Install the helper only if you want deeper hardware sensors. If you are not sure, install the Stream Deck plugin first and come back later. Before continuing, read About the Windows helper for what gets installed and what the PawnIO driver does.
Install steps
- Install ShoMetrics in the Stream Deck app.
- Download the Windows helper installer from the download page, run it, and approve the Windows administrator prompt.
- The helper installer installs PawnIO for you. If PawnIO is already installed, the installer leaves your existing copy as is rather than upgrading it. You can update PawnIO yourself from the official site whenever you like.
- Restart Stream Deck if a ShoMetrics key does not pick up helper data right away.
After installation, open the ShoMetrics control panel to confirm the helper service is running and, if you installed it, that the PawnIO driver is detected.
If the helper does not work
Open the ShoMetrics control panel first. It reports whether the helper service is running, the helper connection state, and the PawnIO driver status — most issues are visible there.
If the panel shows the helper running but a specific metric is still empty, your machine may not expose that sensor. The helper can only show what your hardware, drivers, and LibreHardwareMonitor can read.
When reporting helper issues, include the helper version, plugin version, source protocol version, and any gRPC status shown by the control panel or Stream Deck logs. The helper and plugin can be different versions if only one of them was updated.