Scrollane — Windows-style middle-click scrolling for your Mac

What it does

• One click to lock, or press and hold. Click the middle button once and an anchor marker appears; move the mouse to scroll hands-free. Click again (or press Esc) to stop. Or just hold the middle button down and scroll only while it's held.
• Smooth, accelerated scrolling. The further you move from the anchor, the faster it scrolls, with easing so it doesn't feel jumpy.
• Works in almost every app. Browsers, editors, PDF readers, long documents.
• Middle-click a link to open it in a new tab. In supported browsers, holding the pointer over a link and middle-clicking opens that link in a background tab instead of starting a scroll.
• Shift + middle-click stays normal. Hold Shift and the middle button behaves the way the app expects it to (closing a tab, for example).

What it doesn't do

I'd rather you know the limits before you download it, so here they are plainly.

• It needs a mouse with a middle button. Trackpads and the Magic Mouse have no middle button, so there is nothing for Scrollane to hook into. This is the one hard requirement.
• First run needs Accessibility permission. macOS requires it for any app that reads mouse buttons. The app walks you through it in about 30 seconds and can't do anything until you grant it.
• Scrolling past the window edge only works in some apps. When the pointer leaves the window you started scrolling in, most apps keep going, but some don't. Inside the window it works everywhere.
• Link detection can miss right after a browser launches. For a few seconds after a browser opens, the accessibility data it exposes isn't ready, so a middle-click over a link may scroll instead of opening a tab.
• Some sandboxed apps block it. A small number of tightly sandboxed apps don't accept the events, so it won't work there.
• It won't work inside virtual machines, remote desktops, or full-screen games. Parallels, VMware, UTM, Remote Desktop, Citrix and similar apps run their own input; Scrollane stays out of their way (they're excluded by default). Full-screen games capture the mouse directly.
• It can clash with other mouse utilities. If something like Logitech Options+ is already remapping the middle button, run one or the other, not both.
• After an app update, macOS may ask for permission again. Re-signing the app can reset the Accessibility grant. If scrolling stops after an update, re-enable it in System Settings.
• macOS 13 (Ventura) or later. Apple Silicon and Intel Macs are both supported.

How it works

1. Install and open. Drag Scrollane to your Applications folder and launch it. It lives in the menu bar, not the Dock.
2. Grant Accessibility once. A short illustrated guide opens the right System Settings page and shows you exactly what to toggle. It's the standard macOS permission every mouse tool needs.
3. Middle-click and go. Click the middle button in any app and start scrolling. That's it. The menu-bar icon lets you turn it on or off, launch at login, or quit.

Download

Free.

No payment, no sign-up, no time limit.

• Every feature, from the first launch. There is no trial period and nothing to unlock later.
• Install it on as many of your Macs as you like. There is no license key to enter.
• Updates are free, and the app can check for them on its own.
• macOS 13 or later. Apple Silicon and Intel.

Privacy & security

"Isn't a tool that watches my mouse basically a keylogger?" It's a fair question, so here's exactly what Scrollane does and doesn't touch.

• It watches two things: mouse buttons and the Esc key. It needs the middle button to start and stop scrolling, and Esc to cancel. That's the whole reason it asks for Accessibility permission.
• It does not record or store what you type. No keystroke logging, no clipboard reading, no screen capture.
• It sends nothing about how you use your Mac. The only time the app talks to the internet is to check whether a newer version exists. There is no account and no license check, and nothing about your usage leaves your Mac.
• It's notarized by Apple. macOS has scanned the app and it opens without security warnings.
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More detail is in the Privacy Policy.