OpenEmu keyboard not working on a Mac
When OpenEmu does not recognize the keyboard on a Mac, the cause is nearly always the Input Monitoring permission. OpenEmu reads the keyboard at a lower level than most apps, and since macOS Mojave that needs your permission. Without it, OpenEmu cannot read the keyboard at all. The second cause is another app that has taken the keyboard for itself. Both are in OpenEmu's input troubleshooting page, and this page puts its checks in order.
If it is a controller that OpenEmu ignores, the permissions are the same and the rest differs: OpenEmu controller not working on a Mac.
On this page: 8 sections
Steps
- Open System Settings, Privacy and Security, Input Monitoring, and turn OpenEmu on.
- Quit OpenEmu fully and open it again.
- Quit Terminal, iTerm2, Steam and any key remapping app, then test.
- In OpenEmu's Controls settings, pick the console, choose Keyboard as the input and assign the keys.
- If it still fails, restart the Mac and open only OpenEmu.
Turn on Input Monitoring for OpenEmu
- You: Open System Settings, Privacy and Security, Input Monitoring. Turn OpenEmu on, or add it with the plus button if it is not in the list. Then quit OpenEmu and open it again.
- macOS: Lets OpenEmu read input devices directly. OpenEmu's guide says the permission covers keyboards and every kind of controller, whatever the wording in the settings window suggests.
- Check: Start a game and press the keys set in Controls.
Without Input Monitoring, OpenEmu cannot read the keyboard in any circumstance. Recent versions of OpenEmu warn you when the permission is missing, and the guide says to follow these steps if the keyboard still does nothing.
InputConfig is free on the Mac App Store. macOS 14 or later, no account, no tracking, open source.
Quit the apps that take the keyboard
Some apps open an input device for themselves alone, and OpenEmu then receives nothing from it. OpenEmu's guide names these, and says the list is not complete.
- Terminal and Webroot, with Secure Keyboard Entry. That setting keeps key presses from other apps on purpose.
- iTerm2, Keybase, DOSBox and Google Chrome. Close them while you test.
- Steam. Quit it, and reconnect a controller afterward.
- Key and controller remapping apps. The guide lists Karabiner and Karabiner-Elements, USB Overdrive, SteelSeries Engine, ControllerMate, Enjoyable, Joystick Mapper and GamePad Companion as not compatible with OpenEmu.
- Remote desktop apps. Splashtop, Synergy and TeamViewer cannot deliver input to OpenEmu.
If the keyboard works after a restart with only OpenEmu open, one of your other apps was holding it. Open them again one at a time to find which.
Pick the keyboard in Controls
- You: Open OpenEmu's settings and go to Controls. Choose the console at the top, then choose the keyboard in the Input menu. Click a control and press the key you want for it.
- OpenEmu: Stores the keys for that console and that player. Each console has its own set.
- Check: The key you pressed appears beside the control, and it works in a game for that console.
Keys set for one console do not carry over to another, so a keyboard that works in one system and not the next is usually unassigned there.
Know what Input Monitoring lets OpenEmu see
The permission sounds broad, so OpenEmu's guide answers the obvious worry. macOS does not deliver key presses typed into a password field to OpenEmu, even with the permission on. Turning Input Monitoring on for OpenEmu does not hand it your passwords.
The guide also explains why other apps do not ask: they read controllers through Apple's Game Controller interface, which needs no such permission, while OpenEmu reads devices directly.
Play with a controller, or map one to these keys
OpenEmu reads most controllers by itself, so a pad is the usual next step once the keyboard works. Pick it in the same Input menu. If OpenEmu ignores a pad the Mac can see, the controller page goes through it.
I make InputConfig, a free Mac app that turns controller buttons into key presses. It listens beside macOS and does not take the keyboard for itself. While you are finding the fault, stop its preset anyway, the same as every other input app.
The short version
- Permission. Input Monitoring, on for OpenEmu, then reopen it.
- Other apps. Quit terminals with Secure Keyboard Entry, Steam, and key remappers.
- Controls. Choose the keyboard and assign keys for each console.
Permission first, then other apps, then Controls: that order finds it fastest.
Questions
Why is OpenEmu not recognizing my keyboard on a Mac?
Almost always because OpenEmu lacks the Input Monitoring permission. Turn it on in System Settings, Privacy and Security, Input Monitoring, then quit and reopen OpenEmu. If it is already on, another app such as Terminal with Secure Keyboard Entry may be holding the keyboard.
Where is Input Monitoring on a Mac?
In System Settings, under Privacy and Security. Open Input Monitoring and turn on the switch beside OpenEmu, or add OpenEmu with the plus button.
Can OpenEmu see my passwords with Input Monitoring on?
No. OpenEmu's own guide says macOS does not deliver key presses typed into a password field to it, even with the permission granted.
Which apps stop the keyboard working in OpenEmu?
OpenEmu's guide names Terminal and Webroot with Secure Keyboard Entry, iTerm2, Keybase, DOSBox, Google Chrome and Steam, and says remapping apps such as Karabiner-Elements and USB Overdrive are not compatible with it.
Does Karabiner-Elements work with OpenEmu?
OpenEmu's guide lists Karabiner and Karabiner-Elements among the input modifier apps that are not compatible with it and should be closed or uninstalled.
Why does the keyboard work in one console and not another?
Controls are stored for each console separately. Open Controls, choose the console that fails, choose the keyboard as the input and assign its keys.
Related
Free. macOS 14 or later. No account, nothing leaves your Mac. Open source on GitHub.
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