Hold right-click.
Draw a line.
Mousetroke adds mouse gestures to every window on Windows and Mac. Hold the right button and drag: ← goes back, ↓→ closes the tab, ↙ minimizes the window. A plain right-click still opens the menu.
In the demo area, draw ← for back, → for forward, →↓ for a new tab, ↓→ to close the tab, ←↑→ to refresh, ↙ to minimize, ↗ to maximize. The buttons below play each gesture.
Draw this, get that
About fifty gestures come built in, covering browsing, editing and window management. Change, turn off or delete any of them, or draw a new one once in settings to record it.
Browsing
- BackIn browsers and File ExplorerIn browsers and Finder←
- Forward→
- New tab→↓
- Close tab↓→
- Reopen closed tabClick the left button at the end→↓ + Left
- Refresh←↑→
- Previous tabOr hold right and scroll↑←
- Next tab↑→
- Scroll to top←↑
- Scroll to bottom←↓
Editing
- Copy↑
- Paste↓
- Cut↑ + Left
- Paste & Enter↓ + Left
- Web searchSearches the selected text↑↓
- Enter↓→↓
- Backspace←→
- Delete→←
- Cancel (Esc)→↑←
- SnipDraw a square↑→↓←
Windows and media
- Minimize↙
- Maximize / restore↗
- Fullscreen↗ + Left
- Close window↓←
- Kill processFor a program that hangs↓← + Left
- Always on top↑→↑
- Zoom in / out↑ + Wheel
- Next trackHold the middle buttonMiddle →
- Previous trackMiddle ←
- Next desktopHold a side buttonSide →
While you draw, the gesture name appears near the bottom of the screen; anything it doesn't recognize does nothing. The same gesture can do different things in different apps.
Push into a corner
No button needed: push the cursor into a corner, or along an edge and then scroll, middle-click or rub up and down. A corner fires again only after you leave it, so it doesn't repeat by accident.
More than shortcuts
Each gesture runs one of eight kinds of action. Actions can use variables: %MS_SELECTED_TEXT% is the selected text and %MS_PID% is the process under the cursor.
- Send keys
- Any shortcut or sequence of keys, such as
Ctrl+Shift+T⌘⇧T. - Window actions
- Minimize, maximize, keep on top, close or kill the window under the cursor or the active one.
- Open an app
- Start an app or open a file, with optional arguments.
- Open a URL
- In the default browser, optionally with the selected text:
https://www.bing.com/search?q=%MS_SELECTED_TEXT% - Run a command
- Run a command, with variables when needed.
- Media & system
- Volume, mute, play / pause, previous / next track, screen brightness.
- Show a menu
- One gesture opens a menu of actions next to the cursor; click one to run it.
- Lua script
- A few lines of Lua when you need conditions or several steps in a row.
Out of the way when it should be
Remote desktop, 3D and design apps use right- and middle-drag for themselves. On first run, Mousetroke finds the ones you have installed; tick them to turn gestures off inside them.On Mac, gestures are off by default in remote desktop, virtual machine and 3D apps, including Windows App, Screen Sharing, Parallels Desktop and Blender. Change these rules in settings.
- Right-click still worksPress without drawing and the context menu opens as usual; hold still for a moment and it becomes a normal right-drag.
- Pauses for fullscreenGames, video and presentations in fullscreen don't trigger gestures or corners.
- Pause any timePress Win + Esc to pause or resume; the tray icon turns gray.Press ⌃ + ⌥ + ⌘ + P to pause or resume. You can change the shortcut in settings or pause from the menu-bar menu.
- Adding an app is quickDrag its exe or shortcut into the settings window, or click “Pick a window” and click that app's window.Choose an .app in settings, or click “Pick a window” and click that app's window.
Barely there
The gesture engine is written in Rust and talks to Windows directly, with no browser engine and no runtime. The settings window is a separate process that opens only when you need it.The native gesture engine is written in Rust. On Mac it uses AppKit and CGEventTap; settings use the system WebKit, with no WebView2 needed.
