Switch 2 Pro Controller → Xbox pad bridge (Windows)

A native Windows app that makes the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller (USB 057E:2069) work as a standard Xbox 360 controller — in Dolphin and any game/emulator — with rumble, an auto-reconnect/auto-wake loop, and zero third-party Python packages (pure ctypes).

The Switch 2 Pro is a new controller Windows can't use out of the box: it enumerates as a raw HID device (If_Hid), boots asleep (streams nothing until woken), and uses a custom report layout emulators can't parse. Existing tools are either browser-based (and drop when the tab loses focus) or flaky Bluetooth. As far as I can tell this is the only native, USB-wired, self-waking tool that presents it as a real driver-level Xbox pad.

What it does

• Wakes the controller over its WinUSB vendor interface.
• Reads its 64-byte HID reports and parses the custom button/stick layout.
• Publishes a virtual Xbox 360 pad via ViGEmBus → Dolphin sees normal XInput.
• Rumble both ways: emulator → controller haptics.
• Never drops: holds the virtual pad and auto-reconnects/re-wakes through any hiccup.

Switch 2 Pro (asleep)  ->  WinUSB bulk wake        (winusb.py)
                       ->  read HID reports         (hid.py)
                       ->  parse custom layout      (mapping.py)
                       ->  virtual Xbox 360 pad     (vigem.py / ViGEmBus)  ->  Dolphin (XInput)
                       <-  rumble: HID report 0x02  (haptics.py)

Requirements

• Windows 10/11 (x64)
• Python 3 (any modern version, including 3.14 — no pip install needed)
• ViGEmBus driver installed — https://github.com/nefarius/ViGEmBus (the bundled ViGEmClient.dll is only the user-mode client; the kernel driver is separate)
• A Switch 2 Pro Controller connected via USB

Quick start

Don't want to install Python? Grab the prebuilt Switch2ProBridge.exe from the latest release: run the bundled ViGEmBus installer once, then run the exe — that's it. The Python steps below are only for running from source.

1. Install Python 3 — https://www.python.org/downloads/. In the installer, tick "Add python.exe to PATH". (No pip install needed — this app has zero Python dependencies.)
2. Install the ViGEmBus driver — double-click the bundled drivers/ViGEmBus_1.22.0_x64_x86_arm64.exe (one click, needs admin); it's the kernel-mode piece. Newer versions: https://github.com/nefarius/ViGEmBus/releases/latest.
3. Get this repo — download the latest release zip (or git clone) and unzip it.
4. Run Start (Auto-detect).bat — it uses USB if the controller is plugged in, otherwise Bluetooth, and switches live when you plug or unplug. (Power users can force one with python procon2\launch.py --usb or --bluetooth.) Keep the window open. In Dolphin, set a controller port to Standard Controller → Configure, pick the XInput/N/Gamepad it prints, and bind your controls.

The bridge keeps Dolphin pointed at whatever XInput slot it lands on, auto-wakes the controller on every (re)attach, and survives unplugs.

Autostart (optional)

Don't want to open Start (Auto-detect).bat every time? Double-click Install Autostart.bat — the bridge then launches silently at every login (no window), so the controller just works. Per-user, no admin.

• Stop Bridge.bat — stop the hidden bridge now.
• Uninstall Autostart.bat — stop launching it at login.

It simply drops a shortcut in your Startup folder that runs pythonw launch.py (auto USB/Bluetooth). You can also drive it directly: python procon2\autostart.py install|uninstall|status|stop.

Wireless (Bluetooth) — optional

Got a Bluetooth LE adapter? You can run the bridge cordless. Windows' own "Add a device" can't pair the Switch 2 Pro (it doesn't use standard HID-over-Bluetooth), so this talks to it directly over BLE.

1. One-time: pip install bleak (only the wireless path needs it; the launcher tells you if it's missing).
2. Double-click Start (Auto-detect).bat — with no USB cable connected, it connects over Bluetooth.
3. First connection: hold the small recessed sync button until the player LEDs run, so the controller bonds to this PC. After that, just turn it on / tap a button and it reconnects automatically — no pairing mode needed.

Everything downstream is identical to the wired path: same virtual Xbox 360 pad, same Dolphin setup, and rumble works wirelessly too (Dolphin → controller over BLE). The wireless path is the only piece that needs a Python package (bleak); the USB path stays zero-dependency.

How & why (deep dive)

See procon2/README.md for the reverse-engineering notes: the report layout, the wake sequence, the haptic format, and a file-by-file breakdown.

Troubleshooting

The controller is moving my mouse, opening random windows, or popping up an on-screen keyboard. That's Steam Input, not this bridge. While Steam is running, its desktop configuration grabs any Xbox-style controller — including this virtual pad — and maps the right stick to the mouse, buttons to clicks, and a button to Steam's on-screen keyboard. Fix it once in Steam → Settings → Controller: turn off Steam Input for Xbox controllers, or disable the Desktop Layout so the controller can't drive your desktop. (Fully quitting Steam — tray icon → Exit — stops it immediately.)

Wireless won't connect — BleakCharacteristicNotFoundError: ... was not found. Steam now detects the Switch 2 Pro and claims its Bluetooth connection, so the bridge connects but can't see the controller's custom characteristics. Close Steam (tray icon → Exit) and reconnect — that's the fix. Disabling Steam Input isn't enough here; Steam still grabs the BLE device, so for the wireless path it has to be closed.

Credits

• ViGEmBus / ViGEmClient by Nefarius (MIT).
• Wake + haptic protocol reverse-engineered with help from HandHeldLegend's ProCon2Tool and NSW2-controller-enabler.
• Bluetooth LE protocol adapted from CareyScott/switch2controllerpc by Scott Carey (MIT) — see THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md.

License

MIT — see LICENSE. Third-party components: THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md.

---

Disclaimer: not affiliated with or endorsed by Nintendo. "Nintendo Switch" is a trademark of Nintendo. Use at your own risk.