Questions
How to use racing wheel pedals as keys on a Mac
Yes, with an app that reads the pedals, because a pedal is an axis, not a key, and a Mac game that does not read your wheel will not see the pedals either. InputConfig, the free app I make, reads each pedal and sends whatever you choose: a key, a key pulsed in proportion to how far you press, a click, or scrolling.
The pedals do not have to drive a car. A spare pedal can hold push-to-talk or scroll a page just as well.
On this page: 8 sections
Steps
- Press each pedal in InputConfig's Live Visualizer to see which axis it is and how it rests.
- For a gradual throttle, turn on One-Stick Driving, choose Custom and set Throttle axis to the gas pedal.
- Turn on Throttle axis is a trigger (rests at one end).
- For the brake or any other pedal, add a row, press Scan, push the pedal and choose a key.
- Move the point where a row fires with Adjust live.
Find out how your pedals read
Pedals that plug into a wheel base reach the Mac through the wheel, as axes of the wheel's own USB device. A standalone pedal set on its own USB cable is a device of its own, with its own slot in InputConfig. Either way the Mac needs no driver. What differs is the range:
- Logitech wheels in 1.6. The G29, G923 for PlayStation and PC, G27, G25, Driving Force GT and older Logitech wheels put each pedal on its own axis reading 0 with your foot off and 1 on the floor, exactly like a gamepad trigger. Gas is axis 5 and brake axis 4, where the right and left triggers sit. The clutch is axis 1.
- Most other pedals. Thrustmaster and many standalone sets among them read from -1 at rest to 1 on the floor.
- You: Open any preset and press each pedal while you watch the Live Visualizer.
- InputConfig: Moves the bar for that pedal's axis.
- Check: Note the axis number, and whether the bar starts empty or at the far end with your foot off.
Knowing where a pedal rests decides every setting below.
InputConfig is free on the Mac App Store. macOS 14 or later, no account, no tracking, open source.
Get a gradual throttle from the gas pedal
A key is on or off, so a game that drives from W sees full throttle or none. One-Stick Driving gets around that by pulsing the accelerate key: the further you press, the longer the key is held in each pulse, which most games read as speed.
- You: In a preset, under Accessibility Tools Suite, switch on One-Stick Driving and choose Custom. Set the controller slot to the wheel's, and step Throttle axis until its bar follows the gas pedal (on a Logitech wheel it is 5). Turn on Throttle axis is a trigger (rests at one end), and set Accelerate to the game's key, W by default.
- InputConfig: Spreads a pedal that reads -1 to 1 over its whole travel once it sees it at rest, and pulses Accelerate in proportion.
- Check: The throttle bar fills as you press. If the bar runs backward, turn on Invert throttle.
Steering from the wheel goes in the same panel. The G29 page has the full drive setup. One-Stick Driving is the only way to partial throttle in a keyboard game.
Put the brake, clutch or any pedal on a row
- You: Add a row, press Scan, push the pedal, and choose the key, S for the brake in most games.
- InputConfig: Holds the key while the pedal is past the row's deadzone, and lets go when you lift off.
- Check: Press slowly and notice where the key starts.
The deadzone is 25 percent by default, measured from the middle of the axis, so where it fires depends on how the pedal reads:
- A Logitech pedal, 0 to 1. A quarter of the way down. Adjust live, in the row's options, moves the point while you watch the pedal.
- A pedal that reads -1 to 1. A little past halfway down, and a deadzone near zero brings it to about halfway. That suits a brake you press firmly and a pedal used as a switch.
A pedal row is on or off: it holds the key past the point and lets go when you lift off.
Give a pedal a job other than driving
A spare pedal is a third hand. Because a row can send anything, any of these work:
- Push to talk. Hold a key for the call or the game's voice chat while the pedal is down.
- A click. A left click or a right click, for a hand that should stay on the keyboard.
- Scrolling. A Mouse Wheel row, with Variable Sensitivity on so a deeper press scrolls faster. Two pedals make up and down.
- Two jobs on one pedal. A different output on a long press or a double tap, from hold and double tap.
- A latch. Toggle holds the key after one press and lets go after the next, so a foot can keep a key down without staying on the pedal.
For a USB foot pedal sold for typing, which sends keys rather than axes, or a MIDI sustain pedal, see foot pedal shortcuts on a Mac. Push to talk on a pedal keeps both hands on the game.
If a pedal fires late or backward
Climb this ladder, smallest step first:
- Lower the row's deadzone. A pedal that only works half pressed reads -1 at rest. Bring the deadzone near zero with Adjust live.
- Turn on the trigger option. In One-Stick Driving, Throttle axis is a trigger (rests at one end) spreads a -1 to 1 pedal over its whole travel.
- Invert the throttle. If the bar runs backward, turn on Invert throttle.
- Check for two readers. If a game lists your wheel in its own controls and the pedals move its bars, set them up there and do not run an InputConfig preset that maps the same pedals, or the game gets both.
InputConfig is for the games and apps that ignore the wheel; let the others read it themselves.
The short version
- Gas. One-Stick Driving with the trigger option on, for a throttle that follows your foot.
- Brake and others. A row per pedal, filled with Scan, with the deadzone set by Adjust live.
- Spare pedals. Push to talk, clicks, scrolling or a latch.
Watch each pedal in the Live Visualizer first, and every setting after that is obvious.
Questions
Can I use racing wheel pedals as keyboard keys on a Mac?
Yes. InputConfig reads each pedal as an axis and sends a key while it is pressed past a point you set. One-Stick Driving can pulse the gas key in proportion to the pedal instead.
Can a pedal give partial throttle in a keyboard game?
Through One-Stick Driving, yes: it pulses the accelerate key, holding it longer the further you press. A plain key row is all or nothing.
Why does my brake pedal only work when pressed halfway?
The pedal reads -1 at rest, and a row fires past a deadzone measured from the middle. Lower the deadzone with Adjust live, or use a Logitech wheel, whose pedals InputConfig reads from 0 to 1.
Can wheel pedals work without the wheel on a Mac?
Pedals that plug into a wheel base reach the Mac through the base, so the base has to be connected. A standalone USB pedal set is its own device.
Related
Free. macOS 14 or later. No account, nothing leaves your Mac. Open source on GitHub.