Questions

Controller not working in an emulator on a Mac

Every major emulator on the Mac reads controllers itself, through its own input settings, so a pad that works everywhere else and does nothing in an emulator is nearly always a setting in that emulator: the wrong device picked, the wrong input driver, or a mapping that was never made. Below is where each one keeps it and what usually fixes it. A mapper like InputConfig is not the fix for most of these, and I say where it is.

Before the emulator: does the Mac see it?

Open System Settings and click Game Controllers in the sidebar. If your pad is listed and responds, the emulator is the problem. If it is missing, start with controller not recognized on a Mac. Quit Steam while you test: its controller layer can send its own keys into emulators, which PCSX2's documentation calls out by name.

Dolphin (GameCube and Wii)

Open Controllers, set port 1 to Standard Controller, and click Configure. The Device menu at the top decides everything: choose your pad there, not the keyboard entry. If the pad is missing from the list, connect it first and then press Refresh next to the menu, or restart Dolphin. Then click each slot and press the button you want; the live bars show whether it is reading. For Wii games, use Emulated Wii Remote in the Wii section the same way. A PS5, PS4 or Xbox pad all work this way on a Mac.

If the game ignores the pad when Dolphin is not the front window, turn on Background Input in the same window. I have not confirmed that Dolphin's Mac keyboard reader takes keys sent by a mapper, so for Dolphin stay with its own controller settings.

PCSX2 (PlayStation 2)

Go to Settings, Controllers. Keep the SDL input source on; PCSX2's documentation calls it the recommended source and says it works for most controllers. With an official DualSense or DualShock 4, also turn on DualShock 4 / DualSense Enhanced Mode, which PCSX2 recommends for proper vibration and light control. Then open Controller Port 1 (map port 1 first, games expect player one there), click Automatic Mapping and pick your pad. If Automatic Mapping says the pad is not supported, map each button by hand: click the slot, press the button.

PCSX2 can also be played on the keyboard, and it takes keys from a mapper like any other Mac app, but with a pad it already reads there is no reason to.

RetroArch

Go to Settings, Input, RetroPad Binds, Port 1 Controls, and choose Set All Controls to bind every button in turn. On a Mac, RetroArch has three controller drivers, hid, mfi and sdl2. A pad that is dead in one often works in another: change it under Settings, Drivers, Controller, then restart RetroArch. Once it works, Save Controller Profile so it is recognised next time.

For shortcuts, RetroArch's libretro docs recommend binding an Enable Hotkeys button so hotkeys only fire while it is held. Its keyboard defaults are F2 to save a state, F4 to load, Space for fast forward and F1 for the menu, and its default player keys are the same keys the Emulator / Arcade layout sends, apart from Select.

PPSSPP (PSP)

Go to Settings, Controls, Control mapping. Click a PSP button, then press the button on your pad. If the pad does nothing on that screen, PPSSPP is not seeing it at all: quit Steam, reconnect the pad, and reopen PPSSPP.

OpenEmu, DOSBox and ScummVM

OpenEmu has its own two macOS permissions, Input Monitoring and Bluetooth, and those are the usual fix: OpenEmu controller not working. DOSBox and ScummVM are different, because the games inside them were made for a keyboard and mouse; the retro games guide has layouts for both.

InputConfig is free on the Mac App Store. macOS 14 or later, no account, no tracking, open source.

Where InputConfig fits, and where it does not

InputConfig sends keyboard and mouse events. It does not create a virtual controller, so it cannot make a keyboard look like a gamepad to an emulator, and it cannot fix a pad the emulator reads badly. Where it helps:

• Shortcuts on spare buttons. Save state, load state, fast forward and the menu are keyboard shortcuts in most emulators. InputConfig puts them on buttons the emulator leaves unbound, such as a DualSense Edge paddle or the touchpad click.
• The Mac around the emulator. The same pad moves the pointer through the game library and file dialogs, and Open App can launch the emulator from a button.
• Keyboard-only emulators. Browser emulators and some older ports only read keys; the Emulator / Arcade layout covers those.

Whatever you use it for, do not map buttons the emulator also reads, or each press arrives twice. Give the emulator its own preset and turn on auto-switch, and it activates whenever the emulator is in front. InputConfig is free on the Mac App Store, macOS 14 or later.

Questions

Related

• OpenEmu controller not working on a Mac
• A controller for DOSBox, ScummVM, and retro games on a Mac
• Emulators and arcade games with any controller
• Controller not recognized or not working on a Mac
• Controller works on a Mac but not in Steam
• How to use two controllers on a Mac

Free. macOS 14 or later. No account, nothing leaves your Mac. Open source on GitHub.