HallJoy — Gamepad Mode for Analog Keyboards

HallJoy is a free, open-source Windows application that turns supported analog and Hall Effect keyboards into a fully configurable virtual Xbox controller with low-latency analog input. HallJoy uses real keyboard depth measurements; ordinary digital key presses are not converted into simulated analog travel. HallJoy includes:

• analog gamepad emulation with configurable buttons, sticks, and triggers;
• up to four virtual Xbox controllers for games that support multiple pads;
• per-binding response curves, deadzones, and sensitivity;
• last-key priority and optional Snap Stick handling for opposing directions;
• optional blocking of normal keyboard output for keys bound to gamepad input;
• global profiles and a visual layout editor with shareable .ini presets;
• a live analog keyboard preview and Gamepad Tester;
• a browser-based Input Overlay for OBS;
• multiple native protocols plus an embedded Universal Analog Plugin runtime;
• safe reconnect handling, automatic crash/missing-keyboard reports, and optional continuous diagnostic logging (off by default).

Video overview

Watch HallJoy on YouTube.

Why HallJoy exists

I bought a DrunkDeer A75 Pro HE and wanted a native gamepad mode, but could not find one that matched what I needed. So I built HallJoy with heavy ChatGPT assistance, then kept improving it feature by feature.

I didn't write a single line of code, I'm not a programmer, even this readme file was written by chatgpt completely except for this paragraph 🙂

Requirements

• Windows 10 or Windows 11, x64;
• an analog keyboard supported by HallJoy or one of its safe protocol routes;
• ViGEmBus 1.22.0 for the virtual Xbox controllers.

Quick start

1. Download HallJoy.exe from GitHub Releases and run it. No archive extraction is needed.
2. Run HallJoy. If ViGEmBus is missing, choose Install ViGEmBus 1.22.0. The installer is included in HallJoy. Approve the Windows permission prompt and follow the setup instructions.
3. Close any connected keyboard web-driver tabs; they commonly conflict with HallJoy. Desktop software such as Razer Synapse does not necessarily conflict and can stay open if everything works.
4. Leave Automatic layout enabled to select a recognized keyboard and apply supported device remaps. If detection is unavailable or multiple supported keyboards are connected, select a layout manually. Manual layouts use factory key assignments.
5. Assign controls on the Remap tab, tune curves and behavior in Configuration, and verify the result in Gamepad Tester.

Wooting Analog SDK and Universal Analog Plugin do not need to be installed separately.

Compatible keyboards for gamepad mode

Keyboards are listed in two groups: Supported and Experimental support. Check both lists for your model.

See the full keyboard list and support statuses in Google Sheets.

Supported

AJAZZ: AK820 MAX RGB (USB)
ATK: Hex80
ATTACK SHARK: R85 HE (USB), X65 Pro
AULA: WIN 60 HE MAX, WIN 60 HE, WIN 68 HE, KP-TE153, MINI 60 HE (USB), MINI 60 HE Pro, MINI 60 HE MAX (USB)
DrunkDeer: A75, A75 Pro, G60, G65, G75
EPOMAKER: HE108 (USB)
GravaStar: Mercury V75
IPI: QBZ75, Aurora 75
IROK: MG75 Max, NA87
Keychron: Q1 HE, Q2 HE (ANSI), Q3 HE, Q4 HE (ANSI), Q5 HE, Q6 HE, Q12 HE, Q1 HE 8K, Q3 HE 8K, Q5 HE 8K, Q6 HE 8K, K2 HE, K3 HE, K4 HE, K6 HE (ANSI), K8 HE, K10 HE — requires compatible custom firmware.
Lemokey: P1 HE
MADLIONS: MAD 68 Pro R, MAD60HE, MAD68HE, MAD68R
MCHOSE: Mix 87 III
NuPhy: Air60 HE, Air75 HE, Field75 HE
Razer: Huntsman V2 Analog, Huntsman Mini Analog, Huntsman V3 Pro, Huntsman V3 Pro Mini, Huntsman V3 Pro Tenkeyless
Redragon: K673RGB-M
SayoDevice: O3C
SteelSeries: Apex Pro
Wooting: 60HE, 60HE+, 60HE v2 (including Split), 80HE, 80HE+ (including Split), One, Two, Two HE, UwU, UwU RGB

Experimental support

These keyboards should work, but have not yet been tested on physical devices. Support is enabled: keyboard detection, analog input, bindings and virtual gamepad output are implemented. HallJoy shows a yellow notice for these models.

