XOutput

If you have an older or not supported game controller (gamepad, wheel, joystick, etc.), but XBox 360 controllers are supported you can use this software and enjoy gaming with your controller.

XOutput is a software that can convert DirectInput into XInput. DirectInput data is read and sent to a virtual XInput (Xbox 360 Controller) device. XInput is the new standard game controller input on windows, and DirectInput can no longer be used with Universal Windows Platform software, but with this tool you can use DirectInput devices as well.

Problem visualisation

graph TD
    subgraph XInput
        X1(Xbox controller 1) -->|Read hardware input| XD[Xbox controller driver - xusb22.sys]
        X2(Xbox controller 2) -->|Read hardware input| XD
        XD -->|Read input| XR[XInput handler - xinput1_3.dll]
    end
    subgraph DirectInput
        D1(fa:fa-gamepad Older controller) -->|Read hardware input| D1D[Controller driver]
        D2(Joystick) -->|Read hardware input| D2D[Joystick driver]
        D3(Gaming wheel) -->|Read hardware input| D3D[Gaming wheel driver]
        D1D -->|Read input| DR[Direct input handler - dinput8.dll]
        D2D -->|Read input| DR
        D3D -->|Read input| DR
    end
    subgraph Games
        XR -->|Read XInput| NG[Newer games]
        XR -->|Read XInput| CG[Compatible games]
        DR -->|Read DInput| CG[Compatible games]
        DR -->|Read DInput| OG[Older games]
    end

Offered solution

graph TD
    subgraph XInput
        X1(Xbox controller 1) -->|Read hardware input| XD[Xbox controller driver - xusb22.sys]
        X2(Xbox controller 2) -->|Read hardware input| XD
        XD -->|Read input| XR[XInput handler - xinput1_3.dll]
    end
    subgraph DirectInput
        D1(fa:fa-gamepad Older controller) -->|Read hardware input| D1D[Controller driver]
        D2(Joystick) -->|Read hardware input| D2D[Joystick driver]
        D3(Gaming wheel) -->|Read hardware input| D3D[Gaming wheel driver]
        D1D -->|Read input| DR[Direct input handler - dinput8.dll]
        D2D -->|Read input| DR
        D3D -->|Read input| DR
    end
    DR -->|Read DInput| XOA[XOutput.App]
    subgraph Solution
        DR -->|Read HTML5 gamepad API| BC[Chrome]
        DR -->|Read HTML5 gamepad API| BF[Firefox]
        BC -->|Sends input| XOS[XOutput.Server]
        BF -->|Sends input| XOS[XOutput.Server]
        XOA -->|Sends input| XOS[XOutput.Server]
        XOS -->|Control emulation| V[ViGEm]
    end
    V -->|Emulate controller| XD
    subgraph Games
        XR -->|Read XInput| NG[Newer games]
        XR -->|Read XInput| CG[Compatible games]
        DR -->|Read DInput| CG[Compatible games]
        DR -->|Read DInput| OG[Older games]
    end

General information

If you have any questions or feature requests feel free to create Github Issue.

Any contribution is welcome, open your Pull request.

To join the discussion or just say hi, there is a discord channel.

This version is currently under development. Please use 3.x version for stable features

How to install

Install emulation software

Install one of the two libraries. ViGEm (preferred) or SCPToolkit (unsupported, legacy)

a) Install VIGEm framework (recommended)

b) Install ScpToolkit and all of its dependencies described here

Install dependencies

Install:

• DirectX
• Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015 32-bit
• Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015 64-bit
• all the drivers for your controllers
• .NET 7 ASP.NET and Desktop runtime
• if you have issues, install the official XBox 360 controller drivers.

Download XOutput

• Download the latest stable release
• Unzip to any directory

How to upgrade

Download the application:

• Download the latest stable release
• Unzip to the same directory as before
• If there are errors, remove the existing conf directory

How it works

HidGuardian (exclusive mode)

• Install HidGuardian.

Affected devices and whitelist can be managed by the application, but it needs administrator priviledges.

1. Enable HidGuardian initialization in the settings.
2. Restart the application as administrator.
3. Add device to affected devices in the input settings.
4. Reconnect device or reboot PC

Add affected device manually (use this method only, if you want to hide non recognized HID devices):

1. Run regedit and go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\HidGuardian\Parameters
2. Create multi-string value with the name AffectedDevices
3. Open Device Manager, find your input device and open properties
4. Go to details, select Hardware ID and copy string that looks like HID\VID_046D&PID_C219&REV_0200 and HID\VID_046D&PID_C219
5. Paste the values into HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\HidGuardian\Parameters
6. Reconnect devices or reboot PC

Manage process whitelist manually (use this method only, if you want to use HidGuardian for other applications):

1. Start XOutput (or any other application)
2. Open Task Manager, find your application, then go to details.
3. Remember the value of the PID column.
4. Run regedit and go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\HidGuardian\Parameters\Whitelist
5. Create subkey with the PID you found before.

Developer Information

The 4.x version backend is built with .NET 7, you will need to download it.

However these runtimes and SDKs are cross platform the application is only compatible with Windows.

Server application

The server application is responsible for:

• collecting input from various sources
• mapping these sources
• emulating devices
• configuring all the above

It is recommended to create a Windows task from the server, so it can start at computer startup (with Administrator priviledges without UAC). Help can be found in the bin directory.

Server application might write the registry, therefore it needs administrator prividledges. Alternatively it can be started without admin access, but then when it tries to write the registry it will prompt UAC.

Webapp

The web application required Node 16 to build it, you can download it. It can be found in the web directory.

Reader application

The reader application is a GUI Windows application which can read input values.

Client project

The client project enabled developers to create a new type of input. It can be used to integrate with the server application.