Control Macbook Using PS5 Controller

Tags: PS5, controler

TL;DR: I turned my PS5 controller into a macOS productivity remote with a "kill switch" to toggle between gaming and work modes. Mandatory to work:

|

Software Purpose Install
Karabiner-Elements Low-level input remapping brew install --cask karabiner-elements
BetterTouchTool Action execution & gestures Download from website (paid)
sox Audio recording brew install sox
whisper-cpp Local voice transcription brew install whisper-cpp

GitHub repo with full setup guide.

Features:

  • Toggle between gaming/productivity with Options button
  • D-pad for list navigation or other functions
  • High-accuracy voice dictation (Whisper.cpp)
  • Works with any Hyper Key workflow

The hardest parts were:

  1. D-pad uses HID Usage IDs, not hat_switch
  2. Control+Click = Right Click on macOS (had to strip modifiers)

Full guide + code in the repo. Feel like the guide is too difficult or confusing? Comment or open an issue to suggest verbiage changes. Bugs? Its either with BTT or one of the open-source tools.

@Andreas_Hegenberg welcome to incorporate to save others the pain. Tag me if you want, don’t if don’t want to. Just help others save a few hours if you can