Honkai: Star Rail on a Mac with a controller
The Honkai: Star Rail 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: the PC game is Windows only. It streams to a Mac from a Windows PC you own, and the stream normally passes a controller to the game's own scheme.
Yes, Honkai: Star Rail plays on a Mac with a controller, as a stream from your own Windows PC. It is turn-based, so a stream's latency costs nothing, and it is menu-driven, so the left stick is a cursor for the screens a pad cannot reach. The PC game has controller support, though PCGamingWiki notes some screens still need a mouse. Use the game's own scheme when the stream passes your pad. This layout is for when it does not.
The layout, control by control
How the layout thinks
- Move. The D-pad walks (W, A, S and D).
- Point and click. The left stick moves the cursor through menus. The bottom face button confirms with a left click, which is also the basic attack, and the right one backs out (Escape).
- Battle. The basic attack (Q) is the left face button and the Skill (E) the top. The left trigger uses the Technique (E) in the field.
- Ultimate. The right trigger sends 7, which the game does not use. Change its output to 1, 2, 3 or 4, the Ultimate key for that party slot.
- Field. The left bumper holds Left Shift to sprint, and the right bumper interacts (F).
- Menus. Back opens the map (M), Options the phone menu, the left stick click the character screen (C), and the right stick click the tutorial details (G). The Home button opens the mission log (J).
Set the right trigger to your main damage dealer's Ultimate key first.
Tune it
- Auto-battle. On a PlayStation pad, put its key on the touchpad press.
- Speed. Use the game's own 2x.
Auto-battle on one press makes farming runs a thumb's work.
If the stream passes your controller
When the stream gives the game your pad, use its own controller scheme. Keep this preset off while it does, or every press lands twice. Open the phone menu with the preset off, and if it opens, you do not need this layout.
If your controller is not working in Honkai: Star Rail
When Honkai: Star Rail does not react to your controller on a Mac, check these in order:
- 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.
- Pair the controller with the Mac first. A streaming app such as Steam Link, Moonlight or Parsec passes on only a controller the Mac already sees, so pair it before you start the stream, then press a button once Honkai: Star Rail is running. Streaming PC games to a Mac with a controller has the checks for each app.
- Play it from keys. If Honkai: Star Rail still ignores the pad, activate this layout. It sends the keyboard and mouse controls Honkai: Star Rail 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 Honkai: Star Rail ever sees the controller.
Get it in two clicks
- Open InputConfig and click Smart Preset Maker on the welcome screen.
- Search for Honkai: Star Rail and pick it. The layout is created as a preset in your sidebar, named and ready.
- Press Activate. Every row can be changed afterwards: the editor's Scan button rebinds any control the moment you touch it.
Honkai: Star Rail controls: every button and the key it sends
The Sends column is Honkai: Star Rail'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.
| Controller | Sends | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Left stick left | Mouse motion left (speed 14) | Left stick X moves the cursor left through menus |
| Left stick right | Mouse motion right (speed 14) | Left stick X moves the cursor right through menus |
| Left stick up | Mouse motion up (speed 14) | Left stick Y moves the cursor up through menus |
| Left stick down | Mouse motion down (speed 14) | Left stick Y moves the cursor down through menus |
| A / Cross | Left click | A confirms and selects, left click also acts as the basic attack |
| B / Circle | Escape | B backs out and closes menus, mapped to Escape |
| X / Square | Q | X uses the basic attack in battle, mapped to Q |
| Y / Triangle | E | Y uses the Skill in battle, mapped to E |
| LB / L1 | Shift (Left) | LB holds Left Shift to sprint in the field |
| RB / R1 | F | RB interacts and picks up, mapped to F |
| Left trigger | E | Left trigger uses the Technique before battle, mapped to E |
| Right trigger | 7 | Right trigger fires a ready Ultimate, mapped to the 7 key |
| Back / Share / Select | M | Back opens the map, mapped to M |
| Start / Options | Escape | Start opens the phone menu via Escape |
| Home / PS / Guide | J | Guide opens the mission log, mapped to J |
| L3 (left stick click) | C | L3 opens the character screen, mapped to C |
| R3 (right stick click) | G | R3 opens tutorial and guide details, mapped to G |
| D-pad up | W | D-pad up moves forward, mapped to W |
| D-pad down | S | D-pad down moves back, mapped to S |
| D-pad left | A | D-pad left moves left, mapped to A |
| D-pad right | D | D-pad right moves right, mapped to D |
Names follow the editor's Xbox / PlayStation pair, and a Switch pad fires by position.
Questions
Does Honkai: Star Rail run on a Mac?
Honkai: Star Rail does not run natively on a Mac. The PC game is Windows only. Stream it from a Windows PC you own.
Can I play Honkai: Star Rail on an M1 Mac or a MacBook Air?
Yes, through a stream. Honkai: Star Rail runs on the other end, on your own PC, so the Mac only plays the video and sends your input. An M1 MacBook Air streams it like any other Mac.
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