MoHadiShibli
baf36d648e
A game talks to a virtual controller as it would to a real one, and the system
keeps what it asked for. scePadVirtualDeviceGetRemoteSetting reads it back in
the layout of a DualShock 4's output report: the two motors at [3] and [4], the
light bar at [5..7]. The layout was read on the console while games rumbled and
users signed in, and feedback.c is tested against those exact buffers.
The service reads it every 16 ms for each controller; games pulse rumble for
only tens of milliseconds, which a 100 ms poll missed.
- Rumble goes to the controller's owner as {"method":"v","params":[pad,large,
small]}, once per change, and to whoever takes a controller over, so a page
never keeps buzzing on old news. The page already drove an Android phone's
vibration and a gamepad's actuators from it.
- The light bar goes into the status everyone sees. The PS4 sets player colours
at a quarter strength, so the colour is brightened to full, keeping its hue;
an unlit bar keeps the controller's own colour.
- Without the call, controllers work as before and it is logged once.
Also: the page says "Choose user on PS4", not "on TV", since not everyone plays
on a TV. The test stub takes C4F-TEST-FEEDBACK lines to set what the "game"
wants, and the test client can wait for messages the service pushes.
Control4Free
Use your phone or PC as a PS4 controller everywhere: on the home screen, at sign-in, and in every game.
Control4Free adds up to four extra DualShock 4 controllers to a jailbroken PS4. Open its page in a browser on your network, pick a controller, and choose who's playing on the PS4's own "Who's using this controller?" screen. Play with touch, a keyboard, or the gamepad you already have: Xbox, DualSense, Switch Pro and most others work through the phone or PC. There's nothing to install on the phone or computer.
Why it's different
Controller plugins live inside games, so they can't reach the home screen or the sign-in screen. Control4Free is a GoldHEN payload that goes through Sony's own virtual-device system, the one Remote Play uses. The PS4 sees a real controller, so it works wherever a DualShock does:
- on the home screen and in every menu, PS button included;
- at sign-in, through the PS4's own user picker, for real users and guests alike;
- in every game, with no per-game setup.
Features
- Up to four controllers, from as many phones, tablets or computers as you like.
- A full DualShock 4 on the screen: analog sticks, a two-finger touchpad, L3/R3, PS, Share and Options. Move, resize or hide any button with the layout editor; each device keeps its own layout.
- The gamepads you already have. Connect one to the phone or PC and give it a controller. One computer can run all four.
- A keyboard, with keys you can change.
- Rumble and light bar. When a game rumbles, your phone buzzes (Android) and your gamepad rumbles. The page glows in the controller's light-bar colour, the one the PS4 or the game sets.
- Fast. Input reaches the console the moment it arrives, at a DualShock 4's own rate while you play.
- An app on the PS4 that shows the address and a QR code, how many controllers are connected, and starts or stops Control4Free.
- Starts by itself. One button in the app sets up GoldHEN's AutoRun, so Control4Free is ready after every restart.
- On your phone's home screen, like an app.
- Stays awake: your phone's screen doesn't turn off while you play.
- Gets through rest mode. After the PS4 wakes up, open the page and pick your controller again.
Quick start
- Download
Control4Free-<version>.pkgfrom the latest release. - Install it with GoldHEN's Package Installer: Settings → Debug Settings → Game → Package Installer, from a
USB drive or
/data/pkg/. - Open Control4Free from Library → Applications and press Cross. It sets up auto-start and starts Control4Free.
- On your phone or PC, scan the QR code or open the address shown, for example
http://192.168.1.20:4264. Pick a controller, then choose your user on the PS4.
New to GoldHEN packages? The installation guide walks through every step.
Screenshots
| Home screen on a phone | On a PC | The app on the PS4 |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
Documentation
- Installation: requirements, installing, auto-start, updating, uninstalling.
- Playing: signing in, touch, keyboard and gamepads, the layout editor, settings.
- Troubleshooting: the messages you might see and what to do about each.
- How it works: the virtual-device API, sign-in, and what runs where.
- Protocol: the WebSocket protocol between the page and the console.
- Security: what being open on your home network does and doesn't mean.
- Contributing: building, testing and code style.
- Changelog.
Requirements and compatibility
- A PS4 with GoldHEN. Tested on firmware 10.01 with GoldHEN v2.4b18.10. Auto-start and starting Control4Free from GoldHEN's menu need v2.4b18.10 or later.
- A phone, tablet or computer with a browser, on the same network as the PS4.
- Turn off other GoldHEN controller plugins in games you play with Control4Free. A plugin that takes over a signed-in user's controller can stop games from reading the virtual ones.
- A Remote Play session (chiaki-ng, for example) works alongside Control4Free.
Limitations
- No motion controls. Browsers only give phone motion sensors to secure (
https) pages, and the console's page is plainhttp. - iPhones don't vibrate. Safari doesn't let pages use the phone's vibration. A gamepad connected to the iPhone can still rumble, if the browser supports it.
- One controller is added at a time. If two people pick at once, the second is asked to try again a moment later.
- Rest mode signs everyone out, so controllers have to be picked again after the PS4 wakes up, just like real ones.
- No pairing or password. Anyone on your network can take a free controller. Read SECURITY.md and keep port 4264 off the internet.
Support
Found a bug? Open an issue; I maintain this project and read every report. If Control4Free is useful to you, you can help keep it going on Ko-fi.
Credits
Control4Free's virtual-device code is ported from SplashDown by seregonwar. The other code, fonts and artwork it uses, and their licenses, are listed in THIRD_PARTY.md.
Built with AI help
Control4Free was built with the help of AI models, Claude Opus 5.5 by Anthropic and Astra GPT-6 by OpenAI, which worked on the code, tests and documentation with me. AI-written code can look right and still be wrong. Reviews are very welcome: if you spot AI slop (dead code, wrong assumptions, needless complexity), please open an issue or send a pull request.
License
Control4Free is free software under the GNU General Public License v3. Copyright © 2026 MoHadiShibli.