Starfield on a Mac with a controller
The Starfield 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. Xbox Cloud Gaming carries it and normally passes a controller to the game's native scheme, and so does a Windows PC you stream from. This layout is for streams that do not see the pad.
You can play Starfield on a Mac with a controller through Xbox Cloud Gaming, or a stream from your own Windows PC, and both normally pass the pad to the game's native scheme. There is no Mac version. This layout is the fallback for a stream that does not see the pad.
Starfield's keyboard scheme is a Bethesda keyboard scheme, so if you have played Fallout 4, the layout will feel familiar down to the sprint on the stick click.
The layout, control by control
How the layout thinks
- Move and look. The sticks. Sprint is the left stick click.
- Shoot. The right trigger fires, the left trigger aims.
- Face buttons. Jump and the jetpack on the bottom, crouch on the right, reload on the left, E on the top.
- Bumpers. The scanner (F) on the left. The right bumper is a second reload.
- Menus. The D-pad is the four menus: inventory, skills, missions and map (I, P, L, M). Escape on Options.
The four menus are four keys on a keyboard, and four D-pad directions here.
Tune it to how you play
- Ship power. The ship uses the same keys, plus the number keys for power allocation. A chord on the D-pad sends 1 to 4.
- Favorites. Q opens the favorites wheel, and the keyboard has hotkeys. Put them on a chord on the face buttons.
- Photo mode. Put it on the touchpad press.
- Scanner as a toggle. Set the scanner row to Toggles on and off, for surveying a planet without a held bumper.
If the stream sees your pad, use the native scheme and turn this preset off, so a press does not arrive twice. A toggled scanner is the kindest change for long surveys.
Starfield controller support: controller or keyboard
Steam's store page lists full controller support for Starfield, so the game was made to be played on a controller, menus included. A keyboard and mouse work as well, and the choice is yours. On a Mac, use the game's own controller support first when it sees your pad. This layout is for a pad it does not see, or for buttons it will not let you move.
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 Starfield
When Starfield 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.
- 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 Starfield, then press any button.
- Play it from keys. If Starfield still ignores the pad, activate this layout. It sends the keyboard and mouse controls Starfield 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 Starfield ever sees the controller.
Get it in two clicks
- Open InputConfig and click Smart Preset Maker on the welcome screen.
- Search for Starfield 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.
Starfield controls: every button and the key it sends
The Sends column is Starfield'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 | A | Strafe left (A) |
| Left stick right | D | Strafe right (D) |
| Left stick up | W | Move forward (W) |
| Left stick down | S | Move back (S) |
| Right stick right | Mouse motion right (speed 20) | Look right |
| Right stick left | Mouse motion left (speed 20) | Look left |
| Right stick down | Mouse motion down (speed 14) | Look down |
| Right stick up | Mouse motion up (speed 14) | Look up |
| Right trigger | Left click | Fire |
| Left trigger | Right click | Aim |
| A / Cross | Space | Jump / jetpack |
| B / Circle | Ctrl (Left) | Crouch (Ctrl) |
| X / Square | R | Reload |
| Y / Triangle | E | Activate (E) |
| LB / L1 | F | Scanner (F) |
| RB / R1 | R | Reload |
| L3 (left stick click) | Shift (Left) | Sprint (Shift) |
| D-pad up | I | Inventory (I) |
| D-pad down | P | Skills (P) |
| D-pad left | L | Missions (L) |
| D-pad right | M | Map (M) |
| Start / Options | Escape | Menu (Esc) |
Names follow the editor's Xbox / PlayStation pair, and a Switch pad fires by position.
Questions
Does Starfield run on a Mac?
Starfield does not run natively on a Mac. Xbox Cloud Gaming streams it with a controller passed through, and so does a Windows PC you stream from. This layout covers the times the stream does not see your pad.
Can I play Starfield on an M1 Mac or a MacBook Air?
Yes, through a stream. Starfield runs on the other end, on a cloud service, so the Mac only plays the video and sends your input. An M1 MacBook Air streams it like any other Mac.
Does Starfield run in CrossOver on a Mac?
I have not tested Starfield in CrossOver. CodeWeavers keeps a compatibility list where players report how each Windows game runs. If it runs and the controller is not seen, this layout plays it from the keys and mouse.
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