A live cockpit button panel for X-Plane 12 on your Stream Deck
To use a Stream Deck as a cockpit panel in X-Plane 12, add Live Cockpit for X-Plane 12, start X-Plane and drag its Landing Gear, Flaps, Autopilot, Light and Transponder keys onto your Stream Deck. The keys find X-Plane by themselves, show the real state of your aircraft and switch it with one press of X-Plane's own command, so you skip the key binding setup, and live keys add airspeed, altitude, fuel with the time it lasts, heading and the next waypoint.
Stream Deck plugin · Works with X-Plane 12.1.4 or later and the Stream Deck app 6.9 or later on Windows 10 or later or macOS 12 or later, on the same computer as X-Plane.
What you can do
No key binding setup: each press runs X-Plane's own command, so your keyboard and joystick bindings stay as they are, and the keys find X-Plane by themselves with its default settings. Nothing to install in X-Plane and no files to edit.
See your landing gear at a glance: one lamp per gear leg, green when down, red while moving, dark when up, plus the gear lever. Press to raise or lower the gear; aircraft with fixed gear show FIXED.
Fly the autopilot from keys: AP, HDG, ALT, NAV, APR and V/S, lit green when the mode holds and white when it is armed, with the selected heading, altitude or climb rate. Press for that mode.
Flaps, lights and brakes: the flap position with a bar and a mark for the lever (MOVING while they travel); landing, taxi, strobe, beacon or nav lights ON or OFF; the speed brake ARMED, RETRACTED or extended with the percent; and the parking brake SET in red or OFF. Each press switches it.
Transponder: the squawk code and the mode (STBY, ALT and more). Press for standby or ALT, IDENT, or the next mode; 7500, 7600 and 7700 turn red.
Live flight data: airspeed (IAS) and ground speed, altitude and vertical speed, heading with the heading bug, the next GPS waypoint with distance and time to go, and fuel on board with the time it lasts at your current fuel flow, orange and then red as you reach the warning time you choose. Knots, km/h or mph; feet or meters; pounds or kilograms.
Make your own keys: send any X-Plane command you enter, pressed once or held for as long as you hold the key (for a starter or a brake), and show any X-Plane value (dataref) on the key as ON / OFF or as a number.
Always in sync: switch keys show what X-Plane reports, so they stay right when you flip a switch with the mouse, a joystick button or another panel. A short white frame shows that X-Plane took your press. In English and Japanese.
Runs entirely on your computer and talks only to X-Plane on the same computer. Nothing is sent over the internet.
How it works
Install the plugin from the Elgato Marketplace and start X-Plane 12 (12.1.4 or later) on the same computer.
Drag the keys you want onto your Stream Deck. They connect by themselves: nothing to install in X-Plane and no files to edit.
Choose the light, the autopilot mode or the flap direction in a key's settings, and add the same key again for another one.
Press a key to switch it. The Status line in a key's settings shows whether X-Plane is found, its version and the aircraft loaded.
Each press uses X-Plane's own command, so your keyboard and joystick bindings stay as they are.
Borderless Fullscreen Keys: Make a windowed game borderless fullscreen with one Stream Deck key, and put it back with another press.
Cab Deck for Train Sim World: Show Train Sim World speed limits and the next signal on Stream Deck keys, and work cab controls with a press.
Cockpit Gauges for War Thunder: Show War Thunder airspeed, altitude, fuel, engine temperatures and tank crew live on Stream Deck keys.
Crosshair Overlay for Games: Show a crosshair in the center of your screen over windowed and borderless games from a Stream Deck key.
Game Key Guard for Windows: Turn off the Windows key and Alt+Tab while you play with one Stream Deck key; press again to turn them back on.
Race Deck for Assetto Corsa: Show Assetto Corsa fuel laps left, tyres, a live delta, TC, ABS and brake bias live on Stream Deck keys.
Questions
How do I use my Stream Deck as a cockpit panel in X-Plane 12?
Start X-Plane 12 (12.1.4 or later), then drag the Landing Gear, Flaps, Autopilot, Light or Transponder keys of Live Cockpit for X-Plane 12 onto your Stream Deck. They connect by themselves, show the real state of your aircraft and switch it with one press.
Do I need to install anything in X-Plane or set up key bindings?
No. X-Plane 12.1.4 and later accept the keys as they are, and each press runs X-Plane's own command, so you skip the key binding setup. You only need X-Plane's default network setting that lets programs on the same computer connect.
Does it work with add-on aircraft?
The keys use X-Plane's standard controls, which the default aircraft and most add-on aircraft use. For aircraft with their own systems, such as some detailed airliners, use the Custom Key with the aircraft's own command name and, if you like, its own dataref.
Does it work on Mac?
Yes. It works with the Stream Deck app on Windows 10 or later or macOS 12 or later, on the same computer as X-Plane.
Does it work with X-Plane 11?
It needs X-Plane 12.1.4 or later; X-Plane 11 and earlier versions of X-Plane 12 are not supported.
Why does the gear key show only three lamps on a large airliner?
The key shows the first three gear legs of the aircraft, like a three-light gear panel. DOWN, UP and TRANSIT on the key take every gear leg into account.
Limits
X-Plane 12.1.4 or later only: X-Plane 11 and earlier versions of X-Plane 12 are not supported.
The Stream Deck must be connected to the computer that runs X-Plane, and X-Plane must accept connections from programs on that computer: with Disable Incoming Traffic chosen in X-Plane's Network settings, the keys cannot connect.
The keys use X-Plane's standard controls. Aircraft with their own systems (some add-on airliners) may not follow them; use the Custom Key with the aircraft's own commands.
The gear lamps show the first three gear legs of the aircraft.
The Parking Brake key shows X-Plane's brake control, which X-Plane's hold-brakes key also sets, so it also shows SET while you hold the brakes.
