Stream Deck is a line of tactile control pads for Mac and PC made by Elgato, first released in March 2017. Each device presents a grid of customizable LCD keys that display their own icons and trigger app actions, multi-step macros, audio controls, and platform integrations at a single press.
Built originally for live streamers — with deep OBS, 📝Twitch, and 📝YouTube integration — the line has grown into a general desktop-automation controller backed by hundreds of plugins. The hardware family spans the Stream Deck Mini (2018, six keys), Stream Deck XL (2019, 32 keys), Stream Deck MK.2 (2021, 15 keys with interchangeable faceplates), and Stream Deck Neo (2024, eight keys plus an LCD infobar), covering desk setups from compact to studio-scale.
I use my Stream Deck every 2-3 minutes every hour I'm at my computer. I have different profiles of buttons associated with different applications, and they load as soon as I make that application my active window.
I use it for:
- Computer Control - shortcuts to change audio inputs, camera angles and tracking, lighting, etc.
- Coding Efficiency - shortcuts to create and navigate directories and sessions, start and close branches, utilizing saved commands and prompts (many of which are attached to specific scripts).
- Emailing Efficiency - shortcuts for specific actions in 📝Missive, my mailbox, that maximizes the use of hotkeys without having to remember all of the hotkeys.
Key Features
- Customizable LCD keys — every key shows its own icon and label and can fire a single action or a multi-step macro.
- Plugin ecosystem — hundreds of integrations spanning OBS, Twitch, YouTube, audio tools, smart lighting, and productivity apps.
- Per-app profiles — key layouts that switch with the active application, so the same hardware drives different tools.
- Model range — Mini, MK.2, XL, and Neo trade key count and footprint across the same software platform.