Questions

How to use a controller with Steam 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.

Steam on a Mac works with the same controllers the Mac does, and for many games it needs nothing from you. The order that saves time: get the Mac to see the pad, let Steam see it, check the game supports one, then pick a layout. I make a free controller mapper, and I will say plainly where Steam already does the job and where it does not.

On this page

1. Steps
2. Connect the controller to the Mac first
3. Let Steam see it
4. Check the game supports a controller on a Mac
5. Pick a layout for the game
6. If Steam cannot reach the game
7. Use Big Picture mode on a Mac
8. Look up your pad
9. The short version
10. Questions

Steps

1. Connect the controller to the Mac and check it is listed in Game Controllers in System Settings.
2. Open Steam, Settings, Controller and turn on Steam Input for your type of pad.
3. Check the game supports a controller on the Mac.
4. Pick a layout from the game's controller page, or flip its Steam Input override.
5. For games Steam cannot reach, map the pad to keys with a mapper and turn Steam Input off for that game.

Connect the controller to the Mac first

Steam cannot use a pad the Mac does not see.

• You: Pair it in System Settings, Bluetooth, or plug in a cable, then open Game Controllers in the System Settings sidebar.
• macOS: Lists the pad and lights its buttons as you press them.
• Check: If it is not listed, fix that before touching Steam: the connect guide has the pairing button for each pad, and controller not recognized covers the rest.

Let Steam see it

Open Steam, then Steam, Settings, Controller. Your pad should be listed there.

• Steam Input. Turn it on for your pad's type, PlayStation, Nintendo or generic controllers, if you want Steam's layouts.
• Input Monitoring. On recent macOS Steam also needs it. If it asks, allow it in System Settings, Privacy and Security, then quit Steam fully and open it again.

If the Mac lists the pad and Steam does not, controller works on Mac but not in Steam goes through the causes.

Check the game supports a controller on a Mac

A game's Steam store page shows Full Controller Support or Partial Controller Support in its right column, but that label does not always describe the Mac version. Look for a controller setting in the game's own options too. Some games want it switched on. A game with no controller support on the Mac only listens to the keyboard and mouse, whatever Steam does. The section on when Steam cannot reach the game is for that case.

Pick a layout for the game

• The controller icon. On the game's library page, it opens Steam Input for that game: its layout, and often community layouts made by other players, including keyboard layouts for games that never had pad support.
• The override. In the game's Properties, Controller, it decides whether Steam Input runs for that game at all. If the game sees the pad twice, or not at all, switch it between Enable and Disable Steam Input and relaunch.

The works in Steam but not in the game page has the full checklist.

If Steam cannot reach the game

Steam Input reaches games Steam launched. It does not reach a game from another store or launcher, or a browser game, and on a Mac some Steam games ignore it. For those, a mapper that sits below Steam sends real key presses and mouse movement that every app receives.

• You: Set Steam Input to Disabled for that game, then pick a layout in InputConfig's Smart Preset Maker, which has ready layouts for more than 450 games and apps.
• InputConfig: Sends the game's keys and mouse movement, and can switch the preset on by itself when the game comes to the front.
• Check: Each press does one thing. If one does two, Steam Input is still on for that game.

The play any game with a controller guide walks through it.

Use Big Picture mode on a Mac

Big Picture is Steam's full-screen interface built for a controller, and it works on a Mac.

• Open it. From the View menu, Big Picture Mode, or the Big Picture button at the top right of the Steam window.
• The Steam menu. The PS, Xbox or Home button opens it inside Big Picture.
• Leave it. Open that menu and choose Power, Exit Big Picture.
• Start in it. Turn on Start Steam in Big Picture Mode in Steam, Settings, Interface.

It is the easiest way to run Steam on a Mac plugged into a TV, and on recent macOS it is also where a pad works most reliably: some people find the controller works in Big Picture and is ignored once a game or the desktop takes focus. For the rest of the Mac from the sofa, browsing and video, the couch guide has a layout.

Look up your pad

The short version

• Mac first. If Game Controllers does not list the pad, Steam cannot use it.
• Then Steam. Steam Input for your pad's type, and Input Monitoring if it asks.
• Then the game. Check its own controller setting, its layout, and the override.
• Outside Steam's reach. Use a mapper, with Steam Input off for that game.

Use Steam Input or a mapper for each game, never both.

Questions

Related

• Controller works on a Mac but not in Steam
• Controller works in Steam but not in the game on a Mac
• Steam Controller on a Mac
• How to connect a controller to a Mac or MacBook
• Play any Mac game with a controller
• A Mac on the TV, run from the couch with a controller
• Does Steam Link work on a Mac, and how do you use it with a controller
• How to use InputConfig and Steam at the same time on a Mac
• What is lizard mode on a Steam Controller?

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Updated October 22, 2026