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ControlApp

README.md

DsHidMini ControlApp

Requirements Platform

Desktop control application for the DsHidMini driver.
Manage connected SIXAXIS/DualShock 3 (and compatible) controllers, configure HID modes and per-device settings, and maintain DsHidMini profiles—all from a modern WPF UI (WPF-UI / Fluent).

Table of contents

Overview

DsHidMini ControlApp is the official Windows desktop companion for the DsHidMini kernel driver. It uses the Nefarius.DsHidMini.IPC SDK to talk to the driver and provides:

  • Devices — View connected controllers, edit per-device settings, pair to a new Bluetooth host, and reconnect devices when the global HID mode changes.
  • Profiles — Manage DsHidMini configuration profiles (including a global default), assign profiles to devices, and edit profile-specific settings.
  • Settings — Application options (theme, logging, update check, genuine-controller check) and access to the global profile.

Configuration is stored under %AppData%; the app does not require administrator rights to run, but some device actions (e.g. full editing, pairing) are available or more reliable when run elevated.

Requirements

Requirement Details
.NET .NET 9.0
OS Windows 10 or later (targeting net9.0-windows10.0.17763.0)
Driver DsHidMini driver installed; at least one compatible controller connected for full functionality
Architecture AnyCPU or x64 (NUKE publish uses win-x64)

Building

From the repository root or the ControlApp folder:

dotnet build

Release build:

dotnet build -c Release

Solution build (from repo root):

dotnet build ControlAppSolution.sln

Publishing

Production-ready, single-file, framework-dependent publish for Windows x64 is done via the NUKE build. From the repository root:

.\build.ps1 PublishControlApp

This compiles the solution (if needed) and publishes the ControlApp to the solution bin folder. The NUKE task uses:

Option Value
Configuration Release
Runtime win-x64
Self-contained false (framework-dependent)
Single-file true
Publish directory bin\ (at repo root)

Features

Devices page

  • Device list — All DsHidMini devices currently connected; selection drives the detail panel.
  • Per-device settings — Edit settings for the selected device (when running with sufficient permissions):
    • HID mode — SDF, GPJ, SXS, DS4Windows, XInput.
    • LEDs — Mode and timing (e.g. battery indicator, player index).
    • Wireless — Pairing mode, custom host address, idle timeout, quick-disconnect combo.
    • Sticks — Deadzone and polar value.
    • Rumble — General on/off, left-motor rescale, alternative rumble mode.
    • Output report — Rate control and deduplication.
  • Reconnect — Reconnect devices when the active HID mode no longer matches the driver config (e.g. after changing the global profile).
  • Pair to host — Set the Bluetooth host address the controller pairs to (requires elevation for handle duplication).

Profiles page

  • Profile list — All DsHidMini profiles plus the built-in default; select one to view or edit.
  • Global profile — Choose which profile is used for new devices and for devices using “global settings”.
  • Per-profile editing — Same setting categories as per-device (HID mode, LEDs, wireless, sticks, rumble, output report); changes apply when the profile is used.

Settings page

  • Theme — Light or dark (WPF-UI application theme).
  • App version — Displayed in the title bar / settings.
  • Application configuration — Stored in %AppData%; see Configuration.

Configuration

Application-level options are stored in %AppData% in a JSON file (and optional schema) named ControlApp (see ApplicationConfiguration.GlobalConfigFileName). The model is in Models\ApplicationConfiguration.cs. Examples:

Property Description Default
IsLoggingEnabled Enable log file output false
IsUpdateCheckEnabled Check for updates on startup true
IsGenuineCheckEnabled Validate controller MAC against known OUI list true
HasAcknowledgedDonationDialog User has dismissed the donation prompt false

DsHidMini driver configuration (profiles, global profile, per-device profile assignment) is managed by DshmConfigManager and persisted via its own user-data store; the ControlApp UI reads and writes that through the same manager.

Elevation and permissions

  • The app runs as invoker (no mandatory elevation). Normal users can open the app, view devices and profiles, and change application settings.
  • “Restart as Administrator” — Shown in the title bar when not elevated; use it to get full device-editing and pairing support (e.g. handle duplication for raw input and pairing).
  • Device editing — Some device operations (e.g. pairing to host, or reliable application of certain settings) require the process to have sufficient privileges; restarting as administrator is the supported way to obtain them.

Project structure (reference)

Area Purpose
Views/Windows Main window (navigation, title bar, restart-as-admin).
Views/Pages Devices, Profiles, Settings pages.
Views/UserControls Device and profile cards, device settings editor.
ViewModels/ Page and control ViewModels (CommunityToolkit.Mvvm).
Models/ App config, DsHidMini config (DshmConfigManager, profiles, device settings), device enumeration (DshmDevMan).
Services/ Application host, snackbar/messaging.
Helpers/ Converters, bindings, localization.

The app references Nefarius.DsHidMini.IPC (same repo, SDK\Nefarius.DsHidMini.IPC) for driver IPC.