Questions
How to use a controller with browser games on a Mac
Safari, Chrome, and Firefox hand a paired controller to any web page that asks for it, and the games that ask work with no setup: cloud services, HTML5 games with gamepad support, browser emulators. The rest, which is most of the web's games, listen to the keyboard only, and for those you map the pad to keys with InputConfig.
Games that read the pad
Press a button on the controller after the page loads; browsers only expose a gamepad once it has been touched. Xbox Cloud Gaming, GeForce NOW, and the browser versions of RetroArch and other emulators all read it this way, with the pad's own layout.
Games that do not
Arrow-key platformers, .io games, Flash-era games running through Ruffle, itch.io jams, typing games. The browser is happy to pass them a controller and they ignore it. A mapper sends the keys instead: left stick or D-pad to the arrows, a face button to Z or Space, and the browser sees a keyboard. InputConfig's Web Browsing preset already puts a pointer on the stick for the menus, and the emulator and arcade layout sends the Z, X, arrow keys most web emulators use.
When a pad stops being seen mid-game
Reconnect the controller and press a button; the page needs a fresh gesture. If the game still ignores it, reload. The keyboard route has none of this, which is one reason to prefer it for long sessions.
Questions
Do browser games support controllers on Mac?
The ones built with the Gamepad API do, in Safari, Chrome, and Firefox. Keyboard-only games need a mapper such as InputConfig.
Why does my controller not work on a website?
Press a button first; browsers hide a gamepad until it is used. If the site is keyboard-only, map the controller to keys.
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