Stabilize overlay gamepad preference handling and controller UX

- Switch `saveControllerPreference` to request/response IPC and await async saves
- Fix controller modal/gamepad behavior: honor disabled controller mode, allow Alt+Shift+C over popup, prefer active pad in selector
- Preserve saved controller status during polling and harden controller config load failure handling
- Reject sub-unit positive controller tuning values that floor to zero with warnings
- Add/adjust regression tests across config, IPC, keyboard, gamepad, and controller-select flows

src/config/config.test.ts

@@ -1175,6 +1175,35 @@ test('parses controller settings with logical bindings and tuning knobs', () =>
   assert.equal(config.controller.bindings.rightStickVertical, 'leftStickY');
 });
 
+test('controller positive-number tuning rejects sub-unit values that floor to zero', () => {
+  const dir = makeTempDir();
+  fs.writeFileSync(
+    path.join(dir, 'config.jsonc'),
+    `{
+      "controller": {
+        "scrollPixelsPerSecond": 0.5,
+        "horizontalJumpPixels": 0.2,
+        "repeatDelayMs": 0.9,
+        "repeatIntervalMs": 0.1
+      }
+    }`,
+    'utf-8',
+  );
+
+  const service = new ConfigService(dir);
+  const config = service.getConfig();
+  const warnings = service.getWarnings();
+
+  assert.equal(config.controller.scrollPixelsPerSecond, DEFAULT_CONFIG.controller.scrollPixelsPerSecond);
+  assert.equal(config.controller.horizontalJumpPixels, DEFAULT_CONFIG.controller.horizontalJumpPixels);
+  assert.equal(config.controller.repeatDelayMs, DEFAULT_CONFIG.controller.repeatDelayMs);
+  assert.equal(config.controller.repeatIntervalMs, DEFAULT_CONFIG.controller.repeatIntervalMs);
+  assert.equal(warnings.some((warning) => warning.path === 'controller.scrollPixelsPerSecond'), true);
+  assert.equal(warnings.some((warning) => warning.path === 'controller.horizontalJumpPixels'), true);
+  assert.equal(warnings.some((warning) => warning.path === 'controller.repeatDelayMs'), true);
+  assert.equal(warnings.some((warning) => warning.path === 'controller.repeatIntervalMs'), true);
+});
+
 test('runtime options registry is centralized', () => {
   const ids = RUNTIME_OPTION_REGISTRY.map((entry) => entry.id);
   assert.deepEqual(ids, [

src/config/resolve/core-domains.ts

@@ -175,7 +175,7 @@ export function applyCoreDomainConfig(context: ResolveContext): void {
     ] as const;
     for (const key of boundedNumberKeys) {
       const value = asNumber(src.controller[key]);
-      if (value !== undefined && value > 0) {
+      if (value !== undefined && Math.floor(value) > 0) {
         resolved.controller[key] = Math.floor(value) as (typeof resolved.controller)[typeof key];
       } else if (src.controller[key] !== undefined) {
         warn(`controller.${key}`, src.controller[key], resolved.controller[key], 'Expected positive number.');

src/core/services/ipc.test.ts

@@ -366,18 +366,6 @@ test('registerIpcHandlers ignores malformed fire-and-forget payloads', () => {
   handlers.on.get(IPC_CHANNELS.command.saveSubtitlePosition)!({}, { yPercent: 42 });
   assert.deepEqual(saves, [{ yPercent: 42 }]);
 
