Controller quick reference
The default controls and shortcuts, plus what to expect if you just run Couchpit and play. Print it on two A4 pages, or download the PDF.
In control mode your controller drives Windows: cursor, clicks and keys. It is on automatically on the desktop and pauses itself while a game or Big Picture is in front, so games always get your pad untouched. Buttons below use Xbox names; on PlayStation or Switch pads the same positions apply. Default layout shown: Handheld (Steam Deck style). Chose Classic in the wizard? See the box at the bottom.
Cursor & clicks
| RS | Move the cursor |
| LS | Scroll |
| RT | Left click (hold to drag) |
| LT | Right click |
| L3 | On-screen keyboard |
| R3 | Task View (open windows) |
Navigation
| LB | Browser back |
| RB | Browser forward |
| D-Pad | Arrow keys (hold to repeat) |
Buttons as keys
| A | Enter |
| B | Esc |
| X | Tab |
| Y | Space |
| Start | Enter (Menu button) |
Couchpit itself
| Back tap | On-screen cheat sheet (your live bindings) |
| Back hold | Peek the shortcuts overlay (page 2) |
| Guide | Unbound (Steam handles the Xbox button) |
Three things to remember
- Back+Start toggles control mode, anytime, anywhere: desktop, game, Big Picture. It is the master switch.
- You rarely need it: Smart mode hands the pad to the game by itself and gives the cursor back on the desktop.
- On games with anti-cheat, Couchpit pauses its gamepad extras automatically to protect your account.
Classic layout differences
If you picked Classic in the wizard: LS moves the cursor, RS scrolls · A left click · Y right click · LT Space · RT Backspace · and the Back+RT shortcut opens Task Manager instead of clicking.
Shortcuts are chords: hold Back first, then press the second button. They work on the desktop, in Big Picture and in game. In game, the disruptive ones ask you to keep the chord held for about 1.5 s (a countdown appears); the stopwatch icons in the Shortcuts section let you tune that per shortcut.
Couchpit & windows
| Back+Start | Toggle control mode |
| Back+Y | Toggle controller bridge (hold 1.5 s) |
| Back+B | Close window (Alt+F4) |
| Back+L3 | Switch apps (Alt+Tab) |
| Back+LT | Show desktop (Win+D) |
| Back+X | On-screen keyboard |
| Back+RT | Left click (Classic: Task Manager) |
| Back+R3 | Game screenshot |
Media & volume
| Back+A | Play / pause |
| Back+LB | Previous track |
| Back+RB | Next track |
| Back+D-Pad ↑ ↓ | Volume up / down |
| Back+D-Pad ← | Mute |
| Back+D-Pad → | Fullscreen toggle |
Handheld bonus
Hold Back and move RS for a temporary cursor (LS scrolls), even inside a game. Handy for launcher popups.
Out of the box: run it and just play
- Finish the short first-run wizard. Pick your controller style; PlayStation / Switch / generic pads can opt into the bridge drivers there.
- On the desktop, your pad is the mouse and keyboard. No setup needed.
- Launch any game, from anywhere. Couchpit detects it and applies its safe defaults: mutes notifications, pauses Windows Update, keeps the PC and displays awake, boosts the game's priority, pauses background hogs, prevents audio dropouts. A small toast shows how many tweaks it applied.
- While you play, the pad belongs to the game. Chords still work if you need them.
- Close the game and everything reverts on its own. Power, updates, notifications, background apps: back exactly as they were.
Off until you turn them on: per-monitor TV setups (screens on/off, resolution, scale and HDR per game), audio device switching, auto-launch Big Picture on startup, the controller bridge for non-Xbox pads, and the max-performance power modes. All live in the app's tabs when you want them.