GP2040-CE Usage

Select the button labels to be displayed in the usage guide:

GP2040

caution

The v0.5+ release has some breaking changes to boards other than the Raspberry Pi Pico. If you are using such a board, do not update from an older version unless you have a backup .uf2 from a known good version, or you know what you're doing.

Buttons

GP2040-CE uses generic button labeling for gamepad state, which is then converted to the appropriate input type before sending. This table provides a map of GP2040-CE buttons to the supported input types and layouts:

Primary Input Modes

GP2040-CE	XInput Xbox One	Switch	PS4	PS3	DirectInput	Arcade	RP2040 Advanced Breakout Board
B1	A	B	Cross	Cross	2	K1	K1
B2	B	A	Circle	Circle	3	K2	K2
B3	X	Y	Square	Square	1	P1	P1
B4	Y	X	Triangle	Triangle	4	P2	P2
L1	LB	L	L1	L1	5	P4	P4
R1	RB	R	R1	R1	6	P3	P3
L2	LT	ZL	L2	L2	7	K4	K4
R2	RT	ZR	R2	R2	8	K3	K3
S1	Back	Minus	Share	Select	9	Coin	S1
S2	Start	Plus	Options	Start	10	Start	S2
L3	LS	LS	L3	L3	11	LS	L3
R3	RS	RS	R3	R3	12	RS	R3
A1	Guide	Home	PS	PS	13	Home	A1
A2	-	Capture	Touchpad	-	14	-	A2

Mini/Classic Consoles

GP2040-CE	Sega Genesis MegaDrive Mini	NEOGEO Mini	PC Engine Turbografx 16 Mini	EGRET II Mini	ASTROCITY Mini	Playstation Classic
B1	A	B	1	A	A	Cross
B2	B	D	2	B	B	Circle
B3	X	A	-	D	D	Square
B4	Y	C	-	E	E	Triangle
L1	-	L1	-	-	-	L1
R1	Z	R1	-	F	F	R1
L2	-	L2	-	-	-	L2
R2	C	R2	-	C	C	R2
S1	Mode	Select	Start	Start	Credit	Start
S2	Start	Start	Run	Credit	Start	Select
L3	-	-	-	-	-	-
R3	-	-	-	-	-	-
A1	-	Options	-	Menu	-	-
A2	-	-	-	-	-	-

If your controller is missing dedicated buttons for any specific inputs, check the Hotkeys page on how to map a button combination that will emulate those missing inputs.

note

Unlike other controllers, Keyboard gets different keys for directional buttons. You can change the key mappings for Keyboard mode in Webconfig mode > Configuration > Keyboard Mapping

Direction	Keyboard
Up	Up Arrow
Down	Down Arrow
Left	Left Arrow
Right	Right Arrow

Bootsel Mode

Bootsel Mode is the state of the board where firmware can be flashed onto the board. You will need to use this whenever there is an update or as part of the troubleshooting process.

You can boot into Bootsel Mode by either holding S1 + S2 + Up buttons while plugging in the controller, by booting into the Web Configurator and then restarting in Bootsel Mode, or by holding S1 + B3 + B4 together for five seconds while the controller is plugged in. There is no way to leave Bootsel mode once activated other than by flashing new firmware or by unplugging the device.

Generally, there is a Bootsel button somewhere on the board. This is often an exposed button on the PCB or a button inside the controller that requires either a pin to press or disassembly of the controller.

note

There are a number of controllers that elect not to include the Bootsel button. In these instances, you will need to locate the placement of the button and use conductor to connect the 2 sides of the contacts or pads together while plugging in or booting the controller.

WebConfig Mode

WebConfig Mode is the state of the board where built-in web browser-based configuration application is launched. From here, you can customize and configure your controller as needed. For more information, click here for more information.

You can boot into WebConfig Mode by holding the S2 button while plugging in the controller or by holding S2 + B3 + B4 for five seconds while the controller is plugged in. Holding this same combination again for five seconds while in webconfig mode will swap the device back to the previously used controller mode.

Input Modes

GP2040-CE is compatible with a number of systems and input modes. The specific input modes assigned to 8 buttons when held is configurable in the Web Configurator under Settings.

However, there are default input modes assigned in precompiled firmware. To change input modes, hold one of the following buttons as the controller is plugged in:

Primary Input Mode	Button Held
Nintendo Switch	B1
XInput	B2
PS3/DirectInput	B3
PS5	B4
Xbox One	R1
Keyboard	R2
Original XBox	Unassigned

Mini/Classic Consoles	Button Held
Sega Genesis/MegaDrive Mini	Unassigned
NEOGEO mini	Unassigned
PC Engine/Turbografx 16 Mini	Unassigned
EGRET II Mini	Unassigned
ASTROCITY Mini	Unassigned
Playstation Classic	Unassigned

note

Input mode is saved across power cycles.

Hotkeys

A number of useful hotkeys exist that change the functionality of GP2040 without needing to access the Web Configurator. All of the hotkeys and hotkey bindings can be changed or assigned to different button combinations in Hotkeys Settings section of the Web Configurator.

Commonly used hotkeys include changing the directions to emulate a digital DPad, Left analog joystick, Right analog joystick or to change Simultaneous Opposite Cardinal Direction (SOCD) cleaning modes. Different SOCD cleaning modes will ensure the controller obeys certain directional input rules when sending inputs to the computer or game console.

A number of hotkeys are enabled by default and if you are encountering issues with unexpected behavior on your controller, verify that you did not accidentally trigger a hotkey.

Hotkeys Enabled By Default	Inputs
Home Button	S1 + S2 + Up
Dpad Digital	S1 + S2 + Down
Dpad Left Analog	S1 + S2 + Left
Dpad Right Analog	S1 + S2 + Right
SOCD Up Priority	S2 + A1 + Up
SOCD Neutral	S2 + A1 + Down
SOCD Last Wins	S2 + A1 + Left

note

Selected D-Pad mode and SOCD cleaning mode are saved across power cycles.

Add-Ons and Additional Features

There are a number of add-ons that expand the functionality of GP2040-CE, such as analog joystick emulation and turbo functions. Due to the large number of add-ons created by the community, they are located in a separate documentation page. Navigate to Add-Ons page for more information on the individual add-ons.