Console mode is a controller-first layout for the couch or a TV, with an on-screen keyboard and a Power menu.
Turn on console mode
Open it in any of these ways:
- Choose Console mode in the command palette (Ctrl K) or the ☰ menu.
- Start Heronite with
--console(for example in a Steam shortcut or a gaming session). - In Settings → Console mode, make it open at startup or when a controller connects (off, ask, or on).
Console mode loads nothing while it is off. On the Steam Deck, see the Steam Deck guide.
Controller buttons
| Button | Action |
|---|---|
| A (south) | Confirm |
| B (east) | Back |
| X, Y | Actions shown on screen |
| LB / RB | Switch tabs |
| D-pad, left stick | Move |
| Right stick | Scroll |
| Start or Guide | Menu |
Swap A and B in the theme’s controls if you prefer the Nintendo layout. Button pictures follow the controller (Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, Steam Deck) or can be set by hand.
Keyboard
| Key | Acts as |
|---|---|
| Arrows | Move |
| Enter or Space | A |
| Esc or Backspace | B |
| X, Y | X, Y |
| Q / E | LB / RB |
| PgUp / PgDn | Scroll |
| M or F1 | Start (menu) |
| Tab | Select |
Change layouts and themes
Change every part of console mode, live from the couch or in Settings → Console mode:
- Up to four tabs, each with its own layout (Shelves, Spotlight, Cinema, Dashboard, Grid, Wheel, Carousel, Series X) and its own games (all, installed, not installed, favourites, PC, emulated, or one status, category, store or platform)
- Covers, background, colours, fonts, and button glyphs
- The menu and the game pages
Seven themes come built in: Minimal, Classic, Cinema, Pulse, Arcade, Hub, and Living room.
Share a theme
In Settings → Console mode, choose Export… to save a theme as a .heronite-theme.json file, with its background picture inside. On another PC, choose Import…. Share yours in Discussions, or edit the file by hand with the console theme format.
Open the in-game overlay (beta, Linux)
- In Settings → Overlay, switch on Turn on the overlay. It is off by default.
- During a game opened by Heronite, press the controller’s Guide button.
The panel over the game has volume, microphone, FPS limit, screenshots, and journal notes.
| Buttons | Action |
|---|---|
| Guide | Open or close the panel (Super G on the keyboard) |
| Guide + RB | Screenshot (the button can be changed) |
| Guide + ↑ / ↓ | Volume |
| Guide + Y | Mark a moment |
| Guide + X | Save the replay |
The overlay needs a Wayland session whose compositor supports layer-shell, so it does not work on GNOME or X11. If Steam takes the Guide button, see Troubleshooting.
Replay keeps the last seconds of play, recorded on the GPU by gpu-screen-recorder. It is off by default: turn it on in Settings → Replay.