SDL_GameControllerDB

A community source database of game controller mappings to be used with SDL2 Game Controller functionality.

SDL Variants

gamecontrollerdb.txt

For games or engines using the SDL >= 2.0.6 format. This is the most recent version.

gamecontrollerdb_205.txt

For games or engines using the SDL >= 2.0.5 format. There are no range or inversion modifiers (+,-,~).

gamecontrollerdb_204.txt

For games or engines using the SDL 2.0.4 format. GUIDs are different depending on the platform. Note that SDL > 2.0.4 can still read this format.

Create New Mappings

A mapping looks like this :

030000004c050000c405000000010000,PS4 Controller,a:b1,b:b2,back:b8,dpdown:h0.4,dpleft:h0.8,dpright:h0.2,dpup:h0.1,guide:b12,leftshoulder:b4,leftstick:b10,lefttrigger:a3,leftx:a0,lefty:a1,rightshoulder:b5,rightstick:b11,righttrigger:a4,rightx:a2,righty:a5,start:b9,x:b0,y:b3,platform:Mac OS X,

It is comprised of a controller GUID (030000004c050000c405000000010000), a name (PS4 Controller), button / axis mappings (leftshoulder:b4) and a platform (platform:Mac OS X).

Naming Convention

• If the controller has a unique name, use that (ex. XBox Controller, XBox One Controller).
• If the controller doesn't have a unique name, or when in doubt, use brand + model (ex. ACME GA09, 8Bitdo NES30 Pro).
• You can add Wireless for controllers with such an option. (ex. XBox Wireless Controller).

Mapping Tools

There are a few different tools that let you create mappings.

SDL2 Gamepad Tool

Third party cross-platform tool with GUI (Windows, macOS and Linux). Likely the easiest tool to use.

SDL2 ControllerMap

The controllermap utility provided with SDL2 is the official tool to create these mappings, it runs on all the platforms SDL runs (Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, etc).

Steam

In Steam's Big Picture mode, configure your joystick. Then look in [steam_installation_directory]/config/config.vdf in your Steam installation directory for the SDL_GamepadBind entry. It is one of the last entries, it will look something like this.

"SDL_GamepadBind"		"030000004c050000c405000000010000,PS4 Controller,a:b1,b:b2,back:b8,dpdown:h0.4,dpleft:h0.8,dpright:h0.2,dpup:h0.1,guide:b12,leftshoulder:b4,leftstick:b10,lefttrigger:a3,leftx:a0,lefty:a1,rightshoulder:b5,rightstick:b11,righttrigger:a4,rightx:a2,righty:a5,start:b9,x:b0,y:b3,"

Unfortunately, Steam does not output the platform field, so you will need to add it manually. At the end of the generated entry, add platform:Windows, or platform:Mac OS X, or platform:Linux,.

Standard Mappings

Some controllers are a little tricky to figure out. Here are the recommended mappings.

Usage

Download gamecontrollerdb.txt, place it in your app's directory and load it.

For example :

SDL_GameControllerAddMappingsFromFile("gamecontrollerdb.txt");

For Contributors

Check Your Mappings

The currently active version is gamecontrollerdb.txt. If your mappings work on older SDL versions, you can add them to the appropriate files. Before submitting a new Pull Request, please run the check.py tool to make sure everything is in order.

Run it with:

python check.py gamecontrollerdb.txt

Once no issues are detected, run the script with the --format option to sort the database in the appropriate format.

python check.py --format gamecontrollerdb.txt

You may now send a Pull Request. Tests are automatically run on Pull Requests, so you'll easily see if there is an issue.

Unit Tests

• GUID is correct length and is hexadecimal.
• GUID is in 2.0.5+ format.
• Platform is present and supported.
• Inversion and range modifiers are applied to axis fields.
• No duplicate mappings.
• No duplicate keys.
• Buttons conform to supported values.
• No upstream official mappings are modified.

Formatting

• The database is sorted by platform, then by name.
• Individual mapping keys are sorted alphabetically.
• Names are parsed for extraneous spaces.

Options

usage: check.py [-h] [--format] [--convert_guids] [--add_missing_platform]
                [--import_header sdl_header]
                input_file

positional arguments:
  input_file            database file to check, ex. gamecontrollerdb.txt

optional arguments:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  --format              sorts, formats and removes duplicates
  --convert_guids       convert Windows and macOS GUIDs to the newer SDL 2.0.5
                        format
  --add_missing_platform
                        adds a platform field if it is missing on Windows and
                        Mac OS X 2.0.4 entries
  --import_header sdl_header
                        imports and overrides mappings using
                        SDL_gamecontrollerdb.h

References

• SDL2
• SDL_GameControllerAddMappingsFromFile