Questions

How to add macros to a PS5 or Xbox controller on a Mac

Add them with a mapper. InputConfig, the free Mac app I make, lets any button on a PS5, Xbox, Switch or 8BitDo controller run a macro: a timed chain of keys, shortcuts and clicks. Sony's and Microsoft's controllers have no macro feature of their own, so on a Mac the macro has to come from software.

One limit decides whether this fits your game: the macro sends keyboard and mouse input, not controller buttons. This page says where that works and where it does not.

On this page: 8 sections
  1. Steps
  2. Know which controllers have macros of their own
  3. Build a macro on any button
  4. Add turbo, toggle and repeat
  5. Get the timing right
  6. Know where a mapper macro works
  7. The short version
  8. Questions

Steps

  1. Install InputConfig from the Mac App Store and allow Accessibility access.
  2. Click Add a new bind, press Scan, and press the controller button that will run the macro.
  3. Open the row's Options and tick Run a sequence of steps (macro).
  4. Click Add a step for each key or click, with a wait before it and a hold time in milliseconds.
  5. Save, close the editor, activate the preset and press the button.

Know which controllers have macros of their own

  • PS5 DualSense. No macro button, and no back buttons to put one on.
  • DualSense Edge. Sony's page lists back buttons that can be set to other button inputs, and no macros. See the DualSense Edge on a Mac.
  • Xbox Elite Series 2. No macros of its own either. The Elite on a Mac covers its paddles and profiles.
  • 8BitDo. The exception: 8BitDo says its Ultimate Software can assign a long sequence to one button, stored in the controller. 8BitDo controllers on a Mac says which version of that software runs where.

A macro stored in the pad plays controller buttons, and a macro from a mapper plays keys and clicks.

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

Build a macro on any button

  • You: In a preset, click Add a new bind, press Scan and press the controller button. Open the row's Options and tick Run a sequence of steps (macro), then click Add a step for each key or click.
  • InputConfig: Gives every step a Wait before it fires and a hold time, both in milliseconds. A step can tap a key, hold one down while later steps run, release it, or click the mouse.
  • Check: Save, close the editor and activate the preset. Put the cursor somewhere safe, such as an empty note, and press the button.

The built-in Macros & Turbo preset has two to copy: its A button copies, switches app and pastes, and its Y button moves down three items and presses Return. You build a macro step by step, so every step and every wait stays visible and easy to change.

Add turbo, toggle and repeat

The press menu in the same Options decides what a press means:

  • Repeats while held. Turbo, or rapid fire. Every sets the gap, from 5 ms to a minute.
  • Toggles on and off. One press starts the output and the next press stops it.
  • Repeat. Fires a fixed number of times per press.
  • Stop on release. Ends a macro the moment you let go of the button.

The macros, turbo and toggle page has every option, and the CPS calculator turns presses per second into the Every value. Turbo and toggle combine into rapid fire that stays on until you press again.

Get the timing right

Most apps read a keystroke with a 30 to 50 ms hold and a 50 ms gap. Switching apps needs 300 to 500 ms before the next step. If a macro drops a step, lengthen the wait before the step that misses.

Know where a mapper macro works

  • Apps, and games played with keyboard and mouse controls. The macro arrives as ordinary key presses and clicks, so it works.
  • A game that reads the controller itself. InputConfig does not send controller buttons, so it cannot make the pad's own buttons fire in a sequence there. That has to come from the game, or from a macro stored in the controller.
  • Online and tournament play. Tournaments do not allow macros, and online play follows each game's rules.

Where macros help most is practice, and hands that cannot press two buttons at the same instant.

The short version

  • No macro button. A DualSense, an Edge and an Elite have none. Some 8BitDo pads store one.
  • On a Mac. Bind a button, tick Run a sequence of steps (macro), add the steps.
  • The limit. It sends keys and clicks, not controller buttons.

If the game takes keyboard input, any controller button can run a macro on a Mac for free.

Questions

Does the PS5 controller have a macro button?

No. The DualSense has no macro button, and Sony's page for the DualSense Edge lists back buttons that can be set to other button inputs, with no macros. On a Mac a mapper such as InputConfig adds them.

Can I use macros on an Xbox controller on a Mac?

Yes, with a mapper. Xbox controllers have no macros of their own, and InputConfig lets any button run a timed chain of keys and clicks.

Is there free controller macro software for Mac?

InputConfig is free on the Mac App Store and open source. Any button on a supported PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, 8BitDo or other controller can run a macro, with turbo and toggle.

Can a macro press controller buttons inside a game?

Not from InputConfig. It sends keyboard and mouse input, so its macros work in apps and in games played with keyboard and mouse. A game that reads the pad itself needs the game's own feature or a macro stored in the controller.

Do 8BitDo controllers have macros?

8BitDo says its Ultimate Software can assign a long sequence to one single button on supported controllers. On a Mac, InputConfig adds key and click macros to any button it reads.

Download InputConfig on the Mac App StoreFree. macOS 14 or later. No account, nothing leaves your Mac. Open source on GitHub.