-  handlers.on.get(IPC_CHANNELS.command.saveControllerPreference)!({}, { preferredGamepadId: 12 });
-  handlers.on.get(IPC_CHANNELS.command.saveControllerPreference)!({}, {
-    preferredGamepadId: 'pad-1',
-    preferredGamepadLabel: 'Pad 1',
-  });
-  assert.deepEqual(controllerSaves, [
-    {
-      preferredGamepadId: 'pad-1',
-      preferredGamepadLabel: 'Pad 1',
-    },
-  ]);
-
   handlers.on.get(IPC_CHANNELS.command.overlayModalClosed)!({}, 'not-a-modal');
   handlers.on.get(IPC_CHANNELS.command.overlayModalClosed)!({}, 'subsync');
   handlers.on.get(IPC_CHANNELS.command.overlayModalClosed)!({}, 'kiku');
@@ -388,3 +376,107 @@ test('registerIpcHandlers ignores malformed fire-and-forget payloads', () => {
   handlers.on.get(IPC_CHANNELS.command.overlayModalOpened)!({}, 'runtime-options');
   assert.deepEqual(openedModals, ['subsync', 'runtime-options']);
 });
+
+test('registerIpcHandlers awaits saveControllerPreference through request-response IPC', async () => {
+  const { registrar, handlers } = createFakeIpcRegistrar();
+  const controllerSaves: unknown[] = [];
+  registerIpcHandlers(
+    {
+      onOverlayModalClosed: () => {},
+      openYomitanSettings: () => {},
+      quitApp: () => {},
+      toggleDevTools: () => {},
+      getVisibleOverlayVisibility: () => false,
+      toggleVisibleOverlay: () => {},
+      tokenizeCurrentSubtitle: async () => null,
+      getCurrentSubtitleRaw: () => '',
+      getCurrentSubtitleAss: () => '',
+      getPlaybackPaused: () => false,
+      getSubtitlePosition: () => null,
+      getSubtitleStyle: () => null,
+      saveSubtitlePosition: () => {},
+      getMecabStatus: () => ({ available: false, enabled: false, path: null }),
+      setMecabEnabled: () => {},
+      handleMpvCommand: () => {},
+      getKeybindings: () => [],
+      getConfiguredShortcuts: () => ({}),
+      getControllerConfig: () => ({
+        enabled: true,
+        preferredGamepadId: '',
+        preferredGamepadLabel: '',
+        smoothScroll: true,
+        scrollPixelsPerSecond: 960,
+        horizontalJumpPixels: 160,
+        stickDeadzone: 0.2,
+        triggerInputMode: 'auto',
+        triggerDeadzone: 0.5,
+        repeatDelayMs: 220,
+        repeatIntervalMs: 80,
+        buttonIndices: {
+          select: 6,
+          buttonSouth: 0,
+          buttonEast: 1,
+          buttonWest: 2,
+          buttonNorth: 3,
+          leftShoulder: 4,
+          rightShoulder: 5,
+          leftStickPress: 9,
+          rightStickPress: 10,
+          leftTrigger: 6,
+          rightTrigger: 7,
+        },
+        bindings: {
+          toggleLookup: 'buttonSouth',
+          closeLookup: 'buttonEast',
+          toggleKeyboardOnlyMode: 'buttonNorth',
+          mineCard: 'buttonWest',
+          quitMpv: 'select',
+          previousAudio: 'leftShoulder',
+          nextAudio: 'rightShoulder',
+          playCurrentAudio: 'rightTrigger',
+          toggleMpvPause: 'leftTrigger',
+          leftStickHorizontal: 'leftStickX',
+          leftStickVertical: 'leftStickY',
+          rightStickHorizontal: 'rightStickX',
+          rightStickVertical: 'rightStickY',
+        },
+      }),
+      saveControllerPreference: async (update) => {
+        await Promise.resolve();
+        controllerSaves.push(update);
+      },
+      getSecondarySubMode: () => 'hover',
+      getCurrentSecondarySub: () => '',
+      focusMainWindow: () => {},
+      runSubsyncManual: async () => ({ ok: true, message: 'ok' }),
+      getAnkiConnectStatus: () => false,
+      getRuntimeOptions: () => [],
+      setRuntimeOption: () => ({ ok: true }),
+      cycleRuntimeOption: () => ({ ok: true }),
+      reportOverlayContentBounds: () => {},
+      getAnilistStatus: () => ({}),
+      clearAnilistToken: () => {},
+      openAnilistSetup: () => {},
+      getAnilistQueueStatus: () => ({}),
+      retryAnilistQueueNow: async () => ({ ok: true, message: 'ok' }),
+      appendClipboardVideoToQueue: () => ({ ok: true, message: 'ok' }),
+    },
+    registrar,
+  );
+
+  const saveHandler = handlers.handle.get(IPC_CHANNELS.command.saveControllerPreference);
+  assert.ok(saveHandler);
+
+  await saveHandler!({}, { preferredGamepadId: 12 });
+  await saveHandler!({}, {
+    preferredGamepadId: 'pad-1',
+    preferredGamepadLabel: 'Pad 1',
+  });
+
+  assert.deepEqual(controllerSaves, [
+    {
+      preferredGamepadId: 'pad-1',
+      preferredGamepadLabel: 'Pad 1',
+    },
+  ]);
+});

