Private
No analytics, no account, and it never watches your keyboard. Its only request is a daily update check you can turn off.
New in 1.3Mouse acceleration and side buttons Your mouse,
but better.
The all-in-one mouse app for macOS. Smooth scrolling, a scroll direction of its own, acceleration you control and side buttons that work, plus a Mac that stays awake. Free, under 9 MB, and idle at 0% CPU.
Meowse is a Mac app. Open meowse.app on your Mac to download it.
Feel the difference.
Both windows get the same wheel notches. Move your mouse onto one and scroll.
One app for your whole mouse.
Smooth scrolling, scroll direction, acceleration, buttons and staying awake usually take a handful of apps. Meowse does all of it in under 9 MB.
Smooth scrolling
Every notch of the wheel becomes a glide, in every app, at your display’s full refresh rate. Tune the distance and smoothness.
Reverse direction
Natural on the trackpad, traditional on the mouse, or the other way round. Vertical and horizontal are set separately.
Mouse accelerationNew
Make your Mac’s own curve faster or slower and keep its feel, reshape it, or turn acceleration off. Only for external mice, if you like.
Side buttonsNew
Back and forward work in Safari, Finder and beyond. Give any extra button or side wheel a shortcut of its own.
Keep Awake
Keep your Mac awake for a set time, until a time you pick or until you say so, even with the lid closed.
Wiggle Cursor
Stay active in chat apps while you step away. It only moves once you’re idle, never while the screen is locked.
Hold to modify
Hold ⌥ to scroll faster, ⇧ to scroll sideways or ⌘ to skip smoothing. Press any key or mouse button to set your own.
Excluded appsNew
Games and 3D tools that handle the wheel themselves get it exactly as it is. Everything else keeps gliding.
Trackpad aware. Trackpads and the Magic Mouse already glide, so Meowse leaves them alone and rests. Its icon dims to show it.
What your Mac can’t do on its own.
| macOS on its own | With Meowse | |
|---|---|---|
| Mouse wheel | Jumps a few lines per notch | Glides, in every app |
| Scroll direction | One setting for mouse and trackpad | Set separately for each |
| Acceleration | On or off, for every mouse at once | Faster, slower, reshaped or off, for external mice only if you like |
| Side buttons | Back and forward only in apps that support them | Back and forward wherever ⌘[ and ⌘] work, or any shortcut |
| Staying awake | caffeinate in Terminal | One click, with a countdown, even with the lid closed |
| Looking active | Not built in | Wiggle Cursor, only while you’re away |
Built to disappear.
Six tools in one, and still no background timers or polling. Meowse reacts to your mouse, does its work on its own thread and goes straight back to sleep, using up to 60% less memory than other smooth-scrolling apps in our tests.
- 0%
- CPU when idle
- 0
- wakeups while idle
- <9 MB
- of memory
- 1.9 MB
- download
Signed and notarized
Every release is signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple. Updates install only after Meowse checks both.
Public source
Every line is on GitHub. Read it, build it yourself, or report an issue.
Measured on macOS 27 with a 144 Hz display. Mouse acceleration runs inside macOS itself, so moving the pointer costs Meowse nothing. The once-a-day update check is the only scheduled work, and you can turn it off.
Questions
What is Meowse?
Meowse is a free, all-in-one mouse app for macOS. It turns the jumpy scrolling of a mouse wheel into smooth, trackpad-like glides, reverses the wheel separately from the trackpad, tunes or turns off mouse acceleration, makes the side buttons go back and forward, keeps your Mac awake, and wiggles the cursor while you’re away. It lives in the menu bar, uses no CPU while idle and starts under 9 MB of memory.
Is it really free?
Yes. Meowse is free for personal and other non-commercial use, with no account, no ads and no trial. It’s licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0, and its source code is public.
Does it work with my mouse?
Yes. Any mouse works, wired or wireless, from Logitech or any other brand: a notched wheel glides, and extra buttons can go back and forward. If your mouse’s own software already smooths scrolling, Meowse leaves those events alone.
Does it change how my trackpad or Magic Mouse works?
No. Trackpads and the Magic Mouse already scroll smoothly, so Meowse leaves their scrolling exactly as it is and rests while you use them. Mouse acceleration changes only external mice unless you choose otherwise.
Does it work in every app?
Yes. Meowse works system-wide: in browsers, code editors, Finder, design tools and anything else that scrolls. Apps that handle the wheel themselves, such as games, can be excluded in Settings → Scrolling. Smooth scrolling →
Can I reverse my mouse’s scroll direction but not my trackpad’s?
Yes. macOS has one Natural scrolling setting for both, but Meowse reverses only the scroll wheel. Keep natural scrolling on the trackpad and traditional scrolling on the mouse, or the other way round. Vertical and horizontal are reversed separately. Reverse scrolling →
Can I turn off mouse acceleration on my Mac?
Yes. macOS has an on/off switch, but it changes every mouse at once and can’t change the curve. Meowse shows your mouse’s acceleration curve in Settings → Mouse: make it faster or slower and keep its feel, reshape it, or turn acceleration off and set one steady speed, for external mice only if you like. Mouse acceleration →
How do I make my mouse’s side buttons go back and forward?
Install Meowse. From the start, the back and forward side buttons go back and forward in every app where ⌘[ and ⌘] do, Safari and Finder included. Any extra button or side wheel can press a shortcut instead, such as Mission Control or the next tab. Mouse buttons →
How do I keep my Mac awake, or look active while I’m away?
In the Meowse menu, click a time from 15 minutes to 4 hours, choose Until… to pick when it ends, or turn on Keep Awake until you turn it off, even with a MacBook’s lid closed. Wiggle Cursor nudges the pointer once you’ve been idle, so chat apps keep showing you as active. Keep Awake →
How much memory does Meowse use?
Under 9 MB when it starts, up to 60% less than other smooth-scrolling apps in our tests, and no CPU at all while you’re not using the mouse. The Settings window runs as its own process, so its memory goes back to your Mac when you close it. macOS leaves memory behind in every menu bar app when displays change, so once Meowse has grown to twice its launch size, it starts over while your display is asleep.
Is it safe?
Yes. Every release is signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple, and its source code is public. Meowse collects no data, and its only network request is a daily update check you can turn off. macOS asks for Accessibility access because Meowse adjusts scrolling system-wide; it’s used only to smooth and reverse scrolling, turn extra buttons into shortcuts and wiggle the cursor, never to read your keystrokes. Privacy →
How do I uninstall it?
Choose Quit Meowse from its menu, move Meowse from Applications to the Trash, and remove it from System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility. Your Mac’s own pointer settings come back the moment Meowse quits.
Give your mouse an upgrade.
Free and private, with no account. Quit Meowse and your Mac is exactly as it was.
Download for MacMeowse is a Mac app. Open meowse.app on your Mac to download it.
- 1
Download
Get Meowse.zip and move Meowse to your Applications folder.
- 2
Open
Open Meowse. It’s notarized by Apple, so it opens like any other app.
- 3
Allow
Turn on Meowse in Privacy & Security → Accessibility. It starts working within seconds.