Questions

DSX for Mac: what it does, and when InputConfig fits better

InputConfig is completely 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.

Yes, there is a DSX for Mac now, and InputConfig is the free, open-source Mac alternative that also covers every other controller. DSX, the DualSense app many people know as DualSenseX on Windows, came to the Mac App Store on October 1, 2026 as DSX - Gamepad Companion. It works with the DualSense and the DualSense Edge only, needs macOS 14.6 or later, and is free to download with an optional DSX+ purchase. I make InputConfig, so the bias is stated up front, and everything below about DSX comes from its own App Store listing, read on October 25, 2026.

On this page: 10 sections

1. Steps
2. The short answer for each controller
3. Compare the DualSense features side by side
4. When DSX is the better pick
5. When InputConfig is the better pick
6. Use both on one Mac
7. Set up a DualSense in InputConfig
8. What InputConfig cannot do
9. The short version
10. Questions

Steps

1. Decide which controllers you use: DSX covers the DualSense and DualSense Edge, while InputConfig also reads Xbox, Switch, 8BitDo, the PlayStation Access controller, mice and MIDI devices.
2. If you only need a firmware update or audio haptics on a DualSense, use DSX for that job.
3. For keys, mouse control, macros and per-app layouts on any controller, install InputConfig from the Mac App Store and grant the Accessibility permission.
4. Pair the controller in System Settings, Bluetooth, then pick a built-in preset in InputConfig and press Activate.
5. Let only one app map a given button, so a press never does two things at once.

The short answer for each controller

The biggest difference is how many devices each app reads. DSX is a DualSense companion. InputConfig is a general mapper for almost anything you can plug into a Mac.

If you own anything besides a DualSense, InputConfig is the one that covers it.

Compare the DualSense features side by side

On a DualSense, both apps do a lot. Here is where each one stands, from the DSX listing and from InputConfig 1.8.

DSX goes deeper on DualSense effects, and InputConfig goes wider on what a controller can do on a Mac.

When DSX is the better pick

I would rather you pick the right tool than the one I make. DSX is the better fit when all of these are true:

• You only use a DualSense or an Edge. DSX does not list any other controller.
• You want firmware updates on the Mac. Its listing says it updates the DualSense and the Edge, which Sony itself only does on a PS5 or a Windows PC. InputConfig does not update firmware.
• You want audio through the haptics. DSX can play system audio as haptics on macOS 15. InputConfig cannot.
• You want shaped trigger effects. Its 10 trigger modes go beyond InputConfig's steady Light, Medium and Firm.
• You want to edit the Edge's own profiles. InputConfig lists them but does not change them.

For a firmware update alone, DSX is worth having even if InputConfig does your mapping.

When InputConfig is the better pick

• You have other controllers. Xbox, Switch, 8BitDo, the Access controller, wheels and flight sticks all map the same way.
• You want a controller to run the Mac. Built-in layouts turn the stick into the pointer and the buttons into clicks, keys, Mission Control, dictation and Siri Shortcuts, in every app.
• You need macros and multi-step jobs. One button can run a list of steps with waits and hold times.
• Accessibility matters. I built InputConfig because my hands do not work well, and it reads the PlayStation Access controller socket by socket, one-stick driving included.
• You want it free and open. No account, no telemetry, and the code is on GitHub for anyone to read.

Use both on one Mac

They can live on the same Mac. The rule that keeps it calm is one job per app:

1. Firmware in DSX. Update the controller there, then quit it if you do not need its other features.
2. Mapping in one app. If InputConfig maps a button, do not give the same button a shortcut in DSX, or one press does two things.
3. Triggers in one app. Both can set trigger resistance, and the last one to write wins. Set the feel in only one of them.
4. Light bar in one app. The same goes for the color: let one app own it while the other runs.

Set up a DualSense in InputConfig

• You: Pair the DualSense in System Settings, Bluetooth, holding Create and PS until the light bar flashes. Open InputConfig and grant Accessibility when it asks.
• InputConfig: Shows the controller at the top of the sidebar with its battery level, and draws it in the Live Visualizer.
• Check: Press a button and watch it light up.

• You: Pick a built-in preset, such as Mouse + Scroll or Gyro Aim, and press Activate. Click L2 or R2 in the Live Visualizer to give each trigger a feel.
• InputConfig: Runs the layout in every app and applies the trigger feel and light bar color while it runs.
• Check: Move the stick and the pointer moves. Pull a trigger and feel the resistance.

What InputConfig cannot do

• Firmware. It never touches the controller's firmware.
• Audio haptics and textured effects. It sends rumble, not Sony's fine haptic patterns.
• Shaped trigger effects. Trigger feel is a steady resistance, not a game's bow tension or click point.
• Editing Edge profiles. It shows them over USB-C and leaves them as they are.

The short version

• DSX for Mac exists since October 1, 2026, for the DualSense and the Edge.
• InputConfig is the free, open-source alternative for every controller, mouse and MIDI device, with macros, per-app layouts and accessibility first.
• Use DSX for firmware and audio haptics, InputConfig for mapping, and give each button to one app.

Questions

Related

• A free DualSense app for the Mac
• Do DualSense adaptive triggers work on a Mac?
• DS4Windows for Mac
• Can you update PS5 controller firmware on a Mac?
• Do DualSense Edge profiles work on a Mac?
• The best controller, gamepad and joystick mapper for Mac

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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 October 26, 2026