Game

Fallout 76 on a Mac with a controller

Download on the Mac App StoreThe Fallout 76 layout is built into InputConfig, 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.

On a Mac: No Mac version. It streams to a Mac through Xbox Cloud Gaming or from a Windows PC you own. The stream normally passes a controller to the game's native scheme.

Yes, Fallout 76 plays on a Mac with a controller, through Xbox Cloud Gaming in a browser or a stream from a Windows PC. This layout is for a stream that misses your pad, and it is the Fallout layout: fire and aim on the triggers, VATS on a bumper, favorites and the Pip-Boy on the D-pad. VATS in 76 is real-time, which makes the bumper matter more than it did in Fallout 4.

The layout, control by control

Click a control. Labels:

How the layout thinks

  • Move and look. The left stick walks on W, A, S and D. The right stick moves the mouse at speed 20 across and 14 up and down.
  • Shoot. The right trigger fires and the left trigger aims. Reload on the left face button (R).
  • Face buttons. Jump on the bottom (Space), sneak on the right (Ctrl), activate on the top (E).
  • Shoulders. VATS on the left bumper (Q). The right bumper sends R again, labeled reload and holster.
  • Favorites and menus. Favorites 1, 2 and 3 on D-pad up, left and right. Sprint on the left stick click (Shift), menu on Start (Escape).

The Pip-Boy is on D-pad down (Tab). VATS is one bumper, because in 76 it happens in real time.

Tune it

  • A slow pointer for camp building. Duplicate the four right-stick rows, set While also holding to a spare button on the copies, and give them half the speed.
  • Emotes. The right stick click is empty. Put the emote wheel there.

A slower pointer behind one button makes building the camp easy.

If the game sees the pad

Fallout 76 over Xbox Cloud Gaming takes the pad as it is, so the layout is for a stream that ignores it.

Fallout 76 controller support: controller or keyboard

Steam's store page lists partial controller support for Fallout 76: it plays on a controller, but some parts, such as a launcher, text entry or a menu, still expect a keyboard or a mouse. This layout sends keys and mouse movement from the pad, which can cover the parts the game's own support leaves out.

From Steam's listing, checked in October 2026. Every game's listing is in Mac games with controller support.

If your controller is not working in Fallout 76

When Fallout 76 does not react to your controller on a Mac, check these in order:

  1. Check that the Mac sees the controller. Open the gamepad tester and press a button. If nothing lights up there, the problem is the connection, and a controller that is connected but not working covers that first.
  2. Press a button after the stream has started. A stream only picks up a controller that is paired with the Mac, and a browser shows a controller to a page only after a button press. Start Fallout 76, then press any button. Streaming from your own PC has its own checks, in how to stream PC games to a Mac with a controller.
  3. Play it from keys. If Fallout 76 still ignores the pad, activate this layout. It sends the keyboard and mouse controls Fallout 76 already reads. Turn the game's own controller option off while it runs, or a press can arrive twice. The layout works whether or not Fallout 76 ever sees the controller.

Get it in two clicks

  1. Open InputConfig and click Smart Preset Maker on the welcome screen.
  2. Search for Fallout 76 and pick it. The layout is created as a preset in your sidebar, named and ready.
  3. Press Activate. Every row can be changed afterwards: the editor's Scan button rebinds any control the moment you touch it.

Fallout 76 controls: every button and the key it sends

The Sends column is Fallout 76's default keyboard and mouse controls, as this layout expects them. If you changed a key in the game's settings, change the same row in InputConfig.

The Fallout 76 preset in InputConfig, drawn on a DualSense Edge with each control labeled with the key or action it sends.
Figure 1. The Fallout 76 preset drawn on a DualSense Edge in InputConfig's Live Visualizer. For example, Right trigger is labeled Attack / fire, and A / Cross is labeled Jump.
ControllerSendsWhat it does
Left stick leftAStrafe left (A)
Left stick rightDStrafe right (D)
Left stick upWMove forward (W)
Left stick downSMove back (S)
Right stick rightMouse motion right (speed 20)Look right
Right stick leftMouse motion left (speed 20)Look left
Right stick downMouse motion down (speed 14)Look down
Right stick upMouse motion up (speed 14)Look up
Right triggerLeft clickAttack / fire
Left triggerRight clickAim
A / CrossSpaceJump
B / CircleCtrl (Left)Sneak (Ctrl)
X / SquareRReload
Y / TriangleEActivate (E)
LB / L1QVATS (Q)
RB / R1RReload / holster (R)
L3 (left stick click)Shift (Left)Sprint (Shift)
D-pad up1Favorite 1
D-pad left2Favorite 2
D-pad right3Favorite 3
D-pad downTabPip-Boy (Tab)
Start / OptionsEscapeMenu (Esc)

Names follow the editor's Xbox / PlayStation pair, and a Switch pad fires by position.

Questions

Does Fallout 76 run on a Mac?

Fallout 76 does not run natively on a Mac. Xbox Cloud Gaming or a PC stream carries it, and either usually passes a controller through.

Can I play Fallout 76 on an M1 Mac or a MacBook Air?

Yes, through a stream. Fallout 76 runs on the other end, on a cloud service or your own PC, so the Mac only plays the video and sends your input. An M1 MacBook Air streams it like any other Mac.

Download on the Mac App StoreOpen source on GitHub.

Updated