AIM1: MATATAKI (US)
AJAZZ: AK680 MAX HE, AK680MC, ALUX60, ALUX68 AIR, ALUX68 PRO, NS67, NS67 PRO, NS87
Akko: MOD 007 V5 HE, MOD007B V3 HE, MOD007S V3 HE, Ray68 HE, TAC75 HE
ANGRYSHARK: Final 75
ANTGAMER: AGK75 PRO, AGK75 U2, AGK87
ARDOR GAMING: Radiant
ASTROMEDA: AMGK80-001
ATTACK SHARK: Beat75, K85, K85 Pro HE, R68 HE, R82 HE, R82 Pro HE, R85 Ultra, R86 Pro HE, R98 GT, R98 HE, R98 Pro, R98 Ultra, X60 HE, X65, X65 HE, X68 HE, X68 MAX, X68 Pro HE, X68 Ultra, X82 HE, X82 Pro HE, X820 Pro, X85 Ultra, X87 Ultra, X96 HE, X98 HE
ATWO: GK7 MX
AULA: HERO 68 Air, HERO 68 HE, HERO 68 HE PRO, HERO 68 MINI, HERO 99 HE, HERO84 HE, WIN 60 HE PRO, WIN 68 HE MAX, WIN 68 HE PRO, WIN 68 HE Ultra
Blackstorm: Renegade HE
BOYI: H60 Pro
CHERRY XTRFY: K5 Pro TMR Compact
Chilkey: Slice75 HE
COLORFUL: QY98 Ultra
DARKFORCE: Fib(68)
DSPIXEL: DS KEY, Magic 80
E7: 68 PRO V2
EDRA: EK368RT
EPOMAKER: G84 HE, G84 HE JIS, HE60 Lite, HE60 Wired, HE60 Wireless, HE65 Mag, HE68 Lite, HE68 Mag, HE75 Mag, HE75 V2
EvoFox: Ronin HS65
EWEADN: DEEP68 HE, DEEP68 Pro HE, DEEP80 HE (magnetic version), DEEP80 Max HE (magnetic version), DEEP80 Pro HE (magnetic version), DK63 HE, DK63 Star HE, DK68 HE, DK68 Pro HE, DK68 Star HE, DK68 V2 HE, DK75 E HE, DK75 HE, DK75 Pro HE, DK80 HE, ES68, ES68 EVO, ES68 Lite, Gamma75 HE (EXX collaboration), SEEK75, SMART 875 HE, V99 (magnetic version), X87HE, ZAP68 HE, ZAP68 SE, ZAP68 Ultra HE, ZAP87 HE
FL ESPORTS: Blend HE, D75 HE, D98 HE, FL750 (magnetic version), Flame65S, GP75 HE, GP87 HE, MK870 HE, NX108, NX68 Pro, X80 HE
FREEWOLF: F68, F68 PRO
Fuego: GKB904
Funbey: AST V68, Coke V68
Fury: Kanabo K6
G TUNE: GMK82
GamaKay: NS68, NS75, TK75 HE, TK75 TMR
Game Arena: GKX68 MAGNUM
GAMEBOOSTER: RAPID HE
GAMEPOWER: Nexa HE60 1K, Tirus HE80
GamePro: MK160B MAX
GravaStar: Mercury V75 Lite, Mercury V75 Pro
HATOR: Skyfall 65 MAG Ultima 8K Wireless, Skyfall 65 MAG Ultra 8K, Skyfall 80 MAG Ultima 8K Wireless, Skyfall 80 MAG Ultra 8K
HAVIT: KB900L, KB904L
HAWK Gaming: HK550, HK610S
IDEEZ: SWIFT X85
IDJ: H60HE
IPI: AURORA65, AURORA65W, Aurora75 PRO, flash68, QBZ65, RAIN65
IROK: Mars75, Mars75 Pro, Mercury68, Mercury68 Max, Mercury68 Pro, Mercury68 SE (JingTai V2), MG68 Plus, MG75 Pro, NA87 Pro, ND63, ND63 Ultra, ND68 Pro, RA68
IYX: MU68 Pro
JEDEL: KL166
JINGSU: KA67, KB98, KCC04A, KE87
Keydous: NJ68 Pro-CP, NJ80-CP V3 HE, NJ81-CP, NJ81-CP V3 HE, NJ98-CP, NJ98-CP V4 HE
KiiBOOM: Cybrix29
Koda: A68
KYSONA: KM82 HE
LinkerFoo: LF67R1
LOMZ: 75S
M4G: MAG 68 HE
MageGee: AIR68, Captain87 JIS, MK-BOX (magnetic version)
MAMBASNAKE: M82 HE, X60 HE
MechLands: M75
MEETION: Magic A68, Magic A75
MICROPACK: K-68M
MonsGeek: FUN60 Pro, FUN68 HE, FUN75, M1 V5 HE, M1 V5 TMR, M2 V5 HE, M3 V5 HE
MSI: STRIKE 700 HE
Neo: Neo65 Sonic HE+ (ANSI / ISO)
Ninjadog: Varna Atlas
NOS: C800 ALU (UK)
Nova Gaming: GK505 Eon
Nyfter: Nyfboard HE 61K, Nyfboard HE 82K
Oniverse: Maegnus
OUSAID: HG68 HE
PIIFOX: DEFENDER 68, ER75 PRO
PSYCommu: PSY P1
Rampage: KAISEL, ZENITH PRO
Razer: Tartarus Pro (requires Razer Synapse)
Redragon: K617 HE, K673WB-RGB-M
Royal Kludge: A72HE
ROYALAXE: X68
SALPIDO: SHOT209
SARU: KX69HE, KX78HE
SAVIO: ASTRAL
Skyloong: GK61 HE, GK68 HE, GK75 HE
SteelSeries: Apex Pro Gen 3, Apex Pro TKL
Sunsonny: N-J100
Syntech: Chronos 68
Titan Nation: Storm68, TITAN60 PCB, TITAN68HE
UluGames: Howl 75
URX: Core68 HE
Valkyrie: VK 99 Gaming (Naruto), VK Mag68, VK Mag68 Max, VK Mag75, VK Mag75 Lite, VK Mag75 Max, VK Mag75 Pro, VK NB68, VK NB68 Max
Veekos: Shine60 HE
Womier: M68 HE Pro, SK61 HE, SK75 TMR
XINMENG: Beat65, Beat68, Beat75, X87 TMR, X98 V3 (magnetic version), Zero 68
YUNZII: RT75 Pro

