Decky: An Open-Source 7-Inch Touch Shortcut Panel — DIY Your Own Stream Deck Alternative

Build Your Own Open-Source Stream Deck Alternative from Scratch

Streamers, content creators, and developers are no strangers to the Stream Deck — a customizable shortcut panel that lets you trigger hotkeys, launch apps, and execute scripts with a single tap, dramatically boosting productivity. However, Elgato's official products don't come cheap, and the software/hardware ecosystem is largely closed off. Recently, a developer shared an open-source project called Decky on Reddit: a fully self-contained Stream Deck alternative built around a 7-inch touchscreen and 3D-printed enclosure.

The project's core philosophy is straightforward: no complex wiring, open-source and customizable, and cost-effective. The entire solution consists of three components — firmware, a desktop configuration app, and CAD structural files — all hosted in a GitHub repository where anyone can download, print, flash, and start using it.

Decky Hardware Design: Touch to Operate, All Parts Print Support-Free

Decky is built around the Elecrow CrowPanel 7-inch development board — a ready-made screen module featuring an ESP32-S3 chip with capacitive touch. The key reason for choosing this board: it requires zero additional wiring. Users interact directly with the glass surface, eliminating the need for mechanical buttons, soldering, or cable management.

The screen uses a 5×3 grid layout, fitting 15 function keys per page — comparable to mainstream Stream Deck button density.

On the structural side, the author demonstrates a deep understanding of 3D printing workflows:

• Every part except the display is 3D printed, and each component is designed to print support-free, minimizing material waste and improving surface quality
• The panel mounts beneath a monitor via a magnetic printed bracket, with a GoPro-style ball joint for angle adjustment
• Beyond the panel itself, only a few magnets and screws are needed to complete assembly

This design philosophy significantly lowers the DIY barrier — no complex machining required. A standard desktop 3D printer and a single development board are all you need to replicate the entire build.

Software Features: From Hotkeys to PowerShell Scripts

Decky's software layer is where it truly competes with commercial products. The feature set is impressively comprehensive:

Rich Trigger Types

• Hotkeys: One-tap simulation of keyboard shortcuts
• Launch apps and websites: Quickly open applications or web pages
• Macros: Chain multiple actions for automated execution
• PowerShell scripts: Invoke system-level scripts directly — especially useful for Windows users

Multi-Page and State Management

Decky supports multi-page switching, breaking through the physical limit of 15 keys per page. It also offers toggle keys, allowing different icons to be assigned to OFF and ON states — so users can instantly see the current state of a function at a glance. Classic use cases include microphone mute and lighting toggles.

USB Wired and Encrypted Wi-Fi Dual Connectivity

Decky offers two connection modes:

1. USB wired connection: Plug-and-play, stable and reliable
2. Encrypted Wi-Fi connection: Wireless use after pairing, with encrypted communication for both convenience and security

Also worth highlighting is the firmware maintenance experience — firmware installation and updates can both be done via USB through the desktop app, with no need to touch embedded development toolchains like PlatformIO. This dramatically lowers the barrier for non-hardware developers and is arguably the deciding factor for many users who want to try the project without embedded development experience.

Open-Source Ecosystem and Project Resources

All project resources are now available for download:

• Firmware source code
• Windows desktop configuration app
• CAD design files
• 3MF print files

The repository is at github.com/Fenish/decky. The author acknowledges the project is still under active development and welcomes community feedback and ideas.

From a technical standpoint, the clever part of this project lies in leveraging mature, off-the-shelf components: the ESP32-S3 is one of the most popular embedded platforms, with a rich community ecosystem and low cost; the CrowPanel integrates the display, touch, and microcontroller into one unit, avoiding the significant effort of designing a custom PCB. The developer focused their energy on firmware logic, the desktop configuration software, and structural design refinement — a pragmatic and well-grounded approach to open-source hardware engineering.

The Unique Value of the Decky Open-Source Shortcut Panel

Projects like Decky matter for more than just "saving money on a replacement." For the maker community, they represent an open paradigm for integrated hardware and software:

• Highly customizable: Functionality isn't limited by a vendor — users can modify firmware logic and interface layouts as needed
• Long-term maintainability: Even if the original author stops updating, the community can pick it up and continue iterating
• Strong learning value: The complete codebase and CAD files serve as an excellent hands-on tutorial for embedded and desktop application development

Of course, as a personal open-source project, there's still room to grow in terms of stability, documentation completeness, and cross-platform support (the desktop app currently supports Windows only). But for developers and creators who love tinkering and want a fully personalized workflow, Decky offers a low-barrier, completely self-controlled option.

If you have a 3D printer on hand and are frustrated with the price or closed nature of commercial shortcut panels, this open-source project is well worth a serious look.