LinearMouse
Free, open-source Mac utility for tuning mouse and trackpad scrolling, pointer speed and buttons.
- Verified facts
- 4 of 4
- Alternatives ranked
- 3
- Approved reviews
- 0
- Visits sent from here
- 0
About LinearMouse
LinearMouse is a small menu bar app for macOS that fixes the things people dislike about how a mouse behaves on a Mac. You can reverse scrolling on a mouse while keeping natural scrolling on the trackpad, switch scrolling to a linear feel, change pointer speed, or turn pointer acceleration off for steady cursor movement. Extra mouse buttons and scroll actions can be remapped to shortcuts, media keys, Mission Control and gestures. Settings can be saved as profiles that apply automatically based on the device, the app in front or the display you are using. It is popular with people who move from Windows, and with owners of Logitech and other third-party mice who want a light replacement for the vendor's driver software. The app is free and open source under the MIT licence, with no paid tier, and it installs from its website or Homebrew. It runs only on macOS.
Best for: Mac users with a third-party mouse who want Windows-like scrolling and no acceleration.
Pros and cons
What works
- Separate scroll direction for mouse and trackpad
- Can turn off pointer acceleration completely
- Per-device, per-app and per-display profiles switch automatically
- Free and MIT-licensed, with no account or upsell
Why people leave
- macOS only
- Button remapping is basic compared with BetterTouchTool or Karabiner-Elements
- No smooth-scrolling engine or vendor features such as DPI and lighting control
Top LinearMouse alternatives
See all 3- 1
BetterTouchTool66.5Paid app with far deeper mouse, trackpad and gesture customisation, plus keyboard and Touch Bar tools.
- 2
Karabiner-Elements62.6Free, open-source input remapper that can rewrite mouse buttons and keys with complex rules.
- 3
Hammerspoon50.3Free Lua automation tool that can script mouse events and scrolling if you want full control.
Why people left LinearMouse
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LinearMouse: common questions
Is LinearMouse free?
Yes. LinearMouse is free, open-source software.
Is LinearMouse open source?
Yes. The source code is on GitHub at linearmouse/linearmouse.
What platforms does LinearMouse run on?
LinearMouse is available for macOS.
What are the best alternatives to LinearMouse?
The highest-ranked LinearMouse alternatives right now are BetterTouchTool, Karabiner-Elements and Hammerspoon. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.