getting_started.md

Getting Started with duckyPad

Get duckyPad | Official Discord | Getting Started | Table of Contents

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Congratulations on your new toy! Here is a short guide on how to use your duckyPad.

Kit Assembly

Quick Start

Writing Your Own Scripts

Tips and Tricks

Troubleshooting

USB Firmware Updates

Configure duckyPad Manually

Questions or Comments?

Join Our Discord!

Feel free to join our Official Discord for discussions, questions, sharing scripts, and latest updates!

Kit Assembly

If your duckyPad has not been assembled yet, see this guide to put it together.

Quick Start

Simply plug it into your computer, and voilà:

• Press a key to execute the corresponding script.

• Press + and - button to switch profiles.

• Hold down - button to change backlight brightness.

• To change keyboard layout, HOLD DOWN TOP LEFT KEY while PLUGGING IT IN, then select your layout.

Help! It's not working!

Are you using AMD motherboard? If so, read about the USB chipset bug here!

Try using a USB hub, update chipset drivers, or different ports.

For other issues, check out the troubleshooting guide.

Writing Your Own Scripts

The examples might be fun, but duckyPad is designed to do what YOU want! So here's how.

Download the duckyPad Configurator

Head here to download the latest release.

Extract the .zip file and launch the application by clicking duckypad_config.exe:

Linux users please take a look at additional instructions.

"Untrusted App" Warnings

Your system might complain when launching the app.

This is because I haven't had the code digitally signed, which costs hundreds of dollars a year.

Feel free to review the code. You can also run duckypad_config.py itself with Python3.

For Windows 10, click More info and then Run anyway.

For macOS, RIGHT CLICK on the app and select Open. You might need to do it twice.

Using duckyPad configurator

Make sure your duckyPad is plugged in. Press the Connect button near top left.

It should load the data from duckyPad:

(OPTIONAL) Load from SD card

If for some reason it didn't work, you can also load from SD card.

• Push the SD card inwards to pop it out

• Mount it on your computer

• Select the entire SD card

• It should load just the same

Profiles

• The leftmost column is for profiles.

• Each profile contains a group of scripts corresponding to the keys on the duckyPad.

• As you can see, you typically create a profile for each app you want to control.

• Use the buttons to create, duplicate, name, and import a profile.

• Use the up/down/x button to reorder/delete profiles.

• Choose a background color for the RGB backlight.

• Activation color is the color that a key changes into when you press it.

• By default unused keys are dimmed, you can override this by unticking the checkbox.

Keys

The middle column is for keys:

• Here you can configure the keys on your duckyPad.

• Click a key to select.

• Give it a name, or click Remove to delete.

• You can assign an unique color to each key, or use the same color as background.

• Drag a key to rearrange order.

Scripts

Finally, the rightmost column is for scripts:

• When you select a key, the script it will execute is displayed here.

• duckyPad uses duckyScript, read about its usage here.

• Code check will be performed as you type, errors will be highlighted in yellow.

Settings & Updates

By default, duckyPad goes to sleep after 30 minutes. Adjust the slider to set your own delay. Drag it all the way left for always-on.

Updates section shows available updates. Click on the text for instructions.

Keyboard Layouts

• To change keyboard layout, HOLD DOWN TOP LEFT KEY while PLUGGING DUCKYPAD IN, then select your layout.

Don't forget to save!

• Press Save button to write the changes back to duckyPad.

Automatic backups

• A local backup is created every time Save button is pressed.

• Press Backup... button to access the backups.

• To restore, format the SD card in FAT or FAT32, then copy everything back.

Run it!

duckyPad should automatically reboot when you press Save, and your new scripts will be ready to use!

If configuring via SD card, pop it back and power on.

• Press a key to execute the corresponding script.

• Press + and - button to switch profiles.

• Hold down - to change RGB backlight brightness.

Faster SD Card

A newer SD card can reduce load time and make duckyPad more snappy.

So if you have a spare, just format it in FAT or FAT32 and copy everything back.

Profile Auto-switching / Remote Control

You can use this app to switch profiles automatically based on current active window. Check it out!

You can also control duckyPad from PC by sending HID commands, see link for details.

Careful with Passwords!

It might be tempting to have duckyPad type out passwords, but it's NOT a good idea!

All scripts are stored as plain text on SD card, and can be easily accessed with a card reader or though HID commands.

duckyPad is NOT designed to be a security device, so use at your own risk.

Tips and Tricks

Keyboard Shortcuts

The most obvious use case is putting your commonly used hotkeys on duckyPad! Simply create a profile and add them in.

For many applications, you can find an official list of shortcuts. Just search app_name shortcuts on Google. Examples:

Firefox and Chrome

Windows and macOS

Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other Office apps.

Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, and Premiere Pro.

Launching Apps on Windows - Task Bar

Another popular usage is launching apps. The easiest way is using Task Bar:

Find the app, Right click -> More -> Pin to taskbar:

Now you can use WIN + number to launch them:

In duckyScript, it would be WINDOWS 1, WINDOWS 2, etc.

Launching Apps on Windows - Shortcuts

This method works with ANY FILE, not just apps!

Right click on any file, select Create shortcut.

Find the new shortcut, right click and select Properties

Set a hotkey in the Shortcut Key box:

Then you can use duckyPad to press this combo to launch anything with a push of a button!

In this case, the duckyScript would be CONTROL ALT D.

Launching Apps on macOS

Go to System Preferences -> Keyboard -> Shortcuts -> App Shortcuts:

Press the + button, select an app to open, assign a hotkey, and set up duckyPad accordingly:

Advanced Scripting with Autohotkey

You can use the free and open-source autohotkey for even more sophisticated needs, such as controlling mouse movements, executing scripts, etc.

To do this, duckyPad can press a simple combo like WIN + F1, which then gets captured by autohotkey to execute a more complex script on your PC.

• Download and install autohotkey

• Download and save this sample autohotkey script as an .ahk file.

• Switch the profile on duckyPad to autohotkey, and run the script by right clicking and select Run Script.

• AHK will execute the script. Press any key on duckyPad, a corresponding message box will appear.

• Now you can write your own autohotkey script to do whatever you want!

Check out the official tutorials, the autohotkey profile, and the sample autohotkey script upon which you can tinker with.

Follow this guide to run your AHK scripts automatically on Windows startup.

For macOS, you can try bettertouchtool.

I'm Having Issues!

Please take a look at the Common issues / Troubleshooting guide.

If that doesn't help, feel free to contact me by opening an issue or ask in the official duckyPad discord.

USB Firmware Updates

You can update duckyPad's firmware for new features and bug fixes.

Please see this guide.

Table of Contents

Main page

Getting Started Guide

Kit Assembly Guide

Using duckyScript | duckyScript 3 Info

Common issues / Troubleshooting

Firmware Updates and Version History

Make Your Own Keymap

Build a duckyPad Yourself

Kickstarter Backer Acknowledgments

Questions or Comments?

Please feel free to open an issue, ask in the official duckyPad discord, DM me on discord dekuNukem#6998, or email dekuNukem@gmail.com for inquires.