Current release. FFB-Bridge v1.1.2 is live. These docs track the current app described by the release manifest. If a section reads stale, flag it via the feedback form.

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.

New here?

Start with Install, then First launch. You'll be in the air with working force feedback in about ten minutes. Prefer offline? Open the single-page version and use your browser's Save as PDF option.

Get started

Install

Windows installer, Linux AppImage, or macOS DMG (Apple Silicon). No admin, no drivers to download.

First launch

Welcome tour, arming the stick, what the tray icon does.

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

SideWinder FFB2 compatibility

Hardware support, VID/PID, and common name variants.

Selected Logitech sticks

Initial support for the G940, Force 3D Pro, and WingMan Force 3D.

MOZA AB9 + MH16

Setup notes for the validated MOZA AB9 FFB Base and MH16 flight stick on Windows and Linux.

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

Fourteen effect gains plus the master. Sliders apply live.

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

Tabbed surface for docs, health checks, advanced hardware, and the Diagnostics view.

Diagnostics tab

Runtime metrics, searchable event log, support-bundle export.

Help & tour

In-app Start, Troubleshooting, Support, and Resources tabs — plus the replayable welcome tour.

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.

Changelog

What changed in each release, what to expect next.

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 new and scoped: it requires Apple Silicon (M1 or newer) and connects to X-Plane 12 with the Microsoft SideWinder Force Feedback 2. MSFS connects on Windows and Linux only.

This manual matches FFB-Bridge v1.1.2. If you're on a newer build and something's drifted, please tell us via the feedback form.

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