Nintendo Switch 2 controllers, at home on Windows 11.
Native gamepad input · Motion sensors · Optical & gyro mouse · Per-controller settings
Switch2NativeControllerDriver is an independent, open-source Windows driver and tray application for the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller and Joy-Con 2. It exposes gamepads through Windows XInput, motion through native Windows sensor APIs, and Joy-Con mouse input through standard HID mouse reports.
Download the Windows installer — development preview 0.3.9.3
No separate software prerequisites or manual commands. Download and run setup on Windows 11 x64, approve the Windows administrator prompt, review the development-certificate notice, and select Install. Setup includes the driver, tray, manager, offline guide and uninstaller, and handles certificate installation after consent. Visual Studio, SDK/WDK, CMake, devcon and a separate Visual C++ runtime are not needed to use the app. Wireless use requires a Bluetooth LE adapter. Installation guide · All releases.
This project has been tested on a limited set of hardware. The preview uses explicit development-certificate trust; it is not a Microsoft-certified or Nintendo-endorsed production driver. Windows policy may block installation. Production signing and broader clean-PC testing remain release requirements.
| Feature | What you get |
|---|---|
| Pro Controller over USB & Bluetooth | Automatic transport selection, gamepad input, rumble, motion sensors and ordinary assignable Home input. |
| Joy-Con 2 over Bluetooth | Use one sideways, keep controllers separate, or combine opposite halves into one gamepad. |
| Player LEDs | Connection-order numbering for up to four Joy-Cons. Separate sideways LEDs read left to right. |
| Native motion | Gyroscope and accelerometer devices available through Windows sensor APIs. |
| Optical mouse | Move a Joy-Con across a surface to move the pointer. Lift it to return those controls to the gamepad. |
| Gyro air mouse | Aim with wrist rotation, pause with stick-click, and use your regular mouse without cursor snap-back. Works across displays. |
| Click stabilization | A brief gyro movement hold makes clicking easier; deliberate held movement breaks out early for dragging. |
| Individual profiles | Saved dead zones and gyro response follow each physical controller, including the Pro across USB/Bluetooth. |
| Live diagnostics | Stick plots, dead-zone overlays, motion readings and rotating 3D models with green button highlights. |
| Connection-aware tray | Custom icon, visible-tray toggle, fading captions and Settings. The tray exits after the last disconnect. |
| Windows-owned pairing | Pair/remove controllers in Windows Settings. The manager only uses devices registered as paired in Windows. |
| Controller | USB | Bluetooth | Gamepad | Native gyro / acceleration | Mouse |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Switch 2 Pro Controller | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — |
| Joy-Con 2 (L) | Not implemented | Yes | Sideways or combined | Yes | Fallback when no right Joy-Con is connected |
| Joy-Con 2 (R) | Not implemented | Yes | Sideways or combined | Yes | Preferred optical / gyro mouse |
The driver manages one Pro Controller and up to four Joy-Cons. Windows XInput allows four gamepads total: four separate Joy-Cons temporarily displace the Pro virtual gamepad while its physical connection stays available. Four simultaneous physical Joy-Con links have not been hardware-validated; testing covers one Pro and one left/right pair.
First-generation Switch controllers, charging grips and other controller models are outside this support table.
- Run the development preview setup, review its certificate notice, and select Install.
- For Bluetooth, hold SYNC and select the controller in Windows Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Add device → Bluetooth.
- If it appears as paired but immediately says Not connected, press a normal button once. This first-pairing behavior is a known limitation.
- The player LED settles and the tray appears when connected. A Pro can also connect directly by USB.
- Right-click Switch2NativeControllerDriver in the tray for Settings..., Joy-Con grouping and mouse modes.
The Joy-Con popup offers Use both Joy-Cons as one controller? and Use both Joy-Cons separately? Change the choice later from the tray. A lone Joy-Con uses a sideways layout with SL/SR as shoulders. Joy-Con player numbering is independent of the Pro. Removing a device in Windows removes it from the manager's paired roster.
Settings shows every active physical controller, including both halves of a combined pair.
- Stick plots: calibrated raw position, filtered output and a live dead-zone overlay.
- Dead zones: 8% Circular by default; optional Axis mode; independent settings for each stick.
- Gyro response: 10–360 mouse counts per degree, default 90, saved per Joy-Con.
- Motion diagnostics: angular velocity, acceleration, relative orientation, delivered rate and sample count.
- 3D models: rotate with the controller; buttons glow green while pressed and brief taps flash. Includes stick clicks, shoulders, triggers, Joy-Con SL/SR and Pro GL/GR.
