Flat controller, missing cable, or simply the urge to type a Wi-Fi password with ten fingers: a USB keyboard and mouse work in the Recalbox interface with no configuration at all. Plug them in and the interface responds straight away.
Every key mimics a controller button. The labels used across the wiki (A, B, START…) therefore map to the following keys:
| Controller button | Key |
|---|---|
| Directions | ↑ ↓ ← → |
A (validate) |
S |
B (cancel / back) |
A |
X |
P |
Y |
L |
START |
Enter |
SELECT |
Space |
L1 / R1 |
Page Up (⇞) / Page Down (⇟) |
L2 / R2 |
Home / End |
HOTKEY |
Escape |
These mappings are fixed: they do not depend on your controller configuration.
If you swapped the validate and cancel buttons (
START→USER INTERFACE SETTINGS→SWAP VALIDATE/CANCEL BUTTONS), the swap applies to the keyboard too: it is the simulated button that changes role, not the key.
| Shortcut | Effect |
|---|---|
ALT + F4 |
Quits EmulationStation (you land on the terminal) |
ALT + F5 |
Reloads the theme and the artwork without rebooting |
After an ALT + F4, ALT + F2 opens a local terminal, and es start brings the interface back — see Troubleshooting.
The mouse is recognised too, but it does not move a pointer: its buttons and wheel drive the selection, just like a controller.
| Mouse action | Simulated button |
|---|---|
| Right click | A (validate) |
| Left click | B (cancel / back) |
| Wheel click | START (main menu) |
| Wheel up / down | Previous / next entry |
| Horizontal wheel (if your mouse has one) | Entry to the left / to the right |
Right click validates and left click cancels: puzzling at first, but consistent with the position of the
AandBbuttons on a Super Nintendo controller, the reference used throughout this wiki.
So that typed characters match an AZERTY, QWERTZ or other layout: START → SYSTEM SETTINGS → KEYBOARD. A reboot is required for the new choice to apply.
The neighbouring ON-SCREEN KEYBOARD option picks the shape of the virtual keyboard displayed for text entry with a controller: the arcade-style rotating wheel, or a classic keyboard layout. With a real keyboard plugged in, you can type straight into it.