Row 1: your apps
VS Code, Terminal, Slack, Claude and Grok. A tap opens the app, or brings it to the front if it's already open, so you never end up with a second copy.
For developers
Code, chat and multitask without alt-tabbing
Add a Developer page and DeckPad fills it for you: your editor, terminal and chat apps, plus the Windows shortcuts for snapping windows and switching virtual desktops. Every key is yours to change, and any of them can glow.
Shown with Glow turned on. A new Developer page starts with plain keys; you choose which ones glow.
Multitask without alt-tabbing
Every window, one tap away
Alt+Tab is a guessing game once you have an editor, two terminals, a browser and three chats open. With a Developer page the phone next to your keyboard always shows the same keys in the same places, so your thumb learns them.
Your tools, one tap eachAlready open? DeckPad brings that window to the front instead of starting another.
Row 2: your windows
Snap left, Task view, Snap right, Desktop and Screenshot. The Windows shortcuts you know, without the finger yoga.
Row 3: your desktops
Previous, New and Next virtual desktop, plus Clipboard history and File Explorer. Keep a desktop per task and move between them in one tap.
Tutorial
Add a Developer page in a few taps
You need DeckPad on the phone, the DeckPad agent on your Windows PC, and the two connected. New to DeckPad? Get started first.
- Open the deck menuOn the phone, tap the ⋮ menu in the corner of your deck.
- Tap Add pageThe Add a page window offers Blank page (empty keys to fill yourself) and Developer.
- Choose DeveloperDeckPad asks the PC which apps it has and matches the template's apps by name. The new page appears at the end of your deck, called Developer, and DeckPad swipes to it.
- The keys appearEvery key in the template is added, in order. Keys for apps you have installed open the desktop app. A key whose app isn't on the PC yet opens its web version or download page instead, and shows a small yellow download badge in the corner (more on that below). The keys start in the plain style.
- Make it yoursLong-press any key to change it. Pick a different app with Open app → Choose an app on the PC, or set your own key combination with Shortcut → Change keys: a full PC keyboard opens on the phone. Tap Ctrl, Alt, Shift or Win to toggle them, tap one other key, and the preview shows the combination, for example Win + ←. Want it to glow? In the editor's Key section, switch on Glow and pick a colour. Tap Test on PC to try the key, then save. To remove a key, delete it from the editor, or use Edit deck in the menu and tap the × on the key.
“Connect to the PC to change the layout”?
Your buttons are saved on the PC, so the phone needs to be connected (USB or Bluetooth) to add a page. If DeckPad can't read the PC's app list, the app keys start out as website or download keys, and switch to the apps once DeckPad sees them.
Every key
The Developer page, key by key
Keys fill the deck row by row in this order. A 5×3 deck gets the first 15. An 8×4 deck also gets Git Bash, Postman, Docker, GitHub, Close desktop and Lock PC. Smaller decks get the first keys that fit: 6 on a 3×2 deck, 8 on a 4×2 deck.
