Stream32

An open-source stream deck powered by ESP32.

Why Stream32?

Stream32 is a DIY stream deck built around the accessible and versatile ESP32 platform. The goal is a device you can build, understand, repair, and adapt to your own workflow, without proprietary hardware or software lock-in.

You buy an off-the-shelf touch display, flash it from the desktop app, and lay out pages of keys that launch apps, press hotkeys, run multi-step actions, and more. Everything needed to reproduce and modify the project lives here in the open.

Project status

Note

Stream32 is usable today. The desktop app ships installers for Windows, macOS, and Linux, and supports two off-the-shelf touch displays. Custom open-hardware designs (schematics, BOM, and enclosures) are still on the roadmap.

Getting started

1. Pick a supported display. See Buying a display.
2. Install the desktop app. Download the latest build for your operating system from the releases page.
3. Flash the firmware. Connect the board over USB and let the app download and flash the matching firmware.
4. Build your deck. Add pages and keys, then assign actions.

The Getting started guide walks through each step, including the USB and power requirements for each board.

Supported hardware

Display	Screen	Deck size	Notes
Waveshare ESP32-S3-Touch-LCD-4	480x480, 4"	up to 5x5, 8 pages	Rev 3.0 only (not Rev 4 or the 4.3" board)
Elecrow CrowPanel Advanced 10.1" ESP32-P4	1024x600, 10.1"	up to 40 keys/page, 8 pages	UART0 carries power and data; USB 2.0 is optional supplemental power

Purchase links and buying tips are in Buying a display. Firmware, flashing, and the USB protocol are documented in boards/README.md.

Documentation

Guide	For	What it covers
Getting started	Users	Install, flash, and set up your first deck
Buying a display	Users	Which board to buy and what to avoid
Waveshare Rev 3 power-button bypass	Waveshare owners	Optional automatic power-on hardware modification
Decks and profiles	Users	Profiles, focused-app switching, editing, Multi Actions
Action plugins	Users and authors	Installing, publishing, and writing action plugins
Companion surfaces	Users	Driving a deck from Bitfocus Companion over the Satellite API
Board support	Contributors	Firmware builds, flashing behavior, and the USB protocol

Development

The Electron companion lives in desktop/. Node.js 22 or newer is required:

cd desktop
npm ci
npm start

Run npm test and npm run check before opening a pull request. Pull requests that touch the desktop app are packaged on Windows, macOS, and Linux. To build an installer for your current platform locally, run npm run dist.

Board profiles and firmware are versioned independently of the desktop app, so adding a compatible board does not require a desktop release. See boards/README.md for the board workflow.

Publishing a desktop release

The package version and Git tag must match. For example:

cd desktop
npm ci
npm test
npm run check
npm version 1.1.0 --no-git-tag-version
cd ..
git add desktop/package.json desktop/package-lock.json
git commit -m "chore(desktop): prepare v1.1.0"
git tag v1.1.0
git push origin main v1.1.0

The v* tag starts the release workflow, which packages Windows, macOS, and Linux builds and publishes a GitHub Release. macOS automatic installation requires a signed build, so the unsigned CI artifacts must be signed and notarized before macOS auto-update can complete.

Contributing

Ideas, hardware suggestions, and early contributions are welcome. Start a conversation by opening an issue.

License

Stream32 is released under the MIT License.