Your first session, step by step.

Before you start

• A 64-bit Windows PC with Windows 10 (version 1809 or later) or Windows 11, a working audio output and an internet connection. Full requirements travel with each build.
• A Signal Broker account (free, Google sign-in) and Founder Alpha access. How access works.
• Signal Time. The Broker will not start a session on a balance of zero. Your balance is on Signal Time.
• The game you want him to watch, running before you choose it in the app.

Open and sign in

1. Get Founder Alpha from Download. Read the unsigned-build notice and verify the ZIP’s SHA-256. Extract the entire portable ZIP, then open SignalBroker.exe. Keep SignalBroker.Runtime.dll beside it. The first launch prepares its local runtime cache. A README is included. Windows code signing is planned.
2. Start Signal Broker from the extracted folder. Close any older instance first, including before opening an updated version.
3. Sign in. The app opens this website in your browser. Sign in there with Google and keep the page open until it says Authorised; a single-use code returns to the app. Your password and account proof never reach the app.
4. Check the Play screen. It shows your account, your Signal Time and the game list. A plain reason is shown whenever something is missing.

Play: choose, start, stop

1. Start the game first, then choose it in the app. Pick the game window, not the launcher or store. Fullscreen, borderless and windowed games are supported; the app says when a game cannot be watched.
2. Confirm the game. The app identifies the game in that window; when it cannot (an emulator, an unknown title), it asks which game you are playing and you search for it. You can start with missing or partial game knowledge and load more knowledge when needed.
3. Pick the speech role: SPECTATOR comments on what he sees; PLAYER speaks as if sitting beside you. You can change it before a session or while one runs.
4. Tick Allow game capture, then press START BROKER. Review the capture notice on the Play screen first. Bring the selected game to the front after starting. Give him a moment: he watches before he speaks. Missing or partial knowledge does not prevent a session.
5. Press PAUSE for a break: the line he is speaking stops and he neither looks nor speaks until you press RESUME, which continues the same session with a fresh look.
6. Press STOP BROKER when you are done. Stopping closes the session on the service and spending stops.

Signal Time: Signal Time is metered from the Broker’s managed AI work — every look at your game and every spoken line — rather than simply the elapsed time of your gameplay session. Your account shows usage and remaining balance.

Overlay and Broker Bar

• Where he appears. Open Overlay → Edit overlay layout. Drag Broker directly on your desktop to move him and drag a top corner to resize. His lower edge can extend below the taskbar. Choose Done or press Esc to finish. Overlay also offers mirroring and dialogue placement to his left, above or right.
• Broker Bar. Time left, session status and the current state (LISTENING, THINKING, SPEAKING, VOICE RECOVERING). Toggle it with Ctrl + Shift + Alt + B, also over a fullscreen game.
• Exclusive fullscreen. Some games in exclusive fullscreen hide every overlay. Borderless or windowed mode for that game is the reliable alternative.
• Audio. Adjust Broker volume in Settings → Voice & capture. He speaks through your Windows default output device. If you switch headsets mid-session, stop and start again.

Streaming

The app does not stream anything itself; your streaming software captures what is on your PC. These steps describe the usual setup; verify them in your own scene before going live.

1. Game picture. Capture the game as you normally do (Game Capture or Window Capture of the game).
2. The Broker. Follow the guided OBS setup in the app. Add its transparent overlay as an OBS Browser source and place it above your game source. Use the overlay address supplied by the app.
3. The Broker's voice. He plays through the Windows default output device, so Desktop Audio captures him together with the game. There is no separate audio track yet.
4. Tell your audience. The commentary is generated by AI. Say so on stream or in your description; some platforms and countries require it.

Streaming a session spends Signal Time exactly like playing without a stream.

Recording

• Same sources as streaming. Record the game, the OBS Browser overlay and Desktop Audio.
• Captions. The Broker's spoken line is shown as text in the app while he speaks; check your OBS scene before recording.
• Your rights, your responsibility. What you record and publish is yours to manage; the Broker's lines are AI-generated and should be labelled as such when published.

What leaves your PC

• While a session runs: captured frames of the game you chose, with the session context the Broker needs, go to the Signal Broker service and on to its AI provider to produce his observations and lines. Frames are processed in memory and are not stored by the service.
• Never: your microphone (the app has none), your password, other applications you did not choose.
• On your PC: settings, your sign-in session and diagnostic logs beside the app. A developer frame recorder exists for support cases and is off unless you switch it on.

The full picture is in the privacy notice.