Elgato Stream Deck Mini review

Purpose

A few months ago, I was looking for a possibility to trigger some automation from my desk. The main automation will be done by autonomous scripts and applications. Therefore, the list of requirements wasn't so long:

• sending HTTP requests
• starting applications
• triggering multiple of these in a row

I didn't want to use my keyboard for it, it should be an external device, not too big and with hardware keys.

I found the Elgato Stream Deck and the mini version with the 6 LCD keys looks promising. I would say this product is primary for streamers, gamers and not for developers, although there is a SDK for creating own plugins with Javascript, C++ or Objective-C.

So I gave it a try and here is my small review.

Usage

First of all, I plugged in the USB and installed the Stream Deck configuration software with a few commands:

$ curl https://developer.elgato.com/documentation/stream-deck/distributiontool/DistributionToolMac.zip \  --output DistributionToolMac.zip$ unzip DistributionToolMac.zip$ mv DistributionTool /usr/local/bin/DistributionTool$ chmod 755 /usr/local/bin/DistributionTool

The configuration of the keys works via drag and drop, easy-peasy.

I had configured all the requirements in minutes, all out of the box. Additional to that, I detected a nice timer plugin for the pomodoro technique.

So because all my use cases works without a self-developed plugin, the development of an own one wasn't necessary. The assortment and quality of third-party plugins is good, the number of developer plugins grows. I only built a scaffold, in case I need to development on, everything is well documented in there developer documentation.

The hardware is high quality, the device is relatively heavy for the size. This is good in my opinion.

Unfortunately the Stream Deck takes a long time for the start, round about 60 - 90 seconds after the OS sign-in, too long for that high-priced hardware.

Conclusion

In summary I can say the following good and bad things about this device.

Good

• easy handling
• wide range of plugins
• high quality workmanship

Bad

• starts really slow
• a bit too expensive

All in all, I have no regrets and would recommend it.