deckd

A lightweight Linux daemon for macro-key decks, with a web UI for editing pages and actions. It was built for Elgato Stream Deck hardware and runs the same Elgato-format plugins (.sdPlugin) the official app uses, without the official app.

deckd is an independent project. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Elgato or Corsair. "Stream Deck" is a trademark of Corsair Memory, Inc.

Features

• Elgato plugin host: runs Node.js, HTML and native .sdPlugin plugins over the Stream Deck SDK WebSocket protocol, with their property inspectors (settings panels) inside deckd's UI. Plugins start only when one of their actions is visible.
• Web UI at http://127.0.0.1:28196: a mirror of the deck at its real proportions, drag-and-drop pages and actions, an icon library (Iconify sets and .streamDeckIconPacks), and plugin install/removal.
• Built-in actions that need no plugin process: switch page, run command, dial commands, brightness, audio volume (PulseAudio/PipeWire), clock, now-playing and media keys (MPRIS), MangoHud stats and an auto-clicker.
• Several actions per key or dial, each bound to any mix of press, tap, double tap, hold, long press, turn (either way, left or right), touch and long touch. An action with nothing picked gets whatever the others don't use.
• Automatic page switching by focused window (class, title or "any Steam game") on Hyprland.
• StreamController import: deckd import-streamcontroller converts your pages.

Tested on a Stream Deck+; the other models supported by the elgato-streamdeck crate should work too.

Requirements

• Linux, Rust 1.85+ (edition 2024) to build
• Access to the deck's hidraw node: install the udev rule below
• Node.js ≥ 22 for Node plugins (or set DECKD_NODE)
• Optional: pactl (volume), busctl (now playing), hyprctl / Hyprland (auto page switching), curl (icon set downloads), MangoHud, gjs with WebKitGTK 6 (HTML plugins that need a real browser), Wine (Windows-only plugins)

Install

Releases have prebuilt binaries for x86_64 and aarch64 (glibc 2.35 or newer); each tarball holds deckd and the dist/ files used below. To build it yourself instead:

cargo build --release
install -Dm755 target/release/deckd ~/.local/bin/deckd

# Let your user open the deck (and /dev/uinput, for auto-click) without root
sudo install -m644 dist/70-deckd.rules /etc/udev/rules.d/
sudo udevadm control --reload && sudo udevadm trigger

# Run it with your graphical session
install -Dm644 dist/deckd.service ~/.config/systemd/user/deckd.service
systemctl --user enable --now deckd

Then open http://127.0.0.1:28196.

Usage

deckd                          run the daemon
deckd devices                  list connected decks
deckd install PATH...          install .streamDeckPlugin files or .sdPlugin folders
deckd import-streamcontroller [DIR] [--columns N]
                               import pages from StreamController
deckd preview SERIAL PAGE OUT.png
                               render a Stream Deck+ page to an image

Plugins can also be installed from the UI: Plugins → Install plugin or icon pack… for a file, or paste a download link. deckd install accepts links too. Plugins sold on the Elgato Marketplace with DRM can't be loaded; ask the author for a plain build.

Plugin sources

A plugin source is a list of plugins someone publishes. Add one under Plugins → Plugin sources and its plugins show up there with Install and Update buttons. A source can be:

• a link to an index.json, or
• a GitHub repository (https://github.com/<owner>/<repo>), which stands for the index.json attached to its latest release.

To publish your own, put the packages and an index.json next to each other, for example as release assets:

{
  "name": "My plugins",
  "homepage": "https://example.com",
  "plugins": [
    {
      "uuid": "com.example.thing",
      "name": "Thing",
      "version": "1.2.0",
      "author": "You",
      "description": "What it does",
      "icon": "data:image/svg+xml;base64,…",
      "url": "com.example.thing.streamDeckPlugin",
      "sha256": "…"
    }
  ]
}

url can be relative to the index. When sha256 is given, deckd refuses a download that doesn't match it. Plugins you've linked into the plugins folder for development are marked "linked" and are never replaced by a source. deckd-plugins has a script that builds the index, and a release workflow that publishes both.

Configuration

Everything lives under ~/.config/deckd/ (override with DECKD_CONFIG):

settings.json                        global settings
profiles/<serial>/profile.json       per-device settings (default page, brightness)
profiles/<serial>/pages/<name>.json  one file per page
plugins/                             installed plugins (symlinks work)
plugin-data/<uuid>.json              plugins' global settings
logs/<uuid>.log                      plugin output

Variable	Default
DECKD_PORT	28196	HTTP/WebSocket port
DECKD_CONFIG	~/.config/deckd	configuration directory
DECKD_NODE	node on PATH	Node.js binary for plugins
RUST_LOG	deckd=info	log level

Security

deckd listens on 127.0.0.1 only and has no login. Anything that can open a local connection as your user can run commands through it, the same as any other process you run. Requests a web browser makes on behalf of other websites are refused: the Host header must be a loopback name and any Origin must be deckd's own UI.

Plugins

deckd-plugins has plugins made alongside deckd: OBS Studio, Discord voice, Elgato Key Lights, Hyprland shaders, server monitoring (Prometheus and service health), qBittorrent and Claude Code usage.

Writing plugins

Any Elgato SDK plugin works. .claude/skills/deckd-plugin-dev/ has a guide, a dependency-free Node template (scripts/new-plugin.sh), the protocol as deckd implements it, and notes on adding built-in actions in Rust.

License

MIT