How to use and remap mouse side buttons on a Mac

Which mouse buttons can you remap on a Mac?

You remap them with an app, and the usual set is five buttons: left click, right click, the wheel click (the middle button) and two side buttons, called button 4 and button 5. Mac Mouse Fix describes exactly that layout as the typical 5-button mouse. It also warns that on some mice running proprietary driver software like Logitech Options, not every button is recognised.

We looked for a built-in method first. The Mac User Guide pages we checked on 3 November 2026 gave no steps for mapping buttons 4 and 5, so this page doesn't describe one. Everything below uses an app, and every product fact comes from the maker's own page, checked the same day.

A disclosure before the list: we make mouzeclick, one of the tools here. It is not at the top of the table, and the section about it is labelled as ours. On a PC, the same job is covered in remapping mouse buttons on Windows 11.

What is the best mouse button remapper for Mac?

There isn't one best remapper; there is a best one for your mouse and your budget. Logi Options+ is the natural start for a Logitech mouse. Mos and MiddleClick are free, and Mac Mouse Fix and BetterMouse are small one-time buys. BetterTouchTool lists 600+ triggers and 600+ built-in actions.

"Not published" means the maker's page we checked did not state it. We left SteerMouse out of the table because we could not verify its details from its own pages on 3 November 2026; our SteerMouse alternative page covers that search. For Windows tools as well, see the wider mouse button mapping software roundup.

How do I remap a mouse button on a Mac, step by step?

Install the app, then click the button you want to change and choose what it does. The exact screens differ per app. Mac Mouse Fix publishes the clearest steps, so we use it as the worked example.

With Mac Mouse Fix

1. Download it from macmousefix.com. It is free for 30 days, and a free day is only used up when you actually use the app.
2. Open it and move the mouse pointer inside the + field.
3. Click the mouse button you want to assign. You can also double click, or click and drag, to set those inputs instead.
4. Choose an action, such as Smart Zoom, or a keyboard shortcut. Mac Mouse Fix says anything you can do with a keyboard shortcut can come from the mouse: copy and paste, volume, a new Safari tab.

From Homebrew

Two of the tools give a Homebrew command on their own pages:

• LinearMouse: brew install --cask linearmouse
• MiddleClick: brew install --cask middleclick

Mos offers both a download and a Homebrew install on its home page.

With Logi Options+

Logitech's page does not list menu-by-menu steps. It says you can use the preset settings or define actions for your most-used apps, and assign gestures to any mouse button. The Mac download is for macOS 14 or later.

What do mouse buttons 4 and 5 do on a Mac?

That depends on the remapper you install. Mac Mouse Fix maps the two side buttons to trackpad-style controls; Mos and BetterTouchTool show other starting points you can copy.

Mos's home page shows a simpler set: button 4 opens Mission Control, button 5 goes to the next Space, and the wheel click opens the App Switcher. BetterTouchTool uses chords instead. Button 4 plus a left click opens a new tab, button 4 plus a drag left or right switches Space, and button 4 plus a drag up or down zooms.

For editing, the side buttons sit under the thumb, so they earn their place with the two or three commands you use most. Our page on what mouse side buttons are for goes through good choices.

How do I get a middle mouse button on a Mac?

If your mouse has a clickable wheel, that wheel click is the middle button, and a remapper that binds any button can change what it does. With a MacBook trackpad or a Magic Mouse, MiddleClick turns a three-finger click or tap into a middle click.

On a mouse with a wheel

• Mos's example binds Wheel Click to the App Switcher.
• BetterTouchTool's example: button 3 plus scroll up or down changes the volume.
• BetterMouse maps clicks, drags, holds and hold-and-scroll on every button, with optional modifier keys.

On a trackpad or Magic Mouse

1. Install MiddleClick with brew install --cask middleclick. It is free and GPL-3.0.
2. Click or tap with three fingers. That is the default.
3. To change the finger count, run defaults write art.ginzburg.MiddleClick fingers 4 (or 5). Setting 2 clashes with the normal two-finger right click and single-finger clicks.

