CouchKit 1.13.1

Two changes, both from Reddit feedback. Thank you!

Fixed: the Guide could disappear behind Playnite when Discord's window was open
When the Guide opens, it refreshes your friends' Discord statuses in the background. With Discord's window open (not just in the tray), that could bring Discord forward for a moment. CouchKit then put Playnite back in front instead of the Guide. Now the focus goes back to the Guide, and while the Guide is open it stays in front.

New: open the Guide with a single press
Add-ons → Extension settings → CouchKit → Open the Guide with: A double tap (the default) or A single press. With a single press, the Guide opens straight away; switch between the game and Playnite from its Home tab. In couchkit.json, this is Controller.GuideOpensWith: DoubleTap or SingleTap.

CouchKit 1.13.0

CouchKit is now plug and play. Website, screenshots and video: https://dancharlton9.github.io/CouchKit/

Settings page in Playnite (Add-ons → Extension settings → Generic → CouchKit)

• Every feature as toggles, sliders and lists, with no JSON editing. TV and headset are picked from your sound devices.
• Buttons to test Home Assistant, pair Nanoleaf (it fills in the token for you) and set up the CPU temperature helper (one admin prompt).
• Saving restarts CouchKit with the new settings and keeps a backup of the previous file.

CouchKit status (Guide → System)

• Every feature listed as working, needs setting up, not working or off, with what to do about it.
• Warns if Playnite's "Guide button focuses Playnite" setting is still on.

Any controller

• PlayStation and Switch controllers (through Steam Input or DS4Windows) are recognised. The Guide shows their button faces (✕ ○, L1/R1; L/R) and names the PS or Home button. Override it with Controller.Style.

Quieter defaults

• Features whose apps aren't installed switch themselves off. For example, with no Discord there's no Party tab.

If CouchKit makes your sofa a better place: https://ko-fi.com/fiisaac ☕

CouchKit 1.11.0

Everything since 1.9.0.

Achievements (needs the PlayniteAchievements add-on)

• The now-playing card shows achievement progress. Achievements lists the running game's achievements: unlocked ones with when, gamerscore and rarity; locked ones with their descriptions and progress bars; secret ones hidden.
• Recent achievements shows your latest unlocks across every game.
• A large TV pop-up shows the achievement's icon, name, gamerscore and rarity when you unlock one.

The Guide

• Works without Discord: there's simply no Party tab.
• Hold the D-pad, or use the left stick, to scroll; it speeds up the longer you hold.
• Notifications collects messages, missed calls, achievements, low battery and screenshots, with an unread count.
• The now-playing card adds this session's time and HowLongToBeat estimates.
• System tab: CPU and GPU temperature and load, GPU power, memory, uptime and free drive space. CPU temperature comes from FanControl through an optional admin helper; see the README.
• Sound and motion: soft UI sounds; the highlight slides, the tab pill glides and content fades. Both can be turned off under Guide in couchkit.json.
• The controller battery shows as a percentage.
• The look is refined: gradient outlines replace the left-hand bars, call pop-ups have borders, and text and icons are centred. Drawing is about 7× faster.

CouchKit 1.9.0

The Guide (was the Party panel): double-tap the Xbox button for an Xbox-style guide on the TV, with LB/RB tabs.

• Home: what's playing with its cover, Resume, Screenshot, Close game, and recently played games from Playnite with cover art. Start one, or switch to it while another game runs.
• Party: Discord calls, favourites, chats with their latest messages and quick replies, and voice channels showing who's in.
• Audio: output device (TV or headset) and a volume mixer.
• Lights: Home Assistant scenes, room lights, PC lighting.
• System: screen off, restart Playnite, restart or shut down.

The UI is reworked: icon tabs, a clock, two-line rows, section headings, unread badges, wrapped messages, and the controller battery in the footer.

CouchKit 1.6.1

The Party panel grows up. Discord from the controller, without the mouse.

• Double-tap the Xbox button to open it. There are no more Back or Xbox + button combos: Playnite and games saw the second button too (Y opened Playnite's search keyboard).
• Status card: your current call and microphone state, or who's calling.
• Chats: recent DMs and group chats read live from Discord, with online status and unread counts. Calling a group rings everyone.
• Voice channels: pick a server, then a channel.
• Volume: game, Discord and everything, with D-pad left/right.
• Incoming calls: a bigger banner, a single tap opens the panel with Answer selected, and Decline is available.
• Corner HUD: connected or ended, mic muted or live, deafened, new DMs. It never takes focus from the game.
• Polish: icons, slide-in, rounded cards, crisper text, Xbox-style button hints, and a wider panel.

Fixes

• Calling chats with unread messages now works. Chat names get an "unread, " prefix in that case.
• Calling a chat with a call still going now joins it.
• Leaving a call no longer shows a false "incoming call".
• Background Discord actions no longer leave Discord on screen.

Upgrade: double-click CouchKit-1.6.1.pext and restart Playnite.

CouchKit 1.3.0

New: Party, Discord from the controller

Discord has no console-style "transfer call" for PCs, so CouchKit now drives the Discord desktop app through Windows accessibility while it stays minimised behind Playnite or your game.

• Back + Y opens the Party panel on the TV: call favourite friends, join favourite voice channels, mute, deafen, leave, or open Discord in mouse mode.
• Back + LB toggles Discord's own mute, so in-game voice chat (CoD and so on) is unaffected. One long buzz means muted; two short means live.
• Back + B hangs up. Back + A answers an incoming call, with a banner on the TV and a rumble. Incoming calls are new and still being tested.
• Back + RB toggles mouse mode for any desktop app: left stick moves the pointer, A clicks, B right-clicks, right stick scrolls.

New: headset audio. Set Audio.HeadsetDeviceName and the headset becomes the default speaker and microphone whenever it's connected, then sound goes back to the TV when it's switched off.

Favourites are set in %APPDATA%\CouchKit\couchkit.json; see the README. Upgrade by double-clicking CouchKit-1.3.0.pext and restarting Playnite.

CouchKit 1.1.0

New: smart home

• Sends the running game's colours to a webhook, for example a Home Assistant automation, so the room lights can match the game and be restored afterwards.
• Animates Nanoleaf panels with a flowing effect in the game's colours, then puts back what they were showing.

See Smart home setup in the README. Both are off until configured in %APPDATA%\CouchKit\couchkit.json.

Fixes

• Updating the add-on now replaces the running CouchKit.exe. In 1.0.0, Playnite (32-bit) couldn't identify its own 64-bit copy, so the old version kept running after an update.
• The add-on now also records the running game's name.

Upgrading from 1.0.0: double-click CouchKit-1.1.0.pext and restart Playnite. If the log still shows 1.0.0 afterwards, end CouchKit.exe in Task Manager and restart Playnite once. That only applies to this upgrade.

CouchKit 1.0.0

First release.

Install: download CouchKit-1.0.0.pext and double-click it; Playnite installs the add-on, which starts CouchKit whenever Playnite starts. Settings go in %APPDATA%\CouchKit\couchkit.json. See the README.

CouchKit.exe on its own is for running without the add-on.

What's in it

• Controller: hold Back + Start to close the running game (force-close at 4 s); tap the Xbox button to switch between the game and Playnite.
• Streaming (Sunshine / Apollo + Moonlight): keeps Playnite and the game on the TV and off the virtual display, mutes them during a stream, refocuses the game afterwards, switches sound back to the TV and restores the TV's resolution.
• Lighting (optional, via OpenRGB): a flowing gradient in your palette, themed to the running game's artwork.