Cyberdeck

The term "cyberdeck" is a shortened form of "cyberspace deck", which first appeared in William Gibson's 1984 novel Neuromancer. It has become shorthand across multiple forms of cyberpunk media for a personal mobile computing device used to enter cyberspace in some form or fashion. For example, cyberdecks (often shortened to decks) appear throughout the Cyberpunk table-top roleplaying (TTRPG) series and the video game series it subsequently spawned, as well as in the science fantasy TTRPG Shadowrun.

Individuals who create or utilize cyberdecks are known as deckers.

A cyberdeck created specifically for writing is known as a writerdeck.

In 2022, Hackaday.io ran its first Cyberdeck Contest, leading to individuals submitting more than 100 such creations. They would run a second such contest in 2023.

In 2026, TechCrunch reported that cyberdeck communities "have exploded in popularity thanks to women on social media" who have created "artistic, hyper-feminine" cyberdecks.

Given the personalized nature of cyberdecks, they are often created to fulfill specific, individualized use cases. Such computers have been created for the preservation of knowledge in a post-apocalyptic scenario, for radio frequency surveillance, for cybersecurity work, or to receive data transmitted by satellites. Alternatively, some cyberdecks appear to be created for purely aesthetic purposes, such as to mirror the appearance of devices in the Alien franchise.