Steam Input

Steam Input is a middleware solition by Valve that allows multiple types of controllers to be used in Team Fortress 2 and other games. TF2's Steam Input implementation allows the game to have controller agnostic glyphs when the controller is connected. Steam Input also allows mouse-like input for controllers using a gyroscope and/or trackpads.

In-Game Actions and Action Sets

Steam uses a Layout Editor in the Steam client that lets the user rebind In-Game Actions for each input on every Action Set. An Action Set corresponds to what state the game is in:

In-Game Action Set

• In-Game with no HUDs present

Menus Action Set

• The Main Menu Screen
• The Backback Screen
• The Server Browser

Spectator Controls Action Set

• In Spectator Mode

In-Game During Pop-up Action Set

• Using the Disguise Kit Menu as Spy
• Using the PDA Menu as Engineer
• The Class Selection Screen

In-Game Actions

An In-Game Action is a defined action by the developer when using Steam Input. There's multiple types such as Digital, Analog (joystick_move), and Analog (absolute_mouse).

Look

Look is an In-Game Action that controls the camera in-game. This In-Game Action can be used by controller's joystick, trackpad, or gyroscope. The sensitivity is controlled by the value in the controller layout. Editing the sensitivity cannot be controlled by the game's mouse sensitivity option in the Multiplayer options as it is separate. Because this In-Game Action is an absolute_mouse type, Steam's layout editor can use this as a Flick Stick input style; this input style is suited for controllers with gyroscopes built-in.

Move

Move is an In-Game Action that controls the player's movement. This In-Game Action allows the player to move at a non-discrete speed and direction.

Table of In-Game Actions
Action Set	Type of In-Game Action	In-Game Actions
In-Game	Digital	Attack Alt Attack Special Attack Reload Jump Use Item Duck Next Weapon Previous Weapon Drop Item Change Class Change Team Inspect Taunt Push-to-Talk Open Loadout Open Backpack Toggle Menu Show Contracts Show Scoreboard Toggle Ready Call a Vote Yes / Accept No / Decline Vote Option 3 Vote Option 4 Vote Option 5 Call Medic! #VoiceThanks Say: Go go go! Say: Move up! Say: Spy! Say: Ubercharge ready! Say: Help!
	Analog (Joystick)	Move
	Analog (Mouse)	Look
Menus	Digital	Toggle Menu Cancel Select Menu Up Menu Down Menu Left Menu Right
	Analog (Mouse)	Mouse Emulation
Spectator Controls	Digital	Next Target Previous Target Push-to-Talk Change Class Change Team Open Loadout Show Scoreboard Toggle Menu Use Item / Buyback
	Analog (Mouse)	Look
In-Game During Pop-up	Digital	Jump Duck Next Weapon Previous Weapon Drop Item Inspect Taunt Cancel Select Menu Up Menu Down Menu Left Menu Right Alternate Function Push-to-Talk Open Loadout Open Backpack Toggle Menu Show Scoreboard Toggle Ready
	Analog (Joystick)	Move
	Analog (Mouse)	Look

Default Layouts

Team Fortress 2 only has two pre-made layouts for the Steam Controller and touchscreen for the Steam Link App on mobile phones. For other controllers, the layout for the Steam Controller is automatically converted to the target controller. Some controllers may gain or lose some binds based on what features they have or not, e.g., having a gyroscope, trackpads, grip buttons, or additional buttons.

Steam Controller Layout

Official Steam Controller Layout for Team Fortress 2
Input		Action Sets
Icon	Text	In-Game	Menus	Spectator Controls	In-Game During Pop-up
Letter buttons
	A	Use Item	Select	Use Item / Buyback	Select
	B	Show Contracts	Cancel		Cancel
	X	Taunt		Change Class	Alternate Function
	Y	Drop Item		Change Team	Toggle Function
Bumpers and triggers
	Right Bumper	Next Weapon	Left Mouse Click	Next target	Next Weapon
	Left Bumper	Previous Weapon	Middle Mouse Click	Previous target	Previous Weapon
	Right Trigger Full Pull	Special Attack			Select
	Right Trigger Soft Pull	Attack
	Left Trigger Full Pull	Alt Attack
	Left Trigger Soft Pull	Reload
Back Grips
	Right Grip	Jump			Jump
	Left Grip	Duck			Duck
Thumbstick
	Left Joystick	Move	(Directional Pad) Up: Menu Up Down: Menu Down Left: Menu Left Right: Menu Right		Move
	Left Joystick Click	Toggle Ready			Toggle Ready
Menu buttons
	Back Button	Show Scoreboard		Show Scoreboard
	Start Button	Toggle Menu
	Guide Button	Steam overlay (When using Big Picture)
Trackpads
	Right Trackpad	Look	Mouse Emulation	Look
	Right Trackpad Click	Push-to-Talk	Left Mouse Click	Push-to-Talk
	Left Trackpad	(Directional Pad) Up: Yes / Accept Down: No / Decline Left: Change Class Right: Call Medic!	(Directional Pad) Up: Menu Up Down: Menu Down Left: Menu Left Right: Menu Right	(Directional Pad) Up: Open Backpack Down: Open Loadout Left: Previous target Right: Next Target	(Directional Pad) Up: Menu Up Down: Menu Down Left: Menu Left Right: Menu Right
Gyroscope
	Gyroscope	Look (Activated by Right Trackpad Touch)

Setting up the controller on a PC using Steam Input

Enabling the controller on Steam

A visual guide to choose and enable which controller type to use on the Steam Client.

1. In the Steam client, click Steam on the top left and select Settings
2. Enter the Controller tab and choose which controller type to enable.

Editing Layouts

1. Do one of the following:
   • Right click the game in your steam library and select Manage > Controller Layout.
   • Click the small controller icon on the far left in the game's library page.
2. A new window will pop up with options to find new layouts or to edit the current layout.

Editing layouts in the layout editor allows TF2 to accurately reflect those changes by showing the correct glyphs that matches the edited commands.

Steam Controller, Steam Deck, and Steam Link App

No steps are required to enable Steam Input, as it is always enabled for these input methods.

Microsoft Xbox Controllers

Xbox controllers do not have a gyroscope to use, meaning they cannot have mouse-like aiming. Some models do have extra buttons to use, e.g, Xbox Elite's 4 grip buttons, and the Series' share button.

Sony PlayStation Controllers

Sixaxis/DualShock 3 controllers do not have a gyroscope to use, but does show the correct PS glpyhs in-game. DualShock 4 and DualSense controllers have options to use a split touchpad or unified one, and have a gyroscope to use.

Nintendo Switch Controllers

Nintendo Switch controllers, both Joy-Cons and Switch Pro Controllers, do have a gyroscope to use, but the triggers are digital.

Bugs

• The right trigger for any controller in the **Menus** always outputs a Left Click and cannot be unbound despite what the Layout Editor says.
• Window prompts with Yes/No confirmations such as exiting the game seem to be unresponsive by using a mouse, and can only interacted by the Select and Cancel In-Game-Actions.

See also

• List of default keys
• PlayStation 3 controls
• Xbox 360 controls