Searching for DS4Windows in 2026 is genuinely confusing. You will find download sites offering wildly different version numbers, pages presenting decade-old builds as current, and at least three separate projects that have all carried the DS4Windows name. Installing the wrong one means stale drivers, missing controller support, or — worst of all — an installer from a site that exploits the confusion around a well-known name.
This guide untangles the three DS4Windows lineages, tells you which version is real and maintained today, and gives you the correct install order. It also explains why a DS4Windows guide belongs on an InputMapper site at all — the two tools share roots, and for one increasingly common controller, DS4Windows does something InputMapper simply cannot.
The Short Answer
The maintained DS4Windows today is the ds4windowsapp project on GitHub, positioned as the official continuation of the Ryochan7 line. Its latest release is labeled v3.5, released on February 9, 2026. That GitHub repository is the download source you should use:
Get DS4Windows from the ds4windowsapp GitHub
Everything else — the original Jays2Kings program, the closed Ryochan7 repository, and random “DS4Windows” download portals — is history or a trap. The rest of this article explains why, because understanding the lineage is the only reliable protection against the fake download sites that now surround this name.
Lineage One: Jays2Kings, the Original
DS4Windows began in 2014, in the DS4Tool era, when the DualShock 4 was new and Windows games overwhelmingly expected Xbox controllers. Jays2Kings’ DS4Windows was the program that popularised the solution: read the DS4, present it to Windows as an Xbox 360 controller, and let every XInput game work with Sony’s pad.
That original line is obsolete. It has not been the living project for many years, its assumptions about drivers and Windows belong to another era, and no one should install it today. If a guide written around the Jays2Kings build is your source, treat everything in it — download links included — as out of date. Its historical importance is real; its practical usefulness is over.
Lineage Two: Ryochan7, the Long-Running Successor
For most of DS4Windows’ life, the version everyone actually used came from Ryochan7, who carried the project forward as its maintainer. That line reached its final release, version 3.3.3, on December 31, 2023. There will be no further Ryochan7 releases.
Here is the part that matters for your safety: Ryochan7’s GitHub repository now returns a 404. The canonical home of that entire era of the software is simply gone. That vacuum is exactly what fake download sites exploit. When the real source disappears, impostor pages rush in offering “the latest DS4Windows” behind ad-covered download buttons, bundled installers, and version numbers that do not correspond to any real release. A user who remembers that DS4Windows was legitimate software — because it was — reasonably trusts the name, and that trust is what these sites farm.
The rule for 2026 is simple: if a page offers you a DS4Windows installer download directly, with no connection to a GitHub releases page, close it. The genuine continuation distributes through GitHub, as the section below describes.
Lineage Three: ds4windowsapp, the Maintained Continuation
The living project is ds4windowsapp/DS4Windows on GitHub. It is positioned as the official continuation of the Ryochan7 line — the same lineage, carried on by a new home after the Ryochan7 repository closed. Its latest release, labeled v3.5 (February 9, 2026), is the version new installs should take.
For completeness, there was also a separate fork by schmaldeo, which reached version 3.9.9 in January 2025. That fork is now archived, so despite its higher version number it is not the current choice — version numbers across different forks do not form a single sequence, and a bigger number from a dead fork loses to a maintained continuation every time. If you previously installed the schmaldeo fork, moving to the ds4windowsapp release is a sensible cleanup step.
Install in the Right Order: Drivers First
DS4Windows does not work alone. Like InputMapper, it relies on the same modern driver stack — ViGEmBus for virtual controller output and HidHide for hiding the physical pad. Install in this order so each layer is ready before the next one looks for it:
- ViGEmBus 1.22.0. Install the final ViGEmBus release first, following our ViGEmBus install guide, including the SHA-256 verification and the “run the installer twice” upgrade note. DS4Windows uses ViGEmBus output, exactly as InputMapper 1.7 does — if you already have 1.22.0 installed for InputMapper, you do not need to install it again.
- HidHide. Install HidHide next, using the HidHide setup guide. DS4Windows also pairs with HidHide for hiding the physical controller — in the HidHide configuration, whitelist DS4Windows (instead of, or alongside, InputMapper) and hide the physical pad. This is what prevents double input in games.
- DS4Windows itself. Download the latest release from the ds4windowsapp GitHub releases, extract it to a permanent folder (not your Downloads temp space, since the program keeps its profiles beside the executable), and run it as administrator for the first launch so it can confirm its driver dependencies.
- Connect and verify. Connect your DualShock 4 or DualSense, confirm DS4Windows lists it, then open
joy.cpland check that the virtual controller responds to the real pad’s buttons while the hidden physical device stays invisible to non-whitelisted programs.
Why This Guide Lives on an InputMapper Site
Two reasons. The first is lineage: InputMapper and DS4Windows grew from the same 2014 moment, when DS4Tool and the first DS4Windows appeared to solve the identical problem — a brand-new Sony controller that Windows games would not talk to. InputMapper’s own history runs straight through that era, and the modern driver stack described on this site — ViGEmBus output plus HidHide hiding — is shared by both tools. If you set up one, you have essentially set up the other.
The second reason is a hard capability gap. InputMapper’s final build, 1.7.7452.13622, dates from May 2020 — before the DualSense existed. DualSense support is not in InputMapper’s official input list, and no update will ever add it, because InputMapper is discontinued. DS4Windows supports the DualSense. So for a growing share of readers, the honest advice is: keep InputMapper for the DualShock 4 workflow you know, and use DS4Windows when a DualSense is on your desk. Our DualSense on PC guide maps out what works where, and the head-to-head in InputMapper vs. DS4Windows will help you pick a daily driver.
Whichever tool you choose, the discipline is the same as everywhere on this site: downloads from the project’s real GitHub home, drivers verified before installation, and one change at a time when you test. If something misbehaves afterwards, the troubleshooting hub is a good first stop — most controller-stack problems are shared across both programs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which DS4Windows version should I install in 2026?
Install the latest release from the ds4windowsapp GitHub repository, labeled v3.5 (February 9, 2026). The ds4windowsapp project is the maintained continuation of the Ryochan7 line. Download it from GitHub releases, not from third-party download sites.
Is Ryochan7’s DS4Windows still available?
Its final release was version 3.3.3 on December 31, 2023, and the Ryochan7 GitHub repository now returns a 404. Because the original source is gone, be especially wary of sites claiming to offer Ryochan7 downloads — that gap is what fake download sites exploit.
Does DS4Windows need ViGEmBus and HidHide?
Yes, it uses the same driver stack as InputMapper. ViGEmBus provides the virtual controller output and HidHide hides the physical controller to prevent double input. Install ViGEmBus 1.22.0 first, then HidHide, then DS4Windows.
Can DS4Windows do anything InputMapper cannot?
Yes: DualSense support. InputMapper’s final build is from May 2020, before the DualSense launched, and DualSense is not in its official input list. DS4Windows supports the DualSense, which is why many InputMapper users keep both tools installed.