Hi All,

I am looking at starting a project and was wondering if there was a way to make it so a controller type changed boot conditions. I want to move to linux for my home entertainment and would like to have a ps5 controller boot Lutris and a different controller boot into something like KDE plasma.

Is this a possibility or nonsense?

  • whoEnglish
    15•2 days ago

    This could use some clarification. Do you mean that you want…

    • Lutris or Plasma (depending on a detected game controller) to automatically launch as soon as your computer finishes booting, instead of the display manager that normally presents a login screen?
    • Lutris to automatically launch when you log in to a Plasma session while your PS5 controller is connected?
    • Lutris to automatically launch whenever you connect a controller while already logged in to a Plasma session?
    • Something else?

    The possibilities really depend on what you’re after.

    • @[email protected]OPEnglish
      1•2 days ago

      My understanding is that lutris is a program whereas as Plasma is a desktop environment so I guess I would be looking for plasma to start regardless and if connected to a ps5 controller then open lutris to big picture mode.

      I am mainly looking to mirror the current setup of a games console and smart devices from my machine of choice. It is toward usability for the family.

      • whoEnglish
        4•2 days ago

        My understanding is that lutris is a program whereas as Plasma is a desktop environment

        Yes, that’s right.

        so I guess I would be looking for plasma to start regardless and if connected to a ps5 controller then open lutris to big picture mode.

        Plasma (like many other desktop environments) can automatically launch whatever you like when you log in, if you create an XDG Autostart file for it in the $HOME/.config/autostart/ directory. (Hint: It uses the .desktop file format.)

        You could write a script that checks for a Playstation controller and launches Lutris if one is detected. You could then reference that script in the autostart file’s Exec= line.

        The simplest way I know of to detect a Playstation controller in a shell script would be something like this:

        #!/bin/sh
udevadm info -t |grep -q DRIVER=playstation && echo "Hello, Playstation!"

        You would have to make the script executable, and replace the echo command at the end with a lutris command line, of course.

        Terminology correction to your original post: Booting is something that a computer does when you power it on. Launching a game or game launcher (on a machine that has an OS) is not booting.