Console Mode
Turn your Windows PC into a game console with one click: focus the TV, turn off the other screens, switch the audio and launch your game UI. Quit the game and your desk comes back on its own.
English · Português (Brasil) · Español · Deutsch · Français · Русский
Download
Get 1.6.2, the latest stable version:
ConsoleMode-Setup-x64.exe (recommended): per-user install, no admin, updates itself.ConsoleMode-Portable-x64.exe: a single exe that keeps its data next to it.- Or with winget:
winget install lippdev.ConsoleMode
On 1.5? The app offers the update and keeps your settings; you pick your controller shortcuts again the first time it opens.
Want to try what comes next before everyone else? Turn on Settings → "Receive test versions (alpha and beta)".
Windows 10 or 11, plus Steam (Big Picture), Playnite or the Xbox app. RTSS is optional, for the FPS limit and the FPS counter.
How it works
- Open the app and pick the screen you play on. The others turn off.
- Press Play now, or use the one-click desktop shortcut. The first time on a new screen, the TV asks "Can you see this screen?" and reverts on its own if nobody answers.
- Quit Big Picture or Playnite and everything goes back: screens, audio, resolution.
Prefer the couch? With the app in the tray, hold your controller shortcut and it starts from there.
You pick the controller shortcuts yourself: none is on at first, the app asks the first time you open it (and you can change them in Settings). No button can serve two actions.
| Controller shortcut | Does | Suggested |
|---|
| Hold your open shortcut | Enter console mode from the tray | Home (Xbox / PS) |
| Hold your menu shortcut | Menu over the game: open windows, file explorer, volume, resolution, audio, FPS, HDR, exit | Select + Y (Create + △) |
| Hold your back to the PC shortcut | Back to the PC | Start + Select (Options + Create) |
Features
- Hide the other screens by disconnecting them, black overlays or DDC/CI, all with Windows' own APIs: no third-party display or audio tool is bundled
- Per-screen resolution and refresh rate, HDR, VRR and an FPS limit (RTSS) while you play
- FPS counter over the game (RTSS) on a card in three sizes: FPS only, compact (CPU, GPU and RAM usage), detailed (clocks, GPU temperature and memory) or your own layout
- Audio goes to the TV (or any output) and comes back afterwards
- Turns the TV on and switches it to the PC's input (Google TV / Android TV over the network), and can put it in standby afterwards
- Launches Steam Big Picture, Playnite fullscreen or Xbox mode, and sends Steam to the tray when you go back to the PC
- Session menu over the game: switch or close the open windows, change volume, resolution, audio, FPS and HDR, hide the mouse pointer or drive it with the controller, and browse your files with ControlFS and the web with JoyChromium
- Two interfaces: Desktop (mouse) and Console (full screen, Xbox and PlayStation pads, LB/RB tabs, its own wallpaper or your Steam covers as the background)
- Automation with
consolemode://start / stop / menu links (Stream Deck, scripts) and a local control API
- English, Portuguese, Spanish, German, French and Russian
What's new in 1.6.2
- German, French and Russian: the interface, the installer and the language picker now speak Deutsch (translated by u/Skinner99 on Reddit), Français and Русский, and the app follows Windows if it is in one of them
- Minimize to the system tray: a new option in Settings (and in the Console interface, under System) keeps Console Mode in the hidden icons instead of the taskbar when you minimize it
What's new in 1.6.1
- FPS counter on a card: three sizes, a screen corner of your choice, and the new FPS only, Compact (CPU, GPU and RAM usage) and Detailed (clocks, GPU temperature, VRAM and RAM) styles, all tuned from the session menu itself
- Mouse pointer from the session menu: hide it until you turn it back on, or drive it with the controller (stick moves, A clicks)
- Session menu tour: the first time the menu opens it offers a short guided tour of each option
What's new in 1.6.0
- Console interface, redesigned: Home, Session and System tabs on LB/RB, screen tiles, your Steam covers as the background and interface sounds
- Session menu like Steam's overlay: full screen over the game, with the open windows in the middle (an Alt + Tab for the controller)
- File explorer built in: ControlFS opens from the session menu, and installs from there if it is missing
- FPS counter over the game through RTSS, with Compact, Detailed and Custom styles
- Your shortcuts, your buttons: pick the controller buttons that open Console Mode, the session menu and the way back to the PC
- TV control: turns a Google TV / Android TV on and switches it to the PC's input
- All the project's own code: displays and audio through Windows' APIs, without the NirSoft tools
- Steam goes to the tray when you go back to the PC, the desk layout comes back exactly as it was (portrait monitors too), and slow Playnite starts no longer end the session
All the details in the release notes and the changelog · notas em português.
Roadmap
Next: record the last 30 s (#77), desktop icon positions (#30) · Later: per-game profiles (#69) · Exploring: HDMI-CEC (#75), Linux and macOS (#74), and more.
More
- Guide: modes and restore, control API, HDR/VRR/FPS, troubleshooting, building from source
- Feedback: the button next to Settings in the app, or this form. A ⭐ helps other couch gamers find the project.
- Translations: fix a line or add your language with the translation guide; no Windows needed.
- The releases are not code-signed yet, so Windows SmartScreen or an antivirus may warn about the download; the source is all here.
GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 only · Third-party notices · Code signing policy