src/core/services/ipc.ts

@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ export interface IpcServiceDeps {
   getKeybindings: () => unknown;
   getConfiguredShortcuts: () => unknown;
   getControllerConfig: () => ResolvedControllerConfig;
-  saveControllerPreference: (update: ControllerPreferenceUpdate) => void;
+  saveControllerPreference: (update: ControllerPreferenceUpdate) => void | Promise<void>;
   getSecondarySubMode: () => unknown;
   getCurrentSecondarySub: () => string;
   focusMainWindow: () => void;
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ export interface IpcDepsRuntimeOptions {
   getKeybindings: () => unknown;
   getConfiguredShortcuts: () => unknown;
   getControllerConfig: () => ResolvedControllerConfig;
-  saveControllerPreference: (update: ControllerPreferenceUpdate) => void;
+  saveControllerPreference: (update: ControllerPreferenceUpdate) => void | Promise<void>;
   getSecondarySubMode: () => unknown;
   getMpvClient: () => MpvClientLike | null;
   focusMainWindow: () => void;
@@ -265,10 +265,10 @@ export function registerIpcHandlers(deps: IpcServiceDeps, ipc: IpcMainRegistrar
     deps.saveSubtitlePosition(parsedPosition);
   });
 
-  ipc.on(IPC_CHANNELS.command.saveControllerPreference, (_event: unknown, update: unknown) => {
+  ipc.handle(IPC_CHANNELS.command.saveControllerPreference, async (_event: unknown, update: unknown) => {
     const parsedUpdate = parseControllerPreferenceUpdate(update);
     if (!parsedUpdate) return;
-    deps.saveControllerPreference(parsedUpdate);
+    await deps.saveControllerPreference(parsedUpdate);
   });
 
   ipc.handle(IPC_CHANNELS.request.getMecabStatus, () => {

src/main.ts

@@ -358,7 +358,8 @@ import { handleMpvCommandFromIpcRuntime } from './main/ipc-mpv-command';
 import { registerIpcRuntimeServices } from './main/ipc-runtime';
 import { createAnkiJimakuIpcRuntimeServiceDeps } from './main/dependencies';
 import { handleCliCommandRuntimeServiceWithContext } from './main/cli-runtime';
-import { createOverlayModalRuntimeService, type OverlayHostedModal } from './main/overlay-runtime';
+import { createOverlayModalRuntimeService } from './main/overlay-runtime';
+import type { OverlayHostedModal } from './shared/ipc/contracts';
 import { createOverlayShortcutsRuntimeService } from './main/overlay-shortcuts-runtime';
 import {
   createFrequencyDictionaryRuntimeService,

src/main/overlay-runtime.ts

@@ -1,16 +1,9 @@
 import type { BrowserWindow } from 'electron';
+import type { OverlayHostedModal } from '../shared/ipc/contracts';
 import type { WindowGeometry } from '../types';
 
 const MODAL_REVEAL_FALLBACK_DELAY_MS = 250;
 
-type OverlayHostedModal =
-  | 'runtime-options'
-  | 'subsync'
-  | 'jimaku'
-  | 'kiku'
-  | 'controller-select'
-  | 'controller-debug';
-
 export interface OverlayWindowResolver {
   getMainWindow: () => BrowserWindow | null;
   getModalWindow: () => BrowserWindow | null;
@@ -300,5 +293,3 @@ export function createOverlayModalRuntimeService(
     getRestoreVisibleOverlayOnModalClose: () => restoreVisibleOverlayOnModalClose,
   };
 }
-
-export type { OverlayHostedModal };

src/main/runtime/overlay-main-actions.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import type { OverlayHostedModal } from '../overlay-runtime';
+import type { OverlayHostedModal } from '../../shared/ipc/contracts';
 import type { AppendClipboardVideoToQueueRuntimeDeps } from './clipboard-queue';
 
