FFB-Bridge user guide
Everything you need to install FFB-Bridge, connect it to a flight simulator, validate your supported force-feedback joystick, and tune the feel for the aircraft you fly.
Start with Install, then First launch. You'll be in the air with working force feedback in about ten minutes. Prefer offline? Open the PDF manual.
These guides match 1.4: automatic startup health review, current Linux input and MOZA TTY permissions, the rebuilt Tuning workflow, evidence-scoped hardware support, managed MOZA sessions, and canonical Flight Check behavior.
Get started
Install
Windows installer, Linux AppImage, or macOS DMG (Apple Silicon). No admin, no drivers to download.
First launch
Safety acknowledgement, the quiet startup preflight, the red review-and-fix dialog when attention is needed, and deliberate arming.
Connect your simulator
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 & 2020
SimConnect setup for Steam, Microsoft Store / Xbox, and MSFS under Proton. Windows and Linux.
X-Plane 11 / 12
Zero-config UDP dataref subscription. Nothing to install X-Plane-side. Windows, Linux, and macOS.
Setup by rig
Hardware
Hardware is the single home for every setting that belongs to the physical stick or yoke.
Helicopters
Version 1.4 treats the cyclic as a helicopter control system rather than a fixed-wing stick with a different profile name.
SideWinder FFB2 compatibility
Hardware support, VID/PID, and common name variants.
Selected Logitech sticks
Validated on Windows, Linux, and macOS for the listed G940, Force 3D Pro, and WingMan Force 3D.
MOZA AB6, AB9, and AY210
FFB-Bridge manages supported MOZA bases for the whole session on Windows, Linux, and macOS. Normal use does not require a separate configuration utility or a special saved preset.
Windows 11
Raw HID/PID output, DirectInput fallback, SmartScreen, and SAC notes.
Linux
evdev force feedback, udev permissions, and AppImage setup.
The app, page by page
Dashboard
Live telemetry on the left, force-output meters on the right. Arm / sim / device / mode / profile all live in the persistent top status strip.
Tuning
Tuning controls how the aircraft feels. Device selection, physical limits, calibration, and button assignments belong under Hardware.
Profiles
Save a set of tuning values per aircraft. Starter presets included.
Mock Sim
Bench-test the whole pipeline without booting a flight sim.
Support page
Documentation, startup and device health checks, Diagnostics, logs, and support-bundle export.
Diagnostics tab
Runtime metrics, searchable event log, support-bundle export.
Help & tour
Current Support resources, online and PDF manuals, welcome replay guidance, and the right path for health checks or diagnostics.
Settings
App-wide preferences: close-button behavior, theme, startup, auto-arm / auto-disarm, and local diagnostic data.
Reference
Force effects
Every effect in the force pipeline: what it does, when it fires, how to tune it.
Tuning guide
A practical walkthrough from defaults to a feel you'd fly every day.
Troubleshooting
Stick limp, sim not detected, forces feel wrong. Fixes in order.
Support bundles
What's in one, how to export it, how to send it when you ask for help.
MOZA force-feedback setup
Keep the vendor utility closed while FFB-Bridge is running. Use it for firmware, calibration, lighting, or other maintenance; FFB-Bridge supplies the force-feedback session state itself.
Changelog
What changed in each release, what to expect next.
FFB-Bridge Pro
Pro is a separate, invite-only build that adds Cockpit Web, Voice Tune, and Profile History on top of the free app. Start with the Pro overview, or jump straight to a feature.
Pro overview
What Pro adds, how it stays separate from the free app, and what goes online.
Pro License
Activate, refresh, deactivate, recover, and offline grace.
Cockpit Web
Tune from a phone or tablet on your network. A/B drafts and calm presets.
Voice Tune
Local push-to-talk tuning commands. Wake phrases, privacy, and speech-back.
Profile History
Rollback snapshots before Pro tuning or cockpit saves overwrite a profile.
Conventions used in this guide
Windows,
Linux, and
Both chips mark content that applies only to that platform; macOS-specific notes are called out in the prose. Menus and buttons appear
in bold; filenames and keys appear as code. Any procedure that requires administrator privileges is called out with a yellow warning callout — on Linux that's a pkexec prompt; on Windows and macOS there are no such procedures at the moment.
FFB-Bridge runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS. macOS support is scoped: it requires Apple Silicon (M1 or newer) and connects to X-Plane 12 with the Microsoft SideWinder Force Feedback 2 and supported MOZA AB6, AB9, and AY210 bases. MSFS connects on Windows and Linux only.
This manual matches FFB-Bridge 1.4.0. If you're on a newer build and something's drifted, please tell us via the feedback form.