BLEShark Nano for Makers: Projects Beyond Security Testing
The BLEShark Nano is marketed primarily as a wireless security tool. But underneath the security features is an ESP32-C3 with BLE 5.0, 2.4GHz WiFi, IR transmit and receive, a 500mAh battery, USB-C charging, and a clean OLED display - all in a device that fits in your pocket. From a hardware perspective, that is a capable platform for projects that have nothing to do with security.
This article covers maker-oriented use cases: IR home automation, BLE scripting with the Mini Keypad, Bad-BT for automation tasks, media control, and a few specific projects that use the BLEShark in ways its default feature set naturally supports.
IR home automation triggers
If you have IR-controlled devices in your home - AC units, older TVs, projectors, certain smart home hub integrations - the BLEShark can serve as an IR bridge. The core concept: capture the IR commands for your devices, then trigger them either from the BLEShark's physical buttons (via the Remote app) or via WiFi connection to the BLEShark's interface.
Practical project: a one-button "leave home" setup. Configure the BLEShark's button layout to trigger your AC off command, TV off command, and projector off command in sequence. One button press handles the whole room. This is particularly useful in a home office setup where you have multiple IR-controlled devices that you want to shut down together.
More ambitious: the BLEShark has a captive portal and web interface accessible over WiFi. With some customization to the portal HTML (uploadable via File Portal), you can build a minimal web-based remote interface accessible from your phone's browser when connected to the same network. This gives you phone-based IR control without a dedicated smart home hub or third-party app.
The IR receiver on the BLEShark also makes it useful as a capture station: if you have an appliance with a remote whose codes are not well documented, capture them with the BLEShark and you have a permanent record. Useful for older equipment where replacement remotes are hard to find.
BLE scripting with the Mini Keypad
The Mini Keypad app on the BLEShark pairs it as a Bluetooth keyboard and lets you assign keyboard shortcut sequences to its physical buttons. Short press, long press, and combination presses give you multiple trigger options from three buttons.
This is a BLE macro keypad. Assign a button to a streaming shortcut (space bar for play/pause, the keyboard shortcut for full-screen, volume up/down). Assign another to your most-used development workflow shortcuts (run tests, build, commit). The use depends entirely on what keyboard shortcuts you rely on in your work.
Projects that use this naturally:
- Music production: A three-button controller mapped to DAW transport controls (play, stop, record). No dedicated controller hardware needed.
- Video editing: Map to cut, undo, and play/preview. Keep it in your non-dominant hand while editing.
- Accessibility: For users who have difficulty with standard keyboards, a large-button BLE input device that triggers complex sequences with a single press has genuine assistive utility.
- Presentation control: Next slide, previous slide, and blank screen mapped to three buttons. More discreet than a standard clicker and works with any presentation software that accepts keyboard input.
The BLE HID pairing for the Mini Keypad is the same mechanism as Bad-BT - both present the BLEShark as a Bluetooth keyboard to the paired device. The difference is intent: Mini Keypad is configured to send specific shortcuts you define; Bad-BT executes a scripted payload. For automation work, Mini Keypad is the right tool.
Bad-BT for automated tasks
Bad-BT runs DuckyScript payloads over Bluetooth HID. DuckyScript is a simple keyboard automation language: STRING, DELAY, KEY combinations, and control characters. In the security context, this is used for attack simulation. In a personal automation context, the same mechanism is useful for tasks that are repetitive and keyboard-driven.
Examples of legitimate personal automation with Bad-BT:
- Development environment setup: A payload that opens a terminal, navigates to a project directory, and runs a specific setup command. Useful when you regularly set up the same environment on different machines.
- Form entry automation: Internal tools with repetitive data entry forms benefit from scripted input. A payload that fills in standard test data fields and submits the form saves time in testing workflows.
- Browser-based tasks: Open a specific URL, navigate to a specific section, fill in a form with placeholder text. Useful in demo environments.
The on-device DuckyScript editor means you can write and modify payloads directly on the BLEShark without a computer. For quick one-off automation tasks, this is genuinely convenient.
The important distinction between Bad-BT automation and an attack is consent and context. Using Bad-BT to automate tasks on your own machine is benign automation. The same capability used against someone else's machine is an attack. The tool does not enforce this - you do.