- Resident memory
- 1913MB
- Download
- 13.2MB8.1MB
Measured working set, about 10 MB private; no CPU when idle.About 13 MB physical footprint in Activity Monitor; no CPU when idle.
One exe that runs from anywhere. Nothing goes in the registry unless you turn on start with Windows.Drag Mousetroke from the DMG into Applications. Manage launch at login in System Settings.
Open settings, pause or quit from the menu-bar menu. Manage launch at login in System Settings.
Questions
Does the right-click menu still work with Mousetroke?
Yes. A right-click without dragging is passed back to the system unchanged, so the context menu opens as usual. Holding still past the drag timeout (0.5 seconds by default, adjustable) also becomes a normal right-drag.
How does Mousetroke compare with WGestures, StrokeIt and other mouse gesture tools?
Mousetroke is free, including business use, and open source under the MIT license; it supports Windows 11, with a Mac beta in active development. It offers screen corners, per-app rules, Lua scripting and one-click in-app updates. See the mouse gesture tool comparison, Mousetroke vs WGestures and Mousetroke vs StrokeIt for differences in platforms, features and licensing.
Will it misfire in games or remote desktop?
Windows: Fullscreen games, video and presentations pause gestures automatically. Programs that need right- or middle-drag themselves, such as Remote Desktop, AnyDesk, Blender or AutoCAD, can be excluded in one click on first run. Win+Esc pauses at any time.Mac: Gestures pause automatically for fullscreen games, video and presentations. Remote desktop, virtual machine and 3D apps can be excluded in settings. The default pause shortcut is ⌃⌥⌘P; you can change it.
Which operating systems are supported?
Windows: Windows 10 1809 or later and Windows 11, 64-bit. The gesture engine has no runtime dependencies; the settings window uses Microsoft Edge WebView2, which ships with Windows 11 and comes with Edge on most Windows 10 PCs.Mac: macOS 11 or later, on Apple silicon and Intel. The native engine uses AppKit and CGEventTap; settings use the system WebKit. Grant Accessibility on first open. Enable Input Monitoring only if setup asks for it on an older macOS version.
Is Mousetroke free?
Yes. It is open source under the MIT license, with no ads or account. Once a day it asks GitHub whether a newer version exists (turn it off in Preferences). Nothing else is sent; there is no telemetry.
How much memory and CPU does it use?
Windows: The resident gesture engine uses about 19 MB working set (about 10 MB private) and no CPU when idle. The settings window is a separate process that only runs while it is open.Mac: The resident gesture engine uses about 13 MB physical footprint in Activity Monitor and no CPU when idle. Open settings from the menu-bar menu.
Can I make my own gestures?
Yes. Create a gesture in settings and draw it once on the pad in the editor. You can also combine mouse buttons, the wheel, keyboard keys and screen edges, and set gestures separately for each app.
Where are the settings stored, and how do I back them up?
Windows: In %APPDATA%\mousetroke\config.json. Settings has import and export. Saved changes take effect within about a second, without a restart.Mac: Settings are in ~/Library/Application Support/mousetroke/config.json; logs are in ~/Library/Logs/mousetroke/. Use import and export in settings to back up your configuration.
How do I uninstall it?
Windows: Turn off start with Windows in preferences, choose Quit from the tray icon menu, then delete mousetroke.exe and the %APPDATA%\mousetroke folder. Nothing else is left behind.Mac: Quit from the menu bar, delete Mousetroke.app, ~/Library/Application Support/mousetroke and ~/Library/Logs/mousetroke, and remove the Mousetroke login item in System Settings.
Download Mousetroke
No installer. An icon appears in the notification area: left-click it for settings, right-click to pause or quit. A four-step guide walks you through the first run.Open settings, pause or quit from the menu-bar menu. Manage launch at login in System Settings.
First open on Mac
Drag Mousetroke to Applications and open it. If blocked: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway (beta not notarized). Follow setup to grant Accessibility and reach Ready. Enable Input Monitoring only if setup asks for it. Use Update now in About for later updates without another Open Anyway step; manual download remains available.