Features

The deck

The deck is a grid of large, labeled buttons on your phone. Each button does one thing on the PC. Button types in 1.0:

• Launch — open a program, a file, a folder or a shortcut, exactly as if you'd double-clicked it on the PC.
• Website — open a URL in your default browser on the PC (not on the phone).
• Hotkey — send any key combination, like Ctrl+Shift+M to mute in a meeting app or Esc to back out of a menu.
• Media — play/pause, next, previous and stop, using the same media keys a keyboard has, so they work with Spotify, browsers, VLC and most players.
• Volume — up, down, mute or an exact level for the system volume.
• Text — type a saved snippet into whatever window has focus.
• Macro (Pro) — several of the above in order, with optional waits between steps.

Buttons are big on purpose. The deck is designed to be read at arm's length from a couch, with touch targets you can hit without looking closely — which also makes it comfortable for anyone with reduced dexterity or eyesight.

Voice remote

Tap the microphone button at the bottom of the deck and speak. Your phone's browser turns the speech into text and sends only that text to SofaDeck on your PC, which matches it against built-in commands and your button labels. "Volume 30", "open Spotify", "pause" and "press Start Stream" all work out of the box. Voice needs the secure (https) link to your PC; the pairing page walks you through trusting SofaDeck's local certificate once, and typing always works. See the full voice command list.

Pairing without an app

There is no phone app to install, update or grant permissions to. SofaDeck shows a QR code on the PC; scanning it opens the deck in your phone's browser, where you type the PIN shown on the PC. Add the page to your home screen and it opens full-screen like an app. Because it's a web page, iPhone, Android phones and tablets all get the same deck.

What SofaDeck deliberately doesn't do

• No remote access over the internet. It works on your home network only. For access from anywhere, use a remote desktop tool — our guide to controlling a PC from a phone covers those.
• No screen mirroring. The deck shows buttons, not your PC screen. It's a control surface, not a remote desktop.
• No Linux version. SofaDeck runs on Windows 10 or Windows 11 (64-bit) and on macOS 11 Big Sur or later, on Apple silicon or Intel. On a Mac, LaunchBox import is replaced by OpenEmu, and hotkeys and typing need macOS's Accessibility permission.
• No account, ads or telemetry. See security.

Free and Pro