Grounded on a Mac with a controller
The Grounded 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. It streams through Xbox Cloud Gaming or from a Windows PC you own, and both normally pass the controller to the game's own scheme.
Yes, Grounded plays on a Mac with a controller, as a stream. It is an Xbox game with the pad support that implies, and the streams usually hand it your controller. When they do not, this is the keyboard backyard from a pad: attack and block on the triggers, throw on a face button, and the map, which you will need, on a bumper.
On this page: 9 sections
The layout, control by control
How the layout thinks
- Move and look. The left stick walks, the right stick looks, and the left stick click is sprint.
- Fight and build. The right trigger attacks and places a building, the left trigger blocks. Create rotates a building piece (Q).
- Hands. Jump is the bottom face button, crouch the right, interact (E) the left, and throw (R) the top.
- Bag and map. Inventory (I) is the right bumper and the map (M) the left.
- Hotbar and food. D-pad left and right scroll the hotbar, and down eats or drinks. Escape is on Options.
The map is a bumper, which matters in a yard where every blade of grass looks the same.
Tune it
- Perfect block. It is a tap of the left trigger as the bug lands. There is nothing to change.
- Hotbar keys. Add 1 to 4 as chords on the D-pad. Pick a modifier that sends nothing of its own, such as a back paddle, so the plain D-pad keeps scrolling.
Leave the block row alone, because the perfect block is all timing.
If the stream passes your controller
Xbox Cloud Gaming nearly always hands the game your pad, and then the game's own scheme is the one to use. Keep this preset off in that case, or every press lands twice. Try the pad in Xbox Cloud Gaming first, and keep this layout as the spare key to the backyard.
Grounded controller support: controller or keyboard
Steam's store page lists full controller support for Grounded, 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 Grounded.
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 Grounded
When Grounded 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 Grounded, 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.
- Play it from keys. If Grounded still ignores the pad, activate this layout. It sends the keyboard and mouse controls Grounded 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 Grounded 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 Grounded 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.
Grounded controls: every button and the key it sends
The Sends column is Grounded'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 up | W | Move forward (W) |
| Left stick down | S | Move backward (S) |
| Left stick left | A | Strafe left (A) |
| Left stick right | D | Strafe right (D) |
| Right stick right | Mouse motion right (speed 20) | Look right |
| Right stick left | Mouse motion left (speed 20) | Look left |
| Right stick down | Mouse motion down (speed 14) | Look down |
| Right stick up | Mouse motion up (speed 14) | Look up |
| A / Cross | Space | Jump (Space) |
| L3 (left stick click) | Shift (Left) | Sprint (Left Shift / left-stick click) |
| B / Circle | Ctrl (Left) | Crouch (Left Ctrl) |
| Right trigger | Left click | Attack / place building (left click) |
| Left trigger | Right click | Block (right click) |
| X / Square | E | Interact / use (E) |
| Y / Triangle | R | Throw equipped item (R) |
| RB / R1 | I | Open inventory (I) |
| LB / L1 | M | Open map (M) |
| D-pad down | Space | Consume / eat or drink item (Space) |
| D-pad right | Scroll down | Next item / hotbar (scroll) |
| D-pad left | Scroll up | Previous item / hotbar (scroll) |
| Back / Share / Select | Q | Rotate building piece (Q) |
| Start / Options | Escape | Pause / 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 Grounded run on a Mac?
Grounded does not run natively on a Mac. Xbox Cloud Gaming and GeForce NOW stream it with a controller passed through, and a Windows PC you own can stream it too. This layout covers a stream that does not see the pad.
Does Grounded have controller support?
Yes. Steam lists full controller support for Grounded, so every part of the game can be played on a controller.
Is Grounded better with a controller or a keyboard?
Both work. Steam lists full controller support for Grounded, 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 Grounded on a Mac?
First check the Mac itself sees the controller, with the gamepad tester. If it does and Grounded still ignores it, activate the Grounded layout in InputConfig, which sends the game's keyboard and mouse controls from the controller.
Can I play Grounded on an M1 Mac or a MacBook Air?
Yes, through a stream. Grounded 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.
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.
Updated