MiddleClick's README marks it as finished, with WheelClick as its from-scratch successor; the three-finger click and tap stay free there. Two cautions if you use Apple hardware: Mac Mouse Fix does not currently support the Magic Mouse, and USB Overdrive does not handle any Apple mouse, trackpad or keyboard.

Can a Mac mouse do different things in each app?

Yes, if the remapper has per-app settings. Logi Options+, BetterMouse, LinearMouse and mouzeclick publish per-app button settings; Mos does it for scrolling and BetterTouchTool for hotkeys.

• Logi Options+ lists Chrome, Edge, Safari, Zoom, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro and Teams for app-specific settings.
• BetterMouse has per-app exceptions for scrolling, mouse buttons and keyboard mapping.
• LinearMouse keeps separate settings per device, per app and per display.
• Mos gives every app its own scroll curve and behaviour.
• BetterTouchTool scopes a keyboard shortcut to one app or a group of apps, and tells left and right modifiers apart.

For editors this is the point of the exercise. A side button that undoes in Photoshop can razor a clip in Premiere and close a tab in the browser, so the mouse stays useful whatever window is in front.

How do I remap a Logitech mouse on a Mac?

Start with Logi Options+, Logitech's own app, if your Mac runs macOS 14 or later. It customizes supported Logitech mice, keyboards and more, and the page features the MX Master 4, MX Master 3S, Lift and Signature M650.

• Gestures go on any mouse button: hold it and move up, down, left or right to move between windows or control music.
• Actions Ring is an on-screen overlay that puts tools at the cursor.
• The MX Master 3S comes with predefined settings for Premiere Pro, Photoshop and Final Cut Pro.
• Pointer and scroll adjustment, Flow and Easy-Switch are in the same app. Haptics work only with the MX Master 4 for now.

You may prefer not to run Logitech's app. In that case, BetterMouse sets DPI, onboard profiles, vendor-defined buttons and the thumbwheel on supported Logi mice, and BetterTouchTool claims full Logitech control with no extra drivers. For an editing setup on an MX mouse, see MX Master for Premiere Pro and After Effects and our Logi Options+ alternative comparison.

Why is my Mac mouse button remap not working?

Usually the app is missing a permission, two remappers are fighting over the button, the mouse maker's software is hiding it, or the mouse isn't supported. Work down this list in order.

1. Permissions. mouzeclick needs Accessibility and Input Monitoring; turn both on, then quit the app and open it again. The other makers' pages we checked don't list their permissions.
2. Two tools at once. USB Overdrive's support page says that if USB Overdrive is to handle the device, other drivers' kernel extensions must go. SteerMouse.kext is on its list, and each one should be removed with its original vendor's uninstaller. We'd give each button to one remapper only, for the same reason.
3. Vendor software. Mac Mouse Fix warns that on some mice using proprietary driver software like Logitech Options, not all buttons are recognized.
4. The mouse itself. Mac Mouse Fix's trackpad-style features are built for a mouse with at least five buttons, and it doesn't support the Magic Mouse. USB Overdrive skips all Apple input devices.
5. Apps with their own mouse handling. BetterMouse says its left-click-through can interfere with design software, games and virtual machines. Add an exception for that app and turn left-click-through off in its button binding panel.
6. Function keys on a MacBook. mouzeclick's wheels open with Fn + F8 and Fn + F9, or turn on "Use F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys".
7. No connection. mouzeclick needs the internet while it runs; if it drops, the shortcuts pause and the mouse acts normally until it returns.

More fixes, including Windows ones, are in mouse side buttons not working.

Where mouzeclick fits (we make it)

mouzeclick fits if you edit in Premiere Pro or After Effects on a Mac and want the same mouse to do something different in each app. The mouse app runs on macOS 12 or newer, on Apple Silicon and Intel, and on Windows 10 and 11, with the same key and price on both.

