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Gyro aim on a Mac

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You can aim or move the pointer by tilting a DualSense, DualSense Edge or DualShock 4 on a Mac, in any game that aims with a mouse. macOS passes the gyroscope and accelerometer to apps, but almost no Mac game reads them. InputConfig fuses them into the controller's actual tilt and moves the pointer from that, like a laser pointer: tilt up and the pointer goes up, tilt back to level and it comes back. Activate the built-in Gyro Aim preset and the pointer follows the controller at once; hold L1 to pause the motion and press R1 to re-center. The 2026 Steam Controller's gyro is read too (experimental).

On this page: 8 sections
  1. Start from a preset
  2. Add a motion row by hand
  3. Re-aim with Pause Motion While Held
  4. Keep it from drifting
  5. If motion does not arrive
  6. The Steam Controllers (experimental)
  7. The short version
  8. Questions

Start from a preset

  • Gyro Aim. Wires sideways tilt to mouse X and forward tilt to mouse Y, with fire and aim on the triggers, pause on LB, and re-zero plus center on RB. See Gyro Aim.
  • Motion Cursor. The same idea, slower, with clicks on the face buttons and scrolling on the right stick, for someone who can hold a controller but cannot work a stick. See Motion Cursor.
  • Gyro fine aim. The Smart Preset Maker can add it to any mouse-look game, on top of the stick.

Gyro and the right stick can both drive mouse motion in the same preset, and they add together. Because the output is plain mouse movement, gyro aim works in any game that aims with a mouse.

The InputConfig binding editor showing the Gyro Aim preset: Gyro Y plus and minus bound to mouse motion right and left, Gyro X plus and minus bound to mouse motion down and up, each with a 5 percent deadzone and variable sensitivity, and the triggers bound to mouse clicks
The built-in Gyro Aim preset. Four motion rows cover yaw and pitch, and the triggers click. Copy these four rows to add gyro to any layout.

Add a motion row by hand

  • Gyro X. Forward and back tilt, for up and down.
  • Gyro Y. Sideways tilt, for left and right.
  • Gyro Z. Turning the controller flat like a torch; the pointer follows the turn.

Gyro X and Gyro Y are anchored to gravity, so they track the controller's real angle.

  • You: Set the input type to Motion, pick the channel and plus or minus, one row each, and give it Mouse Motion in the matching direction.
  • InputConfig: Moves the pointer by the controller's tilt. Speed sets how far the pointer travels per degree.
  • Check: Tilt the controller up and the pointer goes up; tilt back to level and it comes back.

Four rows, plus and minus on two channels, make a full gyro pointer.

Or pick Set Up Full Gyro on any motion row. It adds the rows a full setup needs to that device: gyro aim for the pointer, tilt to move with the arrow keys, or one row per shake and jab with the outputs left to you. Rows the device already has are skipped.

A motion row in InputConfig's editor with its Options open and Set Up Full Gyro under the Deadzone slider.
Figure 1. Open a motion row's Options. Set Up Full Gyro sits under the Deadzone slider.
The Set Up Full Gyro menu with Gyro Aim, Tilt to Move and Shake and Jab Rows.
Figure 2. Set Up Full Gyro offers three sets: aiming, tilting to move, and shakes and jabs.
Three gyro rows added under a Gyro aim heading in the editor, each sending Mouse Motion.
Figure 3. Gyro Aim adds the other three aiming rows under their own heading.
Four tilt rows in the editor, each sending an arrow key as the controller leans.
Figure 4. Tilt to Move adds four lean rows on the arrow keys.
Jab and shake rows in the editor, each waiting for an output.
Figure 5. Shake and Jab Rows adds the rows and leaves the outputs to you.

Re-aim with Pause Motion While Held

Motion aim runs out of wrist travel, the way a mouse runs out of desk.

  • You: Bind a button, for example L1 or a paddle, to the App Action Pause Motion While Held.
  • InputConfig: Stops motion from moving the cursor while the button is held. On release the new angle is neutral, so nothing snaps.
  • Check: Hold the button, swing the controller back to a comfortable angle, and let go. The pointer stays where it was.

