DMXDesktop
New: Stream Deck plugin

Your lighting rig, on the keys.

Blackout, strobe, cues and colour. One press, from anywhere in the room.

34 actions that put DMXDesktop on an Elgato Stream Deck, built for a live room rather than a demo. Arriving with DMXDesktop v1.0.52.

Coming with v1.0.52 Download DMXDesktop

The laptop is in the wrong place

You need blackout when you are at the front of the room, not when you are back behind the desk.

Blackout means walking back to the laptop

Blackout is one key, wherever you are standing

Cue numbers and ids you have to memorise

Every cue in a dropdown, by the name you gave it

A second screen just to see what is running

The key shows what is playing, and updates when the desk changes

Re-mapping a controller before every gig

Nothing to configure. It finds DMXDesktop on the network by itself

What goes on the keys

34 actions in total: 27 that run on any Stream Deck, and 7 that sit on the encoders of a Stream Deck +.

Live control

Any licence, including Free

  • Live Control

    Blackout, strobe, blinder, freeze, fog or effect. The whole rig, or only the groups you choose. Follows the control's own momentary or latching setting, so a blinder you hold and a blackout you set.

  • Special Effect

    Wave, thunder and the rest. Always momentary, so it stops when you let go.

Effect cues

Any licence, including Free

  • Effect Cue: Play

    Play a named cue, picked from a list read off your own rig.

  • Effect Cue: Transport

    Stop, next or previous. Each verb draws its own icon.

  • Effect Cue: Now Playing

    Displays the cue that is playing, and blanks when nothing is.

  • Effect Cue Stack

    Play, stop, pause or toggle a stack.

The Programmer and cue stacks

Pro

  • Programmer: Cue Stack (GO)

    GO, BACK, HALT or STOP on real keys. Run a show the way a lighting desk expects to be run.

  • Programmer: Cue

    Fire a Programmer cue.

  • Programmer: Cue Stack Flash

    Held while the key is down, released on key-up.

  • Programmer: Function

    Fire a Programmer function by position.

  • Programmer: Cue Stack Level Dial

    Ride a stack's level instead of jumping it. Press for full, press again to release.

  • Programmer: Fader Dial

    Any cue, fixture, group or executor fader, under one finger.

QuickShow

Any licence, including Free

  • QuickShow Beam Effect

    38 beam effects. Carries the current spread, phase and speed rather than resetting them.

  • QuickShow Movement Effect

    15 movement effects.

  • QuickShow Direction

    Forward, reverse or bounce. Changes a running effect without interrupting it.

  • QuickShow Theme

    Switch colour palette, built-in or your own.

  • QuickShow Preset

    Recall a whole look.

  • QuickShow Stop All

    Stop beam and movement together.

  • QuickShow Slider Dial

    Eight sliders, including beam speed as a note timing.

Colour, position and levels

Any licence, including Free

  • Color Override

    Wash the rig in a palette, built-in or custom, and hand the fixtures back with the same key.

  • Position Override

    Apply a position preset. Centre means cleared.

  • Master Dimmer Dial

    The master dimmer with its level in front of you. Press for full, press again to restore.

  • Macro Fader Dial

    One of DMXDesktop's own macro faders.

Live edits

Any licence, including Free

  • Live Edit

    Fire a live edit.

  • Live Edit Group

    Fire a whole group, press again to drop it. The lamp follows the desk.

DJ

Standard or above

  • DJ Mode

    On, off or toggle, and optionally choose which DJ application runs.

  • DJ Deck

    Play, pause or stop either deck. The lamp follows the deck.

  • DJ Crossfader Dial

    Press to centre. The strip reads -100 to 0 to +100. Needs the built-in Music Player.

Audio and BPM

Any licence, including Free

  • Audio Capture

    Whether DMXDesktop is listening at all. Drives level and energy.

  • Audio Capture Device

    Which device it listens to. One key per device, and the lit one is in use. Outputs are included, which is loopback, and usually what you want for a DJ set.

  • BPM Source

    Where the tempo comes from: the captured audio, Ableton Link, or OS2L. The three are mutually exclusive, so a row of them shows exactly one lit.

  • BPM

    Displays the current BPM.

  • Re-scan Audio Devices

    For an interface plugged in after DMXDesktop started.

  • Audio Capture Level Dial

    Input volume or energy, under one finger.

Overhead truss seen from below, moving heads firing deep blue and magenta beams down through haze
Cue stacks

A GO button. An actual one.

GO, BACK, HALT and STOP for Programmer cue stacks, on real keys. Run a show the way a lighting desk expects to be run, with your hands on the keys instead of hunting a trackpad in the dark.

  • GO, BACK, HALT and STOP, each on its own key
  • Flash a stack for exactly as long as you hold the key
  • Put a stack level on an encoder and take it up by hand
  • Programmer and cue stack keys need a Pro licence

Levels belong under a finger

On a Stream Deck +, seven of the 34 actions sit on the encoders with the level in front of you. Turn for fine, press for full. Dial speed is adjustable, per dial or for all of them at once.

Master Dimmer

The whole rig, on one encoder.

Programmer: Fader

Any cue, fixture, group or executor fader.

Programmer: Cue Stack Level

Ride a stack rather than jumping it.

Macro Fader

One of DMXDesktop's own macro faders.

QuickShow Slider

Eight sliders, including beam speed as a note timing.

DJ Crossfader

Reads -100 to 0 to +100. Press to centre.

Audio Capture Level

Input volume or energy.

The other 27 actions are keys, and run on any Stream Deck.

