How good does my wifi have to be?

A guide explaining that Shade works well on standard internet connections.

Shade is designed to work effectively across a wide range of internet connections. You don't need a perfect connection to use most of Shade's powerful features. Here's what you need to know about internet requirements for Shade.

Most Shade features work great on standard connections

Even with modest internet speeds (under 50 Mbps), you can still effectively use most of Shade's core features:

• Playing back the web proxy

• Sharing with external collaborators

• Reviewing and leaving comments

• Creating collections

• Managing and editing metadata

• Generating transcriptions and AI metadata

These features are optimized to perform well even when your connection isn't blazing fast.

Uploads and downloads

Uploading and downloading files directly from the webapp (outside of the ShadeFS mount) will work at whatever speed your internet connection provides. These operations will complete successfully regardless of connection speed—they'll just take proportionally longer on slower connections.

ShadeFS considerations

The ShadeFS mount is where internet speed becomes more important. Since ShadeFS works by streaming bytes of media files on demand as you access them in your file explorer or NLE, connection quality directly impacts performance.

For optimal experience with ShadeFS, especially when working with high-resolution media, we recommend:

• A stable connection of at least 250 Mbps for working with 4K 8-bit video

• Ideally, a wired gigabit ethernet connection for the most consistent performance

Working with fluctuating connections

If you experience fluctuating performance during playback, Shade provides a solution: you can pin files offline through the Shade app. Pinning videos performs a full download to your local cache, allowing you to work with them smoothly regardless of connection quality.

The bottom line

Shade is built to be flexible across various internet environments. While a faster, more stable connection will enhance the ShadeFS experience, the majority of Shade's functionality remains highly usable even on standard connections. You don't need perfect internet to get great value from Shade.