Linux can be challenging to install USB devices into. One challenge is the Logitech F310 USB game controller. Normally, you would find most tutorials explaining to install JOYSTICK. In this case, JOYSTICK will not see the controller, this is because it is looking for serial devices. Instead, we will install the XBOXDRV package. Note: You can use the Synaptic Manager is you would like, for my tutorial, we will be using the Terminal. Open a terminal and copy the following command:

sudo apt-get install xboxdrv

Once installed, set your controller to X from the switch on the bottom. Once done,  you can type lsusb in the console and see that the Logitech F310 is listed by name.

This will allow you to use your controller with any game with controller support, but, if you want to use it for other games, per say, Minecraft, you will need a key mapper. There are many keymappers available, such as Joy2Key, ReJoystick and QJoypad. My preference is QJoypad out of them all. But keep in mind, you will need to add a lot of programs to your box to make it run.

To begin, open a terminal and enter the following commands:

sudo apt-get install build-essential libqt4-core libqt4-dev qt4-dev-tools qt4-designer qt4-doc

This will install the QT programs needed to run the program. Next, run the following commands:

sudo apt-get install libxtst6 libxtst-dev

Now that we have the prep work done, we will install QJoypad. First, you will need to download the files. Click on the following link to download the files. Note: Ensure you are downloading the files to the default location which is the Downloads folder.

QJoypad – Click Me!

Now, back to the terminal, copy and run the following commands, one line at a time:

cd ~/Downloads
tar xzf qjoypad-4.1.0.tar.gz

Now it is time to build the program, in the terminal, run the following commands one line at a time:

cd qjoypad-4.1.0/src/
./config
make
sudo make install

Now that you have Qjoypad installed, in a terminal, run the following command:

qjoypad

Now, the next thing you are going to wonder is how to configure it. This is because all you see is a controller icon in the bar at the top. You don’t find any options either. You need to launch the program out of the system tray to be game to configure it. To do so, run the following in a terminal.

qjoypad -notray

This will open the program in a away to allow you to configure. Simply find the icon floating on the desktop and right-click it. You will see the configure GUI.

As far as configuring it, I will go into that at a later time. You can easily find tutorials on how to configure on the net. I just had not found anything that was start to finish an easy way to install QJoypad so I wanted to build a better tutorial.

This may seem like a massive operation, but believe me, this is the most condensed procedure I could find or build. You may have luck in finding all the options in the Synaptic Manager or Ubuntu Software Manager. But, I have tested this procedure at least five times now and it is solid every time when I build Ubuntu 12.04 LTS with all the updates installed to date.

Update: Dec 4, 2012


After a change from Ubuntu 12.04 LTS to Mint 13 Maya, I was able to run the same procedure and had complete success. You may want to check what packages are installed before you run this procedure, as you may save time is they are installed.