Guides

Play any Mac game with a controller

A lot of Mac games, and nearly all browser games, indie games, strategy games, and older ports, have no controller support. Some have it badly. InputConfig sends keyboard and mouse events, so the game sees a keyboard and a mouse and you hold a controller. This guide covers how to set it up for a game, how to make aiming feel right, and the handful of problems that come up.

Steps

Connect the controller and open InputConfig.
Open the Smart Preset Maker, search for the game, and create its preset. If it is not listed, pick the closest genre and rename it.
Activate the preset. It launches the game if a launch target is set, confines and hides the pointer, and the game sees a keyboard and mouse.
In the game's settings, confirm the key bindings match the preset's outputs, or change one to match the other.
Tune aim: right stick speed, deadzone, and the curve, in the row Options.
Add the game to the preset's auto-switch list so it activates itself next time.

Start from the catalogue

The Smart Preset Maker knows more than 290 games. Each layout was built for the game's default key bindings and includes the automation a game wants: launch on activate, confine the pointer to the screen, recenter it, and hide it. If a game is missing, the FPS presets per controller family, Racing Game, Minecraft, and Fortnite cover most shapes of control; duplicate one and re-scan the rows that differ.

Movement and aim

Movement is four rows: left stick up, down, left, right to W, S, A, D. Aim is four rows: right stick to mouse motion with Variable Sensitivity on. The feel lives in three numbers on the aim rows.

Speed. The maximum at full deflection. Start around 12 to 20 for a shooter at 1080p and adjust in the game.
Inner deadzone. 8 to 12 percent on a new stick; use Calibrate to see where it rests.
Curve. Smooth for precise aiming with a fast flick at the edge; Aggressive for games where turning speed matters more than precision.

A preset's sensitivity multiplier scales all of it at once, so a game that feels twice as fast as another is one slider.

Why confine and recenter matter

A game that reads the mouse position rather than mouse movement will run out of screen when the stick pushes the pointer to the edge. Auto-recenter puts it back in the middle every half second, invisibly, so the stick never hits a wall. Confine keeps it off a second display. Hide makes the system pointer disappear over the game. All three are in the preset's automation section and the game presets turn them on by default.

Triggers

Triggers are analog. Bound as an axis they fire past their deadzone and can scale an output; bound as a button (the digital LT / RT input) they are a simple press. For fire and aim-down-sights, the axis with a 20 percent deadzone gives a light, consistent pull. For a racing game the axis with Variable Sensitivity gives proportional throttle through pulsing.

Gyro aim

A DualSense or DualShock 4 can add gyro aim on top of the stick: bind Gyro Y to mouse X and Gyro X to mouse Y with Variable Sensitivity on, and put Pause Motion While Held on a paddle or L1 so you can re-aim the controller. Fine aim from the wrist, coarse from the stick, exactly as on a console that supports it. The gyro page has the recipe.

Polling rate

Settings, Advanced sets the polling rate. 120 Hz is the default and fine for most games; 240 for competitive shooters. Higher rates cost a little CPU and can make the binding editor hitch while a preset runs, so drop back if the app feels sluggish.

Problems and fixes

The game sees the controller directly and doubles every input: The game has its own controller support. Either disable it in the game's settings and use InputConfig, or use the game's support and stop the preset. Both at once is the problem.
Aim drifts when the stick is released: Raise the inner deadzone on the aim rows.
The pointer escapes the window: Switch on confine and recenter in automation.
A key does not do what the preset says: The game's binding differs from the default. Change the row's output or the game's setting.
Everything stops responding mid-game: Hold Home / PS / Guide for two seconds: the emergency stop releases every held key. Then check whether the controller disconnected.
A game that only accepts gamepads ignores the preset: It needs the real controller, which it already has. InputConfig is for games that take keyboard and mouse.

Questions

Does it work with Steam games?

Yes. Steam Input may also be reading the controller; turn off Steam's controller configuration for that game if inputs double up.

Can I use it in CrossOver or Whisky ports?

Yes. Those see the same keyboard and mouse events as native apps.

Browser games?

Yes. The browser is an app like any other. Roblox, Krunker, and every io game work with the keyboard and mouse the preset sends.