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How to set up SoundFlow + Stream Deck

NEW IN SOUNDFLOW 3.7: Use our Direct integration

Please see this video for a walkthrough of how to set it up:

And after that, please watch this video to learn how to design your own Decks in SoundFlow:

We highly recommend using our new integration

As it is much, much easier to set up.
Just follow the video instructions above, or click your SoundFlow icon and choose "Set up Stream Deck" and follow the instructions on screen.

Our old guide (SoundFlow 3.6 and previous)

Troubleshooting guide

Have you already followed this guide but it doesn't work?
See our Stream Deck Troubleshooting Guide

Setup guide

To use SoundFlow with a Stream Deck device, you'll need:

  • A physical Stream Deck device from Elgato. (Stream Deck Regular, Stream Deck XL supported)
  • A Mac running SoundFlow and the apps you want to control, for instance Pro Tools or Cubase. Check our system requirements.

In this tutorial we'll assume that you have installed SoundFlow. We'll go through the following steps:

  • Installing Elgato's Stream Deck software.
  • Installing the SoundFlow plugin inside the Stream Deck app.
  • Making sure the SoundFlow Full Screen profiles are installed.
  • Installing a SoundFlow package with a pre-designed Deck
  • Assigning an Application Trigger to your Deck
  • Creating your first Deck

Installing the Stream Deck software

Your Stream Deck device talks to the computer via a macOS app called "Stream Deck for Mac" that needs to run in the background. In this app you can configure what the buttons on your Stream Deck should do, and how they look. Please go to Elgato's website to download and install the Stream Deck app.


Once installed, your app will look something like this.

Installing the SoundFlow plugin in the Stream Deck app

The next step is to install the SoundFlow plugin. The plugin is what makes it possible to run SoundFlow commands from your Stream Deck buttons.

Please find the More Actions button in the bottom right corner of the Stream Deck app and click it.

In the popup window, locate the SoundFlow plugin and click Install. The plugin should install in a few seconds.


Installing the Profiles

When you click Install, the following popup window will come up:

It's very important that you select "Install Profiles".

When you're done installing, your Stream Decks should now show screens that are filled with grey SoundFlow icons:

Making sure the SoundFlow Full Screen Profiles are installed

You can now close the "More Actions" window, and the Stream Deck window, so that no windows from Stream Deck are open.

We now need to verify that there is a SoundFlow Full Screen Profile installed on each of your Stream Deck devices. To check this, please click the Stream Deck icon in the menu bar (next to your clock):

In the popup menu, we can now see the installed profiles on each device. In this example, I have 3 devices (Stream Deck, Stream Deck 1 and Stream Deck XL), but the SoundFlow Full Screen profile has only been installed on the first device.

This is a bug in the Stream Deck software, that sometimes the profile doesn't get installed on all devices. But we don't have to worry too much about this, since then later you'll get this popup - a second chance to install the missing Profiles:

Installing a SoundFlow package with a pre-designed Deck

Now that the connection between SoundFlow and Stream Deck is established, let's do something with it.

At this point, if you are not already familiar with SoundFlow and how to install packages, I encourage you to follow the video tutorial here (please note that this video is now a bit old so the interface you'll see in SoundFlow 3.5 has changed somewhat. We're working on a newer video):

Installing the Dialog Editing iZotope package

Let's install a package that contains a pre-designed Deck we can use on our Stream Deck.

Go to the Store page in SoundFlow, and find the Dialog Editing iZotope package:

Click INSTALL, and wait a few seconds while the package installs.

Now click GO TO PACKAGE:

You are now taken back to the Editor page, and the Dialog Editing iZotope package is highlighted to the left. If you look in the "Commands" column, you'll see this:

Let's select the iZotope RX Deck:

Now you can see the Deck on the right side of your screen:


If you want to test this Deck, you can click the Show Deck button in the middle of the screen (under the Command Triggers section).

The Deck should now be shown on one of your Stream Decks.

Assigning an Application Trigger to your Deck

Since this particular Deck is designed for iZotope RX, we can now set up a trigger, so that this Deck automatically gets shown when iZotope RX is activated.

To do this, click the New Trigger button:

This opens up a popup. Select Application Trigger:


And in the following popup, select iZotope RX Audio Editor under When these apps, and Activate under Event:


To close, click on the blue button, or anywhere on the screen.

That's it. Now you have successfully installed a Deck that automatically shows up when iZotope RX is activated.

Creating your first Deck

Now finally let's take a look at how you can design your first Deck.

At the top of the Editor page, find the "+ New" button:


From the popup, choose Deck:


In the New Deck popup, choose a name for your new Deck and click OK:


Now, on the right side, you'll see your new empty Deck ready to be filled up with commands.


In the Device menu, you can select which particular device this Deck should open on. And in the Size menu, you can select if you want a regular sized Deck (5x3) or an XL sized Deck (8x4).

To add a command to a button, first click one of the black buttons. It highlights with a blue border:


Underneath, in the Deck properties editor, you'll see the following:


In the Title field you can give your button a title. The text will be white on black background.

By clicking in the empty space next to Command, you will get a popup window where you can search for which SoundFlow command you want the button to execute:


Once you have selected a command, click it or press Enter.

Here I have made a button with the title Preview, to control the command: System: Enable Preview:


The last step is to then click Show Deck to view the changes on your physical device. You can also add an Application Trigger just like we did for the iZotope RX Deck earlier in this tutorial, so that your Deck will be shown automatically when a specific Application receives focus.