The Terminal from a game controller
The Terminal 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: Sends Terminal's standard keys, including Control C to interrupt and Control Tab to switch tabs. Works in iTerm2 and most terminal apps too.
Yes, Terminal works from a game controller on a Mac for everything that is not typing: scrolling back through output, copy and paste, new tabs, clear, and Control C on a bumper. It sends Terminal's standard keys and works in iTerm2 and most terminal apps too. Control C on a bumper is worth the whole layout on its own.
The layout, control by control
How the layout thinks
- Copy and paste. On the bottom and right face buttons.
- Stop and clear. Interrupt (Control C) on the left bumper, clear (Command K) on the top face button.
- Tabs. A new tab on the left face button, previous and next tab (Control Shift Tab and Control Tab) on D-pad left and right.
- Read. The right stick scrolls back through the output, the left stick is the pointer, the right trigger clicks.
Put your everyday commands on buttons
A Type Text output types a whole line from one press. Set up one command and check it:
Type Text: Put this on a face button behind a chord, with a Return row or a macro step after it.
git statusWhat happens: One press types the command and Return runs it, in whatever terminal is in front.
- You: Add the row, set the output to Type Text with your command, and add Return the same way.
- InputConfig: Types the text exactly, then presses Return.
- Check: Hold the chord and press the button in an empty prompt. The command runs once.
The same works for ls or the ssh line you type daily. A command you type ten times a day deserves a button.
Tune it
- Return. On the right bumper, so paste then Return runs a command you copied.
- History. Put Up Arrow on D-pad up, with Repeat keys while held to walk back further.
- Control D and Control Z. Put them on the stick clicks.
- Dictation. A Start Dictation row is usable for short commands.
The controller handles everything around the typing, and the keyboard keeps the typing.
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 Terminal 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| A / Cross | Command (Left), C | Copy |
| B / Circle | Command (Left), V | Paste |
| X / Square | Command (Left), T | New tab |
| Y / Triangle | Command (Left), K | Clear (Cmd+K) |
| LB / L1 | Ctrl (Left), C | Interrupt (Ctrl+C) |
| D-pad left | Ctrl (Left), Shift (Left), Tab | Previous tab (Ctrl+Shift+Tab) |
| D-pad right | Ctrl (Left), Tab | Next tab (Ctrl+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
Can I type commands with a controller?
Short ones by dictation, common ones as Type Text buttons, the rest with a keyboard. The controller is for everything around the typing.
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