Input events

Send an events array after connecting. Events apply immediately and have no acknowledgement. Activate PlayAbility’s main output and the output types your integration uses.

Press a button:

{"events":[{"type":"button","code":"A","value":true}]}

Release it in a later message:

{"events":[{"type":"button","code":"A","value":false}]}

Event fields

Field	Meaning
type	Event family below; case-sensitive
code	Output identifier, using the exact spelling below
value	Boolean, number or {x, y}, depending on the family
delay	Optional hold duration in milliseconds, from 1 to 5000, then automatic release

Events in one array run in order without a pause. delay does not postpone the press; it schedules its release. It is ignored for mouseScroll, mousePosition and reset. Use valid codes and values: malformed events may be ignored without an error response. Put commands at the root, not inside events.

Gamepad

Type	Codes	Value
button	A, B, X, Y, LEFT_SHOULDER, RIGHT_SHOULDER, LEFT_THUMB, RIGHT_THUMB, BACK, START, GUIDE	true to press, false to release
button	DPAD_UP, DPAD_DOWN, DPAD_LEFT, DPAD_RIGHT	Boolean
button	LEFT_STICK_UP, LEFT_STICK_DOWN, LEFT_STICK_LEFT, LEFT_STICK_RIGHT, RIGHT_STICK_UP, RIGHT_STICK_DOWN, RIGHT_STICK_LEFT, RIGHT_STICK_RIGHT	Boolean or intensity 0–1
axis	leftX, leftY, rightX, rightY, dpadHorz, dpadVert, mouseX, mouseY	-1 to 1; 0 is neutral
trigger	leftTrigger, rightTrigger	0 to 1; use 0 to release

Triggers currently act as on/off controls over WebSocket: a non-zero value produces 1, so intermediate pressure is not preserved. Stick directions accept progressive intensity. A physical gamepad can take priority over WebSocket controls.

D-pad axes also update directional buttons: dpadHorz < -0.5 is left and > 0.5 is right; dpadVert > 0.5 is up and < -0.5 is down. mouseX and mouseY control mouse motion state; use mousePosition for an absolute point.

Keyboard

Use type: "keyboard" and a boolean value. These are PlayAbility names, not browser KeyboardEvent.code values.

Group	Codes
Letters, digits, keypad	a–z, 0–9, numpad_0–numpad_9
Editing and navigation	backspace, delete, enter, tab, escape, space, up, down, left, right, home, end, pageup, pagedown
Function keys	f1–f24
Modifiers	alt, control, shift, windows, right_control, right_shift, right_alt, right_windows
Media and special	play, pause, mute, fn
Punctuation	grave, minus, equal, leftbracket, rightbracket, backslash, semicolon, quote, comma, period, slash

Send several events for a chord, then release every key. The operating system and keyboard layout determine the characters produced.

Mouse

Type	Codes	Value
mouseButton	leftClick, middleClick, rightClick, leftDoubleClick, middleDoubleClick, rightDoubleClick	Boolean; double-click triggers on press
mouseButton	scrollUp, scrollDown	Legacy boolean scrolling state
mouseMotionOut	mouseMotionOut, mouseLeft, mouseRight, mouseUp, mouseDown	Boolean motion state
mouseScroll	up, down, left, right	Positive amount, usually 120; immediate action, no release
mousePosition	mousePosition	{x: 100, y: 200} in logical display coordinates

For scrolling, a zero or absent amount uses 120; it does not stop scrolling. Amounts are not pixel counts. For position, coordinates are limited to the current display dimensions and adjusted for its scale factor. They are not unrestricted global desktop coordinates; see displays and cursor.

Settings and release

A legacy setting event toggles the named setting on a false → true transition. Send false before triggering it again. For explicit values and a response, prefer SET_SETTING. Use MCP_SWITCH_PROFILE to activate a named profile.

An event with type: "reset" resets control state; it needs no code or value. For a full release, send {"type":"SET_SETTING","key":"releaseAll","value":true}. Controls are not automatically released when a socket disconnects, so release them before closing and provide a recovery action in your integration.

See the examples for complete clients and the AsyncAPI specification for message schemas.