Sons of the Forest on a Mac with a controller
The Sons of the Forest 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 runs on Apple silicon through CrossOver or the Game Porting Toolkit, where the controller is often not seen.
Yes, Sons of the Forest plays on a Mac with a controller, through a wrapper and this layout. Steam lists full controller support on Windows, but CrossOver and the Game Porting Toolkit do not reliably pass a pad through. So on a Mac this is the way in: building on the triggers and the rotate keys on the bumpers, the right shape for a game that is half combat and half carpentry.
On this page: 9 sections
- The layout, control by control
- How the layout thinks
- Tune it
- If the wrapper passes your controller
- Sons of the Forest controller support: controller or keyboard
- If your controller is not working in Sons of the Forest
- Get it in two clicks
- Sons of the Forest 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, the right stick looks, and the left stick click is sprint.
- Fight and build. The right trigger attacks, chops and places. The left trigger blocks and toggles placement mode. The bumpers rotate a structure, right (R) and left (Q).
- Hands. Jump is the bottom face button, crouch the right, take (E) the left, and inventory (I) the top.
- Tools. D-pad down is the lighter and flashlight (L), up drops the held item (G), right opens the GPS tracker (M), and left cancels a structure (X).
- Menus. The guide book (B) is on Create and Escape on Options.
The triggers build and the bumpers turn the piece, so carpentry never leaves your fingers.
Tune it
- Inventory. The top face button holds I for as long as you hold it, so the crafting mat stays open while you work.
- Kelvin and Virginia. Their commands are pointer work in the book. Add slower right stick rows as chords for that, so the cursor lands on the small entries.
A slow pointer chord is what makes the guide book usable from a sofa.
If the wrapper passes your controller
If the game picks up the pad itself, use its own scheme and keep this preset off, because both together make every press land twice. Using a controller with CrossOver games covers the wrapper side. The layout is the way in when the wrapper keeps the pad to itself.
Sons of the Forest controller support: controller or keyboard
Steam's store page lists full controller support for Sons of the Forest, 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 Sons of the Forest.
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 Sons of the Forest
When Sons of the Forest 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.
- Expect less inside a wrapper. In CrossOver or the Game Porting Toolkit, Wine passes a controller to Sons of the Forest only some of the time, and the keyboard and mouse get through every time. Using a controller with CrossOver games has the checks.
- Play it from keys. If Sons of the Forest still ignores the pad, activate this layout. It sends the keyboard and mouse controls Sons of the Forest already reads. The layout works whether or not Sons of the Forest 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 Sons of the Forest 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.
Sons of the Forest controls: every button and the key it sends
The Sends column is Sons of the Forest'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 | 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 |
| 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 / chop / place element (left click) |
| Left trigger | Right click | Block / toggle place mode (right click) |
| X / Square | E | Take / pick up (E) |
| Y / Triangle | I | Open inventory (I) |
| RB / R1 | R | Rotate structure right while building (R) |
| LB / L1 | Q | Rotate structure left (Q) |
| D-pad down | L | Lighter / flashlight (L) |
| D-pad up | G | Drop held item (G) |
| D-pad right | M | Open GPS tracker / map (M) |
| D-pad left | X | Cancel structure (X) |
| Back / Share / Select | B | Open guide book (B) |
| 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 Sons of the Forest run on a Mac?
Sons of the Forest does not run natively on a Mac. CrossOver and the Game Porting Toolkit run it. This layout is for wrappers that do not pass the controller.
Does Sons of the Forest have controller support?
On Windows, yes: Steam lists full controller support. There is no Mac version, and a wrapper such as CrossOver often does not pass the pad through, so this layout sends the keyboard and mouse instead.
Does Sons of the Forest have controller support?
Yes. Steam lists full controller support for Sons of the Forest, so every part of the game can be played on a controller.
Is Sons of the Forest better with a controller or a keyboard?
Both work. Steam lists full controller support for Sons of the Forest, 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 Sons of the Forest on a Mac?
First check the Mac itself sees the controller, with the gamepad tester. If it does and Sons of the Forest still ignores it, activate the Sons of the Forest layout in InputConfig, which sends the game's keyboard and mouse controls from the controller.
Can I play Sons of the Forest on an M1 Mac or a MacBook Air?
Sons of the Forest has no Mac version, so it runs through a wrapper such as CrossOver or the Game Porting Toolkit, and how well depends on the Mac's chip and memory. I have not tested it on each 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