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Nintendo Switch Pro Controller

macOS 13 and later support the Switch Pro Controller natively. It pairs over Bluetooth and shows up in InputConfig as a standard extended gamepad, which means every built-in preset works with it out of the box.

Steps

1. Press and hold the small Sync button on the top edge of the Pro Controller, next to the USB-C port, until the four player LEDs run back and forth.
2. On the Mac, open System Settings, then Bluetooth.
3. Wait for Pro Controller to appear under Nearby Devices and click Connect.
4. It moves to My Devices and InputConfig detects it within a few seconds.

The swapped face buttons

Nintendo puts B at the bottom and A on the right, the opposite of Xbox and PlayStation. InputConfig binds by position, not by label: button 0 is always the bottom face button, so a preset that says A / Cross fires on what the Switch calls B. If you imported a preset made for an Xbox pad and want the letters to match, press Scan on those two rows and swap them.

What is not exposed

macOS does not pass the Pro Controller's motion sensors or HD rumble through to apps, so gyro aim and haptic feedback are unavailable on it. Standard rumble works, and so do every face, shoulder, stick, and D-pad control, plus Home and Capture.

If it does not pair

A Pro Controller stays paired to the last Switch it was used with, and Nintendo hardware pairs with one device at a time. On the Switch, open System Settings, Controllers and Sensors, Disconnect Controllers, and hold L and R when asked. Then pair with the Mac. Going back to the Switch later is a matter of docking it or holding Sync again.

A ready-made layout

FPS (Switch Pro) in the Gaming, First-Person folder is built for this controller's button positions, with ZL and ZR on the triggers for aim and fire. Desktop Navigation and every other preset work as well; only the letters printed on the buttons differ.

Questions

Related

• Connecting a controller
• Nintendo Joy-Cons
• Other controllers
• FPS (Switch Pro) preset