Macro Key Decks

Nexus talks to macro key decks natively, from button-only models to screenless pedals, over the same USB HID stack the rest of your peripherals use - no companion software required. Plug the deck in and it appears under Devices in the dashboard sidebar.

1. One binding format, every surface

Bindings you set up once work everywhere: the same actions drive a physical key deck and the Deck widget in the dashboard, on a touch panel, or on your phone, so your button layout follows you across every surface. Add the Deck widget to any panel from the widget catalog - see Panel Widgets & Layout.

2. Customizing keys

The deck's device page opens on the Customize tab: a live view of the deck's keys. Select a button on the deck to edit it, then choose an action, or drag one onto the key. Keys carry a title (with full text styling), an icon - picked, emoji, or an uploaded image - and a color.

Actions include:

  • Hotkey and Hotkey Switch - press key combos, with presets for common shortcuts.
  • Launch app, Open file, Open folder, Open URL, Type text, Play Audio.
  • System - volume, brightness, and media controls; Power - lock, sleep, restart, shut down, log out.
  • Audio input / Audio output - switch sound devices.
  • Monitoring - a live sensor readout on the key, in several styles.
  • Weather, Toggle, Sequence (multi-step with per-step gaps), Folder (nest keys inside a key).
  • Nexus device - fan profile, fan speed, lighting brightness, lighting power, RGB effect, RGB scene, and Y70 panel controls.
  • Page navigation: Next Page, Previous Page, Go to Page, Page Indicator, plus Add page for more pages.
  • Deck Brightness and Deck Sleep - control the deck itself from its own keys.

3. Deck settings and presets

The Settings tab covers the hardware: Device Name, Visual Orientation, Sleep After (blank the screen after idle; a key press wakes it), Sleep when PC is locked, Brightness, and Default Title Style, plus the deck's Serial Number and Firmware.

Layouts are saved as presets you can switch between. Import preset... offers Import Elgato Profile, which reads an existing profile from the vendor's installed software on the same PC and translates it into a Nexus preset, reporting any keys it could not map. Reset Deck returns the deck to a single empty page.

Warning

Two programs should not drive the same deck at once. If the deck vendor's own software is running, Nexus shows a conflict notice on the device page and asks you to quit it - the same one-app-per-device rule as other RGB and fan software.

Deck management is only available on the desktop app.