# Connect your first screen


> Get a device showing a pairing code, enter it in the dashboard, and bring the screen under Screenly's management.
Connecting a screen brings it under Screenly's management: you can assign it content and a schedule, watch its status, and control it remotely, all from the dashboard.

Every route ends the same way. The device shows a pairing code, you enter that code in the dashboard, and the screen appears in your list. What differs is how you get the device to that point.

## Get a pairing code

{{< tabs id="connect" >}}
{{< tab title="Screenly Player" >}}
1. Plug the player into the display over HDMI.
2. Connect it to the network.
3. Power it on. It ships with [ScreenlyOS](/docs/screenlyos/) already installed, so there is nothing to flash and nothing to configure.

Wait for it to boot. It shows a pairing code on the display once it is ready.

If you are on Wi-Fi rather than Ethernet, the player walks you through joining a network before it shows the code.
{{< /tab >}}
{{< tab title="Raspberry Pi" >}}
1. Download the [ScreenlyOS](/docs/screenlyos/) image.
2. Write it to an SD card.
3. Boot the Pi with the display connected over HDMI.

On first boot it sets itself up and then shows a pairing code.

{{< callout tip >}}
Setting up a Pi that has no keyboard attached, on a network that needs credentials? Generate a network configuration file with the [Network Config Generator](/os/network-config-generator/), copy it onto a USB stick, and plug that into the device. It reads the file from the USB stick and applies the settings.
{{< /callout >}}
{{< /tab >}}
{{< tab title="Screenly Anywhere" >}}
Set up [Screenly Anywhere](/anywhere/) on a device you already own, then open it. It displays a pairing code straight away.

How you set it up depends on the device. Some platforms install an app, some use a browser already on the display, and the Amazon Signage Stick pairs through Amazon's own console. [Platforms](/docs/anywhere/platforms/) has the steps for each.

The quickest version of this needs no installation at all: open Screenly Anywhere [in a browser tab](/anywhere/) and the pairing code appears in the tab.

{{< /tab >}}
{{< /tabs >}}

> [!NOTE]
> A pairing code is good for 30 days. There is no short window to miss. If a device has been sitting unpaired for longer than that, connect it to the internet and wait for it to show a fresh code.

## Enter the code in the dashboard

1. In the dashboard, open **Screens**.
2. Click **Connect screen**. On an empty Screens page the same button sits in the middle of the page.
3. Enter the pairing code shown on the display.
4. Optionally give the screen a name. Use something you would recognize in a list of hundreds, such as the room or the site, rather than "Screen 1".
5. Click **Connect**.

The screen appears in your list within a few seconds and the display stops showing the pairing code.

At this point the screen is connected but has nothing to play. That is expected; you have not given it any content yet.

## What connecting does

Connecting a screen does two things worth knowing about.

It consumes one license from your plan's pool. If you are out of licenses, the connection fails and the dashboard tells you so.

It also creates a label matching the screen's name automatically. That label is what you will use in [step 5](/docs/get-started/first-screen/assign-your-playlist/) to send a playlist to this specific screen without having to set anything else up.

## Next

Your screen is connected and waiting. Next, [put something in your content library](/docs/get-started/first-screen/upload-your-first-content/).