Re-zero Motion and Center Pointer on Screen are App Actions too. Lift the gyro like you lift a mouse: hold the pause button and reset your wrist.

Two more App Actions switch motion. Motion On / Off turns it off with one press and on again with the next. Motion Only While Held lets the motion rows work only while its button is held. Each works from any input, a keyboard key or a foot pedal included.

Two button rows in the editor: L1 sends Motion On / Off and R1 sends Motion Only While Held, above two gyro rows.
Figure 6. L1 turns motion on and off. R1 keeps it on only while it is held.
The App Action menu in the editor with Motion On / Off checked, beside Pause Motion While Held and Motion Only While Held.
Figure 7. All three motion switches are App Actions.

Keep it from drifting

A resting controller cannot creep: the tilt axes settle back onto what gravity says within a fraction of a second, and the gyro's zero looks after itself while the controller rests. Motion Calibration, from a Motion row's Options or Controller, Calibrate Motion / Gyro in the menu bar, records the zero by hand and shows the controller as a 3D model so you can see it respond.

The Motion Calibration sheet showing a 3D model of the controller that turns as the real controller turns, with the button that records the resting zero.
Figure 8. Motion Calibration. If the model turns with your hand, motion is arriving.

Put it down and it settles; you rarely need to calibrate by hand.

A tilt row's Options in the editor with Level is how you hold it turned on.
Figure 9. Level is how you hold it: the tilt counts from the way you hold the pad, not from flat on a table.

If motion does not arrive

Climb this ladder, smallest step first:

  1. Watch the Live Visualizer. Its motion readout moves when you tilt a controller that sends motion.
  2. Use a cable. Some Bluetooth pairings drop motion. A wired connection always has it.
  3. Open Motion Calibration. The 3D model turns as you turn the controller, and records the resting zero if you want to set it by hand. A Steam Controller keeps its own zero instead: use Re-zero Motion or Reset gyroscope.
  4. Check the controller has a gyro. InputConfig reads motion from the DualSense, DualSense Edge, DualShock 4, Switch Pro Controller, Joy-Con and both Steam Controllers (experimental). Xbox controllers have no gyroscope.

If the motion readout does not move, try the cable before anything else.

The Steam Controllers (experimental)

The 2026 Steam Controller's gyro is read directly. Gyro X and Gyro Y follow the turn by rate rather than from gravity, so over a long session the pointer can drift a little. The rest bias is learned while the controller lies still, and Center Pointer or a re-zero puts the neutral back. Gyro Z follows a turn about the real vertical, as on PlayStation controllers. On the Steam Controller, keep Center Pointer on a button for the occasional drift.

The 2015 Steam Controller's gyro is read the same way, through the helper that reads the controller (experimental).

The short version

  • Activate Gyro Aim. Or add gyro fine aim from the Smart Preset Maker.
  • Pause to re-aim. Hold the Pause Motion While Held button and reset your wrist.
  • No motion. Try a USB cable.

Tilt is the most natural aim there is, and every mouse-aimed game can use it.

Questions

Which axis is which?

Hold the controller flat. Tipping the front up and down is Gyro X. Rolling it sideways like a steering wheel is Gyro Y. Swinging it left and right flat is Gyro Z.

Can I use gyro and the right stick together?

Both can drive mouse motion in the same preset and they add together.

Does the PS5 controller have gyro?

The DualSense and DualSense Edge have a gyroscope and an accelerometer, and so does the PS4's DualShock 4. On a Mac they work in the few games written for them, and in any game that aims with a mouse through InputConfig.

Why does gyro not work over Bluetooth?

Some Bluetooth pairings do not carry motion. InputConfig's Live Visualizer shows whether motion arrives from the connected controller (tilt it and watch the motion readout), and a USB cable always has it.

How do I test the gyro on a Mac?

Open Motion Calibration from a Motion row's Options or Controller, Calibrate Motion / Gyro in the menu bar. It shows the controller as a 3D model that turns as you turn it, and records the resting zero if you want to set it by hand.

Download InputConfig on the Mac App StoreCompletely free. You don't have to make an account, there are no subscriptions, and nothing is locked. Optimized for Apple silicon. Open source on GitHub.

Updated