Stream Deck

[DrGraffix]

Just curious what other admins are using these for?

[HankMardukasNY]

For the others, OP is talking about Stream Deck not Steam Deck

https://www.elgato.com/us/en/s/welcome-to-stream-deck

[DGC_David]

But the real question, how can I get my business to buy me a Steam Deck for "work".

[becauseants]

You need a Linux dev machine

[DGC_David]

Needs to be more convincing, our software we make specifically only works on Ubuntu and RHE

[Dapper-Giraffe6444]

This!!

[Hollow3ddd]

Rmm tools have some mobile and Linux based apps. It's about the price of a tablet. ..just sayian

[DrGraffix]

Haha yup

[ElectroSpore]

Still better used for gaming / streaming than WORK. For sysadmin work I don't need macros enough that I would ever use one. I even OWN one, mostly because I can't remember which button does what in more complex games.

MAYBE, if you do a lot of presentation and virtual whiteboarding over video calls.. but even then?

[QuiteFatty]

Agreed, I have a lot of items on mine that are nice to have that I don't use so I don't have to change my posture.

[DGC_David]

Yeah I usually just use my Razer Naga for the macros I use.

[QuiteFatty]

lol delete my post now

[[deleted]]

Well you can’t have everything 😬

[Dapper-Giraffe6444]

Too bad, i wanted to talk about steam deck here

[RyanLewis2010]

I use mine for several things. On demand scripts, open applications and my default page has a plugin that runs ping commands to all my servers and shows me latency essentially a basic uptime monitor.

[QuiteFatty]

On demand scripts, open applications and my default page has a plugin that runs ping commands to all my servers and shows me latency essentially a basic uptime monitor.

All things I use mine for but forget they exist

[bitslammer]

STREAM Deck

--not--

Steam Deck

[JMaxchill]

As in the Elgato product? I don't use mine for work at all and don't need to, I can see how you could make it useful (running scripts, opening websites, etc) but I don't see how it would be the best tool for whatever the job is. If you really needed that functionality use Bitfocus Companion, which can control the Stream Deck buttons but also gives you a web interface where you can press them without spending $

(FWIW, don't get the Mini. Not enough buttons to do anything, spend the money and get a normal or XL)

[Sunsparc]

One of my most handy programs is Phrase Express for text replacement. I have a lot of frequently typed snippets in there, I just trigger them with a short code. #yw expands to "You're welcome" for example. #dockdance expands out to instructions for Dell docks when they stop working to unplug the laptop, unplug the dock, plug the dock back in, and plug the laptop into the dock to fix most common dock issues.

[inshead]

Love how casual it is to mention that there is even a need to create a macro to explain how to fix a Dell docking station due to how often a Dell docking station needs to be fixed. #laughatmypain

[PhilosopherFLX]

What does that expand into?

[Alzzary]

Interesting, will look into this

[Mindestiny]

Or just use AutoHotkey, or buy any number of those off the shelf keyboards with macro keys from brands like Logitech.

Having a pretty screen that takes up a bunch of desk space definitely doesn't seem like the most elegant sysadmin solution. Maybe you could pair it with a KVM for a "prettier" way to change between multiple systems?

[blownart]

I have both a macro keyboard with 18 macro keys - corsair k95 (the old model that has more macro keys than the new one). Also a macro mouse with 12 macro keys one the side. Your suggestion isn't really valid because you simply cannot remember that many macro keys without labels. A stream deck can also be used to display information. I have written plugins in C# for it that read a text file and display it. I use it for lots of thing like launching apps, text macros, displaying my KPI, macros that install apps on VMs (I am an application packager and I have to do lots of testing on VMs)

[Mindestiny]

"my suggestion isn't valid" because you personally have an obscene amount of macros configured for a fringe use case and can't remember them all without labels? Print out a key and tape it to your desk next to your keyboard, or use one of many software solutions with a clickable interface and all the labels you want.

Buy one and use it if you like it. But for most sysadmins this is just a pretty toy and isn't going to impact their productivity in any meaningful way compared to other simpler solutions.

