CouchMode

Controller-first gaming utility for Windows.

Public beta now available

Turn your gaming PC into couch mode.

Turn on your controller and CouchMode opens your chosen gaming experience, prepares the session around your preferences, and brings you back to a usable desktop when you’re done. CouchMode is free to use. All features included.

Download for WindowsSupport CouchMode

Windows 11 · 64-bit

CouchMode · General
CouchMode General controller and launcher settings.
CouchMode Resource Control application cleanup settings.
CouchMode Session Tweaks performance and Windows settings.

The gap

Windows works.It just wasn't built for the couch.

Your desktop works well at a desk. From the couch, small text, mouse-first menus, and background apps can get in the way of a controller-first gaming session. CouchMode bridges that gap without replacing Windows or taking over your PC.

  • Designed for the big screen

    Windows desktop interfaces are built for close viewing. CouchMode helps move the session into a controller-friendly gaming experience.

  • Controller-first

    CouchMode can react when a compatible controller connects and start the gaming experience you selected.

  • Leaves your setup intact

    CouchMode changes only the supported session settings you enable and restores the settings it changed when the session ends.

How it works

From controller to couch.

Connect a controller. CouchMode starts, prepares and ends the session for you.

  1. STEP 01

    Turn on your controller

    Wake your Xbox or compatible controller. CouchMode can listen in the background and start your couch session automatically.

    Auto-detected · No app to open

  2. STEP 02

    CouchMode opens your chosen gaming experience

    Choose Steam Big Picture, Playnite, Xbox Mode where Windows supports it, or your own launcher.

    Works with the launcher you already use

  3. STEP 03

    CouchMode prepares your session

    Resource Control closes the apps you selected. Session Tweaks apply the display, HDR, audio and power settings you chose.

    Only the settings you enable

  4. STEP 04

    Return to your desktop

    When the session ends, CouchMode exits the gaming experience it started, restores the Windows settings it changed and returns control to the desktop.

    Restoration of settings CouchMode changed

A closer look

See CouchMode in action

These are real CouchMode screens, not mockups. Select any screen to view it larger.

CouchMode is free to use. All features included.

No account, payment card or Patreon membership needed.

  • Compatible controller triggers and custom launchers
  • Xbox Mode where supported, Steam Big Picture and Playnite
  • Resource Control for selected accessible apps
  • Supported display, HDR, audio and session settings
  • Restoration of settings CouchMode changed

Support CouchMode

If CouchMode helps you, you can support continued development, compatibility testing and future improvements.

Support on PatreonBuy Me a Coffee

Prefer a one-time thank-you? Buy Me a Coffee is a single contribution, not a membership, and does not include Patreon supporter benefits.

Practical setup notes

Windows Couch Gaming Guides

Straight answers for Playnite, Steam Big Picture, TV setups, controllers, and docked Windows handhelds.

View all guides
Playnite

How to Open Playnite Fullscreen with a Controller

Use Playnite's controller-ready Fullscreen mode, then optionally start it when Windows detects a compatible XInput controller. Includes existing-window and focus checks.

Updated Oct 9, 2026

Steam Big Picture

How to Open Steam Big Picture with a Controller

Open Steam Big Picture with an Xbox or supported controller. Learn Steam's native option, then set up an optional CouchMode session without taking over Steam already in use.

Updated Oct 9, 2026

Windows Couch Gaming

How to Make a Windows 11 Gaming PC Feel More Like a Console

Build a controller-first Windows 11 living-room workflow with Xbox full-screen where available, Steam Big Picture, or Playnite.

Updated Oct 9, 2026

Ready to make your PC couch-native?

Download CouchMode for Windows 11 and start your first couch session.

Download for WindowsView release notes
Direct downloadOpen · 0.6.0-rc.15Windows 11 · 64-bit

CouchMode supports controller-first Windows handheld setups, including devices such as ROG Ally. Where Windows provides the Xbox full-screen experience, CouchMode can start or adopt that session and return control to the desktop when the session ends. Availability and behavior depend on the device, Windows version, Xbox app support, region and Microsoft rollout.

Questions

Built for the way PC players actually start a couch session.

