Installation

Homebrew (recommended)

brew install --cask vgreg/tap/padio

This installs PadIO to your Applications folder. Launch it from Spotlight or the Applications folder — it runs as a menu bar icon with no main window.

Gatekeeper warning

PadIO is not notarized, so macOS will show a security warning on first launch. To bypass it, right-click the app → Open → Open in the dialog. You only need to do this once.

Build from source

Requirements

• macOS 14.0 (Sonoma) or later
• Xcode 15 or later

Steps

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/vgreg/PadIO.git
   cd PadIO
   

2. Open in Xcode and build:

   open PadIO.xcodeproj
   

   Press ⌘R to build and run, or ⌘B to build only.

3. For a release build, use Product → Archive → Distribute App → Copy App.

First launch

On first launch, PadIO appears as a menu bar icon. You'll need to:

1. Grant Accessibility permission — click the menu bar icon and select Grant Accessibility Access, or go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility and add PadIO.
2. Create a config file — PadIO reads from ~/.config/padio/config.json. Without it, the app runs but ignores all controller input. See Getting Started for how to set one up.