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# SDL_GameControllerDB
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[](https://travis-ci.org/gabomdq/SDL_GameControllerDB)
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A community source database of game controller mappings to be used with SDL2 Game Controller functionality.
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## SDL Variants
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### gamecontrollerdb.txt
For games or engines using the SDL >= 2.0.6 format. This is the most recent version.
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### gamecontrollerdb_205.txt
For games or engines using the SDL >= 2.0.5 format. There are no range or inversion modifiers (+,-,~).
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### gamecontrollerdb_204.txt
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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.
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## 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,
```
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It is comprised of a controller GUID (`030000004c050000c405000000010000` ), a name (`PS4 Controller` ), button / axis mappings (`leftshoulder:b4` ) and a platform (`platform:Mac OS X` ).
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## 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
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There are a few different tools that let you create mappings.
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### [SDL2 Gamepad Tool](http://www.generalarcade.com/gamepadtool/)
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Third party cross-platform tool with GUI (Windows, macOS and Linux). Likely the easiest tool to use.
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### [SDL2 ControllerMap](https://www.libsdl.org/download-2.0.php)
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).
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### [Steam](http://store.steampowered.com)
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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.
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```
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"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,"
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```
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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,` .
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## Standard Mappings
Some controllers are a little tricky to figure out. Here are the recommended mappings.

# Usage
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Download gamecontrollerdb.txt, place it in your app's directory and load it.
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For example :
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```
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SDL_GameControllerAddMappingsFromFile("gamecontrollerdb.txt");
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```
# For Contributors
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## Check Your Mappings
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The currently active version is gamecontrollerdb.txt. If your mappings work on older SDL versions, you can add them to the appropriate files.
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Before submitting a new Pull Request, please run the `check.py` tool to make sure everything is in order.
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Run it with:
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```
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python check.py gamecontrollerdb.txt
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```
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Once no issues are detected, run the script with the `--format` option to sort the database in the appropriate format.
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```
python check.py --format gamecontrollerdb.txt
```
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You may now send a Pull Request. Tests are automatically run on Pull Requests, so you'll easily see if there is an issue.
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### Unit Tests
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- GUID is correct length and is hexadecimal.
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- GUID is in 2.0.5+ format.
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- 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.
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- Hats aren't 0 or diagonals.
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- No upstream official mappings are modified.
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- All mappings end with a comma.
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### Formatting
- The database is sorted by platform, then by name.
- Individual mapping keys are sorted alphabetically.
- Names are parsed for extraneous spaces.
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### Options
```
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usage: check.py [-h] [--format] [--convert_guids] [--add_missing_platform]
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[--import_header sdl_header]
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input_file
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positional arguments:
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input_file database file to check, ex. gamecontrollerdb.txt
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optional arguments:
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-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
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format
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--add_missing_platform
adds a platform field if it is missing on Windows and
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Mac OS X 2.0.4 entries
--import_header sdl_header
imports and overrides mappings using
SDL_gamecontrollerdb.h
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```
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## Resources
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* [SDL2 ](http://www.libsdl.org )
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* [SDL_GameControllerAddMappingsFromFile ](http://wiki.libsdl.org/SDL_GameControllerAddMappingsFromFile )