 export function createSetOverlayVisibleHandler(deps: {

src/main/runtime/overlay-runtime-main-actions.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import type { RuntimeOptionState } from '../../types';
-import type { OverlayHostedModal } from '../overlay-runtime';
+import type { OverlayHostedModal } from '../../shared/ipc/contracts';
 
 type RuntimeOptionsManagerLike = {
   listOptions: () => RuntimeOptionState[];

src/preload.ts

@@ -210,7 +210,7 @@ const electronAPI: ElectronAPI = {
   getControllerConfig: (): Promise<ResolvedControllerConfig> =>
     ipcRenderer.invoke(IPC_CHANNELS.request.getControllerConfig),
   saveControllerPreference: (update: ControllerPreferenceUpdate): Promise<void> =>
-    Promise.resolve(ipcRenderer.send(IPC_CHANNELS.command.saveControllerPreference, update)),
+    ipcRenderer.invoke(IPC_CHANNELS.command.saveControllerPreference, update),
 
   getJimakuMediaInfo: (): Promise<JimakuMediaInfo> =>
     ipcRenderer.invoke(IPC_CHANNELS.request.jimakuGetMediaInfo),

src/renderer/handlers/gamepad-controller.test.ts

@@ -177,6 +177,37 @@ test('gamepad controller allows keyboard-mode toggle while other actions stay ga
   assert.deepEqual(calls, ['toggle-keyboard-mode']);
 });
 
+test('gamepad controller does not toggle keyboard mode when controller support is disabled', () => {
+  const calls: string[] = [];
+  const buttons = Array.from({ length: 8 }, () => ({ value: 0, pressed: false, touched: false }));
+  buttons[3] = { value: 1, pressed: true, touched: true };
+
+  const controller = createGamepadController({
+    getGamepads: () => [createGamepad('pad-1', { buttons })],
+    getConfig: () => createControllerConfig({ enabled: false }),
+    getKeyboardModeEnabled: () => false,
+    getLookupWindowOpen: () => false,
+    getInteractionBlocked: () => false,
+    toggleKeyboardMode: () => calls.push('toggle-keyboard-mode'),
+    toggleLookup: () => {},
+    closeLookup: () => {},
+    moveSelection: () => {},
+    mineCard: () => {},
+    quitMpv: () => {},
+    previousAudio: () => {},
+    nextAudio: () => {},
+    playCurrentAudio: () => {},
+    toggleMpvPause: () => {},
+    scrollPopup: () => {},
+    jumpPopup: () => {},
+    onState: () => {},
+  });
+
+  controller.poll(0);
+
+  assert.deepEqual(calls, []);
+});
+
 test('gamepad controller maps left stick horizontal movement to token selection repeats', () => {
   const calls: number[] = [];
   let axes = [0.9, 0, 0, 0];

src/renderer/handlers/gamepad-controller.ts

@@ -347,22 +347,23 @@ export function createGamepadController(options: GamepadControllerOptions) {
       return;
     }
 
-    handleButtonEdge(
-      config.bindings.toggleKeyboardOnlyMode,
-      normalizeButtonState(
-        activeGamepad,
-        config,
-        config.bindings.toggleKeyboardOnlyMode,
-        config.triggerInputMode,
-        config.triggerDeadzone,
-      ),
-      options.toggleKeyboardMode,
-    );
-
     const interactionAllowed =
       config.enabled &&
       options.getKeyboardModeEnabled() &&
       !options.getInteractionBlocked();
+    if (config.enabled) {
+      handleButtonEdge(
+        config.bindings.toggleKeyboardOnlyMode,
+        normalizeButtonState(
+          activeGamepad,
+          config,
+          config.bindings.toggleKeyboardOnlyMode,
+          config.triggerInputMode,
+          config.triggerDeadzone,
+        ),
+        options.toggleKeyboardMode,
+      );
+    }
     if (!interactionAllowed) {
       return;
     }

src/renderer/handlers/keyboard.test.ts

@@ -510,6 +510,26 @@ test('keyboard mode: Alt+Shift+C opens controller debug modal', async () => {
   }
 });
 
