dualsense-ts

This module provides a natural interface for your DualSense controller.

Getting started

Installation

This package is distributed via npm. Install it the usual way:

• npm add dualsense-ts

In the browser, dualsense-ts has zero dependencies and relies on the WebHID API. At this time, only Chrome, Edge, and Opera are compatible.

In node.js, dualsense-ts relies on node-hid as a peer dependency, so you'll need to add it as well:

• npm add node-hid

Connecting

When you construct a new Dualsense(), it will begin searching for a controller. If it finds one, it will connect automatically.

import { Dualsense } from "dualsense-ts";

// Grab a controller connected via USB or Bluetooth
const controller = new Dualsense();

If the device disconnects, dualsense-ts will quietly wait for it to come back. You can monitor the connection status with controller.connection using any of the Input APIs listed in the next section.

const connected = controller.connection.active

controller.connection.on("change", ({ active }) = > {
  console.log(`controller ${active ? '' : 'dis'}connected`)
});

Input APIs

dualsense-ts provides several interfaces for reading input:

• Synchronous: It's safe to read the current input state at any time

// Buttons
controller.circle.state; // false
controller.left.bumper.state; // true

// Triggers
controller.right.trigger.active; // true
controller.right.trigger.pressure; // 0.72, 0 - 1

// Analog Sticks - represented as a position on a unit circle
controller.left.analog.x.active; // true, when away from center
controller.left.analog.x.state; // 0.51, -1 to 1
controller.left.analog.direction; // 4.32, radians
controller.left.analog.magnitude; // 0.23, 0 to 1

// Touchpad - each touch point works like an analog input
controller.touchpad.right.contact.state; // false
+controller.touchpad.right.x; // -0.44, -1 to 1

• Callbacks: Each input is an EventEmitter or EventTarget that provides input, press, release, and change events

// Change events are triggered only when an input's value changes
controller.triangle.on("change", (input) =>
  console.log(`${input} changed: ${input.active}`)
);
// ▲ changed: true
// ▲ changed: false

// The callback provides two arguments, so you can monitor nested inputs
// You'll get a reference to your original input, and the one that changed
controller.dpad.on("press", (dpad, input) =>
  assert(dpad === controller.dpad)
  console.log(`${input} pressed`)
);
// ↑ pressed
// → pressed
// ↑ pressed

// `input` events are triggered whenever there is new information from the controller
// Your Dualsense may provide over 250 `input` events per second, so use this sparingly
// These events are not available for nested inputs, like the example above
controller.left.analog.x.on("input", console.log)

• Promises: Wait for one-off inputs using await

// Resolves next time `dpad up` is released
const { active } = await controller.dpad.up.promise("release");

// Wait for the next press of any dpad button
const { left, up, down, right } = await controller.dpad.promise("press");

// Wait for any input at all
await controller.promise();

• Async Iterators: Each input is an async iterator that provides state changes

for await (const { pressure } of controller.left.trigger) {
  console.log(`L2: ${Math.round(pressure * 100)}%`);
}

Other Supported Features

Motion Control

controller.gyroscope.on("change", ({ x, y, z }) => {
  console.log(`Gyroscope: \n\t${x}\n\t${y}\n\t${z}`)
}

controller.accelerometer.on("change", ({ x, y, z }) => {
  console.log(`Accelerometer: \n\t${x}\n\t${y}\n\t${z}`)
}

controller.accelerometer.z.on("change", ({ force }) => {
  if (force > 0.3) console.log('Controller moving')
})

Rumble

Only supported in node.js over USB at this time.

controller.rumble(1.0); // 100% rumble intensity
controller.left.rumble(0.5); // 50% rumble intensity on the left
console.log(controller.left.rumble()); // Prints 0.5
console.log(controller.right.rumble()); // Prints 1
controller.rumble(0); // Stop rumbling

controller.rumble(true); // Another way to set 100% intensity
controller.rumble(false); // Another way to stop rumbling

// Control right rumble intensity with the right trigger
controller.right.trigger.on("change", (trigger) => {
  controller.right.rumble(trigger.magnitude);
});

With React

Check out the example app for more details.

// DualsenseContext.tsx
import { createContext } from "react";
import { Dualsense } from "dualsense-ts";

const controller = new Dualsense();
export const DualsenseContext = createContext(controller);
DualsenseContext.displayName = "DualsenseContext";

controller.connection.on("change", ({ state }) => {
  console.group("dualsense-ts");
  console.log(`Controller ${state ? "" : "dis"}connected`);
  console.groupEnd();
});

controller.hid.on("error", (err) => {
  console.group("dualsense-ts");
  console.log(err);
  console.groupEnd();
});

The user will need to grant permission before we can access new devices using the WebHID API. The Dualsense class provides a callback that can be used as a handler for onClick or other user-triggered events:

// PermissionComponent.tsx
import { useContext } from "react";
import { DualsenseContext } from "./DualsenseContext";

export const RequestController = () => {
  const controller = useContext(DualsenseContext);
  return (
    <button
      text="Grant Permission"
      onClick={controller.hid.provider.getRequest()}
    />
  );
};

Now components with access to this context can enjoy the shared dualsense-ts interface:

// ConnectionComponent.tsx
import { useContext, useEffect, useState } from "react";
import { DualsenseContext } from "./DualsenseContext";

export const ControllerConnection = () => {
  const controller = useContext(DualsenseContext);
  const [connected, setConnected] = useState(controller.connection.state);
  const [triangle, setTriangle] = useState(controller.triangle.state);

  useEffect(() => {
    controller.connection.on("change", ({ state }) => setConnected(state));
    controller.triangle.on("change", ({ state }) => setTriangle(state));
  }, []);

  return (
    <p dir={triangle ? "ltr" : "rtl"}>{`Controller ${
      state ? "" : "dis"
    }connected`}</p>
  );
};

It's not working

Try out the example app's debugger to look for clues. Please open an issue on Github if you have questions or something doesn't seem right.

If inputs are not working or wrong, use the debugger to view the report buffer and include this with your issue to help us reproduce the problem.

Migration Guide

dualsense-ts uses semantic versioning. For more info on breaking changes, check out the migration guide.

Credits

• CamTosh's node-dualsense
• flok's pydualsense
• nondebug's dualsense reference
• Contributors to dualsense-ts on Github