Logitech X56 HOTAS for Star Citizen

Download the blank form

It shows the X56 throttle and stick with every button tagged, and a box beside each tag.

Blank form (PDF)

Fill it in

Open it in Adobe Acrobat Reader, or in Chrome or Edge. Click a box and pick an action from the list, or just type your best guess (“flares”, “open doors”, “strafe up”); the generator works out what you meant and lets you check it. Leave a box empty to keep that control unbound.

Not sure what something is called? In the game, Options › Keybindings lists every action. The community Binding Database lists every action with CIG’s default bindings.

Save the PDF

Use Save (Ctrl+S), not Print, so your choices stay in the file.

Drop it below and check the matches

Every box you filled appears in a list. Exact matches are ready. Check this means we matched what you typed to the closest game action, so make sure it’s right. Pick one means we couldn’t tell, so choose from the list. You can change any row.

Name it, tell us where the game lives, download

Give your profile a name and enter your RSI Launcher library folder (in the launcher’s settings; the default is C:\Program Files\Roberts Space Industries). We show the exact folder the file goes in and the command that loads it.

Install and load it

Put the downloaded XML in the folder shown, start the game, open the console with ~, and run the command shown. Then follow steps 1, 2, 4, 6 and 7 of the setup guide below (Logitech software, device order, throttle direction and deadzones).

Turn off the Logitech X56 software profile

A Logitech software profile turns buttons into keyboard presses and fights the game’s bindings. Clear the profile on both devices, or uninstall the Logitech X56 software; Star Citizen reads the X56 directly without it. Then unplug both devices and plug them back in, each in its own USB port.

Check that Windows sees both devices

Press Win+R, run joy.cpl, open each device’s Properties and move every axis. Only the axis bars should move. If button lights flash on their own, try a different USB port.

Copy the profile into the game

Put your XML (ours is layout_AbsoluteGaming_X56.xml; yours is whatever the generator named it) in your mappings folder:

Check the device order

The stick must be joystick 1 and the throttle joystick 2. In Options › Controls, use the arrows at the bottom right: Joystick / HOTAS 1 should show no Z axis or sliders (the stick), and Joystick / HOTAS 2 should show a Z axis and Slider 1/2 (the throttle). If they’re reversed, open the console with ~ and run:

Load the profile

Open the console with ~ and run this, with no .xml on the end (the generator shows the command for your own file):

Set the throttle direction

Push the right throttle lever forward. If that slows you down or sends you backward, go to Options › Controls, pick Joystick / HOTAS 2, open Inversion Settings and turn on the invert for strafe forward/back. Newer “X56 H.O.T.A.S.” units usually pick this up from the profile; older Saitek-branded units report a different device name and need it set here.

Set two deadzones

In Options › Controls: on Joystick / HOTAS 1, set Deadzone Joystick Z Rotation (the twist) to 0.10. On Joystick / HOTAS 2, set Deadzone Joystick X Rotation and Y Rotation (the thumb mini-stick) to 0.10. X56 twist axes often rest a few percent off centre, which makes the ship roll on its own.

Fly

The right lever uses its full travel: forward is full thrust, the middle is stop, back is reverse. Slide the throttle lock so both levers move together.