- Reset and recenter: reset only that controller's profile, or recenter only its preview heading.
Off-screen output from the actual model renderer with diagnostic pressed states; this illustrates the models, not the complete Settings window.
Profiles use factory identity rather than player number. The preview estimates rotation, not room position; yaw can drift without an absolute heading reference. Settings guide.
Optical Mouse uses the surface sensor. Gyro Mouse uses angular movement as a relative air mouse. The right Joy-Con takes priority; the left takes over when the right is absent. A connected left stays a normal gamepad while the right owns mouse input.
| Action | Right Joy-Con | Left Joy-Con acting as mouse |
|---|---|---|
| Left click | R | L |
| Right click | ZR | ZL |
| Middle click | X | Up-arrow |
| Scroll | Stick up/down | Stick up/down |
| Enable / disable Mouse Mode | Hold Plus, tap Home | Hold Minus, tap Capture |
| Switch optical / gyro | Hold Plus, click stick | Hold Minus, click stick |
| Pause / resume gyro movement | Stick-click alone | Stick-click alone |
| Raise optical sensitivity | Home | — |
| Lower optical sensitivity | C | Capture |
Active mouse actions are suppressed from the gamepad. Optical sensitivity ranges from 25% to 400%; gyro response has its own per-controller Settings control. Gyro pause stops movement while keeping clicks/scrolling available. Home remains an ordinary controller button outside relevant actions and does not launch Game Bar through this driver. Control details.
Current stream configurations target roughly 200 distinct motion samples/s over Bluetooth and 250/s over Pro USB. Wireless rates depend on the adapter, simultaneous links and conditions. Recent three-controller Bluetooth spot checks ranged approximately 162–200 Hz, including earlier near-200 Hz runs. These observations are not fixed guarantees.
250 Hz Bluetooth and 500 Hz USB are not verified features. Samples are not repeated or interpolated to inflate rates. XInput has no gyro channel: games need native sensor support or another integration. Settings renders around 25 frames/s while the driver processes motion separately.
To modify or compile the project, follow the developer build guide for build-machine tools and manual install/update scripts. To use the app, run the installer linked above; compiling the source is optional.
Windows CI builds the binaries, runs seven controller test suites and both INF checks, validates the installer and creates downloadable preview packages. These checks are not physical-controller or clean-PC installation tests. Installer development.
flowchart LR
Controllers["Pro / Joy-Con 2"] --> Transport["USB / paired Bluetooth"]
Transport --> Hubs["UMDF controller coordinators"]
Hubs --> Gamepad["Virtual HID → Windows XInput"]
Hubs --> Sensors["Gyrometer / Accelerometer"]
Hubs --> Mouse["Relative HID mouse"]
Hubs <--> Manager["Windows manager service"]
Manager <--> Tray["Tray / captions / Settings"]
Uses Windows' existing UMDF/HID/XInput components. No bundled ViGEmBus, third-party controller bridge, Nintendo firmware or custom kernel-mode driver. The service remains available when no controllers are connected; the desktop tray does not.
Developer guide · Security · Privacy
- Experimental development signing; not WHQL-certified or distributed through Windows Update.
- One Pro Controller; Joy-Con transport is Bluetooth only.
- First Windows pairing may require one additional button press.
- XInput has four slots and no arbitrary extra-button or gyro channel. HID exposure/model diagnostics do not create new XInput buttons.
- Battery/charging telemetry, headset audio, NFC and console functions are not implemented or validated.
- Other controller software can contend for physical access or produce duplicate input.
- Updates can require a Windows restart when handles or pending replacements prevent unloading. Ordinary disconnects clear held input.
- More adapters, sleep/resume, long sessions, every game and anti-cheat compatibility remain open validation work.
Reproducible hardware reports, documentation and focused patches are welcome. Read CONTRIBUTING.md, the Code of Conduct, and security reporting guidance. Redact hardware identities and personal paths from logs.
GNU GPL version 3; see LICENSE, COPYRIGHT.md and third-party notices. Modified WinStadia-derived driver portions and SDL-derived motion/rumble work retain upstream attribution. Protocol research and licensing scope are documented in PROVENANCE.md.
Nintendo, Nintendo Switch, Joy-Con, Xbox and Windows are trademarks of their respective owners. Names identify compatibility. This independent project is not affiliated with or endorsed by Nintendo or Microsoft. The software license does not grant their trademark rights or guarantee patent clearance.