Subnautica on a Mac with a controller
The Subnautica 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 original Subnautica's macOS build was discontinued. It runs on a Mac through CrossOver or the Game Porting Toolkit, or streams on GeForce NOW. Below Zero is native. In a wrapper the controller is often not seen. This layout sends keyboard and mouse.
Yes, you can play Subnautica on a Mac with a controller, through CrossOver, the Game Porting Toolkit or a GeForce NOW stream, and this layout covers the wrapper case, where the controller usually goes missing. The original game's macOS build was discontinued. Below Zero is native and has its own layout.
This is the keyboard and mouse swim from a pad, and one of the calmer layouts to play, because the game is mostly looking around and occasionally panicking.
On this page: 9 sections
The layout, control by control
How the layout thinks
- Swim and look. The left stick swims, the right stick looks.
- Up and down. Swim up is the bottom face button (Space) and swim down the right one (Ctrl), so two thumbs and one finger cover all three axes.
- Tools. The right trigger uses the tool, the left trigger is the alt use.
- Face buttons. F to use and pick up on the top, R to reload or deselect on the left.
- Sprint, quickslots, inventory. Sprint swim is Shift on the left stick click, the D-pad is quickslots 1 to 4, and Tab is the inventory on Create.
Up and down on two face buttons gives you full three-axis swimming without leaving the sticks.
Tune it to how you dive
- Quickslot 5. Put it on the touchpad press, or on a D-pad chord.
- Vehicles. The same keys drive the Seamoth and the Prawn, so the layout does not change. Space is the Prawn's jump, so the bottom face button stays useful.
- PDA and building. Tab is already there. The habitat builder rotates with the scroll wheel, so put Scroll up and Scroll down on the bumpers.
- Look speed. Water is slow. Lower the look rows to 14 and 10 and enjoy it.
- The Reaper. Nothing in the layout can vibrate when one appears, sadly. Turn the volume up.
Lower the look speed, because this is a game to take slowly.
If the wrapper passes the pad
Use the game's own controller support and turn this preset off, so a press does not arrive twice. When the wrapper does not pass it, this layout is the way in.
Keyboard and mouse always get through a wrapper, which is why this layout works where the pad does not.
Subnautica controller support: controller or keyboard
Steam's store page lists full controller support for Subnautica, 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 Subnautica.
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 Subnautica
When Subnautica 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 Subnautica, then press any button.
- Expect less inside a wrapper. In CrossOver or the Game Porting Toolkit, Wine passes a controller to Subnautica 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 Subnautica still ignores the pad, activate this layout. It sends the keyboard and mouse controls Subnautica already reads. The layout works whether or not Subnautica 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 Subnautica 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.
Subnautica controls: every button and the key it sends
The Sends column is Subnautica'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 | Swim left (A) |
| Left stick right | D | Swim right (D) |
| Left stick up | W | Swim forward (W) |
| Left stick down | S | Swim back (S) |
| Right stick right | Mouse motion right (speed 18) | Look right |
| Right stick left | Mouse motion left (speed 18) | Look left |
| Right stick down | Mouse motion down (speed 12) | Look down |
| Right stick up | Mouse motion up (speed 12) | Look up |
| Right trigger | Left click | Use tool (left click) |
| Left trigger | Right click | Alt use (right click) |
| A / Cross | Space | Swim up |
| B / Circle | Ctrl (Left) | Swim down (Ctrl) |
| Y / Triangle | F | Use / pick up (F) |
| X / Square | R | Reload / deselect (R) |
| L3 (left stick click) | Shift (Left) | Sprint swim (Shift) |
| D-pad up | 1 | Quickslot 1 |
| D-pad left | 2 | Quickslot 2 |
| D-pad right | 3 | Quickslot 3 |
| D-pad down | 4 | Quickslot 4 |
| Back / Share / Select | Tab | Inventory (Tab) |
| Start / Options | Escape | 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 Subnautica run on a Mac?
Subnautica does not run natively on a Mac any more. It runs through CrossOver or the Game Porting Toolkit, and streams on GeForce NOW. Below Zero has a native Mac version and its own entry.
Why not use the game's controller support?
Use it when the wrapper passes the pad. When it does not, this layout is the way in.
Does Subnautica have controller support?
Yes. Steam lists full controller support for Subnautica, so every part of the game can be played on a controller.
Is Subnautica better with a controller or a keyboard?
Both work. Steam lists full controller support for Subnautica, 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 Subnautica on a Mac?
First check the Mac itself sees the controller, with the gamepad tester. If it does and Subnautica still ignores it, activate the Subnautica layout in InputConfig, which sends the game's keyboard and mouse controls from the controller.
Can I play Subnautica on an M1 Mac or a MacBook Air?
Yes, through a stream. Subnautica 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.
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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