emudeck controls not working

Buttons don’t respond, or the wrong inputs fire, inside EmuDeck. The trap: EmuDeck is a launcher, not the thing reading your controller. It hands input to RetroArch, Dolphin, PCSX2, or another core — so re-mapping in EmuDeck’s own menu does nothing.

Where the mapping actually lives

1. Open the emulator for that system and rebind there
   Each system has its own input settings: RetroArch (most retro systems), Dolphin (GameCube/Wii), PCSX2 (PS2), and so on. Map your controller inside the one your game uses — that's where the fix takes effect.
   A button press in that emulator's mapper registers on the right input.
2. For RetroArch systems, set the remap globally
   RetroArch reads a global controller profile. If GameCube controls don't work in EmuDeck but NES does, it's a per-core or per-playlist remap, not EmuDeck itself. Set the remap inside RetroArch's Quick Menu for that core.
   The same controller works across the systems you remapped.

Steam Deck input quirks

1. Check the Steam Input layer
   On Steam Deck, Steam Input wraps the controller. If a game ignores inputs, the Steam controller profile may be intercepting them. Toggle Steam Input per-game or set the desktop profile correctly.
   The emulator receives the button events directly, not through a mismatched profile.

If EmuDeck itself won’t open

When the app won’t launch at all, that’s a separate issue — see EmuDeck not launching. For ROMs not appearing, the ROMs not showing page covers parsing.