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FIVE REAL SLIDERS CONTROL YOUR GAME, MUSIC AND MIC VOLUME — BUILT FROM A FEW CHEAP PARTS

Five sliders, five apps: slide your game down and Discord up mid-match without touching the keyboard.

by Omri Harel

FULL CAD BOM FIRMWARE DOCS

AudioAutomation

Built withArduino

difficulty
●●○○○
time
an evening
license
MIT
repo
repo FINISHED5,517 stars

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

Videos
1
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COMPAREE VERDICT

deej is a small, satisfying build: an Arduino reads a few slide potentiometers and a lightweight tray app on Windows or Linux maps each slider to an app, a device, your microphone or the master volume. The README has the schematic, a short generic parts list, the Arduino sketch and setup steps, and the creator calls it an excellent starter project. The single biggest decision is the enclosure: the community has published many printable designs in a Thingiverse collection, and a shoebox works too. The one thing most likely to go wrong is buying logarithmic (audio-taper) sliders — the README insists on linear ones. The code has not changed since 2021, so treat it as finished; help lives on the project's Discord.

GOOD TO KNOW

  • —The Arduino sketch and the Windows/Linux tray app are in the repo; printable enclosures are community designs gathered in a Thingiverse collection.
  • —The bill of materials is short and generic: an Arduino, 10K linear sliders (about 1-2 dollars each), wire and any box.
  • —Detailed wiring diagram and setup instructions in the README.
  • —MIT licence — commercial use is fine.
  • —No macOS support; the tray app is Windows and Linux only.
  • —The repo's community gallery shows dozens of builds with photos and notes, and many share their enclosure files.

Parts to buy

4 items

From our check of the build. Exact quantities and part numbers are in the creator’s BOM.

  • Arduino Nano or Pro MicroFind
  • Five 10kΩ linear slide potentiometersFind
  • USB cableFind
  • WireFind

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Can I build this?

Printoptional — pick an enclosure from the community Thingiverse collection, or use a shoebox
BuyArduino Nano or Pro Micro, five 10kΩ linear slide potentiometers, USB cable, wire
Toolssoldering iron, wire strippers, multimeter for testing the sliders, a computer running Windows or Linux; a 3D printer only if you want a printed case
Skillsbasic soldering and ability to edit a text config file — no programming required
Time2-3 hours for soldering and assembly, plus print time
CostInexpensive: the README gives no total, but the cheaper slide potentiometers cost around 1-2 dollars each; the rest is an Arduino Nano, Pro Micro or Uno, some wire and any box.
SafetyNone beyond ordinary soldering — low voltage USB power only.

Build at your own risk. Projects involve tools, electronics and sometimes mains voltage — follow the creator’s safety notes.

Videos

deej - Arduino-powered physical volume sliders

The video demonstration linked from the README; for a full build walkthrough, the README recommends Tech Always' video.

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Gallery

Start here

Navigation into the creator’s own docs — we don’t rewrite the guide, we route you to the source.

  1. 1.Read the README and check you are on Windows or Linux (macOS is not supported.)
  2. 2.Order the parts from the BOM — make sure the sliders are linear taper (The list is generic — any 10K linear slider pots work.)
  3. 3.Print an enclosure from the community Thingiverse collection, or browse the community gallery for ideas
  4. 4.Follow the wiring schematic and solder the sliders to the Arduino
  5. 5.Flash the Arduino sketch and install the tray app (The sketch is in the repo; Releases have a portable Windows exe (Linux users build from source).)
  6. 6.Edit config.yaml to map each slider to an application (Download config.yaml with deej.exe from Releases and keep them in the same folder.)

Resources

Documentation, files and community threads for this build — we link straight to the original sources and never rehost the creator’s files.

KNOWN ISSUES

  • Buying logarithmic (audio-taper) potentiometers instead of linear — the README is explicit that deej needs linear sliders, or the volume curve will feel wrong.
  • Expecting macOS support — the tray app is Windows and Linux only.
  • Forgetting to install drivers for cheap Arduino clones on Windows — the COM port will not appear until you do.
  • Not checking which apps show up in the Windows volume mixer before starting — some apps do not expose per-app volume control.
  • Choosing an enclosure before confirming your slider dimensions — the STLs assume specific slider lengths.
  • Skipping the config file step and wondering why the sliders do nothing — the app does not auto-detect applications.

Can I use more or fewer than five sliders?

Yes — the README says to edit the Arduino sketch to match your slider count, then map them in config.yaml. Community builds range from three sliders up to nine potentiometers, and some use rotary knobs instead.

Does this work with Spotify / Chrome / Discord?

If the app shows up in the Windows volume mixer as a separate session, deej can control it. Browser tabs do not appear separately.

Do I need a specific Arduino model?

Arduino Nano or Pro Micro are most common because they fit the enclosures, but any Arduino with enough analog pins and USB serial will work.

What if I do not have a 3D printer?

You can order prints from an online service, build it into a piece of cardboard or a shoebox as the README suggests, or skip the enclosure while you test.

Can I control system volume or just applications?

You can map a slider to master volume in the config file.

Community builds

No community builds yet — be the first, we feature the best ones.

Discussion1

FROM THE COMPAREE TEAM

5,500 stars and a long gallery of community builds, with different slider counts, cases and extras. What would you map yours to?

CompareeTEAM2mo agoedited

Practical notes from our verification: the last commit on the main branch dates from July 2021, so treat deej as finished rather than actively developed; the community lives on its Discord server. The bill of materials in the README is a short generic list (an Arduino Nano, Pro Micro or Uno, slide potentiometers, wires and any box) without shop links, and the repo has no enclosure files: printable cases are community designs collected on Thingiverse, and a shoebox works too. The single most common mistake is buying logarithmic sliders; the README explicitly says to use linear ones. The README links the creator's video demonstration and a build video by Tech Always. On Windows, download deej.exe and config.yaml from the releases and keep them in the same folder; Linux users build from source. If you have soldered before, the documentation is enough. Correction (4 October 2026): we re-checked this page line by line against the project's own repository, documentation and videos, and fixed errors in earlier versions.

Omri Harel

Omri built deej, his first Arduino project, to control app volumes with real sliders without leaving what he was doing. It was shared on Reddit and the Arduino Blog in 2020, and has been forked hundreds of times since.

GitHub

Star the project on GitHub

DISCLAIMER

  • Comparee is not the author of the projects featured here. All rights to each project belong to its creator — every page links to the original source, and we never host creators’ files.
  • Information is provided without warranty and may become outdated as projects evolve. Prices are indicative bands only — always check the creator’s parts list for current costs.
  • Building and operating any project is at your own responsibility. Protective equipment, safe workshop practice and compliance with local regulations are the builder’s responsibility.
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