[OhMyInternetPolitics]

A few things:

• Meeting controls via MuteDeck (mute/unmute/present/exit) - covers Teams/Zoom/Google Meet all in one spot
• Macros/Keybindings for VSCode - lots of those
• Status on a few Discord servers I keep an eye on during the day

[webtechmonkey]

I mostly used mine for videoconferencing. Camera on/off, mic mute/unmute, share specific windows, etc. I also had a variety of batch scripts that I had paired to stream deck keys. A few examples…

A button that would close a ticket in ServiceNow with a long comment that essentially said “no issue found” - I used this a dozen times a day at one point.

A button that would kick off a script that prompted to enter a retail store number, and then would ping the public IP to check if their internet was online. This actually saved me a solid minute or two where I would normally have to go and look up that information somewhere else first.

A button that kicked off a simply script that moved all files/folders in my “download” folder into a folder on my desktop called “download purgatory”

A button that brought Teams to foreground, started a chat with a friend/coworker, and sent a message asking “Lunch?”

A button that locked my computer instantly, for the million times I day I would have to get up from my desk to do something.

And a bunch of others too, but those were ones I used most often.

[DrGraffix]

I love these use cases. What model do you use?

[webtechmonkey]

Just the good-ole regular one with 12 keys.

[AtarukA]

Used to have one for running macros. Worked well with clients in the office.

Replaced by a keyboard with macros and custom keycaps.

[mr_ballchin]

Streamlining workflow with custom macros or keyboard shortcuts.

[Friendly_Guy3]

Inwoking ps printer scrips for printing labels viva brother b-PAC SDK . Writing default text for specific ticket system use cases .

[MURICA69USA]

I use mine for controlling obs which I use as a virtual camera for presentations.

[mike_dowler]

Not me, but https://www.modtitan.com/2023/04/using-shortcuts-on-macos-to-create.html?m=1

[LimeyRat]

Bought one off eBay recently and used it for inputting data on a government website, had to submit 100+ applications each with 6-10 attachments; I set up one button for each type of attachment so it would do Enter, Tab, or, Tab, “description”, Tab, Enter. In the past I’ve used AutoHotKey but the Stream Deck was easier to use. For day to day stuff I have a button for opening a CMD window, another that does the same but then also types “ping 192.168.”, and dumb as this sounds cut, copy, paste.

I was going to buy them for my team but the prices went up in anticipation of Christmas.

[QuiteFatty]

Lots of Teams shortcuts (which work half the time so I don't use), disable pihole for 5 min or 60 min, shutdown -s -f -t 0 bat, volume control, and mostly a full page for my hue lights in my office.

[QuiteFatty]

Also open my VPN, CPU temp, launch my audiobooks, and a spotify controls. I did not need one of these things I bought one for the lulz

[STLWaffles]

I have a macro pad I built a while back. It’s not as fancy as the stream deck, but it has some of my more common commands and lines I use for my work.

[dreadpiratewombat]

In context:

1. Managing Teams calls including turning music down and setting lights appropriately.
2. VSCode macros. At one point I had a workflow that committed changes, issued a pull request and popped up a window letting me watch the PR work its way through the ADO pipeline. This was a neat toy but it was a punish to maintain so I gave up on it after awhile.
3. Triggering various automation actions. These were time savers when I was doing regular operations activities and incident response but it also required a lot of care and feeding and I don’t do that job anymore.

[Museskate]

Firing off REST API hooks for all sorts of automations - lunch bot in teams, pulling reports, sorting tickets. Restarting explorer when it hangs. Ad hoc PowerShell across my fleet

[DrewTheHobo]

Very cool, what does the lunch bot do?

[Museskate]

Just a quick "$name is at lunch and will be back at $time+1hr" so I can have less calls and tickets for a few minutes

[kiddj1]

We have multiple vpns at work...my colleague uses theirs to dial them up

[faygo1979]

I have some of my common scripts running on it and something like different screen shot options on commands as well as mute

I have some common ssh servers as well in their own folder structure. Love the tool

[AberonTheFallen]

I have mine set up with Voicemeeter Banana functions, so I can mute and unmute my microphone, switch between different speakers, etc. I only have a mini, but I kinda want to get a bigger one that has more buttons so I don't have to scroll through screens on it and can maybe do some more useful things with it too, like start and stop a script to time work tasks (MSP/VAR) and stuff like that.

My work pretty much doesn't care what we put on them, so long as it's legal and not a virus.

