Hollow Knight on a Mac with a controller, and when it is not detected
The Hollow Knight 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: Native on macOS, with the game's own gamepad support. Use that first. This layout is for controllers the game does not detect, and for remaps beyond the in-game options.
Hollow Knight supports controllers natively on the Mac, and if your pad appears in the game's options, use the game's support. Team Cherry built the game for a pad and then made the keyboard work.
This layout is for everything else: a pad the game does not see, hands that cannot hold Focus while dodging, a nail on turbo for the Colosseum, and the Steam Controller owner who has been told for years it does not work with this game. It does, once it is a keyboard. If your pad is ignored, go straight to the detection checks.
On this page: 8 sections
The layout, control by control
How the layout thinks
The keyboard defaults are Z to jump, X to attack, C to dash, A to cast, and A held to Focus and heal. The layout sends those, so the game needs no changes.
- Move. On both the D-pad and the left stick. I recommend the D-pad for the platforming rooms: Path of Pain does not want a stick that is 40 percent to the left. Up and down aim the nail and enter doors.
- Fight. Jump on the bottom face button, nail on the left, dash on the right, cast on the top.
- Heal. Focus is the right trigger, because healing is a hold and a trigger is the most comfortable thing to hold. The left bumper is Focus too, for healing with a finger.
- Dream Nail. The right bumper, which is D in the game.
Both the D-pad and the stick move, so you can switch mid-game without touching a setting.
Go past the game's own options
- Toggled Focus. Set the right trigger row to Toggles on and off, and one pull starts the heal, which continues while you hold nothing. A hit interrupts it the normal way. This is an accessibility change, not a cheat: the game still needs the same soul and the same seconds.
- Nail on turbo. Some fights are a rhythm of taps. Set the attack row to Repeats while held at a moderate rate, and holding the button swings at that rhythm. Watch the rate: the game ignores swings faster than its cooldown.
- Quick map. Tab. Put it on the touchpad press or the left stick click.
- Super Dash and Quick Cast. The game's keys are S for the Crystal Heart Super Dash and F for Quick Cast, and neither is on the pad yet. Back, the right stick click and the touchpad press are free for them.
Toggled Focus is the change that matters most for a hand that tires.
If Hollow Knight does not detect your controller
Most people on this page have a controller that works everywhere except here. Climb this ladder, smallest step first. It rules out the most, fastest:
- Check that the Mac sees it. Open System Settings, click Game Controllers in the sidebar, and press a button. Not listed means a pairing problem, not a Hollow Knight problem: pairing steps for each controller.
- Change Steam Input for this game. On the Steam copy, Steam can sit between the pad and the game. Right-click it in the library, open Properties, then Controller, and change the override. Relaunch after each try. Why that switch matters.
- Update the game. Make sure you are on the latest version.
- Send keys. The keyboard never goes undetected. Pick Hollow Knight in the Smart Preset Maker and press Activate, and the layout sends Z, X, C and A from your pad. This is how the original Steam Controller plays it, and the 2026 Steam Controller does too (experimental).
If the pad works but feels late or drifts, that is a different problem: controller input lag on a Mac and stick drift. If the game starts seeing the pad again, turn the preset off so one press does one thing. The same checks apply to Hollow Knight: Silksong, which has its own layout. The game always reads the keyboard, so the last rung always works.
Hollow Knight controller support: controller or keyboard
Steam's store page lists full controller support for Hollow Knight, 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 Hollow Knight.
From Steam's listing, checked in October 2026. Every game's listing is in Mac games with controller support.
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 Hollow Knight 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.
Hollow Knight controls: every button and the key it sends
The Sends column is Hollow Knight'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 | Left | Move left |
| Left stick right | Right | Move right |
| Left stick up | Up | Look / aim up |
| Left stick down | Down | Look / aim down |
| D-pad left | Left | Move left (d-pad) |
| D-pad right | Right | Move right (d-pad) |
| D-pad up | Up | Up (d-pad) |
| D-pad down | Down | Down (d-pad) |
| A / Cross | Z | Jump (Z) |
| X / Square | X | Attack / nail (X) |
| B / Circle | C | Dash (C) |
| Y / Triangle | A | Cast spell (A) |
| Right trigger | A | Focus / heal (A, hold) |
| LB / L1 | A | Focus / heal (alt) |
| RB / R1 | D | Dream nail (D) |
| Start / Options | Escape | Pause (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
Why is my controller not working in Hollow Knight on Mac?
Check three things. First, that the Mac sees it under Game Controllers in System Settings (if it does not). Second, if you play through Steam, change Steam Input for Hollow Knight in the game's Properties, under Controller (more on that). Third, update the game. If it still ignores the pad, activate this layout, because the game always reads the keyboard.
Is Hollow Knight on Mac?
Yes. There is a native Mac version on Steam, and it supports controllers.
Does this layout work with Silksong?
The keys are the same family (jump, attack, dash, tool), and a copy of this preset with the rows re-scanned to Silksong's defaults works. The Smart Preset Maker also has a separate Silksong entry.
Does Hollow Knight have controller support?
Yes. Steam lists full controller support for Hollow Knight, so every part of the game can be played on a controller.
Is Hollow Knight better with a controller or a keyboard?
Both work. Steam lists full controller support for Hollow Knight, so it was made to be played on a controller, and a keyboard and mouse work as well.
Can I play Hollow Knight on an M1 Mac or a MacBook Air?
Hollow Knight 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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