A Playnite extension that detects game controller connections and gamepad hotkeys, displaying a customizable popup prompting users to switch to fullscreen mode. Built on Playnite SDK 6.16 and its Controller API for Desktop Mode.
Includes the option to skip the pop-up to let the user directly switch to fullscreen.
Currently Tested on an Xbox Series X USB/Wireless Controller
- Playnite SDK 6.16.0 — Updated to the latest SDK (API 6.16.0, Playnite 10.52)
- Alternative fullscreen switch method — Opt-in setting that uses Playnite's
--startfullscreenCLI flag instead of launchingPlaynite.FullscreenApp.exedirectly. Enable in Settings → Troubleshooting. - Known extension incompatibility — The Playnite Overlay plugin causes Playnite to crash when ControlUp is installed. See Troubleshooting for details.
See CHANGELOG.md for full version history.
- Detection Modes: New connection only, any controller anytime, or startup only
- Controller Detection Popup: Customizable popup when a controller is connected, asking to switch to fullscreen
- Toast Notifications: Brief, non-blocking notifications for events like auto-switching
- Controller Hotkey: Button combos (Start+RB, Guide+Start, LB+RB, etc.) or single buttons with long press
- Controller Navigation: D-pad/thumbsticks to navigate, A to confirm, B to cancel
- Style Presets: Quick-apply color schemes for both pop-up and toast notifications
- Acrylic Blur: Windows Composition API blur with customizable opacity, tint, and padding
- Live Preview: Test appearance from settings before saving
- Download the latest
.pextfile from the Releases page - Double-click the
.pextfile to install, or drag it into Playnite - Restart Playnite when prompted
- Configure the extension in Settings > Extensions > ControlUp
- Detection Mode: When to trigger the fullscreen popup (Disabled, New Connection Only, Any Controller Anytime, Startup Only)
- Skip Popup on Connection: Switch directly to fullscreen without showing popup
- Enable Logging: Detailed logging for troubleshooting
- Hotkey Combination: Many button combos or single buttons
- Long Press: Require holding the hotkey (300-2000ms) — recommended for single buttons like Guide
- Hotkey Cooldown: Delay after popup closes before hotkey can trigger again
- Style presets, position, size, timing, acrylic blur, background, border with opacity, corner radius, blur padding, vignette effect, and live preview
- Style presets (Ocean Teal default), position, size, duration, acrylic blur, border with opacity, accent bar, and colors
- Playnite 10 or later
- Windows 10 or later (for acrylic blur effect)
- Xbox, PlayStation, or compatible gamepad
See CHANGELOG.md for version history.
If Playnite crashes or closes unexpectedly when ControlUp is installed (on controller connect/disconnect or fullscreen switching), this is caused by an incompatibility with another Playnite extension. Extensions that hook into window management or overlay rendering can conflict with ControlUp.
Known incompatible extensions:
- Playnite Overlay — causes Playnite to crash when ControlUp is installed
What to do:
- Disable the conflicting extension to confirm it's the cause
- Report the issue to the developers of the incompatible extension
- You can try the alternative fullscreen switch method in Settings → Troubleshooting, but this may not resolve all conflicts
If the popup closes but fullscreen mode never appears, Windows SmartScreen may be blocking the launch. This happens because ControlUp launches Playnite.FullscreenApp.exe as a new process.
Solution:
- Navigate to your Playnite installation folder
- Right-click on
Playnite.FullscreenApp.exe - Select Properties
- At the bottom of the General tab, if you see "This file came from another computer and might be blocked to help protect this computer", check the Unblock checkbox
- Click Apply and OK
Alternatively, run Playnite.FullscreenApp.exe manually once and click "Run anyway" when SmartScreen prompts.
This is normal and SDL-related — not a bug in ControlUp or Playnite. When using XInput mode, Windows only identifies controllers by slot number and doesn't provide detailed device names. Your controller is working correctly. You can verify this in Playnite's Settings > Input, which shows the same generic names.
- Clone the repository
- Open
ControlUp.slnin Visual Studio - Restore NuGet packages
- Build in Release configuration
Run the packaging script:
.\package_extension.ps1The .pext file will be created in the pext folder.
- Playnite SDK 6.16.0 - Extension framework
- SDL2 - Controller detection and input mapping (zlib license)
- MaterialDesignThemes & MaterialDesignColors - WPF UI components (MIT)
- Microsoft.Xaml.Behaviors.Wpf - XAML behaviors (MIT)
See LICENSE file for component licenses and acknowledgments.
MIT License - see LICENSE file for details and third-party acknowledgements