ARK: Survival Evolved on a Mac with a controller
The ARK: Survival Evolved layout is built into InputConfig, free on the Mac App Store. You don't have to make an account, there are no subscriptions, and nothing is locked. Optimized for Apple silicon.
On a Mac: The original ARK runs natively on macOS through Steam, with the game's own gamepad support. Ascended does not. This layout is for pads the Mac version does not detect.
Yes, ARK: Survival Evolved has a native Mac version on Steam with the game's own controller support, so use that when it sees your pad. Survival Ascended has no Mac version.
When the Mac version does not see your pad, this is the keyboard game from a controller, with the whistle where a finger can reach it, because a dinosaur that will not follow you is not much of a pet.
On this page: 8 sections
The layout, control by control
How the layout thinks
- Move and look. The sticks. Sprint is the left stick click.
- Fight and gather. The right trigger attacks and gathers, the left trigger aims.
- Face buttons. Jump, crouch (C), reload and E.
- Bumpers. The left bumper is a second reload. The right bumper is F, the whistle and use.
- Hotbar and menus. Hotbar 1 to 3 on the D-pad, the inventory (I) on Create, Escape on Options.
The whistle is on a bumper, so your dinosaur is always one finger away.
Tune it to your tribe
- Whistles. The whistle menu is a held key, and there are single-key whistles (T to follow, U to stop). Put them on a chord on the face buttons.
- Hotbar 4 to 8. Use a chord on the D-pad, and the bumpers as the scroll wheel.
- Map. Put M on the touchpad press.
- Auto-run. The game has one on a key. Setting the sprint row to Toggles on and off does the same.
If the game sees your pad, use its own support and leave the preset off, so a press does one thing. Follow and stop whistles on a chord save more dinosaurs than any other change.
ARK: Survival Evolved controller support: controller or keyboard
Steam's store page lists full controller support for ARK: Survival Evolved, so the game was made to be played on a controller, menus included. A keyboard and mouse work as well, and the choice is yours. On a Mac, use the game's own controller support first when it sees your pad; this layout is for a pad it does not see, or for buttons it will not let you move. Full support listed means the controller is a first-class way to play ARK: Survival Evolved.
From Steam's listing, checked in October 2026. Every game's listing is in Mac games with controller support.
If your controller is not working in ARK: Survival Evolved
When ARK: Survival Evolved does not react to your controller on a Mac, climb this ladder, smallest step first:
- Check that the Mac sees the controller. Open the gamepad tester and press a button. If nothing lights up there, the problem is the connection, and a controller that is connected but not working covers that first.
- Check the Steam Input setting for ARK: Survival Evolved. In Steam, open ARK: Survival Evolved, Properties, Controller, and change the Steam Input override. A controller that works in Steam but not in the game goes through each choice.
- Play it from keys. If ARK: Survival Evolved still ignores the pad, activate this layout. It sends the keyboard and mouse controls ARK: Survival Evolved already reads. Turn the game's own controller option off while it runs, or a press can arrive twice. The layout works whether or not ARK: Survival Evolved ever sees the controller.
Get it in two clicks
- Get InputConfig free on the Mac App Store, open it, and click Smart Preset Maker on the welcome screen.
- Search for ARK: Survival Evolved and pick it. The layout is created as a preset in your sidebar, named and ready.
- Press Activate. Every row can be changed afterwards: the editor's Scan button rebinds any control the moment you touch it.
To check the controller itself first, the gamepad tester shows every button and stick live in your browser.
ARK: Survival Evolved controls: every button and the key it sends
The Sends column is ARK: Survival Evolved's default keyboard and mouse controls, as this layout expects them. If you changed a key in the game's settings, change the same row in InputConfig.
| Controller | Sends | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Left stick left | A | Strafe left (A) |
| Left stick right | D | Strafe right (D) |
| Left stick up | W | Move forward (W) |
| Left stick down | S | Move back (S) |
| Right stick right | Mouse motion right (speed 18) | Look right |
| Right stick left | Mouse motion left (speed 18) | Look left |
| Right stick down | Mouse motion down (speed 12) | Look down |
| Right stick up | Mouse motion up (speed 12) | Look up |
| Right trigger | Left click | Attack / gather |
| Left trigger | Right click | Aim / alt |
| A / Cross | Space | Jump |
| B / Circle | C | Crouch (C) |
| X / Square | R | Reload |
| Y / Triangle | E | Use / access (E) |
| LB / L1 | R | Reload |
| RB / R1 | F | Whistle / use (F) |
| L3 (left stick click) | Shift (Left) | Sprint (Shift) |
| D-pad up | 1 | Hotbar 1 |
| D-pad left | 2 | Hotbar 2 |
| D-pad right | 3 | Hotbar 3 |
| Back / Share / Select | I | Inventory (I) |
| Start / Options | Escape | Menu (Esc) |
Button names follow the Xbox / PlayStation pair shown in the editor, so A / Cross is the bottom face button on either pad. On a Switch Pro Controller the bottom button is labeled B; the mapping still fires on position.
Questions
Does ARK on Mac support controllers?
The original Survival Evolved does. This layout is for pads it does not see. Survival Ascended has no Mac version.
Does ARK: Survival Evolved have controller support?
Yes. Steam lists full controller support for ARK: Survival Evolved, so every part of the game can be played on a controller.
Is ARK: Survival Evolved better with a controller or a keyboard?
Both work. Steam lists full controller support for ARK: Survival Evolved, so it was made to be played on a controller, and a keyboard and mouse work as well.
Why is my controller not working in ARK: Survival Evolved on a Mac?
First check the Mac itself sees the controller, with the gamepad tester. If it does and ARK: Survival Evolved still ignores it, change the game's Steam Input override in its Steam Properties, and if that does not help, activate the ARK: Survival Evolved layout in InputConfig, which sends the game's keyboard and mouse controls from the controller.
Can I play ARK: Survival Evolved on an M1 Mac or a MacBook Air?
ARK: Survival Evolved has a native Mac version, and its minimum requirements are listed on its Steam store page, so check your Mac against that list. I have not tested it on each Mac. The controller layout itself works the same on any Mac that runs InputConfig.
Related
Completely 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.
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