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Mac app · free

Scrollwise

Natural on the trackpad and Apple's Magic Mouse, classic on a wheel mouse. Automatically.

macOS has one scroll direction switch for every device, so anyone who uses both a trackpad and a mouse flips it back and forth all day. Scrollwise checks which device each scroll comes from and fixes the direction on the fly. Apple's Magic Mouse is recognised on its own and scrolls like the trackpad it really is. Leave the macOS switch alone and never touch it again. That part is free for good. Scrollwise Pro ($2.99 once, 7 days free to try) adds speed, smooth scrolling and button controls for each mouse, per-app settings and profiles.

Download for Mac
Get Pro · $2.99

Free to use. Pro is $2.99 once for 2 Macs, and you can try it 7 days free from the app. Prices exclude tax.

All three apps, save 20%

$19.97 $15.98 once

Scrollwise Pro (2 Macs) + Notchet (2 Macs) + DisplayShift (1 Mac), lifetime. One key for each app arrives by email.

Buy the bundle · $15.98

v2.0.4 · 3.4 MB zip · macOS 14 Sonoma or later · Apple silicon and Intel

# Install with Homebrew

brew install --cask aqibjavedzeepalm/tap/scrollwise

560downloads and counting
The problem, the fix and what Pro adds, in under a minute. Turn the sound on.

In motion

Watch it work

  • Each device, its own direction

    macOS has one Natural scrolling switch for everything, so one device always scrolls backwards. Scrollwise knows which device you're touching and gives each one its own way.

  • Only what your mouse has

    A two-button mouse gets two-button settings. Five buttons and a tilt wheel? Sideways, middle and side button settings show up too.

  • The wheel glides

    Smooth scrolling turns each notch of a wheel mouse into a glide, like a trackpad, instead of a jump of a few lines.

  • Side buttons that do something

    Back and forward in any app, Mission Control, App Exposé, or any shortcut you type. The wheel button can scroll while you hold it and move.

  • Hold a key while you scroll

    Shift scrolls sideways, Option slows it down for precise work, Command zooms. Works with any mouse or trackpad.

  • Every app, its own speed

    Slower in Figma, faster in Safari. Scrollwise switches the moment you change apps.

What it does

One switch was never enough

  • Knows which device you are using

    It asks macOS which device sent each scroll, so a trackpad and a mouse can scroll in opposite directions at the same time.

  • Nothing to switch

    Connect or disconnect a mouse whenever you like. The direction is right the moment you touch it.

  • Made for Apple's Magic Mouse

    Every Magic Mouse is recognised, the original and Magic Mouse 2 included, even when it has been renamed. Its touch surface works like a trackpad, so it scrolls the natural way by default while a wheel mouse stays classic, and the glide after you lift your finger keeps going the same way. Change either one on its own.

  • See it working

    A live readout shows the device it just saw and whether it flipped the scroll, so you know it is doing its job.

  • Your call per device

    Natural or standard for the trackpad, the Magic Mouse and a wheel mouse separately. Only the devices you have connected show up.

  • Private and light

    It only looks at scroll, touch and mouse button events, never what you type, and only goes online to look for updates and check a Pro license.

  • Pro: speed and feel for each mouse

    Scroll speed per device, smooth gliding scrolls for wheel mice, a scroll acceleration curve, lines per notch, and pointer speed with acceleration off for each mouse on its own. A jitter filter stops a worn wheel jumping back.

  • Pro: every button on your mouse

    Side buttons for back and forward, Mission Control, App Exposé or any shortcut; middle-click actions; hold a button and move to scroll. Hold Shift to scroll sideways, Option for precision, Command to zoom. Only the buttons your mouse really has show up.

  • Pro: per app, per device, per desk

    Different settings for each app and each device, and profiles that switch by themselves when a mouse or display connects. Ignore the trackpad while you type, see how far you scrolled, and take your setup to another Mac in one file.

Screens

What you will see

  • Each app can scroll its own way: slower in a design app, faster in the browser.
  • Profiles switch by themselves when a mouse or a display connects.
  • How far you scrolled, counted on your Mac only.

Install

Three steps and you are done

Signed and notarized by Apple, so it opens like any other app.

  1. Download and unzip

    Double-click the downloaded zip in your Downloads folder, then drag Scrollwise into your Applications folder.

  2. Open it and follow the setup

    Scrollwise walks you through the rest: it moves itself into Applications, asks for Accessibility access once and ticks it off as soon as you switch it on, then asks whether to open at login. If a switch looks on but nothing happens, click Reset and try again.

  3. Scroll

    Leave the macOS Natural scrolling switch as it is. Click the Scrollwise icon in the menu bar to open its settings, scroll with the trackpad, then the mouse, and watch the Right now panel. If Scroll Reverser or a similar app is running, Scrollwise offers to quit it so the two do not cancel out.

Prefer Homebrew?

One line in Terminal installs the same notarized app into Applications. It keeps itself up to date after that.

