ShikiPad

ShikiPad is a native Windows controller-to-keyboard and mouse mapper. It works best with PlayStation controllers. DualSense and DualShock 4 expose the full ShikiPad feature set, while Xbox controllers work through XInput and are limited by Windows system behavior.

Chinese documentation: README.zh-CN.md

Controller Choice

Use a DualSense or DualShock 4 controller when possible. This gives ShikiPad the most complete input surface, including Sony-specific buttons such as Home, Create/Share, Options/Menu, and DualSense Mute.

Many third-party controllers support multiple modes. If yours can switch modes, PS4 / DualShock 4 mode is recommended for ShikiPad. Xbox mode can still work for normal mapping, but Windows owns parts of the Xbox stack. In particular, the Xbox Guide/Home button cannot be read through XInput, and HidHide usually cannot hide Xbox controllers at the HID device layer.

ShikiPad now requires Interception for keyboard and mouse output. This does not stop Xbox controllers from being read, because Xbox input is read through XInput and output is sent through Interception. The practical limitation is not Interception, but the Windows XInput/Xbox stack.

Driver And HidHide Order

Recommended setup order:

1. Connect the controller once and confirm Windows can see it.
2. Install Interception with install_driver.bat as administrator.
3. Restart Windows.
4. Run ShikiPad.exe as administrator and confirm it can send keyboard and mouse output.
5. For PlayStation controllers, configure HidHide to prevent system or game double input.
6. Unplug and reconnect the controller after HidHide changes.

HidHide setup for PlayStation controllers:

1. In Applications, add the exact path to ShikiPad.exe.
2. Uncheck Inverse application cloak.
3. In Devices, check the target PlayStation controller. A red lock icon should appear.
4. If the target controller is unclear, connect the controller successfully first, then temporarily check all matching game controllers.
5. Check Filter-out disconnected, Gaming devices only, and Enable device hiding.
6. Close HidHide, then unplug and reconnect the controller.

To let Windows and games see the controller normally again, re-check Inverse application cloak or disable Enable device hiding, then unplug and reconnect the controller.

Release Package

A release archive contains only:

File	Purpose
ShikiPad.exe	Main program
install_driver.bat	Interception driver installer helper
interception.dll	Interception runtime
driver/install-interception.exe	Interception driver installer
README.md / README.zh-CN.md	Documentation

ShikiPad may create shikipad.default after launch. It only stores the default controller profile and is not part of the release package.

Install

1. Extract the release archive.
2. Right-click install_driver.bat and choose Run as administrator.
3. Restart Windows after Installation complete!.
4. Run ShikiPad.exe as administrator.
5. Type 1 to 8 to select a controller profile. You may save it as the default launch profile.

Console Pages

Page	Enter	Esc
Controller selection	Confirm selection	Exit
Home	Open mapping manual	Return to controller selection
Mapping manual	Return home	Exit ShikiPad

Closing the console window also exits and releases held keyboard and mouse inputs.

Mouse And System Buttons

Controller input	Output
Right stick	Mouse movement
L3	Left mouse button
R3	Right mouse button with a short cursor freeze on press
Left stick up / down	Mouse wheel
Sony Create / Share	Right Alt
Sony Options / Menu	Right Ctrl
Sony Home	Right Shift
DualSense Mute	Caps Lock
Share/Create/View + Options/Menu for about 1 second	Enable / disable ShikiPad

Voice Input

If controller typing still feels difficult, pair ShikiPad with voice input software such as Typeless or Shandian Shuo. PlayStation controllers are especially convenient here: Share maps to Right Alt, Options/Menu maps to Right Ctrl, and Home maps to Right Shift, so voice input shortcuts can be triggered without leaving the controller. The built-in microphone on supported PlayStation controllers also sits close to your mouth and can produce good recognition results in a quiet room.

Left Stick

Direction	Output
Left	Shift
Down-left	Ctrl
Down-right	Left Alt
Right	Win
Up-left	Esc
Up-right	Fn layer
Up / Down	Mouse wheel

Fn turns number-row keys into F1 to F12: 1..0 map to F1..F10, - maps to F11, and = maps to F12.

When the left stick enters a modifier direction, ShikiPad locks that direction until the stick returns to the deadzone. Rotating the stick around the edge will not drift from Shift to Ctrl, Alt, Win, or Esc. This makes held shortcuts stable: choose the modifier direction, keep holding the stick, then press the action key. Return to the deadzone to release it.

Clutch

Normally, the left stick holds one modifier at a time. Clutch collects multiple modifiers and releases them together.

While clutch is active, the currently collected modifiers remain held even if the left stick moves away from their original direction. This lets you keep a modifier, move the stick up or down for wheel input, or move to another modifier direction to add it to the stack. Releasing clutch releases the collected modifiers.

Controller	Activate / hold
DualSense / DualShock 4	Short-tap Touchpad to toggle, or long-press to hold
Xbox	Short-tap View/Back or Menu/Start to toggle, or long-press to hold

Typing Layers

The v3 release maps letters around familiar keyboard positions. This keeps layouts such as WASD and IJKL recognizable instead of sorting every letter purely by frequency.

The columns in the following tables correspond to: ↑, →, □/X, △/Y, ←, ↓, ×/A, ○/B.

Layer	↑	→	□/X	△/Y	←	↓	×/A	○/B
Base	↑	→	Space	Backspace	←	↓	Enter	Tab
R1 / RB	o	p	j	i	n	m	k	l
L1 / LB	w	d	q	e	a	s	z	x
R2 / RT	0	g	y	u	-	=	b	h
L2 / LT	r	f	t	1	c	v	3	2
R1 + L1	4	,	.	7	5	6	9	8
L2 + R2	)	>	;	'	(	<	backtick	\
L1 + R2	]	}	!	?	[	{	@	#
R1 + L2	+	/	&	*	_	^	$	%

The program sends physical keycodes. Characters requiring Shift (", :, |, ~) can be entered by holding the left stick Shift direction and pressing the corresponding base key (', ;, , backtick).

Base-layer keys repeat while held. Character layers are virtual taps: one press sends one key stroke, and holding does not repeat.

Troubleshooting

No keyboard or mouse output

Install Interception, restart Windows, and run ShikiPad.exe as administrator.

System or game double input

If Windows still sees the physical controller while ShikiPad is running, the same stick movement can be handled twice: once by ShikiPad and once by Windows or the focused app. Typical symptoms include left-stick Alt plus Tab jumping unpredictably between windows, or the left-stick Win modifier failing because Windows treats controller input as Start menu, taskbar, or app icon navigation. Configure HidHide as described above so only ShikiPad can see the PlayStation controller. Xbox controllers use XInput, so HidHide usually cannot hide them at the HID layer.

Timing Model Parameters

ShikiPad uses short time windows to absorb human input errors when typing quickly.

Parameter	Default	Purpose
comboLayerWindowMs	55 ms	Base dual-layer interval. L1+R2 and R1+L2 add +20 ms, so they resolve at 75 ms
actionLayerGraceMs	45 ms	Grace window between action key and layer recognition
actionLayerPostGraceMs	15 ms	Grace window after a layer is released before a new layer is pressed
layerTakeoverWindowMs	30 ms	Max time allowed for an old layer to overlap with a newly intended layer
actionLayerSwitchGuardMs	35 ms	Suppress residual mis-touches when switching layers after a character is typed