Chapter 3 - Requirements & Compatibility¶
CONNECT is built on two browser capabilities: Web MIDI (for notes, clock and the device selector) and Web Serial / WebUSB (for the Live connection - screen mirror, patch transfers, diagnostics). Browser support for those two features decides where CONNECT runs.
The compatibility table¶
| Platform | Browser | Works? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows / macOS / Linux | Chrome | Yes | Recommended |
| Windows / macOS / Linux | Edge | Yes | Same engine as Chrome |
| Windows / macOS / Linux | Firefox | No | No Web Serial |
| macOS / iOS | Safari | No | No Web MIDI, no Web Serial |
| iPhone / iPad | any browser | No | Apple doesn't allow the required APIs in any iOS browser |
| Android | Chrome | Yes | Live connection uses WebUSB instead of Web Serial - see below |
Other Chromium-based browsers (Brave, Opera, Vivaldi) generally work but aren't tested; Brave ships with some device APIs off by default and needs them enabled.
What you need¶
- A Chromium browser - Chrome or Edge, reasonably current.
- A USB cable that carries data. The cable powers the device and carries everything CONNECT does. Charge-only cables are the classic silent failure: the device powers up, but no browser will ever see it.
- Nothing else. No driver, no install, no account, no plug-in. Midicake devices are class-compliant, so the operating system already knows how to talk to them.
Android¶
CONNECT works on Android Chrome with one difference under the hood: Android's Web Serial support is limited, so the Live connection uses WebUSB instead. In practice the flow is the same - press Go Live, pick the device from the browser prompt - but the prompt looks slightly different and you may need an OTG adapter depending on your phone's port.
A tablet running CONNECT fullscreen next to the hardware makes a nice second screen for the mirror and visualizer.
Permissions - why the browser asks¶
The first time you press Go Live in a session, the browser shows a device-picker prompt. That's the browser's security model working as designed: web pages can't open a hardware connection silently, ever. CONNECT can't skip the prompt, and neither can any other web app. Picking the device and confirming is the whole ritual.
The Web MIDI side may also ask once for MIDI access (including SysEx). Same reason, same one-off.
Offline and HTTPS¶
CONNECT is served over HTTPS, which the device APIs require. It needs the network to load, but once loaded, the traffic that matters - screen frames, patch data, MIDI - travels over your USB cable, not the internet. Nothing about your patches or playing leaves the machine (Chapter 14 covers where data lives).