# Elgato Stream Deck

14 Hacker News commenters recommended Elgato Stream Deck and 7 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 7 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** People recommend it as a programmable button pad for shortcuts, window control and coding, but critics find the software bloated.

## Why people recommend it

- Quick shortcuts for apps and windows (3 comments): "I own 3 stream decks, and they are incredibly useful. Not only for coding, but windows controlling, shortcuts for anything." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48923707)) "I have a stream deck that touches my keyboard so that I can quickly press a button" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50282972)) "It saves about 1 second, but really makes a huge difference." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48865262))
- Usable without looking at it (2 comments): "The Stream Deck can easily be used without looking." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46594521)) "so it feels mostly handsoff the keyboard" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47042518))
- Buttons with LCD screens (2 comments): "its a good bit cheaper and each button has a little screen on it" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48923688)) "$130, with LCD sceens, works with any apps" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48926833))
- Popular and widely recommended (2 comments): "the stream deck is popular for a reason" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46590305)) "StreamDeck exists for a reason" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48001055))

## What people warn about

- Software seen as buggy or bloated (2 comments): "the current software did not work as spected" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49567156)) "replacement for the bloated StreamDeck app" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45875667))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Codex Micro](https://hackerapproved.com/p/codex-micro.md): 13 recommend
- [Griffin PowerMate](https://hackerapproved.com/p/griffin-powermate.md): 6 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Elgato+Stream+Deck&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Official site](https://www.elgato.com/us/en/p/stream-deck)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Elgato Stream Deck", https://hackerapproved.com/p/elgato-stream-deck/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).