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.

Install FFB-Bridge

FFB-Bridge ships as a self-contained Windows installer, a Linux AppImage, and a macOS DMG (Apple Silicon). All three bundle the .NET 10 runtime. There is no driver to download for supported USB force-feedback joysticks on modern Windows, Linux, or macOS.

Before you start

You'll need:

  • A force-feedback joystick. Five stick families are validated and work plug-and-play where tested: Microsoft SideWinder Force Feedback 2 (045E:001B), MOZA AB9 + MH16 (346E:1000 / 346E:1002, Windows and Linux), Logitech Flight System G940 (046D:C287), Logitech Force 3D Pro (046D:C286), and Logitech WingMan Force 3D (046D:C283). Other force-feedback joysticks can be enabled experimentally via Settings → Hardware → “Allow unlisted devices”; force-feedback wheels, gamepads, and single-axis devices are out of scope and are pointed to the FFB Probe instead. See the hardware page for the full compatibility story.
  • A supported simulator: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, X-Plane 11, or X-Plane 12. DCS, Prepar3D and earlier Flight Simulators are not supported. On macOS, only X-Plane is supported — MSFS connects on Windows and Linux only.
  • One of:
    • Windows 10 (version 1809 or newer) or Windows 11.
    • Any modern Linux distribution with evdev — which is essentially every mainstream desktop distro.
    • macOS on Apple Silicon (M1 or newer). The macOS build is new and scoped to X-Plane 12 with the SideWinder Force Feedback 2; Intel Macs are not supported.

Windows Installer

Download

After you sign up on the home page, we email you a tokenised download link. Click the Windows installer link to save FfbBridge-Setup-x64.exe (about 34 MB).

Run the installer

Double-click the installer. You'll see the Inno Setup wizard, and Windows may also show a SmartScreen reputation prompt on brand-new signed builds:

  1. Publisher check. The Windows installer is code-signed by the Rohsam publisher identity. Before continuing, confirm Windows shows Rohsam Inc. or RohsamInc as the publisher.
  2. SmartScreen reputation prompt. New signed builds may still be marked as unrecognized until that exact file gains download history. If the source is ffb-bridge.com, the hash matches, and the publisher is Rohsam, click More info, then Run anyway.
  3. Inno Setup setup wizard. Click Next through the two pages. The default install location is %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\FfbBridge — a per-user install, no administrator permission required.
Windows 11 Smart App Control and new signed builds

If you're on Windows 11 with Smart App Control (SAC) enabled in Active mode, Windows may still block a brand-new signed build while reputation catches up. Code signing proves the Rohsam publisher identity; it does not guarantee every new file hash has SmartScreen or SAC reputation on day one.

Microsoft's own guidance covers Smart App Control behavior and where to review its settings (Settings → Privacy & security → Windows Security → App & browser control → Smart App Control settings):

Microsoft: Smart App Control frequently asked questions

If SAC blocks a new build outright on your machine, wait for the build to accumulate reputation or use another Windows device where you can verify the Rohsam signature and make an informed choice.

Launching

A Start Menu shortcut named FFB-Bridge lands in the FFB-Bridge program group. You can also launch directly from %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\FfbBridge\FfbBridge.Desktop.exe.

Heads up — antivirus

Some antivirus products flag new or low-reputation binaries. If yours quarantines the installer outright (rather than just warning), please email the flagged sample to support·ffb-bridge.com (replace the · with an @) so we can investigate.

Uninstalling

Open Apps & features in Windows Settings, search for FFB-Bridge, and choose Uninstall. Your profiles and preferences under %APPDATA%\ffb-bridge are left in place so a reinstall picks them up again; remove that folder by hand if you want a clean slate.

Linux AppImage

Download

Same signup flow as Windows — click the Linux link in the email and you'll get a versioned AppImage such as FfbBridge-1.0.0-x86_64.AppImage.

