Install and activate

Install Pro on the computer you fly with, enter the license key from your beta email, and set up your stick the same way as in FFB-Bridge Free.

What you need

• A supported force-feedback stick or yoke. Check yours on the hardware page.
• Windows 11 (64-bit), macOS 13 or later on an Apple Silicon Mac, or a 64-bit Linux distribution on an Intel or AMD processor.
• Your license key. It arrives in the email titled “Your FFB-Bridge Pro beta license”.
• An internet connection the first time you start Pro, to activate the key.

Pro connects to these simulators:

On Linux, Pro runs as a normal Linux app outside Proton and connects to MSFS over the network. The MSFS guide shows the connection setup, and the X-Plane guide covers X-Plane.

Install on Windows

The Windows installer is signed by Rohsam Inc. Besides Pro itself, it installs two components for Controls, which is coming soon:

• the FFB-Bridge Control Routing driver, made by Rohsam
• HidHide, a free third-party tool that can hide a game controller from other programs. If HidHide is already installed and working, Setup leaves it as it is.

Both are described in Drivers and third-party software.

1. Quit FFB-Bridge Free and any copy of Pro that is running, from its window or its tray icon. Setup stops while either app is open, because both drive the same stick.
2. Run the installer, for example ffb-bridge-pro-setup-1.0.0-rc.2-x64.exe. Windows asks for administrator permission because Setup installs a driver. Check that the publisher shown is Rohsam Inc.
3. Accept the End User Terms and follow the steps. Pro installs to C:\Program Files\Rohsam\FFB-Bridge Pro.
4. On the last page, leave Launch FFB-Bridge Pro ticked, or start Pro later from the Start menu.

If Windows needs a restart to finish installing HidHide, Setup tells you and does not start Pro. Restart Windows, then start FFB-Bridge Pro from the Start menu.

Two other messages can stop Setup before it changes anything:

• An older per-user installation is still registered. You have an earlier Pro test build. Uninstall FFB-Bridge Pro in Settings → Apps, answer No when it asks about removing data, then run the new installer. Your profiles, settings and license stay.
• Windows reports an existing HidHide installation, but its driver is not healthy. Repair HidHide with its official setup, restart Windows, then run the Pro installer again.

If SmartScreen warns about a new file, the FFB-Bridge install guide explains how to check the publisher and continue.

Install on macOS

1. Open the disk image, for example FfbBridge-Pro-1.0.0-rc.2-arm64.dmg.
2. Drag FFB-Bridge Pro onto the Applications folder in the window that opens.
3. Eject the disk image and open FFB-Bridge Pro from your Applications folder.

Pro is signed by Rohsam Inc. and notarized by Apple, so macOS opens it normally. Connect to the internet for the first launch so macOS can complete its check.

Voice Control listens through your microphone. When macOS asks whether FFB-Bridge Pro may use the microphone, allow it. If you denied access, open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone, turn on FFB-Bridge Pro, then quit and reopen Pro.

Install on Linux

Pro for Linux is an AppImage. Make it executable, then let it add itself to your application menu:

chmod +x FfbBridge-Pro-1.0.0-rc.2-x86_64.AppImage
./FfbBridge-Pro-1.0.0-rc.2-x86_64.AppImage --install

--install copies the AppImage to ~/Applications and adds FFB-Bridge Pro to your application menu. Use the file name of your download if it differs.

Linux needs a device permission, a udev rule, before Pro can drive your stick. Free and Pro use the same rule, so a current rule installed for Free also covers Pro. Pro checks the rule when it starts and warns you if it is missing or out of date. To install it:

1. Click Review and fix now in the warning, or open Support and then Health checks.
2. Click Fix… on the udev rule row and enter your password when the system asks.
3. Click Restart now so Pro reopens the stick with the new permission.

The FFB-Bridge install guide shows the rule and the steps for NixOS.

First launch: activate Pro

The first time you start Pro, it asks for your license key. Pro stays locked until the key is activated.

1. Open your beta license email and copy the key. It starts with FFBP-.
2. Paste it into License key. The key shows as dots.
3. Click Activate.

When the key is accepted, the main Pro window opens. Set up your stick and simulator as you would in Free: see hardware, MSFS or X-Plane.

Opening Pro never arms your stick. Forces start only when you click the arm button at the top of the window.

If you cannot find your key, click Lost your key or need help activating? and follow the recovery steps in Pro license. Quit closes Pro without activating.

Free and Pro side by side

Pro installs next to FFB-Bridge Free and does not replace it. Each app keeps its own settings and profiles, and Pro does not copy anything from Free.

Run one app at a time. Quit Free, from its window or its tray icon, before you start Pro, so only one app controls your stick.

To bring a profile you made in Free into Pro, see Free and Pro on one computer.

Updates

Pro checks for a new version when it starts. When one is available, the Update available window opens. Click What's new to read the release notes first.

• Windows and the Linux AppImage: click Update now. Pro downloads the update, checks the file, installs it and starts again.
• macOS: click Open download page and install the new disk image the same way as the first time.

Later asks again at the next start. Skip this version stops the reminder for that version.

The update settings are in Settings → Updates. Leave the channel on Beta, because Pro updates arrive on the beta channel during the beta. If you turned off Check for updates at startup, click Check now from time to time.

Uninstall

If you are moving Pro to another computer, first click Deactivate on the Pro License page, as described in Pro license.

On Windows:

1. Quit Pro.
2. Open Settings → Apps, find FFB-Bridge Pro and choose Uninstall.
3. The uninstaller asks whether to also remove all FFB-Bridge Pro data: profiles, settings, recordings and downloaded content. Yes deletes it. No keeps it for a later reinstall. Cancel stops the uninstall.

Your FFB-Bridge Free data is not touched. HidHide stays installed, because other programs may use it. If nothing else on your computer needs it, uninstall HidHide separately in Settings → Apps.

On macOS, drag FFB-Bridge Pro from Applications to the Trash. On Linux, run the AppImage with --uninstall to remove the menu entry, then delete the AppImage. Both keep your profiles and settings.