LinearMouse
Gives a mouse its own settings, separate from the trackpad — including the scroll direction macOS otherwise insists on applying to both.
What it does
macOS applies one pointer and scroll policy to everything. LinearMouse sets them per device, which resolves the standing annoyance of wanting natural scrolling on the trackpad and inverted scrolling on an external mouse.
It also provides:
- linear pointer tracking with acceleration disabled — what a mouse should do, and what macOS will not offer,
- adjustable scroll speed and line-based versus pixel scrolling,
- button remapping, including side buttons,
- modifier-key actions for scroll gestures.
Notes
Free and open source. Needs Accessibility permission. It does not attempt to be a window manager or a gesture engine — it changes pointer behaviour and stops there.
Alternative to
| Alternative | Type | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Mac Mouse Fix | Open source | The other well-known open-source option, with gesture support |
| SteerMouse or USB Overdrive | Paid | Long-standing, per-device configuration |
| BetterTouchTool | Paid | Covers this alongside gestures and window management |
| Scroll Reverser | Open source | If per-device scroll direction is the only thing you need |
Install
brew install --cask linearmouse