Spotify from a game controller
The Spotify 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: The Spotify app for Mac takes its shortcuts only while it is the front app. The System Function media outputs work from any app, and macOS sends them to Spotify.
Yes, a game controller makes a good Spotify remote on a Mac: play on the big button, skip on the two next to it, volume on the bumpers, and a stick for playlists. Switch the play and skip rows to the media outputs and they work while Spotify is in the background too. It suits a Mac plugged into speakers across the room.
The layout, control by control
How the layout thinks
- Play and skip. Play and pause (Space) on the bottom face button. Next track on the right and previous on the left, sent as Command and the arrows, and again on D-pad right and left.
- Volume. Up and down on the bumpers.
- Browse. The left stick is a pointer, the right stick scrolls, and the right trigger clicks.
These are Spotify's own shortcuts, so they work only while Spotify is the front app. As shipped, it is a remote for Spotify while Spotify is in front, and one change makes it work everywhere.
Make the buttons work with Spotify in the background
The System Function outputs Play / Pause, Next Track and Previous Track are the keyboard's media keys, and macOS routes them to whatever is playing, from a browser, a game or the desktop.
- You: Change the play row's output to the System Function Play / Pause, and the skip rows to Next Track and Previous Track.
- InputConfig: Sends the media keys instead of Spotify's shortcuts.
- Check: Bring another app to the front and press the play button. Spotify pauses.
The Media Playback layout is built that way already. If a skip row ever does nothing in your version of Spotify, the media-key version is also the fix, since it does not depend on Spotify's key list. Media keys work from any app, while Spotify's own shortcuts work only with Spotify in front.
Tune it for a listening session
- Like the track. Put Option Shift B, its key in the Mac app, on the touchpad press.
- Search. Command K opens search, and a Start Dictation row turns searching into a sentence.
- Mac volume instead of Spotify's. The System Function outputs Volume Up and Volume Down change the Mac's volume, which is usually what you want on speakers.
Apple Music has its own entry, and the media-key version works for both. Media keys plus Mac volume make one remote for any player.
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 Spotify 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.
Every binding, as a table
| Controller | Sends | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| A / Cross | Space | Play / Pause (Space) |
| B / Circle | Command (Left), Right | Next track |
| X / Square | Command (Left), Left | Previous track |
| LB / L1 | Command (Left), Up | Volume up |
| RB / R1 | Command (Left), Down | Volume down |
| D-pad right | Command (Left), Right | Next track |
| D-pad left | Command (Left), Left | Previous track |
| Left stick left | Mouse motion left (speed 16) | Cursor left |
| Left stick right | Mouse motion right (speed 16) | Cursor right |
| Left stick up | Mouse motion up (speed 16) | Cursor up |
| Left stick down | Mouse motion down (speed 16) | Cursor down |
| Right stick down | Scroll down | Scroll down |
| Right stick up | Scroll up | Scroll up |
| Right trigger | Left click | Click |
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
Do the buttons work when Spotify is not in front?
Not with the app's own shortcuts. Use the System Function media outputs instead, which work from anywhere.
Does it work with Apple Music?
Apple Music has its own entry, and the media-key version works for both.
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