netpad

Turn your phone into a wireless Xbox 360 or DualShock 4 controller for PC games — over local Wi-Fi. Up to 4 players at once, each with a fully customizable on-screen layout.

Features

• Per-phone controller type — each phone connects as Xbox (XInput) or PlayStation (DS4), chosen at join.
• Up to 4 controllers on slots 1–4.
• Customizable touch layout — drag to position, slider to resize, presets (Xbox / PlayStation / Minimal) or build your own from a Blank canvas using the element palette. Save, export (.netpad), and import layouts.
• Rich controls — sticks (fixed or floating/dynamic zones), d-pad, A/B/X/Y, bumpers, analog or digital triggers, Start/Back, a center Home/Guide button, combo (chord) buttons that hold several inputs at once, and the DS4 touchpad (drag + click) for PlayStation.
• Live monitor at /monitor — every connected phone mirrored at its real screen ratio with live input.
• Connection debug at /debug — measures HTTP and WebSocket latency.
• Low-latency transport — WebSocket by default (with automatic HTTP fallback), selectable per connection.
• Landscape-only with a rotate prompt.

Prerequisites

1. Windows PC (the ViGEm Bus Driver is Windows-only)
2. Node.js 18+ — https://nodejs.org
3. ViGEm Bus Driver — https://github.com/nefarius/ViGEmBus/releases
   • Download the latest ViGEmBus_Setup_x64.msi and install it. No reboot needed — it works immediately after installing.

Setup

cd server
npm install
node server.js

The server prints your PC's local IP:

netpad running → http://localhost:3000
Connect phone  → http://192.168.1.42:3000

(Find your IP manually with ipconfig → IPv4 Address under your active Wi-Fi/Ethernet adapter.)

Connect Your Phone

1. Put your phone on the same Wi-Fi network as your PC.
2. Open the printed URL (e.g. http://192.168.1.42:3000) in your phone's browser.
3. Enter a name, pick Controller (Xbox / PlayStation), a Slot, and Connection (WebSocket recommended), then tap Connect.
4. You drop straight into your last-used layout and start playing. Hold the phone in landscape.

Tip: on iOS, use Share → Add to Home Screen for a fullscreen, app-like experience.

Layouts

The connect flow loads your last-used layout automatically. To change or build layouts, open ⚙ Settings on the controller screen:

• Adjust Layout — edit the current layout (positions, sizes, options).
• Layouts — switch between saved layouts, start from a preset or Blank, or import/export.

In the editor:

• Drag an element to move it (snaps to an adjustable grid).
• Tap an element for its controls: a size slider, plus per-type options.
• Sticks: toggle Floating (touch anywhere in a zone to spawn the stick at your finger) vs Fixed.
• Triggers (L2/R2): toggle Analog (drag for pressure) vs Digital (tap).
• Palette (left panel): tap a control to add it; ＋ Combo creates a chord button (pick the buttons it fires together).
• Remove sends a control back to the palette.
• Save As to name and keep a layout; Export writes a shareable .netpad file.

Monitor & Debug

• /monitor — open http://<pc-ip>:3000/monitor on the PC to see every connected phone's layout light up live (buttons, sticks, d-pad, touchpad, combos), each mirrored at its real screen ratio.

  

• /debug — open http://<pc-ip>:3000/debug (or tap Connection debug on the join screen) to measure HTTP vs WebSocket latency and confirm WebSocket connectivity.

  

Tested With

• Split Fiction (co-op, 2 controllers)

Troubleshooting

Problem	Fix
"ViGEm Bus Driver not found"	Install the driver (no reboot needed) and restart node server.js
Phone can't reach server	Confirm both devices are on the same Wi-Fi; allow port 3000 through Windows Firewall
Controller not detected in game	Press a button first (some games/testers only reveal a gamepad after input); check joy.cpl (Win+R → joy.cpl) for the virtual device
Input feels laggy	Use the WebSocket connection mode, stay near the router, and check /debug for latency
Stuck on "Rotate your device"	The app is landscape-only — turn the phone sideways