+test('keyboard mode: Alt+Shift+C opens controller debug modal even while popup is visible', async () => {
+  const { ctx, testGlobals, handlers, controllerDebugOpenCount } = createKeyboardHandlerHarness();
+
+  try {
+    await handlers.setupMpvInputForwarding();
+    ctx.state.yomitanPopupVisible = true;
+
+    testGlobals.dispatchKeydown({
+      key: 'C',
+      code: 'KeyC',
+      altKey: true,
+      shiftKey: true,
+    });
+
+    assert.equal(controllerDebugOpenCount(), 1);
+  } finally {
+    testGlobals.restore();
+  }
+});
+
 test('keyboard mode: controller select modal handles arrow keys before yomitan popup', async () => {
   const { ctx, testGlobals, handlers, controllerSelectKeydownCount } = createKeyboardHandlerHarness();
 

src/renderer/handlers/keyboard.ts

@@ -177,6 +177,10 @@ export function createKeyboardHandlers(
     return isPrimaryModifierPressed(e) && !e.altKey && !e.shiftKey && isYKey && !e.repeat;
   }
 
+  function isControllerModalShortcut(e: KeyboardEvent): boolean {
+    return !e.ctrlKey && !e.metaKey && e.altKey && !e.repeat && e.code === 'KeyC';
+  }
+
   function getSubtitleWordNodes(): HTMLElement[] {
     return Array.from(
       ctx.dom.subtitleRoot.querySelectorAll<HTMLElement>('.word[data-token-index]'),
@@ -790,7 +794,10 @@ export function createKeyboardHandlers(
         return;
       }
 
-      if (ctx.state.yomitanPopupVisible || isYomitanPopupVisible(document)) {
+      if (
+        (ctx.state.yomitanPopupVisible || isYomitanPopupVisible(document)) &&
+        !isControllerModalShortcut(e)
+      ) {
         if (handleYomitanPopupKeybind(e)) {
           e.preventDefault();
         }
@@ -847,7 +854,7 @@ export function createKeyboardHandlers(
         return;
       }
 
-      if (!e.ctrlKey && !e.metaKey && e.altKey && !e.repeat && e.code === 'KeyC') {
+      if (isControllerModalShortcut(e)) {
         e.preventDefault();
         if (e.shiftKey) {
           options.openControllerDebugModal();

src/renderer/modals/controller-select.test.ts

@@ -274,6 +274,228 @@ test('controller select modal preserves manual selection while controller pollin
   }
 });
 
