Company of Heroes 3 on a Mac with a controller
The Company of Heroes 3 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: No Mac version: Steam sells it for Windows only, and there is no Feral port. It plays on a Mac by streaming from a Windows PC you own, and the PC game has no controller support.
Yes, you can play Company of Heroes 3 on a Mac with a controller, by streaming it from your own Windows PC and using this layout. The PC game has no controller support, so over a stream this layout is how a pad plays it: pointer on one stick, the map on the other, select and order on the clicks. It is for the campaign and skirmishes at your own pace, from a chair you like.
On this page: 9 sections
The layout, control by control
How the layout thinks
- Point and pan. The left stick moves the pointer, the right stick pans the battlefield with the arrow keys, and the triggers zoom. Hold the left stick click to grab the camera (middle click).
- Select and order. The bottom face button selects (left click), and the right moves and attacks (right click).
- Commands. The left face button is attack-move (A) and the top stop (S). The left bumper retreats (T) and the right reinforces (R). The right stick click holds Alt, for the WASD camera and the ability grid.
- Buildings. The D-pad picks your HQ and production buildings (F1 to F4).
- Time and menu. Back is the tactical pause (Space), and Options opens the menu.
Retreat is a bumper, because you will want it fast.
Tune it
- Set groups. Ctrl plus a number sets a group. Put those on chords.
- A slow pointer. Add left stick rows at a lower Speed as chords, for picking one squad out of a crowd.
Control groups on chords turn a skirmish into a few presses.
The short version
- Stream it. It runs from a Windows PC you own.
- Activate the layout. The game reads no controller, so nothing doubles.
- Pause often. The tactical pause on Back is your friend.
With no controller support in the game, this layout is the controller support.
Company of Heroes 3 controller support: controller or keyboard
Steam's store page lists no controller support for Company of Heroes 3, so it was made for a keyboard and mouse, and that is how it expects to be played. A controller still works: this layout sends the game's keys and mouse movement from the pad, so to the game you are simply typing and pointing. No controller support listed means the layout does the work, not the game.
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 Company of Heroes 3
When Company of Heroes 3 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.
- Press a button after the stream has started. A stream only picks up a controller that is paired with the Mac, and a browser shows a controller to a page only after a button press. Start Company of Heroes 3, then press any button. Streaming from your own PC has its own checks, in how to stream PC games to a Mac with a controller.
- Stop looking for a setting. Company of Heroes 3 reads the keyboard and mouse here, so no option makes it see a pad. Activate this layout, and the controller sends the keys and mouse movement Company of Heroes 3 already reads. The layout works without Company of Heroes 3 ever seeing 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 Company of Heroes 3 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.
Company of Heroes 3 controls: every button and the key it sends
The Sends column is Company of Heroes 3'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 | Mouse motion left (speed 22) | Left stick moves the pointer left |
| Left stick right | Mouse motion right (speed 22) | Left stick moves the pointer right |
| Left stick up | Mouse motion up (speed 22) | Left stick moves the pointer up |
| Left stick down | Mouse motion down (speed 22) | Left stick moves the pointer down |
| Right stick left | Left | Right stick pans the camera west (Left arrow) |
| Right stick right | Right | Right stick pans the camera east (Right arrow) |
| Right stick up | Up | Right stick pans the camera north (Up arrow) |
| Right stick down | Down | Right stick pans the camera south (Down arrow) |
| A / Cross | Left click | A selects a unit (left click) |
| B / Circle | Right click | B issues a move or attack order (right click) |
| X / Square | A | X is attack-move on the command grid (A) |
| Y / Triangle | S | Y stops the selected units (S) |
| LB / L1 | T | LB retreats the selected units (T) |
| RB / R1 | R | RB reinforces the selected squad (R) |
| Left trigger | Scroll down | Left trigger zooms the camera out |
| Right trigger | Scroll up | Right trigger zooms the camera in |
| L3 (left stick click) | Middle click | L3 holds to free-pan the camera (middle mouse) |
| R3 (right stick click) | Alt / Option (Left) | R3 holds Alt for WASD camera and the ability grid |
| D-pad up | F1 | D-pad up selects HQ or production building 1 (F1) |
| D-pad down | F2 | D-pad down selects production building 2 (F2) |
| D-pad left | F3 | D-pad left selects production building 3 (F3) |
| D-pad right | F4 | D-pad right selects production building 4 (F4) |
| Back / Share / Select | Space | Back is tactical pause (Space) |
| Start / Options | Escape | Start opens the in-game 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 Company of Heroes 3 on Mac support controllers?
There is no Mac version, and the PC game has no controller support. Streamed from a PC, this layout gives it a pad through the mouse and keyboard.
Does Company of Heroes 3 have controller support?
Not by itself. Steam lists no controller support for Company of Heroes 3. A controller still works through a layout like this one, which sends the game's keys.
Is Company of Heroes 3 better with a controller or a keyboard?
It was made for a keyboard and mouse: Steam lists no controller support for Company of Heroes 3. A controller still works through this layout, which sends the game's own keys and mouse movement.
Why is my controller not working in Company of Heroes 3 on a Mac?
Company of Heroes 3 reads the keyboard and mouse on this route, so no setting makes it see a controller. Check the Mac sees the pad with the gamepad tester, then activate the Company of Heroes 3 layout in InputConfig, which sends the game's keys and mouse movement from the controller.
Can I play Company of Heroes 3 on an M1 Mac or a MacBook Air?
Yes, through a stream. Company of Heroes 3 runs on the other end, on a cloud service or your own PC, so the Mac only plays the video and sends your input. An M1 MacBook Air streams it like any other Mac.
Does Company of Heroes 3 run in CrossOver on a Mac?
I have not tested Company of Heroes 3 in CrossOver. CodeWeavers keeps a compatibility list where players report how each Windows game runs. If it runs and the controller is not seen, this layout plays it from the keys and mouse.
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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