It works with any mouse your Mac sees, wired, wireless or Bluetooth, using up to five standard buttons (left, right, middle, Mouse 4 and Mouse 5) plus scroll and tilt, with no driver. Buttons work per app: Mouse 4 can cut a clip in Premiere, switch tabs in Chrome and paste everywhere else, and it changes the moment you switch windows. Each button has eleven slots: tap, hold and move in four directions, a chord with another button, or hold and scroll. Macros chain keys, clicks, waits, typed text and launches. It doesn't change DPI, polling rate or lighting; those stay with the mouse maker's software.

Install it on a Mac

The full walkthrough is on installing mouzeclick on a Mac:

1. Drag the app to Applications.
2. Allow it once: System Settings › Privacy & Security › Security › Open Anyway. Apple has not notarized the Mac app yet, which is why macOS asks.
3. Turn on mouzeclick under Accessibility and Input Monitoring, then quit it and open it again.
4. Click the menu-bar icon › Open settings, paste the key and press Activate. Then press each mouse button once, and the settings page is built around the buttons your mouse really has.

Put Premiere Pro and After Effects on the buttons

• Pick the editor's profile. The editors come with ready-made profiles, and the app has ready-made wheels for Premiere Pro, After Effects, DaVinci Resolve, Photoshop and CapCut.
• "Add editing gestures" fills the empty directions: up plays, down splits, left undoes, right moves one frame forward.
• The Options wheel (F8) holds 48 favourites per app on three rings; the Orbit switch (F9) shows open apps as icons. There are 309 built-in shortcuts on Windows; your own hotkeys and macros sit beside them.
• The Tool wheel works only in Premiere Pro and After Effects: 112 tools in 12 segments in Premiere, 114 tools in 13 groups in After Effects. Open it with F10 or a held right button; a quick right click still opens the app's own menu. Install the bridge once from the app's Tool wheel page, restart the editor and keep mouzeclick running.

Step-by-step guides: Premiere Pro mouse shortcuts, the After Effects radial menu and mouse gestures on a Mac. The 22 Premiere Pro and After Effects extensions also run on a Mac.

What stays on Windows

The two workspace panels, auto, styled and Hinglish captions, Retakes, cloud sync and in-app updates are Windows-only. The workspaces are part of mouzeclick on Windows; the Mac app does not include them. The trial is 3 days with no card, and every Premiere Pro and After Effects tool works fully. Plans are on the pricing section.

When is another Mac remapper the better pick?

Often. mouzeclick is built around editing apps; if editing isn't your day, one of these is likely the better choice.

• You want it free. Mos costs nothing and smooths scrolling with per-app curves; MiddleClick is free if all you need is a middle click.
• You want trackpad gestures cheaply. Mac Mouse Fix maps Mission Control, Spaces and Exposé to buttons 4 and 5 for $2.99 (+ taxes) once.
• You want a notarized app with no account. BetterMouse is Apple-notarized, needs no registration or login and installs no drivers or agents. mouzeclick isn't notarized yet and needs an internet connection and an account.
• You want DPI or onboard profiles. BetterMouse sets them on supported Logi mice, and Logi Options+ adjusts pointer and scroll. mouzeclick doesn't touch those settings.
• You want the most triggers. BetterTouchTool lists 600+ triggers and 600+ built-in actions, drawn-shape gestures and radial menus shown by gesture or long click. See our BetterTouchTool alternative page.
• You use joysticks, gamepads or an older Mac. USB Overdrive handles USB and Bluetooth devices from almost any vendor, with older versions for macOS 10 and 11; Mos supports macOS 10.13 or later.
• You switch displays. LinearMouse keeps separate settings per display as well as per app and device.
• You own an MX Master 4. Haptics, Flow and the Actions Ring come from Logi Options+.

Questions people ask

Sources

Checked on 2026-11-03. Prices and features change: each link goes to the maker's own page.

1. Logitech: Logi Options+
2. BetterTouchTool home page (folivora.ai)
3. BetterTouchTool keyboard shortcuts
4. USB Overdrive home page
5. USB Overdrive support
6. Mac Mouse Fix
7. LinearMouse
8. BetterMouse
9. Mos
10. Mos compare page
11. MiddleClick for macOS (GitHub README)
12. Apple Mac User Guide, table of contents

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