Use a Raspberry Pi Pico to Build Your Own Affordable Stream Deck

Streaming has exploded in popularity over the past few years, particularly video game streaming on services like Twitch. While it may seem like Twitch streamers are just playing a video game while people watch, there is actually a lot more that goes into the art. Streamers have to control their videos and interact with viewers at the same time that they’re playing games. Most are essentially acting as their own producers and are editing their video stream in real time. The Elgato Stream Deck and similar devices help make that process easier, but they can be expensive. That’s why Peter Gallagher designed an affordable Stream Deck alternative around the new Raspberry Pi Pico.

The Elgato Stream Deck is a handy auxiliary keyboard that streamers can connect to their computers in order to streamline the control of their channel and computer. It has 15 individual keys, each of which has its own LCD screen. Those keys can be customized for functions like controlling the microphone volume, toggling webcam video, responding to chat messages, and much more. Gallagher’s DIY version doesn’t have LCD keys, but most of the other functionality remains. It gives you 12 keys that can be programmed to launch software, control your stream, and anything else you can imagine. The code provided by Gallagher performs a keyboard shortcut when a key is pressed, which ensures compatibility with a huge range of software.

This keypad is built around the new Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller development board, which was chosen because it is very affordable at just $4 and because it can be configured to act as a USB HID keyboard when plugged into a computer. It also has plenty of IO pins to work with, which allows 12 key switches and 12 LEDs to be connected. You can use point-to-point wiring if you want, but Gallagher has designed a custom PCB that is much tidier. That contains the Pico, the key switches, the LEDs, and two resistor pack ICs. It’s compatible with Cherry MX key switches, so you can get exactly the feel you want. The PCB is housed within a minimalist 3D-printed enclosure. You can either 3D-print the custom key caps or use a key cap set of your choice. The code is written in CircuitPython and is easy to configure and then upload to the Pico. The total cost to build this Pico Streamdeck should be less than $20, which is far more affordable than the $150 Elgato Stream Deck.