Support

Have a problem or want support for another keyboard? Write to me on HallJoy Discord.

Input Overlay for OBS

Input Overlay renders the current keyboard layout and real HE key travel on a transparent browser canvas. It is served locally on 127.0.0.1 and does not publish your input to the internet.

To add it to OBS:

1. Open the Input Overlay tab in HallJoy.
2. Click Start server.
3. Copy the address using the URL field.
4. Add a Browser source in OBS and paste the copied URL.
5. Set the Browser Source size to match the proportions of your keyboard layout.

You can configure the fill direction, choose raw key travel or the value after curves, change indicator and label colors, select the label font, size and shadow, and adjust the refresh interval. Available visual effects include Smooth response, Glass keys, Bloom, Edge sweep, Micro-scale, Label contrast, and Rim lighting.

Keyboard layout editor

The visual layout editor can move, add, and delete keys; change labels, HID usages, dimensions, positions, and spacing; and save the result as a preset. Each preset is a standalone .ini file, so layouts can be backed up or shared with other HallJoy users. Layout selection is independent from the hardware protocol used to obtain analog values.

Saved data and portable mode

HallJoy stores user data under %LOCALAPPDATA%\HallJoy by default:

• settings.ini contains the main settings and Default profile, including bindings;
• GlobalProfiles\ contains additional profile settings and bindings;
• Layouts\ contains saved custom or edited keyboard layouts; built-in layouts are embedded in HallJoy and do not need to be written here on startup;
• CurvePresets\ contains response-curve presets.

To use an intentionally portable installation, create an empty HallJoy.portable file beside HallJoy.exe in a writable directory before the first start. HallJoy will then keep its data beside the executable. Without that marker, writable state remains in %LOCALAPPDATA% and is not mixed with program files.

Troubleshooting

If HallJoy starts but every analog value remains at zero:

1. Close connected web-driver tabs. If input is still missing, temporarily close the desktop configurator to check for a conflict; closing it is not normally required when HallJoy already works.
2. Check the keyboard firmware and software mode. On some keyboards a vendor Turbo, performance, or compatibility mode can stop exposing the analog interface used by external applications.
3. Reconnect the keyboard, restart HallJoy, and inspect Configuration and Gamepad Tester for the detected route and live values.
4. If the problem persists, see Support.

Do not manually install Wooting Analog SDK or Universal Analog Plugin as a troubleshooting step. HallJoy verifies and prepares its own private plugin runtime.

License

HallJoy uses dual licensing:

• open-source use is available under AGPL-3.0;
• a separate commercial license is available for proprietary distribution, embedding, or licensing without AGPL obligations.

Commercial licensing inquiries: Discord pash.ok. Third-party components and their licenses are listed in THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md.

Building from source

Install Visual Studio 2022 C++ Build Tools (including x64 Clang), Python 3.12, Git and PowerShell. Clone the repository and run BUILD.cmd. The executable is created at build\bin\Release\x64\HallJoy.exe. See the build guide for incremental builds and the staged replacement of a running HallJoy.