Console Mode

Console Mode

A controller-first layout for the couch or a TV, with an on-screen keyboard and a Power menu.

Turning it on

• From 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).

Nothing of console mode loads while it is off.

Controller

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

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, favourites, a status, a store, a 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.

Sharing themes

Export a theme to a .heronite-theme.json file and import it on any PC. The background picture goes inside the file. Share yours in Discussions.

The file format is described in Console Theme Format.

In-game overlay (beta, Linux)

With the overlay turned on, the controller's Guide button opens a panel over the game with 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 (KDE Plasma, Hyprland, Sway, and others). It does not work on GNOME or X11. If Steam takes the Guide button, turn off "Guide Button Focuses Steam" in Steam's controller settings.

Replay (off by default) keeps the last seconds of play, recorded on the GPU by gpu-screen-recorder.