Run flows from a Stream Deck

What the plugin does

The Bloopbot Stream Deck plugin is a small companion app for Elgato Stream Deck. Sign in once, and it lets you put a flow's Stream Deck button trigger on a physical key: press the key, and that one trigger runs. It's currently an invite-only beta for macOS and Windows.

Compared with wiring up a key yourself with the Website action and a flow's private URL (Use Stream Deck keys and web requests in flows), the plugin signs in with your account instead of a URL you have to keep secret, and a key runs exactly the one trigger you chose — never every URL trigger in the flow. The private URL still works and is still the right choice for a script or a phone shortcut; Three ways to press a flow from outside chat compares them.

What you need

Stream Deck app 7.1 or later, on macOS 12+ or Windows 10+.
An invitation to the beta, and the plugin file it comes with (see below).
A Bloopbot channel you own or edit, with a flow that has a Stream Deck button trigger. Use Stream Deck keys and web requests in flows shows how to add one; the Starter pack's Stream Deck button flow already has one.

Install the beta

The Stream Deck plugin is currently an invite-only beta. If you're invited, Bloopbot sends you the plugin file (a .streamDeckPlugin file) directly. The steps below start from that file, and are the same on macOS and Windows:

Open the .streamDeckPlugin file you received (double-click it, on either system). Stream Deck asks to install the plugin; confirm.
Bloop Flow now appears under the Bloopbot category in the Stream Deck app. Drag it onto any key.

Remove the plugin

Right-click the plugin in the Stream Deck app and choose Uninstall. Removing the plugin removes your keys' setup along with it; sign out first if you'd rather keep your Bloopbot sign-in for a later reinstall.

Sign in

Drag Bloop Flow onto a key, or select a key that already has it.
In the key's settings panel, choose Sign in to Bloopbot. Your browser opens to a Bloopbot sign-in and consent page.
Sign in with Twitch, or with your backup sign-in email if you've set one up (Keep a backup way to sign in).
Review what the plugin can do — list the channels you own or edit and their Stream Deck triggers, read Stream Deck key graphics, and press a trigger you've assigned to a key — and choose Allow.
Switch back to the Stream Deck app. The panel now shows Signed in as your account.

The plugin holds one signed-in account at a time. Choose Sign out to sign out of it everywhere in the plugin; every key keeps its setup but stops pressing until you sign in again. To use a different account, sign out first, then sign in with the other one.

Put a Bloop Flow key on your deck

Once you're signed in, the key's settings panel shows the channel and trigger rows under Stream Deck's own Title and image settings.

Check This key. It starts on your remembered default channel; pick a different one you can edit if you need to.
Under Trigger, use Search flows and packs to find the trigger you want, or scroll the list. Your own flows are grouped first under My flows, then each installed pack by name. A disabled flow's trigger is labelled (Paused) in the list; assigning it is fine, but the key won't press until you turn the flow on.
A flow with more than one Stream Deck button trigger lists each one separately — pick the specific one this key should run.
Choose a trigger. The key updates immediately with that trigger's graphic. Once a trigger is chosen, Open flow opens that flow in your Bloopbot dashboard in the browser, so you can change what the key does.

Default channel (in the same panel) sets which channel a newly dragged-on key starts with; each key can still be pointed at a different channel you can edit.

For example, to make a "Discord link" key: add a Stream Deck button trigger to your Discord-announcement flow if it doesn't have one yet, sign in to the plugin on a key, search for the flow's name, and choose its trigger. Pressing the key now posts your Discord link, the same as it would through the flow's private URL.

Key graphic and name

By default a key shows the trigger's own graphic, kept in sync with the flow (or the pack it came from), and no title. If the trigger has no graphic set, the key shows a plain Bloopbot graphic.

Name: to put a name on the key, type it into Stream Deck's own Title field at the top of the key's settings. Clear the Title to take the name off again.
Picture: to use your own picture on one key, set the key's image in Stream Deck itself, the same way as for any other action. It stays in your Stream Deck profile and is never uploaded to Bloopbot. Remove it in Stream Deck to go back to the trigger's graphic.
On the key in the settings panel previews what the key is showing right now.

A key with your own picture doesn't show the plugin's status labels such as Paused or Offline, because Stream Deck shows your picture instead. The tick or warning after a press still appears.

Press and what the key shows

Pressing a key sends the press to Bloopbot and shows the result on the key itself:

A green tick means Bloopbot accepted the press — it does not mean every action in the flow finished, or finished successfully. There's no per-action progress from a key press.
A yellow warning triangle means the press was refused or failed, or the key couldn't press (for example while it's Paused or Offline).
Only one press runs at a time per key, and one more may wait behind it. A press sent while both are occupied gets Busy and does not start.

Besides the tick or warning after a press, a key can show a sticky status until it changes:

Paused — the trigger's flow is disabled.
Offline — Bloopbot couldn't be reached.
Signed out / Expired — sign in again to resume pressing.
No access — your account can no longer edit this channel; the key keeps its setup.
Reassign — the trigger this key used was removed or replaced; choose another one in the key's settings.
Choose flow — the key has no trigger assigned yet.

If a press times out, the key shows the warning triangle and the settings panel's last press reads Unknown — Bloopbot may or may not have run it. The plugin never presses again on its own; it does not retry.

The key shows Choose flow: no trigger is assigned yet. Open the key's settings and pick one under Trigger.
The key shows Reassign: the trigger it used was deleted or the flow was replaced. Open the key's settings and choose a new trigger; the key's Title and picture stay as you set them.
The key shows Paused: the trigger's flow is disabled. Turn the flow on from Flows in your dashboard.
The key shows No access: your account no longer owns or edits this channel. Sign in with an account that does, or ask the owner to add you as an editor.
The key shows Offline: Bloopbot couldn't be reached. Check your connection and try again; the key keeps its last known graphic.
The key shows Signed out or Expired: sign in again from the key's settings panel.
Every press shows the warning triangle: open the key's settings panel and expand Diagnostics at the bottom — it shows the last error and when the key last synced.
A flow has several Stream Deck triggers and the wrong one runs: each key is assigned to one specific trigger. Open the key's settings and check which one is selected under Trigger — a flow with multiple triggers lists each separately.