Overview

This is an in-depth handbook, reference manual, and general guide for using and configuring input devices via the Steam Input software. This includes the Steam controller and all third party devices supported by the system.

This is not a detailed listing of methods used for interacting with the software from within your game. For that please see the Steam Input API.

Background

To set the stage, you might start by watching or reading this Steam Dev Days 2016 presentation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I4SiAiKqqk
Slides - PDF
Slides - HTML

And for a specific applied example and case study, you should read this article:

The Steam Controller Configurator's Untapped Power

With those two things under your belt, you're ready to dig into the nitty-gritty details of this document!

Table of Contents

Hold my hand a little:

1. Getting Started as a Player
   
2. Getting Started as a Developer

Give me all the nerdy details:

1. General Concepts
   
2. Steam Input Devices
   
3. In-Game Actions File
   
4. Action Manifest Files
   
5. Input Sources
   
6. Input Source Modes
   
7. Mode Shifting
   
8. Browsing Configurations
   
9. Activators
   
10. Mouse Regions
    
11. Radial Menus
    
12. Touch Menus
    
13. Action Set Layers
    
14. Legacy Mode Bindings