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macOS virtual gamepads

macOS gamepads use an installed broker with Apple's virtual HID entitlement. The C++ library uses the broker for virtual gamepads and CoreGraphics for keyboard and mouse input. Creating a gamepad requires a machine license. All built-in gamepad profiles are accepted, though individual games may map them differently.

Install and activate

Install the signed, notarized DMG from the libvirtualhid releases. Mount it and open Install libvirtualhid.command. The installer requests administrator authorization, installs Virtual HID Broker and Virtual HID Control in Applications, and starts the broker service.

In System Settings > Privacy & Security > Device Control and Data Access (Accessibility on older macOS versions), add /Applications/VirtualHIDBroker.app. The broker runs as a system service and cannot display the permission prompt while creating a gamepad. Review the signed application before granting this broad device-control permission.

Activate the purchased license from Terminal:

/usr/local/bin/libvirtualhid-license activate
/usr/local/bin/libvirtualhid-license status

Activation prompts for the key without echoing it. Use validate to refresh status or deactivate to release this machine's activation. Open Virtual HID Control to create and inspect a test controller. The host application runs in the normal user session; the broker runs as a LaunchDaemon.

License validation during outages

The broker validates the machine license when it starts and every 24 hours, retrying temporary failures about once a minute. While Polar validation is unavailable, new creation is limited to one active virtual gamepad. Existing gamepads remain for up to one hour; then the broker closes all but one. A yearly license must validate within 25 hours of its last successful validation or the remaining gamepad closes. After the broker restarts, including after a macOS reboot, a yearly license needs online validation before gamepad creation. A previously activated lifetime license can keep or create one gamepad while Polar is unreachable, with no offline time limit. The broker keeps retrying validation about once a minute and returns to the normal 24-hour schedule after success. Confirmed revocation or deactivation closes existing gamepads.

Troubleshoot

If creation reports license_required, activate or validate the license. For backend_unavailable, check the installed broker service:

sudo launchctl print system/dev.lizardbyte.app.libvirtualhid

For backend_failure, check the macOS permission above. If it persists, verify the broker signature and embedded provisioning profile. A local unsigned build can test library and broker communication but cannot prove virtual HID creation. Check the controller in the intended macOS game or streaming client; enumeration alone does not establish compatibility.

Build and package

A contributor build requires Xcode and CMake:

cmake -S . -B cmake-build-macos-universal \
  -DCMAKE_OSX_ARCHITECTURES='arm64;x86_64' -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build cmake-build-macos-universal
./cmake-build-macos-universal/tests/test_libvirtualhid

For a signed local installation, copy .env.example to an untracked .env and provide the Apple Developer ID certificate, an approved provisioning profile for dev.lizardbyte.app.libvirtualhid with com.apple.developer.hid.virtual.device, and notarization credentials. Then run bash scripts/macos/build-and-install.sh. Use --package-only to produce a signed DMG without installing it. Keep signing credentials local. The broker's restricted entitlement is required even for debug builds.

The DMG contains the MIT library and the LB-SAL broker; releases must retain both license texts.