petdock
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Getting started

Set up the pet, preview, and display

Pet Dock captures an existing floating pet window and sends its visual frames to the display. The pet stays in its original host app; Pet Dock does not replace its behavior, read conversations, or require an API key.

Before you begin

Use the confirmed connection path

Windows
Windows 10 or 11, x64.
Known path
USB ID 1A86:5722, Protocol A, portrait geometry 320×480, RGB565.
Connection
The display is not an HDMI or Windows secondary monitor. Pet Dock streams bitmap frames over USB serial.
Access
Only one process can own the COM port. Close the software controller and any other display controllers first.

Compatibility is specific, not assumed. A matching USB ID does not prove every revision uses identical firmware. Send a test pattern before starting the screen.

Quick setup

  1. 1

    Start the pet

    Enable the floating pet in its host application and leave that application running.

  2. 2

    Choose the source

    In Companion, select the floating window and choose Capture preview.

  3. 3

    Frame the source

    Confirm the Source and display previews. Pet Dock can auto-frame visible content; drag on Source to set a crop when you need to override it.

  4. 4

    Connect the display

    In Display, select the COM device, Protocol A, and orientation. Send the test pattern, then choose Start screen.

  5. 5

    Add optional readings

    Use Metrics to select readings. A sensor that is unavailable remains N/A.

Capturing the pet

A large canvas can be normal

The host window may be titled ChatGPT, and its transparent canvas can be much larger than the visible pet. Use the preview instead of judging by the window bounds. Auto-framing can fit visible content, while manual crop gives you the final say.

Native transparent-window capture lets a chosen background show through. Desktop-area capture and Ignore alpha keep opaque pixels, so they can cover that background. Neither mode performs background removal.

Design limits

Style the screen, not the pet

Choose palettes, custom colors, a local background, a font, and Cards, Bars, or Rings for readings. Colors and fonts apply to stats, not the captured pet artwork or its speech bubble.

Layout is intentionally constrained: pet area plus a stats panel. It is not a free-form widget editor. Selecting more readings leaves less room for the pet.

Safe operation

Know the boundaries

  • The host application must keep rendering the floating pet window. Pet Dock does not guarantee pet behavior, touch input, or click forwarding.
  • Fit visible pet removes empty alpha padding for output fitting only. It does not alter the source crop.
  • Orientation waits for the current transfer to drain, then requests a full redraw. Pause before changing a port, protocol, or transport timing.
  • Off-screen placement is experimental. If a pet stops rendering or stays blank, use Restore desktop pet or run Restore-Desktop-Pet.cmd.

Need recovery or display troubleshooting? Read the support guide.