Browse the web from a game controller
The Web Browsing 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: Works in Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Arc, Brave and the rest, because it sends the shortcuts they share. Also a built-in preset in the app.
Yes, one controller layout works in every Mac browser, because Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Arc, Brave and the rest share the same dozen shortcuts. Pointer and scroll are on the sticks, back and forward on the bumpers, tabs, reload and the address bar on buttons. It also ships inside the app as a built-in preset.
The layout, control by control
How the layout thinks
- Point and click. The left stick is the pointer, the right stick scrolls, the right trigger clicks and the left trigger right-clicks.
- Back and forward. Command Left Bracket and Command Right Bracket on the bumpers, where a finger flicks them. The per-browser pages put them on the face buttons instead. Try both and keep the one your hands like.
- Tabs. New tab, close tab, reload and the address bar on the face buttons. D-pad left and right walk your tabs with Command Option and the arrows.
If the D-pad does not switch tabs
- You: Press D-pad right with a few tabs open.
- InputConfig: Sends Command Option Right Arrow.
- Check: If the tab does not change in your browser, change the two D-pad rows to Control Tab and Control Shift Tab, which Safari, Chrome and Firefox all accept.
Control Tab is the fallback every major browser understands.
Tune it for the sofa
- Search by voice. Press the address bar button, then a Start Dictation row.
- Sites as buttons. Open URL outputs behind a chord: your four sites on the four face buttons.
- Page by page. Put Space on D-pad down and Shift Space on up.
- Mouse side buttons. If you also bind a mouse's side buttons, the row option Block the button's own action stops them going Back on their own while the preset runs.
- Video. The Video Watching layout has K, J, L and F for YouTube.
- The whole Mac. The built-in Easy Browse preset adds Spotlight, Mission Control, dictation and read-aloud to browsing.
Dictation on a button is what makes searching from the sofa practical.
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 Web Browsing 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 |
| Left trigger | Right click | Right click |
| LB / L1 | Command (Left), [ | Back |
| RB / R1 | Command (Left), ] | Forward |
| A / Cross | Command (Left), T | New tab |
| B / Circle | Command (Left), W | Close tab |
| X / Square | Command (Left), R | Reload |
| Y / Triangle | Command (Left), L | Address bar |
| D-pad left | Command (Left), Alt / Option (Left), Left | Previous tab |
| D-pad right | Command (Left), Alt / Option (Left), Right | Next 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.
A preset with this name also ships inside the app, with a file you can download: Web Browsing built-in preset.
Questions
Which browser is this for?
All of them. Safari, Chrome and Firefox have their own pages for the extras.
Can I browse the web on a Mac with a PS5 or Xbox controller?
Yes. Pair the controller, activate this layout, and the sticks become pointer and scroll while the buttons send the browser's shortcuts.
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