+test('controller select modal prefers active controller over saved preferred controller', () => {
+  const globals = globalThis as typeof globalThis & { window?: unknown; document?: unknown };
+  const previousWindow = globals.window;
+  const previousDocument = globals.document;
+
+  Object.defineProperty(globalThis, 'window', {
+    configurable: true,
+    value: {
+      focus: () => {},
+      electronAPI: {
+        saveControllerPreference: async () => {},
+        notifyOverlayModalClosed: () => {},
+      },
+    },
+  });
+  Object.defineProperty(globalThis, 'document', {
+    configurable: true,
+    value: {
+      createElement: () => ({
+        className: '',
+        textContent: '',
+        classList: createClassList(),
+        appendChild: () => {},
+        addEventListener: () => {},
+      }),
+    },
+  });
+
+  try {
+    const state = createRendererState();
+    state.controllerConfig = {
+      enabled: true,
+      preferredGamepadId: 'pad-1',
+      preferredGamepadLabel: 'pad-1',
+      smoothScroll: true,
+      scrollPixelsPerSecond: 960,
+      horizontalJumpPixels: 160,
+      stickDeadzone: 0.2,
+      triggerInputMode: 'auto',
+      triggerDeadzone: 0.5,
+      repeatDelayMs: 220,
+      repeatIntervalMs: 80,
+      buttonIndices: {
+        select: 6,
+        buttonSouth: 0,
+        buttonEast: 1,
+        buttonWest: 2,
+        buttonNorth: 3,
+        leftShoulder: 4,
+        rightShoulder: 5,
+        leftStickPress: 9,
+        rightStickPress: 10,
+        leftTrigger: 6,
+        rightTrigger: 7,
+      },
+      bindings: {
+        toggleLookup: 'buttonSouth',
+        closeLookup: 'buttonEast',
+        toggleKeyboardOnlyMode: 'buttonNorth',
+        mineCard: 'buttonWest',
+        quitMpv: 'select',
+        previousAudio: 'none',
+        nextAudio: 'rightShoulder',
+        playCurrentAudio: 'leftShoulder',
+        toggleMpvPause: 'leftStickPress',
+        leftStickHorizontal: 'leftStickX',
+        leftStickVertical: 'leftStickY',
+        rightStickHorizontal: 'rightStickX',
+        rightStickVertical: 'rightStickY',
+      },
+    };
+    state.connectedGamepads = [
+      { id: 'pad-1', index: 0, mapping: 'standard', connected: true },
+      { id: 'pad-2', index: 1, mapping: 'standard', connected: true },
+    ];
+    state.activeGamepadId = 'pad-2';
+
+    const ctx = {
+      dom: {
+        overlay: { classList: createClassList(), focus: () => {} },
+        controllerSelectModal: {
+          classList: createClassList(['hidden']),
+          setAttribute: () => {},
+        },
+        controllerSelectClose: { addEventListener: () => {} },
+        controllerSelectHint: { textContent: '' },
+        controllerSelectStatus: { textContent: '', classList: createClassList() },
+        controllerSelectList: {
+          innerHTML: '',
+          appendChild: () => {},
+        },
+        controllerSelectSave: { addEventListener: () => {} },
+      },
+      state,
+    };
+
+    const modal = createControllerSelectModal(ctx as never, {
+      modalStateReader: { isAnyModalOpen: () => false },
+      syncSettingsModalSubtitleSuppression: () => {},
+    });
+
+    modal.openControllerSelectModal();
+
+    assert.equal(state.controllerDeviceSelectedIndex, 1);
+  } finally {
+    Object.defineProperty(globalThis, 'window', { configurable: true, value: previousWindow });
+    Object.defineProperty(globalThis, 'document', { configurable: true, value: previousDocument });
+  }
+});
+
+test('controller select modal preserves saved status across polling updates', async () => {
+  const globals = globalThis as typeof globalThis & { window?: unknown; document?: unknown };
+  const previousWindow = globals.window;
+  const previousDocument = globals.document;
+
+  Object.defineProperty(globalThis, 'window', {
+    configurable: true,
+    value: {
+      focus: () => {},
+      electronAPI: {
+        saveControllerPreference: async () => {},
+        notifyOverlayModalClosed: () => {},
+      },
+    },
+  });
+  Object.defineProperty(globalThis, 'document', {
+    configurable: true,
+    value: {
+      createElement: () => ({
+        className: '',
+        textContent: '',
+        classList: createClassList(),
+        appendChild: () => {},
+        addEventListener: () => {},
+      }),
+    },
+  });
+
+  try {
+    const state = createRendererState();
+    state.controllerConfig = {
+      enabled: true,
+      preferredGamepadId: 'pad-1',
+      preferredGamepadLabel: 'pad-1',
+      smoothScroll: true,
+      scrollPixelsPerSecond: 960,
+      horizontalJumpPixels: 160,
+      stickDeadzone: 0.2,
+      triggerInputMode: 'auto',
+      triggerDeadzone: 0.5,
+      repeatDelayMs: 220,
+      repeatIntervalMs: 80,
+      buttonIndices: {
+        select: 6,
+        buttonSouth: 0,
+        buttonEast: 1,
+        buttonWest: 2,
+        buttonNorth: 3,
+        leftShoulder: 4,
+        rightShoulder: 5,
+        leftStickPress: 9,
+        rightStickPress: 10,
+        leftTrigger: 6,
+        rightTrigger: 7,
+      },
+      bindings: {
+        toggleLookup: 'buttonSouth',
+        closeLookup: 'buttonEast',
+        toggleKeyboardOnlyMode: 'buttonNorth',
+        mineCard: 'buttonWest',
+        quitMpv: 'select',
+        previousAudio: 'none',
+        nextAudio: 'rightShoulder',
+        playCurrentAudio: 'leftShoulder',
+        toggleMpvPause: 'leftStickPress',
+        leftStickHorizontal: 'leftStickX',
+        leftStickVertical: 'leftStickY',
+        rightStickHorizontal: 'rightStickX',
+        rightStickVertical: 'rightStickY',
+      },
+    };
+    state.connectedGamepads = [{ id: 'pad-1', index: 0, mapping: 'standard', connected: true }];
+    state.activeGamepadId = 'pad-1';
+
+    const ctx = {
+      dom: {
+        overlay: { classList: createClassList(), focus: () => {} },
+        controllerSelectModal: {
+          classList: createClassList(['hidden']),
+          setAttribute: () => {},
+        },
+        controllerSelectClose: { addEventListener: () => {} },
+        controllerSelectHint: { textContent: '' },
+        controllerSelectStatus: { textContent: '', classList: createClassList() },
+        controllerSelectList: {
+          innerHTML: '',
+          appendChild: () => {},
+        },
+        controllerSelectSave: { addEventListener: () => {} },
+      },
+      state,
+    };
+
+    const modal = createControllerSelectModal(ctx as never, {
+      modalStateReader: { isAnyModalOpen: () => false },
+      syncSettingsModalSubtitleSuppression: () => {},
+    });
+
+    modal.openControllerSelectModal();
+    await modal.handleControllerSelectKeydown({
+      key: 'Enter',
+      preventDefault: () => {},
+    } as KeyboardEvent);
+    modal.updateDevices();
+
+    assert.match(ctx.dom.controllerSelectStatus.textContent, /Saved preferred controller/);
+  } finally {
+    Object.defineProperty(globalThis, 'window', { configurable: true, value: previousWindow });
+    Object.defineProperty(globalThis, 'document', { configurable: true, value: previousDocument });
+  }
+});
+
 test('controller select modal does not rerender unchanged device snapshots every poll', () => {
   const globals = globalThis as typeof globalThis & { window?: unknown; document?: unknown };
   const previousWindow = globals.window;

