# LinearMouse

> Free, open-source mouse and trackpad customizer for Mac

LinearMouse is a free, open-source utility for tuning how mice and trackpads behave on a Mac. It sets scroll direction, pointer speed and acceleration, and button actions separately for each device, and those settings can change with the app or display in use. Settings are edited in the app or in a JSON configuration file. The project is MIT licensed and funded by donations.

- **Category:** Desktop Utilities
- **Made by:** LinearMouse
- **Website:** https://linearmouse.app
- **Runs on:** macOS
- **Facts last checked:** Oct 9, 2026

## Pricing

LinearMouse is free to use.

- **Pricing model:** Free
- **Free plan:** The whole app is free and open source under the MIT license, as a direct download or a Homebrew cask. Donations through GitHub Sponsors, Open Collective or Ko-fi are optional.
- **Free trial:** None listed.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| LinearMouse | $0 | Every feature, with no paid tier or license key. The project says donations go only to developer fees, infrastructure and test devices. |

Read from https://github.com/sponsors/linearmouse on Oct 9, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with LinearMouse before buying.

## Key features

- **Profiles by device, app and display:** A group of settings can apply to all mice or all trackpads, to one device by vendor and product ID, to one app or process, or to a named display, and matching groups are merged.
- **Scroll direction and smoothing:** Reverse vertical or horizontal scrolling on a mouse while the trackpad keeps natural scrolling, and add smoothed scrolling from presets with adjustable response, speed, acceleration and inertia.
- **Pointer speed and acceleration:** Adjust pointer acceleration and speed per device, switch acceleration off entirely, or return either value to the system default.
- **Button mappings:** Bind mouse buttons and wheel movements, with optional modifier keys, to Mission Control, Launchpad, media and brightness controls, keyboard shortcuts or shell commands.
- **Long presses, chords and swipes:** Version 0.12.0 added long-press, button-combination and swipe triggers, so one button can do different things on a short press, a long press and a swipe in each direction.
- **Click debouncing and hover focus:** Click debouncing filters repeated signals from worn mouse switches, and an optional setting focuses a window when the pointer moves over it.

## Good for

- Mac users who want mouse scrolling reversed without changing the trackpad
- People who want pointer acceleration turned off for a specific mouse
- Anyone who prefers a free, MIT-licensed mouse utility

## Worth knowing

- macOS only. It needs Accessibility permission at first launch, and a further permission before it can simulate key presses.
- The documentation says some advanced features are reached by editing the JSON configuration file, which does not accept comments.
- Gesture timings are fixed for the whole app, at 500 ms for a long press and 50 points for a swipe, and cannot be set per mapping.
- The current release is numbered 0.12.0, and the sponsors page lists one main developer.

**Tags:** Keyboard and mouse remapping, Open source

## Alternatives

- [Mac Mouse Fix](https://toolgpa.com/tools/mac-mouse-fix): Trackpad-style gestures and smooth scrolling for third-party mice. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/linearmouse-vs-mac-mouse-fix)
- [BetterTouchTool](https://toolgpa.com/tools/bettertouchtool): Mac input customization: gestures, shortcuts and automation. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/bettertouchtool-vs-linearmouse)
- [Karabiner-Elements](https://toolgpa.com/tools/karabiner-elements): Free, open-source keyboard customizer for macOS. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/karabiner-elements-vs-linearmouse)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 9, 2026:

- https://linearmouse.app/en/
- https://github.com/sponsors/linearmouse
- https://github.com/linearmouse/linearmouse
- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/linearmouse/linearmouse/main/Documentation/Configuration.md
- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/linearmouse/linearmouse/main/ACCESSIBILITY.md
- https://github.com/linearmouse/linearmouse/releases/tag/v0.12.0
- https://formulae.brew.sh/cask/linearmouse

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/linearmouse
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).