What macOS can do with a controller on its own
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.
On its own, macOS pairs PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and MFi controllers with no driver, and System Settings, Game Controllers lets you remap controller buttons to other controller buttons for each game. It cannot turn a controller button into a keyboard key, a click or pointer movement, and it does nothing in apps without controller support. That is where a mapper such as InputConfig, which is free, picks up. I will go through everything that is built in, and exactly where it stops.
On this page
Steps
- Open System Settings, Game Controllers to see and remap a controller inside supported games.
- Use Switch Control if a scanning interface suits you.
- For keys, pointer, scrolling and unsupported apps, use a mapper.
Remap buttons in System Settings, Game Controllers
Game Controllers lists every paired controller, shows live button presses, and lets you build per-app profiles that remap controller buttons to other controller buttons, adjust stick and trigger behavior, and decide what the Home button does. It appears in the sidebar once a controller has been connected.
It only affects games that already read controllers, and it can never make a button type a key or move the pointer. Step by step on where controller mappings live.
Use three settings people miss
Select a controller in System Settings, Game Controllers, and a few useful switches sit below the button diagram:
- Identify. Flashes the controller's lights or plays a haptic pattern, which settles which of two identical pads is which.
- Increase controller compatibility. Lets the controller work with games designed for the Xbox 360 Controller, in Apple's words. After macOS 15.4, users reported that turning it on for a specific app brought back wired controllers that app had stopped reading. It does not make an actual Xbox 360 controller work.
- The Home button. It can open Apple's Games app or another app. If the PS or Xbox button started opening Games after an update, this is where to change it.
If an update broke your controller, the version-by-version notes are on controller not working after a macOS update.
Let Game Mode and the Games app do their part
- The Games app. macOS Tahoe collects your games there and can show a controller overlay in supported games.
- Game Mode. On Apple silicon Macs since macOS Sonoma, it turns on when a game goes full screen, prioritizes the game and doubles the Bluetooth sampling rate for controllers and AirPods (how to turn it on or off).
Neither changes what a controller does.
Run the Mac from switches with Switch Control
Switch Control and Full Keyboard Access are accessibility features that let you run the Mac from switches, a keyboard, or by scanning. Switch Control can use a game controller button as a switch.
These are scanning interfaces, which suit some people well, but they are not a way to move the pointer with a stick or to type with buttons directly.
Set up iPhone and iPad games
On an Apple silicon Mac, iPhone and iPad games carry two input settings that Mac games do not. Open the game, then choose the game's name in the menu bar and Settings.
- Touch Alternatives. The space bar taps the middle of the screen and the arrow keys swipe. Good for games that only need a tap or a swipe.
- Controller Emulation. On the Game Control tab: the keyboard stands in for a controller in games that support one, with W, A, S and D as the left stick and the space bar as the A button. Apple added it in macOS 11.3.
Only one of the two can be on at a time, and neither presses buttons drawn at other places on the screen. For that, and for pads the game does not see, see iPhone and iPad games on a Mac with a controller.
Where it stops
Nothing built in sends keyboard keys, mouse movement, clicks, scrolling, macros or MIDI from a controller, and nothing built in works in apps without controller support. That is the space a mapper fills. InputConfig is free, sends real keyboard and mouse events in every app, and ships with layouts for the desktop and for 450+ games and apps.
The short version
- Button to button, per game. That is in System Settings, Game Controllers.
- Which pad is which. Use Identify, in the same place.
- Running the Mac by scanning. Switch Control.
- Keys, clicks and the pointer. Those need a mapper.
macOS makes a controller work in games, and anything outside games needs a mapper.
Questions
Can macOS remap a controller to keyboard keys?
No. System Settings, Game Controllers only remaps controller buttons to other controller buttons inside games that support controllers. Keys and mouse output need a mapper.
Can I use a controller to control my Mac without an app?
Only through Switch Control, which uses a button as a switch for a scanning interface. Direct pointer and keyboard control from a controller needs a mapper such as InputConfig.
Where are controller settings on a Mac?
System Settings, Game Controllers, in the sidebar. It appears once a controller has been connected.
What does Increase controller compatibility do on a Mac?
It makes a supported controller work with games designed for the Xbox 360 Controller. Turn it on in System Settings, Game Controllers, for the controller or for one app. It does not add support for a real Xbox 360 pad.
Does a Mac have a built-in controller mapper?
Not one that sends keys or mouse input. System Settings, Game Controllers can only swap controller buttons for other controller buttons in games that support controllers. To map a controller to keyboard keys, clicks or pointer movement on a Mac, you need an app such as InputConfig, which is free and open source.
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