Questions
How to use a flight stick or HOTAS on a Mac
Plug it in. A USB flight stick, throttle, HOTAS or set of rudder pedals is a standard HID device, and macOS reads it with no driver, on Apple silicon and Intel. Flight simulators that run on a Mac, X-Plane first among them, read it directly and set it up in their own joystick screen. Games made for the keyboard do not, and for those InputConfig turns each axis and button into keys or mouse movement. It is free; I make it, so weigh that.
Steps
- Plug the stick, throttle and pedals into USB.
- In a flight sim, set the axes in its joystick settings.
- For keyboard games, add each device to an InputConfig preset.
- Check every axis with Scan, then choose the keys.
In a flight simulator
X-Plane 12 runs natively on the Mac and has its own joystick settings: move each axis, tell it which is pitch, roll, yaw and throttle, then assign the buttons. FlightGear does the same. In a sim like that you do not need a mapper, and running one on top would make the stick do two things at once. Microsoft Flight Simulator and DCS World have no Mac version; on a Mac they need Windows in a virtual machine or a compatibility layer, and a stick is only as good as that setup.
Nothing appears under Game Controllers in System Settings for a flight stick. That list is only for pads Apple's framework supports. System Information, USB is where to check that the Mac sees it.
In games that expect a keyboard
Plenty of Mac games fly from the keyboard. In InputConfig each axis direction is its own row, so a stick is four rows and a throttle is two. A row holds its key while the axis is past the row's inner deadzone, 25 percent of the travel by default, and you choose where that point sits. For Kerbal Space Program, which runs natively on the Mac, a HOTAS looks like this:
| Control | Key | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Stick forward and back | W and S | Pitch down and up |
| Stick left and right | Q and E | Roll |
| Twist or rudder pedals | A and D | Yaw |
| Throttle forward and back | Shift and Ctrl | Throttle up and down |
| Trigger | Space | Stage |
| Two thumb buttons | T and R | SAS and RCS |
| A spare button | Caps Lock | Fine controls |
Keys are on or off, so a small push is a full deflection. Kerbal's fine controls, on Caps Lock, make that gentle. The Kerbal Space Program layout uses the same keys on a gamepad.
For a game that steers with the mouse, give the stick's rows Mouse Motion instead, and turn on Variable Sensitivity so a small push moves slowly and a full push moves fast.
InputConfig is free on the Mac App Store. macOS 14 or later, no account, no tracking, open source.
Stick, throttle and pedals on one preset
A HOTAS whose stick and throttle plug in separately is two USB devices, and InputConfig gives each one its own slot. One preset holds rows for both, and rudder pedals are a third slot. On an empty input device, Automatically insert available inputs adds a row for every button and axis the device reports, which saves adding thirty rows by hand; then choose what each one sends. If a device is not picked up on its own, tick it under InputConfig, Devices in the menu bar.
What InputConfig reads, honestly
It reads the standard parts of a HID stick: every button, the X, Y and Z axes and the three rotation axes, 8-bit sliders and dials, and one hat switch as a D-pad. Some sticks pack their main axes into sizes that are not whole bytes, and InputConfig does not decode those yet; their buttons still work. Before you build a layout, press Scan on a row and move each axis to its end. If an axis never registers, it is one of those. I have not tested every stick, and the project's GitHub page is the place to report one.
Force feedback is not driven. InputConfig sends keyboard and mouse input; it does not present the stick to a game as a controller, so a game that only accepts a joystick has to read it itself.
Before you buy one
A stick that works on a PC without its own software is almost always read by a Mac the same way, because both see a standard HID device. The maker's programming software, for profiles, macros and lights, is a separate thing, so check its system requirements before you count on it. If you plan to use InputConfig, check the axes with Scan in the first days, while a return is still easy.
Questions
Do I need a driver for a flight stick or HOTAS on a Mac?
No. The Mac reads USB flight sticks, throttles and pedals as standard HID devices. The maker's software, where there is any, is for extras such as profiles and macros.
Does a Thrustmaster or Logitech HOTAS work on a Mac?
Usually, yes: the Mac reads their PC sticks as HID devices with no driver, and X-Plane sets them up in its joystick screen. For games that need keys, InputConfig maps them. Check each axis with Scan first.
Can the stick and throttle of a HOTAS work together?
Yes. They are two USB devices, InputConfig gives each its own slot, and one preset holds rows for both.
Can InputConfig make my flight stick look like a controller to a game?
No. It sends keyboard and mouse input. A game that only accepts a joystick has to read the stick itself, the way X-Plane does.
Why is my flight stick not in System Settings, Game Controllers?
That list only shows pads Apple's framework supports. A flight stick is a plain HID device, so it is missing there even when it works. Check System Information, USB instead.
Related
Free. macOS 14 or later. No account, nothing leaves your Mac. Open source on GitHub.