Most controllers work with Eden out of the box via standard system input APIs. If your controller is not recognized or behaves unexpectedly, use a joystick calibration tool such as calibrate-joystick to rule out a hardware issue before adjusting emulator settings.Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/eden-emulator/mirror/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
Using external controllers on Steam Deck
Connecting an external controller (Pro Controller, Xbox controller, etc.) in Steam Deck’s desktop mode requires some extra care due to how Steam assigns virtual gamepad slots. In desktop mode, ignore the external controller and set Steam Virtual Gamepad 0 as Player 1. For multiple external controllers, set Player 2 to Steam Virtual Gamepad 1. Keep the Steam application open in desktop mode at all times. After waking from sleep, avoid pressing any button on the physical Steam Deck. Power on your external controller first, then launch the Eden AppImage. If done correctly, the external controller will occupy Virtual Gamepad position 0. If it does not, repeat the process. The Steam Deck and any external controller compete for position 0 based on which receives input first after wake. When switching to gaming mode, follow the same pattern: do not touch the physical Steam Deck controls, then turn on the external controller. If the slot assignment is still wrong, use Steam’s gamepad reorder feature to rearrange controller positions.Configuring controller profiles
Controller profiles let you save a specific button mapping and reuse it across games or sessions.Open Eden and navigate to settings
Launch Eden and wait for it to fully load. Go to Emulation > Configure… in the menu bar.
Configure your controller
Select Controls from the left-hand menu. Map your controller buttons and axes to the desired layout for the Switch controller.
Save the profile
Click New and enter a name for the profile in the dialog that appears. Press OK to save.
A visual walkthrough with screenshots is available at the Configuring Controller Profiles guide.
Setting a controller profile per game
Some games need a specific input mode to work correctly. For example, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker shows an unwanted blue dot in docked mode but not in handheld mode — assigning a handheld-mode profile to that game resolves the issue.Navigate to Input Profiles
In the Properties window, go to the Input Profiles tab.
If you cannot see all tabs, resize the Properties window or use the arrow buttons next to the tab bar to scroll to Input Profiles.
Assign the profile
Use the Player 1 profile dropdown (or whichever player slot you need) to select the saved profile you want to use for this game.
A visual walkthrough with screenshots is available at the Setting Controller Profiles By Game guide.
Gyro and motion controls on Steam Deck
Eden supports gyroscope/motion controls on Steam Deck using the SteamDeckGyroDSU service, which exposes the Steam Deck’s IMU over a CemuHook UDP socket. Prerequisites- Steam Deck fully set up in desktop mode
- Eden installed and configured
- Internet access for downloading SteamDeckGyroDSU
Install SteamDeckGyroDSU
In Steam Deck’s desktop mode, launch EmuDeck. Navigate to 3rd Party Tools > Gyroscope and click Install.Alternatively, install SteamDeckGyroDSU manually by following the instructions on the GitHub releases page.
Open the Eden config file
Go back into desktop mode and open the Dolphin file manager. Navigate to:Right-click qt-config.ini and open it with Kate (or any text editor).
A visual walkthrough with screenshots is available at the Getting Gyro/Motion Controls Working on Steam Deck guide.