Questions

How to play Sleeping Dogs on a Mac with a controller

Feral's Mac version of Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition supports gamepads. Its FAQ lists the pads Feral tested, with the PS4 and PS3 DualShock, the Xbox One controller on a USB cable and Logitech's F310, F510 and F710 among them. Feral's manual says gamepad controls cannot be customized. Keyboard controls can, under Options, Controller Layout.

I should say up front that I have not tested Sleeping Dogs myself. The facts and the default keys are from Feral's FAQ and manual for the game, which I read on October 7, 2026. If your pad does nothing in it, InputConfig, the free mapper I make, sends the game's keyboard and mouse controls from the pad.

On this page: 9 sections

1. Steps
2. Start with the game's own gamepad support
3. If the pad does nothing
4. Send the game its keys instead
5. Build the layout
6. Change a layout the game has fixed
7. Use one route, not both
8. The short version
9. Questions

Steps

1. Connect the controller and check it under System Settings, Game Controllers.
2. Quit the game, wake the controller, and open the game again.
3. In Steam, try the game's Steam Input override both ways.
4. If the game still ignores the pad, send its keyboard and mouse controls from the pad with a mapper.

Start with the game's own gamepad support

Connect the pad before starting the game. Feral's FAQ lists the gamepads it tested, the PS4 and PS3 DualShock, Xbox 360 controllers, the Xbox One controller on a USB cable, and Logitech's F310, F510 and F710 among them. It says to write to its pad support address about a gamepad that is not on the list. Newer pads such as the PS5 DualSense are not listed. I would start with a PS4 DualShock, because it is on Feral's tested list and a Mac pairs with it without any extra software. How to connect a PS4 controller to a Mac has the steps.

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.

If the pad does nothing

1. The Mac sees the pad. Open System Settings, Game Controllers, and press a button.
2. Relaunch with the pad awake. Quit the game, press a button on the controller, and open the game again.
3. Flip the Steam Input override. In the Steam library, right-click the game, open Properties, then Controller, and try the other setting.
4. Set a Logitech pad to D. Feral's FAQ says the game needs DirectInput mode, the D position on an F310, F510 or F710.

If nothing lights up there, Sleeping Dogs has no chance of seeing the pad either. Controller works in Steam but not in the game has more on the Steam layer.

Send the game its keys instead

Sleeping Dogs plays fully on a keyboard and mouse, and a keyboard is never undetected. InputConfig reads your controller and sends those keys and mouse moves, so Sleeping Dogs sees a keyboard while you hold the pad. These are the default keys from Feral's manual:

Fighting is two mouse buttons and F, which is why it maps to a pad so easily.

Build the layout

• You: In InputConfig, make a new preset. Set the left stick to WASD and the right stick to mouse movement.
• InputConfig: Sends those keys and mouse moves while the preset is active.
• Check: In the game, the left stick walks and the right stick turns the camera.

• Face buttons. The left mouse button to strike, the right to counter, F to grapple and E to interact.
• Shoulders and stick click. Shift to sprint, Control for cover, R to reload.
• Driving. The same left stick steers, since driving uses W, A, S and D. Put Space on a face button for the handbrake.

I would put Counter on the button under your thumb, because the fights are won on counters. Play any Mac game with a controller walks through a layout like this, and your first preset has the basics.

Change a layout the game has fixed

Feral's manual says gamepad controls cannot be customized. Keyboard controls can, under Options, Controller Layout. A layout sent from a mapper is yours to edit: move a button, swap the triggers, or put a second action on a hold. Since Sleeping Dogs will not let you change its gamepad layout, a keyboard layout sent from the pad is the one you can edit. Hold and double tap covers the second action.

Use one route, not both

If Sleeping Dogs does read your controller, a mapper sending keys at the same time makes every press arrive twice. So pick one route. In InputConfig, a preset tied to the game only runs while that game is in front. If Sleeping Dogs already reads your pad, you do not need a mapper at all. Per-app switching sets that up.

The short version

• Tested pads. PS4 and PS3 DualShock, Xbox One on USB, Logitech pads, by Feral's FAQ.
• Not working. Game Controllers, relaunch, Steam Input override.
• Fallback. Keys and mouse sent from the pad.

Try your pad first, and if Sleeping Dogs will not listen, send it keys instead.

Questions

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• Per-app profiles that switch by themselves
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Completely free. You don't have to make an account, there are no subscriptions, and nothing is locked. Optimized for Apple silicon. Open source on GitHub.

Updated October 7, 2026