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Installation

Install PadForge, run it the first time, and set up the optional drivers.

Prefer to watch? Your First Controller opens with a video of the install and a first virtual controller, recorded live in PadForge 5.2.0.

Add Controller popup: pick a virtual controller type

Quick start (2 minutes)

  1. Download the win-x64 zip from the latest release, for example PadForge-v5.2.0-win-x64.zip. It holds PadForge.exe and nothing else. On Windows on ARM, take the win-arm64 zip (preliminary).
  2. Extract the zip to any folder (e.g. C:\PadForge\).
  3. Run PadForge.exe.
  4. Approve the one UAC prompt at startup. PadForge needs administrator rights to run.
  5. Back on the Dashboard, click Add Controller and pick a type (Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, Extended, Keyboard + Mouse, MIDI, or VR).
  6. Plug in a physical controller. It appears on the Devices page. Select it, then under Virtual Controller Assignment click the pill for the slot you want it to feed. Assigning the first device to an Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, or Extended slot installs HIDMaestro automatically. No button to click.
  7. Done. Games now see a virtual controller.

Upgrading from PadForge v2? On first launch, PadForge detects ViGEmBus and vJoy and offers to uninstall them. HIDMaestro replaces both.

Requirements

Requirement Details
OS Windows 10 or 11 (x64), or Windows 11 on ARM64 (preliminary)
Runtime .NET 10 Desktop Runtime, bundled. No separate install.
Format Portable single-file executable. No installer. Extract and run.

Settings live in PadForge.xml next to the executable. To move PadForge, move the whole folder.

Windows on ARM (preliminary)

Every release carries a second zip, win-arm64, a native build for Windows 11 on ARM64. It works as the x64 build does: virtual controllers, HidHide, the DualShock 3 Bluetooth driver, Vosk voice recognition and Xbox Elite paddles all run there, each driver installs its ARM64 version, and Windows MIDI Services comes with Windows on ARM64 as it does on x64, with an ARM64 build of the runtime where Windows does not carry it yet. HidHide, Vosk and Elite paddles joined in 4.5.2.

A few features wait on their vendors, because an ARM64 program can load ARM64 libraries only:

Feature In the ARM64 build
Razer Sensa HD haptics Not available. Razer ships no ARM64 engine, and lists Synapse for x86-64 Windows only
Logitech G-keys Not available. Logitech Gaming Software installs x64 and x86 libraries only
VR headset and controllers through SteamVR Not available. PadForge loads SteamVR's win64 library
Logitech LIGHTSYNC, OpenXR headset input Only if the vendor's software installs an ARM64 engine or runtime

The ARM64 build never adds the Razer Sensa row to the Devices page.

The ARM64 build has not run on ARM64 hardware yet.

First launch

PadForge opens the Dashboard after first launch. It shows one UAC prompt at startup because it needs administrator rights. A short welcome tour appears the first time and highlights the main areas. Follow it or skip it, then set things up in this order.

  1. Create a virtual controller. On the Dashboard, click Add Controller and pick a type. Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, Extended (flight sticks, wheels, third-party gamepads, custom HID), Keyboard + Mouse, MIDI, or VR. The VR type stays disabled until SteamVR is installed, and one VR slot is the maximum because it drives both hands.
  2. Check devices. Open Devices. PadForge auto-detects every connected gamepad, joystick, keyboard, and mouse.
  3. Assign a device. Select the device on the Devices page, then click a slot pill under Virtual Controller Assignment to route that physical controller through the virtual one. The slot badges on the list cards show what is already assigned. They are not buttons.

Games now see the virtual controller as a standard gamepad.

The About page, at the bottom of the sidebar, lists the projects PadForge is built on, along with its license and a short description of what it does. Your app version lives on Settings under Diagnostics > App Version. Note it when filing an issue.

The About page: the projects PadForge is built on

HIDMaestro

HIDMaestro is the user-mode driver that creates the virtual controllers. PadForge needs it for the Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, and Extended controller types. Keyboard + Mouse and MIDI use their own paths and do not need it. The VR type rides HIDMaestro's OpenVR driver, which registers itself with SteamVR instead of creating a HID device.

The driver ships embedded in PadForge.exe. It installs automatically the first time an online device is assigned to an Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, or Extended slot. Creating the slot alone does not install it, because PadForge only builds the virtual controller once something is feeding it. There's no button to click, and the startup UAC prompt covers it. On the Settings page, the HIDMaestro card reads Not Installed until that first install puts the driver in Windows' driver store, then Installed. It always shows the HIDMaestro version PadForge carries. After that, every Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, or Extended slot with an assigned device becomes a fresh HIDMaestro device. Delete the slot and the device disappears. Slots and devices stay 1:1.

If you upgraded from PadForge v2, HIDMaestro replaces ViGEmBus and vJoy. The legacy driver cleanup dialog on first launch handles uninstalling them.

See HIDMaestro Deep Dive for how PadForge talks to the driver under the hood.

