on the same Wi-Fi.
Host not answering…	The web server was switched off or the network dropped.	It reconnects by itself when the host is back.
This Dashboard is not activated	The computer's Dashboard has no licence seat.	Enter the licence code in the Dashboard app on the computer.
Needs a password / Wrong password	The Dashboard has an access password.	Type it in the password field. For Relay use the 16-character password shown there.
This pairing code is not online yet	Relay is off on the computer.	Switch Relay on. The app waits and connects by itself.
Too many wrong pairing codes	The relay blocks a network for an hour after many wrong codes.	Check the code and try again later.
Wrong password, or this is not the screen you are looking for	The Relay password does not match the code.	Re-type the code and password exactly as the Dashboard shows them.
View only: buttons are off	No access password (LAN), or Allow control is off (Relay).	Set a password in the Dashboard, or tick Allow control when switching Relay on.
Watch shows “Open Kuma Dashboard on your iPhone”	No panel is open on the iPhone yet.	Open the panel on the iPhone, then reopen the watch app. It can take up to half a minute.
No push on the watch	iPhone unlocked, watch off wrist, or mirroring off.	See Allow notifications.

AndroidThe Android app has the same panel, Relay and control. The Apple Watch app and push alerts are iPhone only for now.