CouchMode is designed for Windows PCs used with a TV or in a controller-first setup. These answers explain what it can start, what it can automate, and what depends on Windows support.

CouchMode is a controller-first gaming utility for Windows. It can start a couch gaming session when a compatible controller connects, open your chosen gaming experience and restore the supported settings it changed when the session ends.

No. CouchMode does not replace Explorer, the Windows shell or your launcher. It works around Windows and your existing gaming applications.

Only the supported session actions you enable. CouchMode can open a gaming experience, close selected apps through Resource Control, and temporarily apply supported notification, display, audio, HDR, power and gaming settings. It restores the settings it changed when the session ends.

With Resource Control, you choose which supported apps CouchMode may close for the session and whether they should reopen afterward. Apps you do not select are not intentionally closed. Services, elevated apps, protected system components and apps that relaunch themselves may remain.

Yes. Choose Steam Big Picture, Playnite, Xbox Mode where Windows supports it, or your own launcher, and CouchMode can start it when a compatible controller connects.

Yes. Choose Playnite as your launch target, and CouchMode opens Playnite Fullscreen when a compatible controller connects. If Playnite is already open, CouchMode uses the instance you already have instead of starting a second copy.

CouchMode starts and ends sessions using controllers that Windows exposes as Xbox (XInput) controllers. A PlayStation controller connected in its native mode is not used to start or end a session, and CouchMode says so rather than showing it as connected. Where a setup presents a PlayStation controller to Windows as an XInput controller, CouchMode treats it like any other XInput controller.

If Exit CouchMode when controller disconnects is enabled, disconnection triggers session exit after the configured delay. Reconnecting during that delay can cancel the pending exit. CouchMode checks its session ownership and the actual state before exiting, restores the supported settings it changed, and verifies a safe desktop return. It does not forcibly close launchers or apps that you opened independently or that were already open before the session.

Yes. CouchMode finds an installed copy of Playnite automatically. If you use a portable copy, set its location in CouchMode's settings. You can then choose Playnite Fullscreen as your launch target.

CouchMode can work with the Windows Xbox full-screen experience where Windows provides it. If it is unavailable, CouchMode can open the normal Xbox app instead. Availability depends on Windows, the Xbox app, device support, region and Microsoft rollout.

If Windows Xbox full-screen is not available on your device, CouchMode can open the Xbox app normally instead. Xbox full-screen availability depends on Windows, the Xbox app, the device, and Microsoft rollout.

ROG Ally and similar Windows handhelds are an important supported device class. Actual Xbox full-screen behavior still depends on Windows and Xbox app support on that device.

On supported handhelds, CouchMode can use an admin-approved scheduled task to start alongside the Windows Xbox full-screen experience. Normal desktop startup remains separate.

Yes. All current CouchMode features are free to use. No account, trial or paid membership is required. CouchMode is currently in public beta.

Pro and Pro Supporter are supporter identities, not feature unlocks. Pro: supporter identity on up to 2 active Windows devices. Pro Supporter: supporter identity on up to 5 active Windows devices and a higher level of project support. Preview builds delivered through CouchMode are in development for Patreon supporters. They are not available yet.

If your membership ends, your supporter status ends too. CouchMode keeps every feature, and standard updates continue.

Preview builds for Patreon supporters, delivered through CouchMode, are still in development and are not available yet. Standard releases are published here for everyone.

Press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+F12 while the problem is still visible. CouchMode saves a snapshot of the current window state to its own file in %APPDATA%\CouchMode, alongside app.log. It changes nothing on screen, and it works whether or not debug logging is turned on. Nothing is uploaded automatically: the file stays on your PC, and you choose what to send. Attach it, and app.log, when you contact support.

CouchMode does not promise FPS gains. CouchMode can reduce session clutter by closing selected apps and can apply supported Windows session settings such as Game Mode and a selected power plan, then restore them when the session ends.

CouchMode checks for new versions. When one is available, it tells you and links to the official download page on couchmode.app. Updates are not installed automatically: you run the installer yourself, and your settings are kept.

The Microsoft Store currently offers an earlier version of CouchMode. When a newer version is available, CouchMode tells you and links to the official download page. Install it over your current version; your settings are kept.