Stray on a Mac with a controller
The Stray 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 and the Mac App Store, and Steam lists full controller support. Use the game's own scheme first. This layout is for a pad it does not pick up.
Yes, Stray plays on a Mac with a controller, and on most Macs a PS5 or Xbox pad works the moment you press a button. If that is you, nothing on this page is needed. The page is for the other cases: a generic USB pad or an older 8BitDo the game does not list, or a hand that wants sprint to stay on across an hour of rooftops. For those, this layout plays the keyboard version of Stray from the controller, and the game never knows the difference.
On this page: 9 sections
The layout, control by control
How the layout thinks
- Move and look. The left stick is W, A, S and D, and the right stick is the mouse at a calm 14, because Stray is a game of looking around slowly. The right stick click recenters the camera (middle click).
- Jump and act. The bottom face button is Space, jump and every contextual action, since the cat only leaps where a prompt appears. Interact (Q) is the left face button, and use, talk and showing an item to B-12 (E) the top.
- Meow. The right face button (Left Option).
- Sprint. Left Shift, on both the left bumper and the left stick click, so a finger or a thumb can hold it.
- B-12 and tools. The right bumper is B-12's light (2). The right trigger is the Defluxor once B-12 has it (left click), and the left trigger the first-person view (right click). D-pad up asks B-12 for a hint (1), and down confirms (R).
- Menus. Back opens the inventory (Tab) and Options pauses.
Meow has its own button, as it should.
Make it yours
- Sprint that stays on. Open the left bumper row's Options and set it to Toggles on and off. One press and the cat runs until you press it again.
- A meow on repeat. Set the meow row to Repeats while held. It does nothing useful and I have never regretted it.
- Camera speed. Instead of editing four look rows, move the Pointer speed slider on the preset's page. It scales every row that moves the pointer.
- The Mac App Store copy. The Smart Preset Maker sets this preset to open Stray through Steam. If you bought it from the App Store, click Choose App in the options step and pick Stray from Applications, or turn off Open the app automatically when this preset activates.
A toggled sprint is the one change that makes an hour of rooftops easy on the hand.
If Stray ignores your controller
The game can only see a controller that macOS sees. Climb this ladder, smallest step first:
- Check the Mac sees it. Open System Settings and look for Game Controllers in the sidebar. If it is missing, or your pad is not in it, start with Game Controllers missing from System Settings, because no game will find the pad until then.
- Flip Steam Input. On the Steam copy, set the Steam Input override for Stray (Properties, Controller) one way, relaunch, then try the other. The Mac App Store copy has no Steam layer.
- Use this layout. InputConfig only needs macOS to see the pad. Every press lights on the Live Visualizer, which draws your own model of controller, so a press that lights there but does nothing in the game tells you the problem is the game, not the pad.
Use the layout instead of the game's pad support, not with it, or every press lands twice.
Stray controller support: controller or keyboard
Steam's store page lists full controller support for Stray, 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 Stray.
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 Stray
When Stray 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 Stray. In Steam, open Stray, Properties, Controller, and change the Steam Input override. A controller that works in Steam but not in the game goes through each choice.
- Play it from keys. If Stray still ignores the pad, activate this layout. It sends the keyboard and mouse controls Stray 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 Stray 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 Stray 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.
Stray controls: every button and the key it sends
The Sends column is Stray'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 | A | Move left (A) |
| Left stick right | D | Move right (D) |
| Left stick up | W | Move forward (W) |
| Left stick down | S | Move back (S) |
| Right stick left | Mouse motion left (speed 14) | Look left |
| Right stick right | Mouse motion right (speed 14) | Look right |
| Right stick up | Mouse motion up (speed 14) | Look up |
| Right stick down | Mouse motion down (speed 14) | Look down |
| A / Cross | Space | Jump / contextual action (Space) |
| B / Circle | Alt / Option (Left) | Meow (LAlt) |
| X / Square | Q | Interact / action (Q) |
| Y / Triangle | E | Use / talk / B-12 show item (E) |
| LB / L1 | Shift (Left) | Sprint (LShift) |
| RB / R1 | 2 | B-12 light (2) |
| Right trigger | Left click | Defluxor / use tool (Left Mouse) |
| Left trigger | Right click | First-person view (Right Mouse) |
| L3 (left stick click) | Shift (Left) | Sprint (LShift) |
| R3 (right stick click) | Middle click | Recenter camera (Middle Mouse) |
| D-pad up | 1 | B-12 help / hint (1) |
| D-pad down | R | B-12 validate / confirm (R) |
| Start / Options | Escape | Pause menu (Esc) |
| Back / Share / Select | Tab | Inventory / menu (Tab) |
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 Stray on Mac support controllers?
Yes. Steam lists full controller support for the Mac version, and a PS5 or Xbox pad that macOS sees normally works with no setup. This layout is for a pad the game does not pick up.
Where is meow on the controller?
In this layout, the right face button (B on Xbox, Circle on PlayStation) sends Left Option, the game's keyboard meow. Any other button can take it: click Scan on the meow row and press the one you want.
Is Stray on Steam or the App Store for Mac?
It is on both. The layout behaves the same with either, because it sends keys to whichever copy is in front.
Does Stray have controller support?
Yes. Steam lists full controller support for Stray, so every part of the game can be played on a controller.
Is Stray better with a controller or a keyboard?
Both work. Steam lists full controller support for Stray, 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 Stray on a Mac?
First check the Mac itself sees the controller, with the gamepad tester. If it does and Stray still ignores it, change the game's Steam Input override in its Steam Properties, and if that does not help, activate the Stray layout in InputConfig, which sends the game's keyboard and mouse controls from the controller.
Can I play Stray on an M1 Mac or a MacBook Air?
Stray 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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