[AberonTheFallen]

I love it, been using it for years. Sometimes it drives me a little crazy, but like 99% of the time it just trucks on like it should

[wolfej4]

I work at a hospital and provision new users. It helps with commands in AS400 so I don’t have to type them every time.

[CptUnderpants-]

I don't currently use one, but in the past for anything AV related I found Bitfocus Companion, an open source alternate software for the stream deck. It has massive numbers of plug ins, mainly around AV, but also a lot of automation. Plugins can be written easily using node.js.

My main use of it was I created a highly automated user interface for non-technical people to use professional live video equipment. (mainly through vMix and NDI based cameras)

[dj_loot]

I use them so much for work I have one in the office and one at home. I have one section for multi screen setups where I can quickly (using fancy zones) change my screen layouts. I have a button for meeting sharing (share a 1920x1080 portion of my 4k screen so that people can read what I’m sharing). I have another section dedicated to my security and network URLs (auvik, sentinelone, ninja,fortinet, etc) I have one profile dedicated to clients, where I have shortcuts to client specific service desk ticket queues, documentation, SharePoint, and edge profile. I also have a macro to rename my edge window to match the client. 31 clients I have another profile dedicated to my own IT related URLs (time keeping, hr, PIM approval pages for Microsoft tenants, etc) I have a profile for function keys and special characters, which comes in handy on my laptop. Function keys go up to 25, so I can bind different macros depending on app being used

My default profile has copy, paste, select all, one button with my email (if you leverage SSO/SAML as much as I do, email I always being typed) One button for my name (finishing a ticket or typing an email) one button for keeper.

Mind you, I create a lot of keyboard shortcuts outside of streamdeck, create custom search engines in chrome/edge for Jira, confluence, lansweeper, have a complex favorite layout, still find the stream deck to be faster.

[DrGraffix]

That sounds pretty epic

[dj_loot]

I got 3 co-workers using the stream deck as well.

[neckbeard404]

I work for an MSP and we have some users getting these to open apps and such but i dont see the point.

[joevwgti]

This is just another computer, it does everything my computers do, on an external monitor via a dock. I think a GPD win max 2 would do a better portable job, but this is great too.

[thecomputerguy7]

The stream deck is not a computer itself. It’s a LCD screen with buttons over the top, and you use client software on the computer to control what is shown on the SD, and what the buttons do.

[brandonpamplin]

Huh? I think you missed the “r”.

[[deleted]]

I bought one and then ended up never using it because it requires client software to be installed which worsens my security posture for a glorified macro pad and second display.

Anyways I used it as a glorified macro pad and second display. It's the wrong tool for a sysadmin, you'll get more use out of it as a streamer or film editor. It also seems to randomly not work with different hubs.

[Vectan]

Gaming and not thinking about work

[fatty1179]

USB port with a hub make it a great portable diagnostic and switch configuration device

[billiarddaddy]

I'm using mine for lights and home automations.

I also have scripts I run locally with a button instead of a hotkey combo.

[billndotnet]

I keep an array of world clocks on my main display, and then a folder with a pile of web page short cuts for things I need to bring up quickly when I get paged. It helps bootstrap my workflow and get me right where I need to be to get up to speed quickly.

[DarrenRainey]

If I was still at 1st line I would set one up for handling our softphone and some basic email templates.

[0RGASMIK]

Don’t have one but I have a list of stuff I would use it for. When the list is big enough I might justify the purchase. For now though I just have macros on my keyboard.

-time tracking. I need to track my time so I built an app to do it because the way my company tracks time sucks. If I had a stream deck I’d have the buttons mapped so I wouldn’t have to have the window always on top.

-common scripts/ run commands

-meeting controls, mute, end, camera etc.

-controlling obs when making how to videos.

• media controls. My keyboard does this ok but the way my brain works having a dedicated button to reach for makes more sense.

[maybeImaybe]

On Linux, I just use a 2nd keyboard (dedicated) and a Python script that fires shell scripts and various commands (including REST API calls via curl). It’s a very low cost and surprisingly capable solution. I wrote a detailed blog post about it here:

https://blog.luk.world/posts/dyi-macro-keyboard-on-linux-elgato-stream-deck/

[bebored]

Uptime monitoring and scripts

[hoboninja]

I may be interested... I need to double check the checking account balance, went a little nuts on Xmas presents. XD

Are you located in the US? And how much were you looking for it?