Questions

Can a MIDI controller run Premiere Pro on a Mac?

Yes, for editing, through an app that turns each pad and knob into one of Premiere's keyboard shortcuts. InputConfig, the free Mac app I make, does the turning: pads run the transport, mark, cut and delete, and a knob steps the playhead a frame at a time like a jog wheel. It finds a class-compliant MIDI device over USB or Bluetooth MIDI with no driver.

The keys in this layout are from Adobe's list of Premiere keyboard shortcuts, read on October 7, 2026. They are the defaults, so if you have changed yours, use your own.

On this page: 9 sections

1. Steps
2. Map the pads to Premiere's shortcuts
3. Choose a mode for each knob
4. Put two cuts on one pad
5. Know what a keystroke mapper cannot do in Premiere
6. Share one controller between Premiere and a music app
7. If a game controller is simpler
8. The short version
9. Questions

Steps

1. Connect the MIDI controller over USB or Bluetooth MIDI.
2. In InputConfig, add a row, press Scan, and hit a pad.
3. Pick the Premiere shortcut for that pad, such as Command K for Add Edit.
4. Set a knob to Turn mode on the Left and Right arrow keys.
5. Activate the preset and bring Premiere Pro to the front.

Map the pads to Premiere's shortcuts

• You: Add a row for each pad, press Scan, hit the pad, and pick the key.
• InputConfig: Sends that key to Premiere whenever you hit the pad, and holds it for as long as the pad is held.
• Check: With Premiere in front and the timeline active, hit the pad for Space and playback starts.

Shift Command K is Add Edit to All Tracks, which suits a hold on the same pad as Command K. Cut, ripple delete and a jog knob are most of a rough cut.

InputConfig is free on the Mac App Store. macOS 14 or later, no account, no tracking, open source.

Choose a mode for each knob

A knob can be read three ways:

• Turn. Fires a short nudge every few steps of rotation, clockwise for one row and counterclockwise for the other. This is the mode for stepping.
• Dial. Treats the center as rest, like a stick: the further from the center, the faster the output runs. This is the mode for scrolling.
• Switch. Fires once past halfway, for pedals and buttons that send a Control Change.

Turn Step sets how far you turn for each frame. Turn mode on the arrow keys is what makes a knob a jog wheel. The built-in MIDI: Knob Deck preset has both kinds to copy from.

Put two cuts on one pad

Every row can carry a second action on a hold and a third on a double tap. A tap for Add Edit and a hold for Add Edit to All Tracks keeps both under one finger. A macro can chain keys in order, such as Mark In, Mark Out and Extract. One pad can hold a tap, a hold and a double tap. Hold and double-tap actions has the settings.

Know what a keystroke mapper cannot do in Premiere

• Mixer faders and effect knobs. They are not keys. Premiere has a Control Surface page in its settings for the hardware protocols Adobe supports, which is the route for faders.
• Feedback. Premiere never tells the controller anything, so no pad lights to show a state.
• Panels that are not in front. A shortcut acts on the active panel, so click the timeline once before you start.

If Premiere has a keyboard shortcut for it, a pad can do it.

Share one controller between Premiere and a music app

If the same controller also plays instruments in a music app, give this preset an auto-switch entry for Premiere Pro. The pads send its shortcuts while it is in front, and the preset that was running before comes back when you leave. Turn automatic switching on in Settings, Advanced first. InputConfig reads a copy of the MIDI, so the music app still hears the notes. Auto-switch hands the pads to Premiere only while it is in front.

If a game controller is simpler

If you do not already own MIDI gear, a game controller in the off hand does the transport and marking jobs with no desk space. The Premiere Pro preset is ready in two clicks, and MIDI rows and controller rows can live in the same preset. The controller you already own can be the edit remote. The video editing controller guide compares Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro and DaVinci Resolve row by row.

The short version

• Pads. J, K, L, Space, I, O, Command K, Option Delete, M.
• Knobs. Turn for frame stepping and zoom, Dial for scrolling the timeline.
• Limit. Keys only: faders go through Premiere's own Control Surface settings.

For cutting, a pad controller and a free mapper are enough.

Questions

Related

• MIDI to keystroke: MIDI keys, pads and knobs as shortcuts
• Adobe Premiere Pro from a game controller
• A video editing controller from a gamepad or MIDI knobs
• A MIDI controller for Final Cut Pro
• Can a MIDI controller run DaVinci Resolve on a Mac?
• MIDI: Knob Deck preset

Free. macOS 14 or later. No account, nothing leaves your Mac. Open source on GitHub.

Updated October 7, 2026