Red Dead Redemption 2 on a Mac with a controller
The Red Dead Redemption 2 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 to a Mac from a Windows PC you own (Moonlight, Parsec or Steam Link) or from a cloud service that carries it, and either one normally hands the controller to the game's own scheme.
Yes, Red Dead Redemption 2 plays on a Mac with a controller, as a stream. Rockstar built it for a pad, so use the game's own scheme whenever the stream passes the controller, which it usually does. This layout is the keyboard game from a pad for the times it does not, and it works better than you might expect, because most of Red Dead is riding somewhere and looking at it.
On this page: 9 sections
- The layout, control by control
- How the layout thinks
- Tune it for the long rides
- If the stream passes your controller
- Red Dead Redemption 2 controller support: controller or keyboard
- If your controller is not working in Red Dead Redemption 2
- Get it in two clicks
- Red Dead Redemption 2 controls: every button and the key it sends
- Questions
The layout, control by control
How the layout thinks
- Move and look. The left stick walks and rides, the right stick looks. The left stick click holds Shift to sprint, which also spurs the horse.
- Fight. The right trigger fires, the left trigger aims, and Dead Eye (middle click) is the left bumper. Melee (F) is the right bumper, reload (R) the left face button, and cover (Q) the right stick click.
- Get around. Jump is the bottom face button, walk and sneak (Left Ctrl) the right one, and interact (E) the top one. D-pad left whistles for the horse (H).
- Wheels. Hold D-pad up for the weapon wheel (Tab) and pick with the right stick. Tap D-pad down to holster. D-pad right opens the satchel wheel (B).
- Menus. The player menu (L) is on Create and Escape on Options.
Riding uses the same keys as walking, and the horse is one D-pad press away.
Tune it for the long rides
- Cinematic camera. Add V as a chord, held with a button that has no other job, and the long rides film themselves.
- A slower look. It is a slow game. Lower the look rows' Speed from 20 and 14 to about 14 and 10.
- The weapon wheel. D-pad up holds Tab for as long as you hold it, so the wheel stays open while the right stick picks.
Slow the look down first, since everything else in Red Dead is already at walking pace.
If the stream passes your controller
A stream that sees the pad gives the game Rockstar's own controls, and they are better than any keyboard layout. Keep this preset off then, because with both running every press arrives twice. Activate the layout only when the stream leaves the pad behind.
Red Dead Redemption 2 controller support: controller or keyboard
Steam's store page lists partial controller support for Red Dead Redemption 2: it plays on a controller, but some parts, such as a launcher, text entry or a menu, still expect a keyboard or a mouse. This layout sends keys and mouse movement from the pad, which can cover the parts the game's own support leaves out. With partial support, a layout fills the gaps the game leaves.
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 Red Dead Redemption 2
When Red Dead Redemption 2 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 Red Dead Redemption 2, 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 Red Dead Redemption 2 still ignores the pad, activate this layout. It sends the keyboard and mouse controls Red Dead Redemption 2 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 Red Dead Redemption 2 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 Red Dead Redemption 2 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.
Red Dead Redemption 2 controls: every button and the key it sends
The Sends column is Red Dead Redemption 2'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 back (S) |
| Left stick left | A | Move left (A) |
| Left stick right | D | Move 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 |
| Right trigger | Left click | Fire / attack (LMB) |
| Left trigger | Right click | Aim (RMB) |
| A / Cross | Space | Jump (Space) |
| B / Circle | Ctrl (Left) | Walk / sneak (Left Ctrl) |
| X / Square | R | Reload (R) |
| Y / Triangle | E | Interact (E) |
| LB / L1 | Middle click | Dead Eye (Middle Mouse) |
| RB / R1 | F | Melee attack (F) |
| Back / Share / Select | L | Player menu (L) |
| Start / Options | Escape | Pause menu (Esc) |
| L3 (left stick click) | Shift (Left) | Sprint / run (hold Left Shift) |
| R3 (right stick click) | Q | Take / leave cover (Q) |
| D-pad up | Tab | Weapon wheel (hold Tab) |
| D-pad down | Tab | Holster weapon (tap Tab) |
| D-pad left | H | Whistle for horse (H) |
| D-pad right | B | Items / satchel wheel (B) |
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 Red Dead Redemption 2 run on a Mac?
Red Dead Redemption 2 does not run natively on a Mac. It streams from a Windows PC you own or from a cloud service that carries it, such as GeForce NOW, and the stream normally passes the controller. This layout covers a stream that does not see the pad.
Does Red Dead Redemption 2 have controller support?
Partly. Steam lists partial controller support for Red Dead Redemption 2: it plays on a controller, but some screens still expect a keyboard or mouse.
Is Red Dead Redemption 2 better with a controller or a keyboard?
A controller works for most of it. Steam lists partial controller support for Red Dead Redemption 2, so some screens still expect a keyboard or a mouse, and a layout like this one can put those on the pad.
Why is my controller not working in Red Dead Redemption 2 on a Mac?
First check the Mac itself sees the controller, with the gamepad tester. If it does and Red Dead Redemption 2 still ignores it, activate the Red Dead Redemption 2 layout in InputConfig, which sends the game's keyboard and mouse controls from the controller.
Can I play Red Dead Redemption 2 on an M1 Mac or a MacBook Air?
Yes, through a stream. Red Dead Redemption 2 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 Red Dead Redemption 2 run in CrossOver on a Mac?
I have not tested Red Dead Redemption 2 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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