Documentation

Everything you need to set up TabCast and start streaming a browser tab's audio into your Discord voice channel.

What is TabCast

TabCast streams the audio from any browser tab — a YouTube video, Spotify, a livestream, a podcast — directly into your Discord voice channel, so everyone in the channel hears it live and in sync. There's no screen-share and no re-upload: the audio is relayed in real time and never written to disk.

TabCast has two parts that work together:

• The browser extension — captures the audio of the tab you choose and sends it to TabCast. Install it from the Chrome Web Store.
• The Discord bot — joins your voice channel and plays the audio for the whole server. Members can also queue tracks with slash commands.

Install & setup

You only have to link the extension to a server once. After that, streaming is one click.

1. Add the bot to your Discord server. Use the Add to Discord button on the TabCast homepage and pick the server you want, then grant the requested permissions.
2. Install the extension from the Chrome Web Store and pin it to your toolbar.
3. Generate your link token. In your server, run /setup. The bot sends you a private token. (You can view it again later with /token.)
4. Link the extension. Click the TabCast icon, paste the token, and connect. The extension now knows which server to stream into.

Streaming a tab

1. Open the tab whose audio you want to share, and start playing it.
2. Click the TabCast icon in your toolbar.
3. Pick the voice channel you want the bot to join.
4. Hit Stream Current Tab. The bot joins the channel and everyone hears the tab's audio live.

While streaming you can adjust the volume from the extension or with /volume, and stop any time by clicking Stop (or running /stop). Only the active host can control playback or remove the bot while a stream is live, so a stream can't be hijacked mid-session.

Lite mode

If your machine or connection is struggling, turn on Lite mode in the extension's settings (the gear menu). It lowers the audio bitrate to reduce CPU and bandwidth use.

Song requests

Members don't need the extension to contribute. Anyone in the server can queue a link with /request (or the shorthand /req), and it appears in the host's extension to play. The host gets a desktop notification when a new request comes in.

• /request <link> — send a track to the host's request list.
• /queue — see what's lined up.
• /nowplaying — see what's playing right now.

Command reference

Run these as slash commands in any channel where the bot has access.

Command	What it does
/setup	Generate your personal token to link the TabCast extension to this server.
/token	Show your current token for this server without rotating it.
/hosts	Show who is set up to host TabCast in this server.
/join	Make the bot join your current voice channel.
/leave	Disconnect the bot from the voice channel.
/play <url>	Play audio from a URL.
/request <link>	Request a track — sends the link to the TabCast host.
/req <link>	Shorthand for /request.
/queue	Show the current queue.
/nowplaying	Show the currently playing track.
/pause	Pause playback.
/resume	Resume playback.
/skip	Skip the current track.
/stop	Stop playback and clear the queue.
/volume <0–100>	Set the playback volume.
/upgrade	View your plan or upgrade to Pro.

TabCast Pro

Pro unlocks higher limits and team features. Run /upgrade in Discord or visit the Pro page to compare plans.

• Unlimited servers — link the extension to as many servers as you want.
• Team mode — multiple hosts with a cooperative “DJ handoff” queue, so the next host is notified and can take over without interrupting the stream.
• HD audio — higher-bitrate streaming on boosted voice channels.
• Bigger request queue.

Troubleshooting

The extension says it isn't connected

Re-open the popup and confirm your token is pasted in. If it still won't connect, run /token in your server to re-copy the current token, or /setup to generate a fresh one.

The bot won't join the voice channel

Make sure the bot has permission to Connect and Speak in that channel, and that you're choosing a channel you can also join. Try /leave then start the stream again.

No sound, or choppy audio

• Confirm the tab is actually playing audio (it shouldn't be muted in Chrome).
• Check the volume in the extension and /volume aren't set to 0.
• On weaker machines or connections, enable Lite mode in the gear menu.

Someone else can't control the stream

That's by design — only the active host can change volume, skip, stop, or remove the bot while a stream is live. Use /request to queue tracks for the host, or have them hand off the session (Team mode).

Support

Still stuck? Email support@tabcast.pro and we'll help.

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