⚠️ [Unmaintained]

This project is archived and no longer maintained. It is provided as-is for reference and forking. Feel free to copy, modify, and continue the work.

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A user-space SpaceMouse bridge for Autodesk Fusion 360 running under Wine on Linux.

This makes a 3Dconnexion SpaceMouse work for viewport navigation in Fusion 360 when Fusion is launched through the cryinkfly Wine launcher on Linux.

It does not install the Windows 3DxWare driver into Wine. Instead, it uses the native Linux spacenavd daemon, so all settings configured with spnavcfg continue to apply.

Architecture

SpaceMouse → spacenavd (Linux) → spacenav-fusion-bridge (UDP) → SpacenavBridge.py (Fusion Add-in)

1. spacenavd reads the SpaceMouse from Linux input devices (/dev/input/event*).
2. spnavcfg controls sensitivity, axis mapping, inversion, and button behavior at the native Linux daemon layer.
3. spacenav-fusion-bridge connects to /run/spnav.sock via libspnav and forwards motion/button events to 127.0.0.1:39030 over UDP.
4. SpacenavBridge.py runs inside Fusion as a Python add-in, listens on UDP, and updates app.activeViewport.camera.
5. The cryinkfly Fusion launcher is patched to start the bridge before Wine and stop it after Fusion exits.

What Is Included

File	Description
src/spacenav-fusion-bridge.c	Native Linux bridge (C, links against libspnav)
addin/SpacenavBridge.py	Fusion Python add-in (UDP listener + camera controller)
addin/SpacenavBridge.manifest	Fusion add-in manifest with runOnStartup enabled
bin/spacenav-fusion-bridge	Prebuilt binary (fallback if no C compiler)
install.sh	Idempotent installer for another Linux machine
reference/	Copies of working launcher and Fusion options files, for comparison

Requirements

• A Linux-supported 3Dconnexion SpaceMouse
• spacenavd running as a system service
• libspnav runtime and development headers
• A C compiler (gcc or cc)
• Fusion 360 installed via the cryinkfly Linux/Wine launcher (usually under ~/.autodesk_fusion)
• Python 3 (for the installer and Fusion's add-in runtime)

Arch / CachyOS

sudo pacman -S --needed spacenavd libspnav gcc spnavcfg
sudo systemctl enable --now spacenavd.service

Debian / Ubuntu

sudo apt-get install -y spacenavd libspnav-dev build-essential
sudo systemctl enable --now spacenavd.service

Fedora

sudo dnf install -y spacenavd libspnav-devel gcc
sudo systemctl enable --now spacenavd.service

Installation

Automatic

From this directory:

./install.sh

If Fusion is installed somewhere other than ~/.autodesk_fusion:

./install.sh --fusion-root /path/to/.autodesk_fusion

Useful options:

./install.sh --skip-deps              # Do not install distro packages
./install.sh --skip-service           # Do not enable/start spacenavd.service
./install.sh --skip-launcher-patch    # Install files only; do not patch the launcher

The installer:

1. Installs distro packages when possible
2. Enables and starts spacenavd.service
3. Copies and compiles the native bridge to ~/.local/bin/spacenav-fusion-bridge
4. Installs the Fusion add-in into the Wine prefix
5. Patches the cryinkfly Fusion launcher so the bridge starts with Fusion and exits when Fusion exits
6. Sets Fusion's SpaceMouse driver preference to the older SDK mode
7. Runs a bridge smoke test against spacenavd

The launcher patch is marked with # >>> spacemouse360_linux / # <<< spacemouse360_linux comments. A timestamped launcher backup is created before patching.

Manual

1. Install dependencies and start spacenavd (see above)

2. Build and install the bridge:

   mkdir -p ~/.local/share/autodesk-fusion-spacenav ~/.local/bin
   cp src/spacenav-fusion-bridge.c ~/.local/share/autodesk-fusion-spacenav/
   cc -O2 -Wall -Wextra -o ~/.local/bin/spacenav-fusion-bridge ~/.local/share/autodesk-fusion-spacenav/spacenav-fusion-bridge.c -lspnav
   ~/.local/bin/spacenav-fusion-bridge --check

3. Install the Fusion add-in:

   WINE_PFX="$HOME/.autodesk_fusion/wineprefixes/default"
   ADDIN_DIR="$WINE_PFX/drive_c/users/$USER/AppData/Roaming/Autodesk/Autodesk Fusion 360/API/AddIns/SpacenavBridge"
   mkdir -p "$ADDIN_DIR"
   cp addin/SpacenavBridge.py addin/SpacenavBridge.manifest "$ADDIN_DIR/"

4. Patch the launcher — the easiest safe method:

   ./install.sh --skip-deps --skip-service

5. Restart Fusion through the normal cryinkfly launcher.

How It Works

spacenavd reads the SpaceMouse from Linux input devices and applies the settings you configure with spnavcfg, including sensitivity, axis mapping, inversion, and button behavior.

spacenav-fusion-bridge connects to /run/spnav.sock through libspnav. It forwards motion and button events to 127.0.0.1:39030 over UDP.

