diff --git a/engine/input_manager.py b/engine/input_manager.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8f05625
--- /dev/null
+++ b/engine/input_manager.py
@@ -0,0 +1,132 @@
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import json
+import os
+from dataclasses import dataclass, field
+from typing import Dict
+
+try:  # pragma: no cover - allow tests without PyYAML
+    import yaml  # type: ignore
+except Exception:  # pragma: no cover - fallback when PyYAML missing
+    yaml = None
+
+try:  # pragma: no cover - allow running tests without pygame installed
+    import pygame  # type: ignore
+except Exception:  # pragma: no cover - allow running tests without pygame
+    pygame = None
+
+
+DEFAULT_BINDINGS: Dict[str, str] = {
+    "move_up": "W",
+    "move_down": "S",
+    "move_left": "A",
+    "move_right": "D",
+    "interact": "E",
+    "pause": "ESCAPE",
+    "debug_toggle": "`",
+    "inventory": "TAB",
+}
+
+
+@dataclass
+class InputManager:
+    """Manage keyboard and gamepad input with customizable bindings."""
+
+    binding_file: str = "config/controls.yaml"
+    input_source: str = "keyboard"
+    bindings: Dict[str, str] = field(default_factory=lambda: dict(DEFAULT_BINDINGS))
+    gamepad_bindings: Dict[str, int] = field(default_factory=dict)
+    input_state: Dict[str, bool] = field(default_factory=dict)
+
+    def __post_init__(self) -> None:
+        self.joystick = None
+        if pygame and pygame.joystick.get_count() > 0:
+            self.joystick = pygame.joystick.Joystick(0)
+            self.joystick.init()
+            if self.input_source == "keyboard":
+                self.input_source = "mixed"
+        if self.binding_file:
+            self.load_bindings(self.binding_file)
+
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+    # Binding helpers
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+    def load_bindings(self, path: str) -> None:
+        """Load bindings from a YAML or JSON file."""
+        if not os.path.exists(path):
+            return
+        with open(path, "r", encoding="utf-8") as fh:
+            if path.endswith(".json"):
+                data = json.load(fh)
+            else:
+                if yaml:
+                    data = yaml.safe_load(fh) or {}
+                else:  # pragma: no cover - fallback when PyYAML missing
+                    data = json.load(fh)
+        self.bindings.update(data.get("controls", {}))
+        self.gamepad_bindings.update(data.get("gamepad", {}))
+
+    def save_bindings(self, path: str) -> None:
+        """Persist current bindings to ``path``."""
+        data = {"controls": self.bindings, "gamepad": self.gamepad_bindings}
+        os.makedirs(os.path.dirname(path) or ".", exist_ok=True)
+        with open(path, "w", encoding="utf-8") as fh:
+            if path.endswith(".json"):
+                json.dump(data, fh, indent=2, ensure_ascii=False)
+            else:
+                if yaml:
+                    yaml.safe_dump(data, fh)
+                else:  # pragma: no cover - fallback when PyYAML missing
+                    json.dump(data, fh, indent=2, ensure_ascii=False)
+
+    def bind_action(self, action: str, key: str) -> None:
+        """Bind ``action`` to keyboard ``key``."""
+        self.bindings[action] = key
+
+    def bind_gamepad_action(self, action: str, button_id: int) -> None:
+        """Bind ``action`` to a gamepad button."""
+        self.gamepad_bindings[action] = int(button_id)
+
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+    # Input handling
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+    def handle_event(self, event: "pygame.event.Event") -> None:  # pragma: no cover - interactive
+        if not pygame:
+            return
+        if event.type in (pygame.KEYDOWN, pygame.KEYUP):
+            key_name = pygame.key.name(event.key).upper()
+            pressed = event.type == pygame.KEYDOWN
+            for action, key in self.bindings.items():
+                if key.upper() == key_name:
+                    self.input_state[action] = pressed
+                    self.input_source = "keyboard"
+        elif event.type in (pygame.JOYBUTTONDOWN, pygame.JOYBUTTONUP):
+            pressed = event.type == pygame.JOYBUTTONDOWN
+            for action, btn in self.gamepad_bindings.items():
+                if event.button == btn:
+                    self.input_state[action] = pressed
+                    self.input_source = "gamepad"
+
+    def is_action_pressed(self, action: str) -> bool:
+        """Return ``True`` if ``action`` is currently active."""
