Sidearm

Halo Labs' Windows app: it records your matches and runs Sitrep, a live board of who's alive, over Halo Infinite.

Sidearm is Halo Labs' app for your PC. It sits in the tray, starts with Halo Infinite, and does three things:

  • Sitrep reads the match off your screen and draws over the game: a board of who's alive on each team (blue pips count down to a respawn), a kill log of whom you killed and who killed you, and a status pill under the score. It reads the kill feed with a reader trained on Halo's own HUD, never the game's memory, files or network traffic, and its overlays are hidden from recordings.
  • Recording saves each match as a video of its own, in Videos\Sidearm\Halo Infinite, when Record Automatically is on (it's off until you turn it on). Uploading recordings to Halo Labs is coming; until then they stay on your PC.
  • Playing Now on Halo Labs shows you while Halo Infinite is open, so members can find someone to play with.

Its window, the menu over the game and a Stream Deck all drive the same settings: Recording, Sitrep, the crosshair and a Gigabyte M28U monitor.

Signing in

Sidearm signs in to Halo Labs by a code, the way a TV signs in to an app: you never type a password into it.

  1. In Sidearm, choose Sign In. It shows an eight-letter code and opens Halo Labs' Sign In a Device page in your browser.
  2. Sign in with Xbox there if you aren't already. The first time, you add your email (see Your Account).
  3. Check the code matches the one in Sidearm, and choose Approve.

Sidearm picks up your gamertag from your account, so Sitrep knows which team is yours and which pip is you. The code lasts 10 minutes. If you didn't start a sign-in, choose Deny.

To sign a PC out, choose Sign Out in Sidearm, or Remove it on your Profile's Devices (see Your Account). Removing it signs it out at once. A signed-in Sidearm stays signed in while it's used at least once every 30 days.

Playing Now

Playing Now (Sidearm on the rail, then Playing Now) lists every member who has Sidearm running with Halo Infinite open.

  • Searching for a match comes first, with the playlist, their rank and how full their fireteam is.
  • In a match comes next, with the mode and map Sitrep read.
  • The For column says how long they've been at it.

Sidearm says what it's doing as soon as that changes, and checks in every 5 minutes as well. Closing it takes you off the list right away.

Updates

Sidearm updates itself: it looks for a new version when it starts and every 6 hours, downloads it in the background, and installs it only while no game is running. Check for Updates in its tray menu or window looks straight away. Changelog (Sidearm on the rail) says what changed in each version.

Who else is on Halo Labs

During a match, Sitrep asks Halo Labs which players on the board are members, and marks their pips. Halo Labs only says which names are members and whether their Sidearm is running, never who they are on the site.

Getting started

  • Setup: download it, sign it in, and the Halo settings that make Sitrep accurate.
  • Troubleshooting: when signing in, Sitrep or recording doesn't work.