Stream Deck Plugin Development Learning Projects

Stream Deck Plugin Development Learning Projects

Master Stream Deck plugin development from beginner to expert through hands-on projects that build real, useful tools.

This learning path takes you from your first “Hello World” plugin to building a complete automation suite ready for the Elgato Marketplace. Each project builds on the previous, introducing new concepts while reinforcing foundations.

Learning Path Overview

                              YOUR LEARNING JOURNEY
                              =====================

   BEGINNER                    INTERMEDIATE                    ADVANCED
   ────────                    ────────────                    ────────
       │                            │                              │
       ▼                            ▼                              ▼
┌─────────────┐            ┌─────────────┐               ┌─────────────┐
│  Project 1  │            │  Project 3  │               │  Project 5  │
│  Pomodoro   │──────────► │ Smart Home  │─────────────► │ Soundboard  │
│   Timer     │            │ Controller  │               │ + Waveform  │
└─────────────┘            └─────────────┘               └─────────────┘
       │                          ▲                            │
       │                          │                            │
       ▼                          │                            ▼
┌─────────────┐            ┌─────────────┐               ┌─────────────┐
│  Project 2  │            │  Project 4  │               │  CAPSTONE   │
│   System    │──────────► │Productivity │               │   Macro     │
│  Monitor    │            │  Tracker    │               │   Suite     │
└─────────────┘            └─────────────┘               └─────────────┘

   Core SDK                  External APIs                 Expert-Level
   Fundamentals              & Persistence                 Integration

Stream Deck Plugin Development Learning Journey

Project Index

# Project Difficulty Time Key Skills
1 Personal Pomodoro Timer Beginner Weekend Plugin lifecycle, dynamic images, settings
2 System Monitor Dashboard Beginner-Intermediate 1 week Multi-action plugins, polling, canvas rendering
3 Smart Home Controller Intermediate 1-2 weeks WebSocket clients, bidirectional sync, OAuth
4 Productivity Metrics Tracker Intermediate 1-2 weeks Data persistence, aggregation, mini-charts
5 Custom Soundboard with Waveform Advanced 2-3 weeks Audio playback, FFT analysis, real-time animation
6 Macro Automation Suite (Capstone) Expert 1 month+ Cross-platform scripting, state machines, distribution

Why This Learning Path?

Stream Deck plugin development teaches skills that transfer to:

Stream Deck Skill Transfers To
WebSocket communication Real-time apps, chat systems, live data feeds
Event-driven architecture Node.js, Electron, browser extensions
Manifest-based configuration VS Code extensions, Chrome extensions
Property Inspector UIs Embedded web views, Electron panels
Dynamic image rendering Canvas APIs, data visualization
Plugin lifecycle management Any plugin/extension ecosystem
  1. Project 1 (Pomodoro Timer) - Core fundamentals
  2. Project 2 (System Monitor) - Multi-action architecture
  3. Project 3 (Smart Home) - External API integration
  4. Project 4 (Productivity Tracker) - Data persistence
  5. Project 5 (Soundboard) - Advanced rendering
  6. Capstone - Synthesis and distribution

Path B: Fast Track to Useful Plugins

  1. Project 1 (Pomodoro Timer) - Learn the basics
  2. Project 3 (Smart Home) - Control your devices
  3. Project 5 (Soundboard) - Impress your friends

Path C: Focus on Data & Monitoring

  1. Project 1 (Pomodoro Timer) - Learn the basics
  2. Project 2 (System Monitor) - Real-time data
  3. Project 4 (Productivity Tracker) - Persistence & visualization

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:

  • Hardware: Any Stream Deck device (Stream Deck Mini, Standard, XL, or +)
  • Software: Stream Deck app v6.9+, Node.js v20+
  • Languages: Intermediate JavaScript/TypeScript
  • Tools: VS Code (recommended), terminal familiarity

Quick Start

# Install the Stream Deck CLI
npm install -g @elgato/cli

# Verify installation
streamdeck --version

# Create your first plugin (Project 1)
streamdeck create

Architecture Reference

All projects share this fundamental architecture:

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                        STREAM DECK APPLICATION                        │
│  ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │                     Plugin Manager                              │  │
│  │   • Spawns one process per plugin at startup                   │  │
│  │   • Establishes WebSocket connection with each plugin          │  │
│  │   • Routes events to appropriate plugins                       │  │
│  └──────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────────┘  │
│                                 │                                     │
└─────────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────┘
                                  │ WebSocket
                                  ▼
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                          YOUR PLUGIN                                  │
│                                                                       │
│   ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐    │
│   │                      BACKEND (Node.js)                       │    │
│   │   • Long-running process                                     │    │
│   │   • Handles all action logic                                 │    │
│   │   • Manages state & timers                                   │    │
│   │   • Calls external APIs                                      │    │
│   │   • Updates key images                                       │    │
│   └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘    │
│                                                                       │
│   ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐    │
│   │                   PROPERTY INSPECTOR (HTML)                  │    │
│   │   • Web view for configuration                               │    │
│   │   • Opens when user clicks action                            │    │
│   │   • Renders settings form                                    │    │
│   │   • Communicates with backend via SDK                        │    │
│   └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘    │
│                                                                       │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Stream Deck Plugin Architecture

Essential Resources

Official Documentation

| Topic | Book | Key Chapters | |——-|——|————–| | Event-driven patterns | Node.js Design Patterns by Casciaro & Mammino | Ch. 3, 5, 11 | | Canvas rendering | HTML5 Canvas by Steve Fulton | Ch. 2-5 | | State machines | The Pragmatic Programmer by Hunt & Thomas | Topic 26 | | TypeScript mastery | Effective TypeScript by Vanderkam | Items 29-37, 46 |

npm Packages You’ll Use

  • @elgato/streamdeck - Official SDK
  • canvas (node-canvas) - Image generation
  • systeminformation - System metrics
  • ws - WebSocket client
  • date-fns - Date manipulation
  • axios - HTTP requests

Getting Help

Start with Project 1: Personal Pomodoro Timer to begin your journey!