# Install with Homebrew

brew install --cask aqibjavedzeepalm/tap/scrollwise

Questions

Scrollwise, in short

Price
Free; Pro is $2.99 once (7 days free to try)
Requires
macOS 14 Sonoma or later
Runs on
Apple silicon and Intel
Latest version
2.0.4, Nov 2, 2026
Checked by Apple
Yes, notarized

What is Scrollwise?

Scrollwise is a free macOS menu bar app that keeps natural scrolling on the trackpad and classic scrolling on a mouse at the same time. macOS has one switch for both; Scrollwise knows which device sent each scroll and flips only the ones that should go the other way.

Does Scrollwise work with the Magic Mouse?

Yes. Every Magic Mouse is recognised, the original and Magic Mouse 2 included, even when it has been renamed, and you choose natural or standard for it separately from the trackpad and any wheel mouse.

Is Scrollwise free?

Yes. The direction fixing for trackpads, wheel mice and the Magic Mouse is free, with no time limit. Scrollwise Pro is optional: $2.99 once for 2 Macs, with a 7-day free trial you start from the app. It adds speed, smooth scrolling, button remapping, per-app settings, profiles and more. Prices exclude tax; VAT or sales tax is added at checkout where it applies.

Do I need to change the macOS Natural scrolling setting?

No. Leave the macOS switch as it is; Scrollwise works on top of it, whichever way it is set.

Which Macs does Scrollwise run on?

Scrollwise runs on macOS 14 Sonoma or later, on Apple silicon and Intel Macs. It needs Accessibility access once, because macOS only lets approved apps adjust scroll events.

Privacy

Permissions, and what it does with them

  • No analytics or telemetry. Its only network requests are a check for new versions and, with Pro, checking your license key with Polar.
  • Sees scroll, touch and mouse button events only, never what you type, and does not record what you scroll. Scroll stats are counted on your Mac and never sent anywhere.
  • Stores nothing but its own preferences.
  • Signed with my Apple Developer ID and notarized by Apple. Updates install only after their Apple signature checks out.

Feedback

Tell me what Scrollwise should do next

Ask for a feature, report something that went wrong, or leave a review. It comes straight to me, and I read every one.

What is this about?

Release notes

What changed

  1. v2.0.4Nov 2, 2026

    • A calmer look: the Pro page, the Pro tags and the buy window are simpler, and the device icon no longer pulses all the time.
    • Fixed for good: the empty Settings window that could still appear after restarting your Mac.

  2. v2.0.3Oct 29, 2026

    • Mouse gestures (Pro): hold a side or middle button and move up, down, left or right for Mission Control, the desktop, the previous or next desktop, or any shortcut.
    • Side wheels (Pro): a thumb wheel like the MX Master's gets its own speed and direction, or switches desktops, tabs, zoom or the volume.
    • Pointer speed per mouse now really applies, Bluetooth mice that go to sleep included.
    • No more empty Settings window after restarting your Mac.

  3. v2.0.2Oct 28, 2026

    • Bug fixes and improvements.

  4. v2.0.1Oct 22, 2026

    • Bug fixes and improvements.

  5. v2.0.0Oct 22, 2026

    • Everything you use stays free: natural or standard for the trackpad, wheel mice and the Magic Mouse, and sideways scrolling.
    • New Scrollwise Pro, with a 7-day free trial: scroll and pointer speed for each mouse, smooth scrolling, side and middle button actions, drag to scroll, modifier-key scrolling, per-app settings, profiles, a jitter filter, scroll stats and settings export.
    • A redesigned settings window that only shows the options each device really has, with a mouse picture that lights up as you press its buttons.

  6. v1.2.3Oct 8, 2026

    • Updates now show in the notch: what's new, the download's progress, and a note when it's done. New versions are found within the hour, or as soon as your Mac wakes.

  7. v1.2.2Oct 8, 2026

    • Updates itself: new versions install automatically from now on. Prefer to update by hand? Switch it off in Settings and a dot on the menu bar icon tells you when one is out.

  8. v1.2.1Oct 7, 2026

    • Notarized by Apple: it opens straight away, no Open Anyway step.
    • Better Magic Mouse support: every Magic Mouse is recognised, including renamed ones, and the scroll glide after you lift your finger keeps the natural direction.
    • Settings open on the screen you clicked the menu bar icon on, and a cleaner settings design.

  9. v1.2.0Oct 3, 2026

    • The Magic Mouse gets its own setting and scrolls the natural way by default, like a trackpad. Wheel mice stay classic.
    • Settings only show the devices that are connected right now. A mouse gets its row the moment it connects.
    • Click the menu bar icon and the settings drop out of the notch; click again to fold them back. Right-click for the menu.

  10. v1.1.0Sep 28, 2026

    • A setup assistant on first launch: it moves the app into Applications, asks for Accessibility once and fixes a stuck permission by itself.
    • Asks whether to open at login instead of switching it on quietly.
    • Opening a newer copy closes the older one, so two copies never flip the same scroll.

  11. v1.0.0Sep 28, 2026

    • First release: natural on the trackpad, standard on any mouse, with a live device readout.

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