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Gamepads & controllers

WhatPulse now includes full support for gamepads and controllers. This means your gamepad button presses are tracked just like mouse clicks and keyboard presses – contributing to your overall click stats in WhatPulse. If you often game with a controller, you'll finally see those button mashes counted and visible in your statistics!

How it works​

As soon as you connect a game controller to your computer, the WhatPulse client will detect it and begin counting your button presses. You don't need to enable anything special – it works automatically for virtually any controller (whether it's connected via USB, Bluetooth, or wireless adapter)

Every button press on the gamepad is counted individually. In other words, each time you hit a gamepad button – from the A/X button to the triggers – WhatPulse counts it as a "click." (Analog stick movements are not counted, but any button actuation is.)

Viewing your gamepad stats​

Gamepad button presses are displayed within the Input > Mouse section of the WhatPulse client. To find your gamepad statistics in the client UI, follow these steps:

  1. Open the WhatPulse client window and go to the Input tab at the top.
  2. Click on the Mouse sub-tab within Input.
  3. In the top-right of the Mouse stats page, switch the view to "Details." (This reveals detailed counts for mouse buttons and other input devices.)
  4. In the Button Clicks detail table, you will see entries for your gamepad buttons alongside your mouse buttons

Each button on the controller will be listed by name (e.g. "Button A", "Button B", "L1", "R2", "D-Pad Down", etc.), with a count of how many times you've pressed it.

For example, if you press the X button on a PlayStation controller 100 times, you'll see an entry for "Button X" with 100 clicks. WhatPulse distinguishes common gamepad controls, so you can identify which buttons you use the most. Even additional or platform-specific buttons are tracked – you'll see all the inputs your controller sends reflected in the list

Supported controllers​

While controller support is ubiquitous, WhatPulse 5.10 improved gamepad support to recognize a wide range of specific controller brands and models. It automatically applies the correct button layout for major manufacturers, so the button labels in your stats match your device. This includes these controllers:

  • Microsoft Xbox Controllers (Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S)
  • Sony PlayStation Controllers (DualShock 4, DualSense)
  • Nintendo Pro Controller
  • 8BitDo Controllers

Any controller should work, but there is a chance the button names may not be perfectly labeled for very niche or new controllers. However, WhatPulse will still count the button presses accurately.

Good to know​

Controllers work automatically in most cases. A few situations are worth knowing about:

  • If your controller isn't showing up at all, double-check that it's properly installed on your system. Almost all standard controllers will work with WhatPulse; if yours doesn't, it may be a compatibility edge case – you can reach out to WhatPulse support for help.
  • Only button presses are counted. Stick movement is not counted, and a trigger counts as one press once it passes halfway. Special buttons like Guide, Home, Share, or Capture may not be counted.
  • Steam games (macOS). When a game uses Steam Input, macOS gives Steam exclusive control of the controller, so WhatPulse cannot see those presses while you play. Games outside of Steam are unaffected.
  • Steam games (Windows). Presses are normally still counted. For PlayStation, Nintendo, and generic controllers, Steam Input is often what lets WhatPulse see the controller in the first place, so keeping it enabled helps.
  • Non-Xbox controllers on Windows. WhatPulse reads controllers that identify as Xbox controllers. Most pads can do this through Steam Input or a tool like DS4Windows. A PlayStation or generic controller in its native mode may not be counted until you connect it that way. Up to four controllers are tracked at once.
  • Arcade sticks and wheels on macOS. Devices that report as joysticks rather than gamepads (arcade sticks, racing wheels, flight sticks) are not detected.

Not counting your presses?​

  1. Press a few buttons and check the Input tab, in the Details view of the mouse button table.
  2. Reconnect the controller, then restart WhatPulse so it detects it cleanly.
  3. If you are in a Steam game, see the notes above. On Windows, make sure Steam Input is enabled.
  4. Close any controller remapping software that might be taking over the device.

If presses are still missing, let us know your controller, how it is connected, and whether it happens in a specific game.

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