Make it executable and install

AppImages need the executable bit set before Linux will run them. After that, FFB-Bridge's AppImage can install itself into your user-scoped XDG desktop directories:

chmod +x FfbBridge-1.0.0-x86_64.AppImage
./FfbBridge-1.0.0-x86_64.AppImage --install

The --install flag copies the AppImage to ~/Applications, writes a .desktop launcher, installs the bundled icon, and refreshes desktop caches when those helper tools are available. After that, a FFB-Bridge entry should appear in your application menu alongside other GUI apps.

FFB-Bridge entry in the KDE Plasma application launcher after installation
Figure 1. The installed menu entry on KDE Plasma. GNOME, Xfce, and other XDG-compatible environments pick it up after the AppImage --install step.

udev rule (recommended)

Out of the box, only the user whose login session owns the joystick can open its /dev/input/eventN node. For the bridge to keep working after a fast-user-switch, or simply to avoid polkit prompts on some distributions, the Support page (in the sidebar) offers a one-click install of the following udev rule for every supported USB joystick:

# /etc/udev/rules.d/99-ffb-bridge.rules
SUBSYSTEM=="input", ATTRS{idVendor}=="045e", ATTRS{idProduct}=="001b", TAG+="uaccess"
SUBSYSTEM=="input", ATTRS{idVendor}=="046d", ATTRS{idProduct}=="c287", TAG+="uaccess"
SUBSYSTEM=="input", ATTRS{idVendor}=="046d", ATTRS{idProduct}=="c286", TAG+="uaccess"
SUBSYSTEM=="input", ATTRS{idVendor}=="046d", ATTRS{idProduct}=="c283", TAG+="uaccess"
NixOS

NixOS reads udev rules from the system config, not /etc/udev/rules.d. Add the equivalent to your configuration.nix: 

services.udev.extraRules = ''
  SUBSYSTEM=="input", ATTRS{idVendor}=="045e", ATTRS{idProduct}=="001b", TAG+="uaccess"
  SUBSYSTEM=="input", ATTRS{idVendor}=="046d", ATTRS{idProduct}=="c287", TAG+="uaccess"
  SUBSYSTEM=="input", ATTRS{idVendor}=="046d", ATTRS{idProduct}=="c286", TAG+="uaccess"
  SUBSYSTEM=="input", ATTRS{idVendor}=="046d", ATTRS{idProduct}=="c283", TAG+="uaccess"
'';

Then sudo nixos-rebuild switch and replug the stick.

Uninstalling

Run the installed AppImage with --uninstall to remove the launcher and icons, then delete the AppImage from ~/Applications if you no longer want it. Profiles and preferences under ~/.config/ffb-bridge are kept for a later reinstall.

macOS DMG (Apple Silicon)

The macOS build is new and scoped: it runs on Apple Silicon (M1 or newer) and connects to X-Plane 12 with the Microsoft SideWinder Force Feedback 2. It ships as a signed and notarized .dmg, so Gatekeeper accepts it without the right-click “Open” workaround.

Download and install

Use the same signup flow as the other platforms — click the macOS link in the email to download a versioned DMG such as FfbBridge-1.1.1-arm64.dmg. Then:

  1. Double-click the DMG to mount it. A window opens showing the FFB-Bridge app and an Applications shortcut.
  2. Drag FFB-Bridge onto the Applications shortcut to install it.
  3. Eject the DMG, then launch FFB-Bridge from Launchpad or the Applications folder.

Because the build is notarized by the Rohsam Inc. Developer ID, macOS verifies it on first launch over the network and opens it normally. If your Mac is offline the first time you launch, connect to the internet so Gatekeeper can complete its check.

Uninstalling

Drag FFB-Bridge from Applications to the Trash. Profiles and preferences under ~/.config/ffb-bridge are left in place for a later reinstall; remove that folder by hand for a clean slate.

Verifying the install

Launch FFB-Bridge. The first thing you should see is the Welcome dialog (covered in the next section). If the app doesn't start at all, or crashes on launch, jump straight to Troubleshooting.

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