+        return bool(self.input_state.get(action))
+
+    def update_input_state(self) -> None:  # pragma: no cover - realtime polling
+        if not pygame:
+            return
+        if pygame.key.get_focused():
+            pressed = pygame.key.get_pressed()
+            for action, key in self.bindings.items():
+                code = getattr(pygame, f"K_{key.lower()}", None)
+                if code is not None and code < len(pressed):
+                    self.input_state[action] = bool(pressed[code])
+        if self.joystick:
+            for action, btn in self.gamepad_bindings.items():
+                if self.joystick.get_numbuttons() > btn:
+                    if self.joystick.get_button(btn):
+                        self.input_state[action] = True
+                    else:
+                        self.input_state[action] = False
+
+
+
diff --git a/tests/test_input_manager.py b/tests/test_input_manager.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0d919cb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_input_manager.py
@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+import os
+import sys
+import types
+import pytest
+
+yaml = pytest.importorskip("yaml")
+
+sys.path.insert(0, os.path.abspath(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "..")))
+
+
+class DummyPygame(types.SimpleNamespace):
+    KEYDOWN = 1
+    KEYUP = 2
+    JOYBUTTONDOWN = 3
+    JOYBUTTONUP = 4
+    K_w = 119
+    K_ESCAPE = 27
+
+    def __init__(self):
+        key_module = types.SimpleNamespace(
+            name=lambda code: {self.K_w: "w", self.K_ESCAPE: "escape"}.get(code, "")
+        )
+        super().__init__(key=key_module, joystick=types.SimpleNamespace(get_count=lambda: 0))
+
+
+def test_load_and_save(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    dummy_pg = DummyPygame()
+    monkeypatch.setitem(sys.modules, "pygame", dummy_pg)
+    from engine import input_manager
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(input_manager, "pygame", dummy_pg)
+
+    cfg = {
+        "controls": {"interact": "E"},
+        "gamepad": {"interact": 0},
+    }
+    path = tmp_path / "bindings.yaml"
+    with open(path, "w", encoding="utf-8") as fh:
+        yaml.safe_dump(cfg, fh)
+
+    mgr = input_manager.InputManager(binding_file=str(path))
+    assert mgr.bindings["interact"] == "E"
+    assert mgr.gamepad_bindings["interact"] == 0
+
+    mgr.bind_action("interact", "F")
+    mgr.save_bindings(str(path))
+
+    loaded = yaml.safe_load(path.read_text())
+    assert loaded["controls"]["interact"] == "F"
+
+
+def test_handle_events(monkeypatch):
+    dummy_pg = DummyPygame()
+    monkeypatch.setitem(sys.modules, "pygame", dummy_pg)
+    from engine import input_manager
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(input_manager, "pygame", dummy_pg)
+
+    mgr = input_manager.InputManager(binding_file="")
+    mgr.bind_action("jump", "w")
+    mgr.bind_gamepad_action("jump", 0)
+
+    key_event = types.SimpleNamespace(type=dummy_pg.KEYDOWN, key=dummy_pg.K_w)
+    mgr.handle_event(key_event)
+    assert mgr.is_action_pressed("jump") is True
+    assert mgr.input_source == "keyboard"
+
+    key_up = types.SimpleNamespace(type=dummy_pg.KEYUP, key=dummy_pg.K_w)
+    mgr.handle_event(key_up)
+    assert mgr.is_action_pressed("jump") is False
+
+    pad_event = types.SimpleNamespace(type=dummy_pg.JOYBUTTONDOWN, button=0)
+    mgr.handle_event(pad_event)
+    assert mgr.is_action_pressed("jump") is True
+    assert mgr.input_source == "gamepad"
+