SpacenavBridge.py runs inside Fusion as a Python add-in. It listens on 127.0.0.1:39030, receives the forwarded events, and updates app.activeViewport.camera.

Default button behavior:

• Button 0: fit viewport
• Button 1: home view

Tuning

Most tuning should be done in spnavcfg, because those settings are applied by spacenavd before events reach Fusion.

If Fusion-specific tuning is needed, edit constants near the top of addin/SpacenavBridge.py:

Constant	Purpose
PAN_SCALE	X/Y translation sensitivity
ZOOM_SCALE	Z-axis zoom sensitivity
ROT_SCALE	Pitch/yaw rotation sensitivity
ROLL_SCALE	Roll rotation sensitivity
PAN_X_SIGN / PAN_Y_SIGN	X/Y pan direction (1.0 or -1.0)
ZOOM_SIGN	Zoom direction (1.0 or -1.0)
PITCH_SIGN / YAW_SIGN / ROLL_SIGN	Rotation direction (1.0 or -1.0)

After editing the installed add-in copy, restart Fusion.

Fusion SpaceMouse Driver Option

Fusion must be set to the Older/Legacy SpaceMouse SDK mode:

<spacemouseDriverOptionId Value="0" />

The installer sets this automatically when the options file exists. The file is typically at:

<WINEPREFIX>/drive_c/users/<user>/Application Data/Autodesk/Neutron Platform/Options/NMachineSpecificOptions.xml

Verification

~/.local/bin/spacenav-fusion-bridge --check

Expected output includes connected to spacenavd, the SpaceMouse device name, 6 axes, button count, and USB ID.

Check launcher patch:

grep -n "spacemouse360\|spacenav-fusion-bridge" ~/.autodesk_fusion/bin/autodesk_fusion_launcher.sh

Check add-in files:

find ~/.autodesk_fusion/wineprefixes/default -path '*API/AddIns/SpacenavBridge/*' -type f

Troubleshooting

Bridge check fails

systemctl status spacenavd.service
ls -l /run/spnav.sock

Confirm the SpaceMouse is plugged in and spacenavd is running.

Fusion launches but SpaceMouse does nothing

• Confirm the launcher contains the marked spacemouse360_linux block
• Confirm the add-in directory exists in the Wine prefix
• In Fusion, check Utilities > Add-Ins > Scripts and Add-Ins and verify SpacenavBridge is loaded
• Restart Fusion after installing or editing the add-in

X/Y pan and rotation work but Z-axis zoom does nothing

The active camera is likely orthographic (camType == 0). In orthographic mode, zoom is controlled by camera.viewExtents, not by moving the camera eye position.

The add-in includes a fix that detects orthographic cameras and scales viewExtents directly. If you still have issues, verify the installed SpacenavBridge.py contains the camera.cameraType check.

If zoom direction feels reversed, toggle ZOOM_SIGN (1.0 → -1.0 or vice versa).

Z-axis zoom is too slow

Increase ZOOM_SCALE in SpacenavBridge.py. Test values:

python3 -c "
import math
for scale in [0.000075, 0.000300, 0.000750]:
    print(f'scale={scale:.6f} z=-12 zoom={math.exp(12*scale):.4f}')
"

Known Working Configuration

• Device: 3Dconnexion SpaceMouse Compact (256f:c635)
• spacenavd: 1.3.1
• libspnav: 1.2
• Session: Wayland or X11 (bridge is session-agnostic)

Notes

• This is a user-space workaround for Wine. It avoids raw /dev/input access and avoids trying to run the Windows 3Dconnexion kernel driver under Wine.
• The bridge only controls Fusion viewport navigation. It is not a complete replacement for all 3DxWare features.
• The bundled binary in bin/ is architecture-specific and included only as a fallback. Compiling from source is preferred.

License

MIT License. See LICENSE.