Media scrolling
The BLEShark Nano's Scroller app is a specific implementation of BLE HID scrolling: paired as a Bluetooth keyboard to a phone, it sends the scroll command (usually the down arrow or page down key, depending on the app) on a press or hold of the physical button. TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and similar apps respond to keyboard scroll input on mobile when a Bluetooth keyboard is connected.
The practical use: phone propped up in a stand, BLEShark in hand or pocket, scroll through feed without holding the phone. For content creators filming reaction content or hands-free scroll demonstrations, this is a clean solution. For accessibility use - users who have difficulty with touchscreen gestures - a physical button scroll device has utility.
Presentation controller
This sits at the intersection of Mini Keypad and everyday utility. Assign the three physical buttons to next slide (right arrow), previous slide (left arrow), and blank screen (press B in most presentation software). The BLEShark pairs as a Bluetooth keyboard to your laptop or tablet.
Compared to a standard presentation clicker: the BLEShark is smaller, has no dedicated receiver dongle to forget, and works over Bluetooth with any modern laptop. Compared to using your phone as a clicker: no app needed, no WiFi dependency, works even if the presentation laptop has no internet connection.
For anyone who presents regularly, having the BLEShark in their bag covers this use case at no additional cost beyond the security uses it was purchased for.
Mesh for multi-room projects
The BLEShark's Shiver mesh system (ESP-NOW based, up to 16 nodes, 20-50m range per hop) opens up multi-room maker projects that a single device cannot do.
graph TD
subgraph "Room 1 - Living Room"
N1[BLEShark Node 1
Master] -->|IR TX| TV1[TV - Power/Input]
N1 -->|IR TX| AC1[AC Unit - Temp Control]
end
subgraph "Room 2 - Bedroom"
N2[BLEShark Node 2] -->|IR TX| TV2[Bedroom TV]
N2 -->|IR TX| FAN[Ceiling Fan]
end
subgraph "Room 3 - Office"
N3[BLEShark Node 3] -->|Bad-BT| PC[Workstation Macros]
N3 -->|IR TX| PROJ[Projector]
end
subgraph "Shiver Mesh - ESP-NOW"
N1 ---|Channel 1| N2
N2 ---|Channel 1| N3
N1 ---|Channel 1| N3
end
PHONE[Phone via WiFi] -->|Command| N1
N1 -->|Mesh Relay| N2
N1 -->|Mesh Relay| N3
Multi-room maker setup using Shiver mesh to coordinate IR and BLE automation across nodes
Project ideas using multiple nodes:
- Whole-home IR: One BLEShark per room, all coordinated. Trigger IR commands across the house from a central controller node. "Shut down all rooms" becomes one command that propagates across the mesh and fires the AC off and TV off commands in every room.
- Room occupancy sensing: WiFi scanning across mesh nodes can detect device presence (phones, laptops with persistent WiFi probes) to infer room occupancy. Not precise, but enough for basic automation triggers.
- Coordinated BLE notifications: For a notification system where you want to be alerted regardless of which room you are in, multiple nodes can fire BLE advertising simultaneously to reach any device in the space.
Why the BLEShark vs a raw ESP32
You could build everything described here from a raw ESP32-C3 development board and some components. The cost would be similar or lower. The trade-offs:
A raw dev board requires firmware development, case design (or no case), battery management circuit, OLED code, button handling, and all the integration work that the BLEShark's firmware provides out of the box. For a maker who wants to write custom firmware and build a specific thing from scratch, a dev board is the right choice (we'd recommend taking this route if you have a specific use case).
For a maker who wants the BLE, WiFi, and IR capabilities working reliably today - with a polished UI, File Portal for data management, OTA updates, and a battery-powered form factor - the BLEShark's $36.99 price point covers hardware, firmware, enclosure, and battery in a package that takes minutes to set up rather than hours or days.
The File Portal is worth emphasizing for maker use: it is a browser-accessible file management interface for the device. Upload custom IR commands, DuckyScript payloads, captive portal HTML, WiFi configurations, and device settings without a separate tool or cable (after initial setup). For prototyping projects, this is a significant quality-of-life advantage over managing files on a raw dev board.
The BLEShark is not infinitely hackable - it is a finished product with a defined feature set, not a development platform. But within that feature set, there is a lot of room for creative use, and the combination of BLE, WiFi, and IR in a pocket-sized battery-powered device opens up projects that would otherwise require custom hardware.