Optional add-ons

Two optional installs live on Settings. HidHide is bundled inside PadForge.exe: the 1.5.230 setup on an x64 PC, the ARM64 driver 1.6.280.0 on an ARM64 PC. SteamVR downloads on demand. Each card lights its status indicator once installed and swaps its Install button for Uninstall. Windows MIDI Services comes with Windows 11 25H2 from the late-November 2026 update, and its card offers the runtime on a PC that does not have it yet.

One more driver installs outside Settings. The first pairing of a DualShock 3, PS Move or Navigation controller for Bluetooth installs the bundled PlayStation Bluetooth driver (BthPS3 and its BthPS3PSM filter). Plugging an original Move or a Navigation controller in over USB runs that pairing on its own. A PC that never pairs one of them never gets the driver. Its BthPS3 Bluetooth Driver card on Settings shows whether it is installed and removes it.

The Settings drivers section: HIDMaestro, HidHide, and Windows MIDI Services cards

HidHide

Hides physical controllers from games so only the virtual ones are visible. Install it if a game sees both your physical pad and the PadForge virtual one at the same time and treats each input twice. Skip it if you do not see double input.

Windows MIDI Services

Creates virtual MIDI ports for the MIDI virtual controller type and reads MIDI keyboards as inputs. It is part of Windows 11 25H2 from the late-November 2026 update. Before that update, and on Windows 11 24H2, click Install on its card: PadForge installs its own build of the Windows MIDI Services runtime, since Microsoft no longer offers its download. Without either, MIDI runs on the legacy MIDI API, where each MIDI slot sends to a port you pick. See Driver Management.

SteamVR

The VR runtime the virtual VR controllers need. PadForge installs it straight from Valve's servers, with no Steam account and no Steam client. It is several gigabytes, so pick the Install Location before starting. Skip it unless you want VR slots. Uninstall appears only for the Steam-free install PadForge created. A SteamVR that came with the Steam client belongs to Steam and shows no uninstall.

Keyboard + Mouse

Always on. Maps controller inputs to keyboard keys and mouse moves. No driver required.

OpenXInput

PadForge bundles a build of OpenXInput so it keeps its own virtual controllers out of its own view. Without it, PadForge would try to map a virtual controller through itself. Games and Steam still see the virtual controllers normally. Nothing to install.

Administrator privileges

PadForge needs administrator rights and shows a UAC prompt at startup. HIDMaestro driver registration (automatic) and its removal from the Settings card, HidHide install / uninstall / whitelist edits, SteamVR install / uninstall, and the Windows MIDI Services runtime's install / uninstall all need administrator access. Reading physical controllers needs it too. Declining the prompt means PadForge does not start.

The UAC shield is on the EXE icon as a hint. PadForge prompts once per launch.

Start at login

Turn on Settings > Window > Start at Login to launch PadForge on sign-in.

To run PadForge silently in the background, turn on all three options.

Option Effect
Start at Login Launches PadForge on sign-in.
Start Minimized Starts with the main window minimized.
Minimize to System Tray Keeps PadForge in the notification area instead of the taskbar.

With all three on, PadForge runs in the background with only a tray icon.

Updating

From 4.5.3 on, PadForge updates itself. Settings > Updates checks GitHub 20 seconds after launch and every 12 hours, and Install and Restart replaces PadForge.exe in place. PadForge.xml is not touched. See Updates.

Version 4.5.2 and older have no updater. Download the new zip, exit PadForge, and replace PadForge.exe with the one from the zip. If Close to System Tray is on, closing the window leaves PadForge running, so pick Exit from its tray icon's menu. PadForge.xml stays where it is and carries over.

Uninstalling

There is no installer, so removal is short.

  1. Open Settings and click Uninstall next to HidHide and SteamVR if you installed them. The Windows MIDI Services card offers Uninstall while a runtime is installed. Other MIDI apps can use the runtime too, so remove it only if nothing else needs it. Click Uninstall on the HIDMaestro Driver card last: it stops the engine and removes HIDMaestro's virtual controllers, driver, certificate, registry keys and files (what it removes). Turn off Start at Login too if it is on, so Windows drops its logon task.
  2. Exit PadForge. If Close to System Tray is on, pick Exit from its tray icon's menu, since closing the window leaves it running.
  3. Delete the PadForge folder.

Already deleted PadForge? Download HIDMaestro-v2.1.0.zip (HIDMaestro-v2.1.0-arm64.zip on Windows on ARM) from the HIDMaestro releases and extract it. In a terminal opened as administrator, change to its HIDMaestroUninstall folder and run .\HIDMaestroUninstall.exe. It removes HIDMaestro the way the Uninstall button does, and asks first. Troubleshooting covers the rest of what PadForge installs.

If you previously had ViGEmBus or vJoy installed from PadForge v2, the legacy driver cleanup dialog on first launch removes them for you.

Last updated for PadForge 5.2.0.