Stellaris on a Mac with a controller
The Stellaris 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 through Steam, mouse and keyboard only. Steam lists no controller support, so there is no gamepad mode to fall back on.
Stellaris has no controller support on a Mac or a PC, and this layout plays it from a pad through the mouse and keyboard. It is a paused game with a galaxy map, the same shape as Crusader Kings from a controller: cursor, click, speed, pause. The one difference is the galaxy map toggle, which gets its own button because you will press it every minute.
On this page: 9 sections
The layout, control by control
How the layout thinks
- Point and pan. The left stick moves the pointer, the right stick pans the camera on W, A, S and D, and the triggers zoom (they are the scroll wheel).
- Select and order. The right bumper selects a fleet (left click), and the left bumper sends it (right click).
- Time. The bottom face button and Options both pause (Space). D-pad right and left raise and lower the speed.
- Find your way. The left face button flips between the system and the galaxy map (M), the top one searches for a system by name (F), and the left stick click opens the situation log (F2).
- Close. Back is Escape and closes whatever window is open.
The galaxy map has its own button, because you will press it every minute.
Play a turn from the pad
- Stop time. Pause with whichever thumb is free.
- Find the place. Pan with the right stick and zoom with the triggers, or press the top face button and search for the system by name, which beats panning across a large galaxy.
- Select the fleet. Move the pointer to it with the left stick and press the right bumper.
- Give the order. Press the left bumper on its destination.
- Let it run. Unpause, set the speed with the D-pad, and let the month go by.
Search beats panning: one press and a name puts you on any system.
Tune it
- Outliner and planets. Put their keys on chords.
- A slow cursor. The fleet manager needs it. Add left stick rows at half the Speed as chords on the right stick click, which is free.
- A buzz on the speed keys. Tick Vibrate on the two D-pad speed rows, with a shorter Duration on one, so you feel which way you went.
The game sees this layout as a keyboard and a mouse, so nothing doubles and nothing needs switching off.
Stellaris controller support: controller or keyboard
Steam's store page lists no controller support for Stellaris, so it was made for a keyboard and mouse, and that is how it expects to be played. A controller still works: this layout sends the game's keys and mouse movement from the pad, so to the game you are simply typing and pointing. No controller support listed means the layout does the work, not the game.
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 Stellaris
When Stellaris 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.
- Check the Steam Input setting for Stellaris. In Steam, open Stellaris, Properties, Controller, and change the Steam Input override. A controller that works in Steam but not in the game goes through each choice.
- Stop looking for a setting. Stellaris reads the keyboard and mouse here, so no option makes it see a pad. Activate this layout, and the controller sends the keys and mouse movement Stellaris already reads. The layout works without Stellaris ever seeing 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 Stellaris 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.
Stellaris controls: every button and the key it sends
The Sends column is Stellaris'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 | Mouse motion left (speed 18) | Left stick left: move cursor left |
| Left stick right | Mouse motion right (speed 18) | Left stick right: move cursor right |
| Left stick up | Mouse motion up (speed 18) | Left stick up: move cursor up |
| Left stick down | Mouse motion down (speed 18) | Left stick down: move cursor down |
| Right stick left | A | Right stick left: pan camera left (A) |
| Right stick right | D | Right stick right: pan camera right (D) |
| Right stick up | W | Right stick up: pan camera up (W) |
| Right stick down | S | Right stick down: pan camera down (S) |
| RB / R1 | Left click | RB: left click (select) |
| LB / L1 | Right click | LB: right click (move fleet / order) |
| Right trigger | Scroll up | Right trigger: zoom in (scroll up) |
| Left trigger | Scroll down | Left trigger: zoom out (scroll down) |
| A / Cross | Space | A: pause / unpause (Space) |
| X / Square | M | X: toggle galaxy map (M) |
| Y / Triangle | F | Y: find / search system (F) |
| D-pad right | = | D-pad right: increase speed (Equals/+) |
| D-pad left | - | D-pad left: decrease speed (Minus/-) |
| Back / Share / Select | Escape | Back: close window / menu (Esc) |
| Start / Options | Space | Start: pause / unpause (Space) |
| L3 (left stick click) | F2 | L3: open situation log (F2) |
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 Stellaris support controllers?
Not on PC or Mac. This layout gives it a pad through the mouse and keyboard.
Does Stellaris have controller support?
Not by itself. Steam lists no controller support for Stellaris. A controller still works through a layout like this one, which sends the game's keys.
Is Stellaris better with a controller or a keyboard?
It was made for a keyboard and mouse: Steam lists no controller support for Stellaris. A controller still works through this layout, which sends the game's own keys and mouse movement.
Why is my controller not working in Stellaris on a Mac?
Stellaris reads the keyboard and mouse on this route, so no setting makes it see a controller. Check the Mac sees the pad with the gamepad tester, then activate the Stellaris layout in InputConfig, which sends the game's keys and mouse movement from the controller.
Can I play Stellaris on an M1 Mac or a MacBook Air?
Stellaris 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.
Updated