Private
No analytics, no account, and it never sees your keystrokes. Its only request is a daily update check you can turn off.
1.2.3See what’s new Your mouse,
but smooth.
Meowse turns the jumpy scrolling of a mouse wheel into smooth, trackpad-like glides in every app. Free, tiny, and idle at 0% CPU.
Feel the difference.
Both windows get the same wheel notches. Move your mouse onto one and scroll.
Small app. Lots of polish.
Smooth scrolling
Every notch becomes a glide, in every app. Tune the distance and smoothness until it feels right.
Reverse direction
Natural on the trackpad, traditional on the mouse, or the other way round. Vertical and horizontal are set separately.
Hold to modify
Hold ⌥ to scroll faster, ⇧ to scroll sideways, or ⌘ to skip smoothing. Any modifier or mouse button works.
Trackpad aware
Trackpads and the Magic Mouse already glide, so Meowse leaves them alone and rests. Its icon dims to show it.
Keep Awake
Keep your Mac from sleeping for 15 minutes, 8 hours or until you say so. The display can sleep while the Mac stays on.
Wiggle Cursor
Stay active in chat apps while you step away. It only moves once you’re idle, and never while the screen is locked.
Everything, one click away.
Meowse lives in your menu bar. Turn smoothing on or off, start Keep Awake or set the cursor wiggling, without opening a window.
- Keep Awake time left, at a glance
- A dot on the icon while your Mac is kept awake
- The icon dims while you’re on the trackpad
Built to disappear.
No background timers, no polling. Meowse reacts to your scroll wheel, does its work on its own thread, and goes straight back to sleep.
- 0%
- CPU when idle
- 0
- wakeups while idle
- 12 MB
- of memory
- 1 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. 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 menu bar app for macOS that turns the jumpy, line-by-line scrolling of a mouse wheel into smooth, trackpad-like glides. It also reverses the mouse wheel separately from the trackpad, keeps your Mac awake, and wiggles the cursor while you’re away. It uses no CPU while idle.
Does it change how my trackpad or Magic Mouse scrolls?
No. Meowse only smooths scroll wheels. Trackpads and the Magic Mouse already scroll smoothly, so they’re left exactly as they are, and Meowse rests while you use them.
Does it work in every app?
Yes. Meowse works system-wide: in browsers, code editors, Finder, design tools and anything else that scrolls. Each glide goes to the window under the pointer.
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 →
How do I keep my Mac from sleeping?
Turn on Keep Awake in the Meowse menu and choose 15 or 30 minutes, 1, 2, 4 or 8 hours, or until you turn it off. You can let the display sleep while the Mac stays awake. It uses the same power assertion as the caffeinate command built into macOS. Keep Awake →
Is Wiggle Cursor a mouse jiggler?
Yes. Once you’ve been idle for 30 seconds to 4 minutes, your choice, it moves the pointer one point and back so apps that watch for inactivity still see you. It never moves while the screen is locked or the Mac is asleep. Mouse jiggler →
Why is the Meowse icon gray?
Meowse dims its menu bar icon while it’s resting: when you’re scrolling with a trackpad or Magic Mouse, when scrolling is paused, or while it waits for Accessibility access. Settings → General shows which.
Why does it need Accessibility access?
macOS requires it for any app that adjusts scrolling system-wide. Meowse uses it only to smooth and reverse scroll events and to wiggle the cursor. It never reads your keystrokes.
Does it work with Logitech and other third-party mice?
Yes. Any mouse with a notched scroll wheel benefits, wired or wireless. If your mouse’s own software already smooths scrolling, Meowse leaves those events alone.
Is it safe?
Meowse collects no data and its source code is public. Its only network request is a daily update check, which you can turn off, and updates install only after Meowse confirms they’re signed by the same developer, notarized by Apple, and arrived intact. Privacy →
Is it free?
Yes, for personal and other non-commercial use. Meowse is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.
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.
Give your mouse an upgrade.
Download for Mac- 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.