Wacom on a Remote MacYour real tablet, with the original Wacom driver

macOS has no native software path for USB passthrough. An ESP32-S3 dongle (USB/IP over the network) presents a remote Wacom or other drawing tablet to the Mac as a real USB device, so the original driver, pen pressure, tilt and Express Keys all work.

Open Source
Firmware

Free
ESP32-S3 board for open-source firmware

Flash your own ESP32-S3 board. Get the source code and build instructions directly on GitHub.

Download Firmware

ESP32-S3
Dongle

Dev Kit
ESP32-S3 dongle$10

Pre-flashed, ultra-compact ESP32-S3 USB dongle. Plug into a MacBook for instant hardware passthrough.

Dongle
with Screen

Kickstarter
ESP32-S3 dongle with a screen

The same pre-flashed ESP32-S3 in a USB stick case with a small status screen. Price revealed at the Kickstarter launch.

Kickstarter

Kickstarter Exclusive Bonus: Back any hardware tier on Kickstarter and get 6 Months of Pro Subscription FREE.

Full Pen Functionality.What the Mac Gets.

A local tablet with pressure, tilt, and buttons, plus the picture the pen is drawing on.

Creative & ProGraphics

Pro AgentPro Agent

Paint, sculpt, and grade with 10-bit HDR and 4:4:4 lossless color.Powered by the USBridge streaming agent for pixel-perfect clarity and zero lag.

4:4:4 ColorFull-RGB color without sub-sampling blur. Crisp edges on lineart and text.10-bit HDRDeep blacks, vivid contrast, and a wide color gamut.Pro Agent

macOSWacom Support

Native DriverNative Driver

A remote Wacom appears as a local USB device on macOS.The official driver sees it natively: pressure, tilt, and Express Keys, with no software workaround.

Pressure & TiltPen pressure and tilt reach the official Wacom driver.Express KeysPad keys and pen shortcuts bind like a tablet plugged in directly.Wacom CenterWacom Center recognizes the tablet and can set pressure curves and shortcuts.

Open SourceFirmware

FreeFree

Flash any off-the-shelf ESP32-S3 in minutes.Use a board you already own for hardware USB passthrough on macOS. No need to wait for shipping.

Download FirmwareESP32-S3Any standard ESP32-S3 board can become the dongle.GitHubSource, build notes, and ready-to-flash binaries.

Wacom on a remote Mac: frequently asked questions

Does a Wacom tablet work on a remote Mac with the original Wacom driver?

Yes. The ESP32-S3 dongle in the Mac presents the remote tablet's own USB identity, so macOS registers a real tablet and Wacom Center sees it. Express Keys, pressure curves and pen shortcuts are set up the same way as on a tablet plugged into the Mac. No kernel extension is needed.

Why does macOS need a dongle for a remote tablet?

macOS has no native software path for USB passthrough. USBridge emulates the USB device in hardware: a $10 ESP32-S3 dongle on the Mac receives the tablet over the network (USB/IP) and plugs it in as if it were attached directly.

Do pen pressure, tilt and the eraser work?

Yes: pressure, tilt, the eraser and the tablet buttons. Pen pressure and tilt for graphics tablets are a Pro plan feature of the USBridge agent ($8 per month).

Which tablets are supported?

Wacom, Huion, XP-Pen and other drawing tablets. Wacom tablets keep their own driver, so Wacom Center sees them.

Is the dongle firmware open source?

Yes. The ESP32-S3 firmware is open source on GitHub (USBridge-Technologies/USBridge-Remote, folder esp32-acm). You can flash your own ESP32-S3 board or buy the pre-flashed $10 dongle.

The Mac does not recognize the tablet. What should I check?

On macOS set Allow accessories to connect to Always. Each attached tablet looks like a new USB device, and the trust prompt can block it before the driver binds.

See also: remote USB passthrough for gamepads, MIDI and any USB device, the USBridge agent with the Pro plan for pen pressure and tilt, the USBridge client and USBridge KVM hardware.

On macOS, set Allow accessories to connect to Always. Each attached tablet looks like a new USB device, and the trust prompt can block it before the driver binds.

ssh guest at usbridge.io

guest@usbridge:~/menu$ ls -la

total 7

guest@usbridge:~/menu$