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Meta XR Simulator Interaction

Updated: Sep 3, 2026

Overview

On Meta Quest devices, people use controllers or hands to interact with apps. Meta XR Simulator reproduces that interaction in the Inputs panel.

You choose what each hand is in Input settings, where Left input and Right input each take a value. Separate sections then supply the data that drives it.

What you choose	Where	What drives it
Controller	Left input / Right input	Keyboard and mouse, or an Xbox controller on Windows
Hand	Left input / Right input	Keyboard and mouse. An Xbox controller cannot trigger gestures
None	Left input / Right input	Nothing. The hand is absent
Forwarded controllers	Quest controllers	Physical Meta Quest controllers. Connecting sets both sides to Controller
Recorded playback	Tracking controls	A recorded file. Drives body and face, not the hands

Use same input for both sides starts turned on and copies your choice to both sides, so turn it off before setting the two sides differently.

Keyboard and mouse input

The default method is keyboard and mouse. Use the WASD keys to move, hold the right mouse button and move the mouse to look around, and use the arrow keys to rotate your view. Open the Input bindings panel for the full list.

The simulator labels this section Keyboard and mouse. It also offers Point & click, where the controller ray follows your mouse cursor. For details, see Point-and-Click input.

Xbox controllers

On Windows, an Xbox controller can serve as an input device. Connect it to your Windows computer by any method the controller supports. The simulator labels this section Xbox controller.

On macOS the section appears but reports the controller as disconnected, because the simulator reads Xbox controller state through a Windows-only API.

Meta Quest controllers (data forwarding)

Keyboard, mouse, and Xbox controller input are limited in 3D space. Meta Quest controllers simplify actions such as grabbing an object and placing it on a table edge. This method forwards the input from real controllers rather than simulating it.

The simulator labels this section Quest controllers. For more details, see Data forwarding.

Input bindings

The Input bindings panel displays the keys assigned to each simulated action, such as movement, head rotation, and controller interactions like grabbing. You can reassign them to suit your preferences. Open it from the Inputs binding item in the navigation rail, and find gesture and hand action keys under Input bindings > Hand actions.

The panel covers keyboard bindings. It does not list Xbox controller bindings.

Tracking controls

The Tracking controls section of the Inputs panel plays back recorded tracking data, so you can test body and face tracking without a physical headset. It also offers a Sync headset to movement tracking toggle.

The section stays inert and reads No movement tracking active until your application starts one of those trackers.