libnavinput

libnavinput is a small C library for working with the Sony PS Navigation controller on Windows.

The library is designed as a low-level hardware layer, similar in spirit to psmoveapi.

Features

• Device detection
• Connect / disconnect
• Polling input state
• Button state access
• Button pressed / released helpers
• Analog stick and trigger access
• Battery reporting
• Disconnect detection
• WinUSB backend

Scope

libnavinput only talks to the controller.

It does not implement:

• Input mapping
• Deadzones
• Smoothing
• Emulation
• Auto-reconnect
• Profile logic

Those should stay in higher-level application code.

Current status

• Windows only
• USB backend is implemented
• Bluetooth-facing API surface is reserved for future backend support
• Battery over USB is reported as -1 / unknown

Bluetooth-related enums and internal paths are intentionally kept as forward-compatibility hooks for future support (for example via external driver stacks), but the current library implementation should be treated as USB-only.

Public API

Main functions:

• psnavigatorInit
• psnavigatorShutdown
• psnavigatorGetApiVersion
• psnavigatorResultToString
• psnavigatorGetDeviceCount
• psnavigatorGetDevicePathById

Device functions:

• psnavigatorConnectById
• psnavigatorConnectByPath
• psnavigatorDisconnect
• psnavigatorIsConnected
• psnavigatorPoll

Device info:

• psnavigatorGetDevicePath
• psnavigatorGetConnectionType

Input:

• psnavigatorGetAxis
• psnavigatorGetAxisRaw
• psnavigatorGetButton
• psnavigatorGetButtons
• psnavigatorGetButtonsPressed
• psnavigatorGetButtonsReleased
• psnavigatorWasPressed
• psnavigatorWasReleased

Power / diagnostics:

• psnavigatorGetBattery
• psnavigatorGetBatteryRaw
• psnavigatorGetLastError
• psnavigatorSetLogCallback

Using the library

Typical flow:

1. Call psnavigatorInit
2. Call psnavigatorGetDeviceCount
3. Choose a device index in the range 0 .. count - 1
4. Optionally call psnavigatorGetDevicePathById(index, ...) if you want to keep a path-based identifier
5. Call psnavigatorConnectById(index) or psnavigatorConnectByPath(path)
6. In a loop:
   • Call psnavigatorPoll
   • Read buttons / axes / battery
7. Call psnavigatorDisconnect
8. Call psnavigatorShutdown

Simple example

#include <stdio.h>
#include "psnavigator.h"

int main(void)
{
    PSNavigator *nav;
    PSNavResult result;

    result = psnavigatorInit(PSNAVIGATOR_API_VERSION);
    if (result != PSNAV_RESULT_OK) {
        printf("init failed: %s\n", psnavigatorResultToString(result));
        return 1;
    }

    nav = psnavigatorConnectById(0);
    if (!nav) {
        printf("connect failed: %s\n", psnavigatorGetLastError(NULL));
        psnavigatorShutdown();
        return 1;
    }

    while (psnavigatorIsConnected(nav)) {
        result = psnavigatorPoll(nav);
        if (result != PSNAV_RESULT_OK) {
            printf("poll failed: %s | %s\n",
                psnavigatorResultToString(result),
                psnavigatorGetLastError(nav));
            break;
        }

        printf("x=%d y=%d tr=%d\n",
            psnavigatorGetAxis(nav, PSNAV_AXIS_STICK_X),
            psnavigatorGetAxis(nav, PSNAV_AXIS_STICK_Y),
            psnavigatorGetAxis(nav, PSNAV_AXIS_TRIGGER));
    }

    psnavigatorDisconnect(nav);
    psnavigatorShutdown();
    return 0;
}

psnavigatorResultToString(...) returns a stable short string for a PSNavResult value and is intended for logging alongside psnavigatorGetLastError(...).

Notes

• The library detects disconnect, but does not auto-reconnect
• Reconnect should be implemented in higher-level code
• WinUSB driver setup is required for USB access
• Current implementation should be treated as USB-only
• Bluetooth-related API values are reserved for future support
• psnavigatorGetDeviceCount, psnavigatorGetDevicePathById, and psnavigatorConnectById operate on the current enumeration snapshot
• Device indices are not stable persistent IDs and may change after reconnect, driver rebind, or re-enumeration
• Device paths are the preferred identifier when you need to reconnect to the same physical device later
• For TCC builds, winusb_tcc.h is used as a compatibility header

Threading

libnavinput is thread-compatible, but not thread-safe.

• Call psnavigatorInit() and psnavigatorShutdown() under external synchronization.
• Treat each PSNavigator* as single-owner: one device instance should be used by one thread at a time.
• Do not call psnavigatorDisconnect() concurrently with psnavigatorPoll() or any psnavigatorGet*() call on the same instance.
• Different PSNavigator* instances may be used from different threads if each instance has a single owner.
• psnavigatorGetLastError(NULL) uses thread-local storage for library-level errors that occur before a device instance exists.

Build

CMake

Build with plain CMake commands.

GCC / MinGW

cmake -S . -B build -G "MinGW Makefiles"
cmake --build build

Output:

• build\bin\libnavinput.dll

TinyCC

cmake -S . -B build -G "MinGW Makefiles" -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER=tcc
cmake --build build

Output:

• build\bin\libnavinput.dll

MSVC

cmake -S . -B build -G "Visual Studio 16 2019" -A Win32
cmake --build build --config Release

Output:

• build\bin\Release\libnavinput.dll

Notes:

• GCC build requires cmake, gcc, and dlltool-compatible MinGW environment in PATH
• TCC build requires cmake and tcc in PATH
• MSVC build requires Visual Studio Build Tools with the C++ toolchain and a Developer Command Prompt or equivalent environment
• Before switching to another compiler or generator, remove build\ or reconfigure it from scratch

Trademark notice

This software is an independent, open-source project and is not affiliated with, authorized, maintained, sponsored, or endorsed by Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc., Microsoft Corporation, or any of their affiliates.

"PlayStation", "PS Move", "PS Navigation", "DUALSHOCK" and related marks are registered trademarks of Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. All Sony controller names, images, and references in this repository are used strictly for nominative purposes — only to identify hardware compatibility and provide instructions to the user.

All other trademarks, logos, and brands are the property of their respective owners. The use of these names, logos, and brands does not imply endorsement.

License

libnavinput is open-source software licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPLv3).

You are free to use, modify, and distribute this software under the terms of this license. For more information, please see the LICENSE file in the repository.

Credits

• Developed via ChatGPT (Prompt-based development).