Use a game controller in REAPER on a Mac

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, REAPER can use a game controller on a Mac. Run InputConfig, a free Mac app, and the controller shows up in REAPER as a MIDI input named InputConfig. Enable that input in REAPER's MIDI Devices settings, and buttons can play instruments while sticks and triggers are learned to actions and plugin controls.

I make InputConfig. The REAPER steps follow Cockos's own documentation.

Steps

Connect the controller, open InputConfig and activate MIDI: DAW Performance.
In REAPER, press Command comma for Preferences and open Audio, MIDI Devices.
Enable the InputConfig input, and enable it for control messages.
Arm a track with an instrument and press a button to play.
Use Learn in the Actions list or on a plugin parameter, then move a stick or press a button.

Enable the InputConfig input

You: Activate MIDI: DAW Performance in InputConfig. In REAPER, open Preferences with Command comma, then Audio, MIDI Devices. Find InputConfig in the MIDI inputs list, open it with a double-click or a right-click, and turn on both Enable input from this device and Enable input for control messages.
InputConfig: Publishes a MIDI source named InputConfig while it runs, so REAPER lists it with its other inputs.
Check: Arm a track with a virtual instrument and its input set to MIDI. Press a face button and a note plays.

Turn on both options, so buttons can play notes and still be learned to controls.

Play an instrument

Notes. In MIDI: DAW Performance the four face buttons play C, E, G and the C above.
Drums. Activate MIDI: Drum Pad. The face buttons send notes 36, 38, 42 and 46: kick, snare, closed hat and open hat.
Bend and expression. The right stick bends the pitch, and the triggers send CC 11 and CC 7.

Learn a button or a stick to anything

REAPER maps MIDI in its Keyboard, MIDI and OSC assign window, which opens from Learn.

An action. Open Actions, Show action list, pick an action such as Transport: Play or Stop, click Add, then press the button. The button now runs that action.
A plugin control. Touch the control in the plugin, then use Param, Learn in the plugin window, and move the stick or pull the trigger.
Takeover. REAPER's default is absolute takeover, so a mapped control jumps to the stick's position. Relative takeover waits until you move the stick past the current value.

MIDI: CC Dials gives both sticks and both triggers a controller number of their own, ready to learn. Move only one stick or trigger while learning, because REAPER takes the first message it hears.

If REAPER does not respond

Climb this ladder, smallest step first:

Check InputConfig is running with a MIDI preset active. The InputConfig input only exists while it runs.
Check both input options. Notes need Enable input from this device, and learning needs Enable input for control messages.
Check the track input. A track plays notes only when it is armed and set to a MIDI input.
Watch the messages. The MIDI tester shows what each button sends.

The short version

Connect. InputConfig with a MIDI preset, then enable InputConfig in REAPER's MIDI Devices, for notes and control messages.
Play. Arm a track and press a button.
Control. Learn a button to an action, or a stick to a plugin control.

Questions

Can I use an Xbox or PS5 controller in REAPER on a Mac?

Yes. InputConfig turns the controller into a MIDI input named InputConfig, which REAPER lists in Preferences, Audio, MIDI Devices.

How do I MIDI learn in REAPER?

Enable the input for control messages in MIDI Devices. Then pick an action in the Actions list and click Add, or use Param, Learn on a plugin control, and press the button or move the control.

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 9, 2026