src/renderer/modals/controller-select.ts

@@ -37,11 +37,17 @@ export function createControllerSelectModal(
 
   function syncSelectedIndexToCurrentController(): void {
     const preferredId = ctx.state.controllerConfig?.preferredGamepadId ?? '';
-    const nextIndex = ctx.state.connectedGamepads.findIndex(
-      (device) => device.id === ctx.state.activeGamepadId || device.id === preferredId,
+    const activeIndex = ctx.state.connectedGamepads.findIndex(
+      (device) => device.id === ctx.state.activeGamepadId,
     );
-    if (nextIndex >= 0) {
-      ctx.state.controllerDeviceSelectedIndex = nextIndex;
+    if (activeIndex >= 0) {
+      ctx.state.controllerDeviceSelectedIndex = activeIndex;
+      syncSelectedControllerId();
+      return;
+    }
+    const preferredIndex = ctx.state.connectedGamepads.findIndex((device) => device.id === preferredId);
+    if (preferredIndex >= 0) {
+      ctx.state.controllerDeviceSelectedIndex = preferredIndex;
       syncSelectedControllerId();
       return;
     }
@@ -132,7 +138,13 @@ export function createControllerSelectModal(
       setStatus('No controllers detected.');
       return;
     }
-    setStatus('Select a controller to save as preferred.');
+    const currentStatus = ctx.dom.controllerSelectStatus.textContent.trim();
+    if (
+      currentStatus !== 'No controller selected.' &&
+      !currentStatus.startsWith('Saved preferred controller:')
+    ) {
+      setStatus('Select a controller to save as preferred.');
+    }
   }
 
   async function saveSelectedController(): Promise<void> {

src/renderer/renderer.ts

@@ -540,7 +540,12 @@ async function init(): Promise<void> {
   mouseHandlers.setupDragging();
 
   await keyboardHandlers.setupMpvInputForwarding();
-  ctx.state.controllerConfig = await window.electronAPI.getControllerConfig();
+  try {
+    ctx.state.controllerConfig = await window.electronAPI.getControllerConfig();
+  } catch (error) {
+    console.error('Failed to load controller config.', error);
+    ctx.state.controllerConfig = null;
+  }
   startControllerPolling();
 
   const initialSubtitleStyle = await window.electronAPI.getSubtitleStyle();