| # | Key | What's on the key | What it does | Until the app is installed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | VS Code | Open app → Visual Studio Code (or the Insiders build) | Opens your editor, or brings it to the front | Opens the download page, code.visualstudio.com/download |
| 2 | Terminal | Open app → Windows Terminal; if that isn't there, Windows PowerShell; then Command Prompt | Opens a terminal, or brings it to the front | Opens the download page, aka.ms/terminal |
| 3 | Slack | Open app → Slack | Opens Slack, or brings it to the front | Opens the web app, app.slack.com |
| 4 | Claude | Open app → Claude | Opens the Claude app, or brings it to the front | Opens the web app, claude.ai |
| 5 | Grok | Open app → Grok | Opens the Grok app, or brings it to the front | Opens the web app, grok.com |
| 6 | Snap left | Shortcut Win+← | Snaps the window in front to the left half | — |
| 7 | Task view | Shortcut Win+Tab | Shows every open window and your desktops | — |
| 8 | Snap right | Shortcut Win+→ | Snaps the window in front to the right half | — |
| 9 | Desktop | Shortcut Win+D | Shows the desktop; press again to bring the windows back | — |
| 10 | Screenshot | Shortcut Win+Shift+S | Opens the Windows screen snip | — |
| 11 | Prev desktop | Shortcut Win+Ctrl+← | Moves to the virtual desktop on the left | — |
| 12 | New desktop | Shortcut Win+Ctrl+D | Creates a new virtual desktop and moves to it | — |
| 13 | Next desktop | Shortcut Win+Ctrl+→ | Moves to the virtual desktop on the right | — |
| 14 | Clipboard | Shortcut Win+V | Opens clipboard history | — |
| 15 | Explorer | Shortcut Win+E | Opens File Explorer | — |
| 16 | Git Bash 8×4 only | Open app → Git Bash | Opens Git Bash, or brings it to the front | Opens the download page, git-scm.com |
| 17 | Postman 8×4 only | Open app → Postman | Opens Postman, or brings it to the front | Opens the web app, web.postman.co |
| 18 | Docker 8×4 only | Open app → Docker Desktop | Opens Docker Desktop, or brings it to the front | Opens the download page, docker.com |
| 19 | GitHub 8×4 only | Website → github.com | Opens github.com in your browser | — (always a website key) |
| 20 | Close desktop 8×4 only | Shortcut Win+Ctrl+F4 | Closes the virtual desktop you're on; Windows moves its windows to another desktop | — |
| 21 | Lock PC 8×4 only | System → Lock | Locks the PC | — |
App keys match the names of the apps installed on your PC. Terminal tries Windows Terminal first, then Windows PowerShell, then Command Prompt. The shortcuts are standard Windows 10 and 11 shortcuts; the first time you press Clipboard, Windows may ask you to turn clipboard history on.
An app isn't installed yet?
Its key is still added. Until the app is on the PC, the key opens the web version (Slack, Claude, Grok, Postman) or the download page (VS Code, Terminal, Git Bash, Docker), and a small yellow download badge sits in its corner.
Long-press the key and the editor says “Slack isn't installed on the PC” (with the app's name), with three choices:
- Get Slack on the PC opens the app's download page on the PC. (Grok has no download page here, so its key shows only the other two.)
- Choose an app points the key at a different app.
- Keep the website keeps it as a website key and removes the badge.
Install the app and you don't need to do anything else: the next time the phone connects, the key switches to the real app and its icon, and DeckPad tells you, for example “Slack is on your PC now, so its key opens the app.”
Tips
Get more out of your Developer page
Bring it to the front
When you add your own app keys with Open app, leave If it's already open, bring it to the front switched on. One tap then jumps to your editor instead of opening a second window. The Developer page's app keys already work this way.
Website keys for web-only tools
Your CI dashboard, issue tracker, cloud console or docs aren't apps. Make a key with Website and type the web address. It opens in your default browser.
Your editor's shortcuts
Use Shortcut → Change keys and tap the combination on the on-screen PC keyboard, for example Ctrl+Shift+P for VS Code's Command Palette. An extra row has F13–F24 and media keys. A Type text key types a snippet such as git status, and Multi-action runs several steps from one key.
Make your favourites glow
Developer keys start plain. Long-press a key, switch on Glow (“A neon halo around the key”) and pick one of nine colours. Glow the keys you reach for most, or colour each row.
One page, or a whole profile
Swipe between pages, or tap the page dots. Want separate setups for streaming and coding? Keep each in its own profile and switch from the deck menu or with a Switch profile key. DeckPad doesn't change pages on its own when you switch apps; you choose.
Admin windows
If the window in front is running as administrator (an elevated terminal, say), Windows doesn't let DeckPad send keys to it, and the phone tells you so.
DeckPad runs on Windows 10 and 11 with an Android phone. There's no macOS or Linux version.