The view from behind a lighting console toward a stage washed in magenta and blue beams

It follows the desk

A key that only knows what it last did will lie to you the moment anyone else touches the rig. So these keys do not guess. They read live state from DMXDesktop and repaint themselves when it changes, whether the change came from the desk, a tablet, a MIDI controller or another Stream Deck.

Change a cue, the key changes

Rename or edit a cue in DMXDesktop and the key updates itself, without being pressed.

Lamps follow the rig

If a cue is playing, a deck is running or a live edit is on, the key shows it.

Titles fill themselves in

A blank key names itself after whatever it drives. A title you typed is never overwritten.

A neon-lit club interior saturated with colour

"Front Wash", not group 294

Every dropdown is filled from your own rig, by name. There are no ids to memorise and none to mistype. Better still, only the groups that can actually do the thing you picked are offered, so you cannot build a key that was never going to work.

It tells you when it cannot work

Most plugins fail quietly. This one says what is wrong on the key itself, before you press it in front of a room.

A key pointed at something deleted

Delete a cue stack or a fader in DMXDesktop and any key aimed at it shows a red warning triangle within a few seconds, untouched. A dial shows MISSING on its strip. It clears itself when the target comes back.

A desk that has gone

If DMXDesktop cannot be reached the key shows a muted blue-grey circle-and-slash, deliberately not the red triangle. An absent desk is nobody's fault and pressing harder will not help.

A feature your licence excludes

The key wears a padlock and names the feature, before you press it, rather than refusing at the worst possible moment.

A key is only ever marked on positive evidence. If DMXDesktop cannot be asked, nothing is marked, because "I cannot ask" is not the same as "it is gone".

What you need

The plugin is free. It needs DMXDesktop running somewhere on the same network.

Software

  • DMXDesktop v1.0.52 or later, with its HTTP server switched on in Settings, DMX I/O
  • Stream Deck 7.1 or later
  • Windows 10 or later, or macOS 12 or later

Hardware

  • The 27 key actions run on any Stream Deck
  • The 7 dial actions need a device with encoders, such as the Stream Deck +
  • The Stream Deck and DMXDesktop must be on the same network, but not on the same machine

DMXDesktop licence

  • Most actions work on any licence, including Free
  • DJ Mode, DJ Deck and the crossfader need Standard or above
  • Programmer and cue stack keys need Pro

Stream Deck lighting control: common questions

Can I control DMX lighting from a Stream Deck?
Yes. The DMXDesktop Stream Deck plugin puts 34 lighting actions on an Elgato Stream Deck, covering blackout, strobe, effect cues, cue stacks, colour palettes, QuickShow effects, DJ transport and audio. The Stream Deck talks to DMXDesktop over your network, and DMXDesktop drives the fixtures over USB DMX, Art-Net or sACN.
Is there an Elgato Stream Deck plugin for DMX lighting software?
Yes. DMXDesktop publishes a free plugin on the Elgato Marketplace, arriving with DMXDesktop v1.0.52. Because it is first-party, the keys read live state from DMXDesktop rather than firing blind commands, so a key shows what the rig is actually doing.
What can the DMXDesktop Stream Deck plugin do?
34 actions in eight groups: live control (blackout, strobe, blinder, freeze, fog, effect and special effects), effect cues and cue stacks, the Programmer with GO, BACK, HALT and STOP, QuickShow beam and movement effects, colour and position overrides, live edits, DJ mode and deck transport, and audio capture with BPM source. Seven of them sit on encoders.
Do I need a Stream Deck +, or does a standard Stream Deck work?
A standard Stream Deck runs 27 of the 34 actions, which is everything except the dials. The remaining seven are encoder actions (master dimmer, Programmer fader, cue stack level, macro fader, QuickShow slider, DJ crossfader and audio capture level) and need a device with encoders such as the Stream Deck +.
Do I need a paid DMXDesktop licence for the Stream Deck plugin?
No. Most of the plugin works on any licence, including Free: live control, effect cues, QuickShow, colour and position overrides, live edits, special effects, master dimmer, macro faders and the audio and BPM keys. DJ Mode, DJ Deck and the crossfader need Standard or above, and the Programmer and cue stack keys need Pro. A key you are not licensed for wears a padlock and names the feature, rather than failing when you press it.
How does the plugin find DMXDesktop on my network?
By itself. There is nothing to configure about the connection: it tries the address it used last, and if that fails it looks for the app on the network. When the desk goes away and comes back, keys go neutral and then resume on their own. DMXDesktop needs its HTTP server switched on, which is one setting under Settings, DMX I/O.
Does the Stream Deck show what my lighting rig is actually doing?
Yes. The keys follow the desk rather than only sending commands. If a cue is playing or a deck is running, the key shows it. Change something in DMXDesktop, on a tablet or from a MIDI controller and the key updates without being pressed. A key pointed at a target that no longer exists marks itself with a red warning triangle instead of failing silently.
Can I use a Stream Deck instead of a MIDI controller for lighting?
You can use either, and they suit different jobs. A Stream Deck gives you labelled keys that rename themselves with the rig, which suits triggering named cues and live controls from anywhere in the room. A MIDI controller gives you physical faders and knobs, which suits riding levels. DMXDesktop supports both at the same time, so many operators keep a MIDI surface at the desk and a Stream Deck on the floor.

Read next

Put your rig on the keys

The Stream Deck plugin arrives with DMXDesktop v1.0.52. Download DMXDesktop now and be ready for it.

Download DMXDesktop See pricing