MiddleDrag

Three-finger trackpad gestures for middle-click and middle-drag on macOS.

The middle mouse button your Mac trackpad is missing.

<div align="center">

</div> <p align="center"> <img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NullPointerDepressiveDisorder/MiddleDrag/gh-pages/docs/assets/demo.gif" alt="MiddleDrag Demo" width="600"> </p>

The Problem

Mac trackpads don't have a middle mouse button. Many apps expect one.

MiddleDrag fixes this. Three-finger tap for middle-click. Three-finger drag for middle-drag. Works alongside Mission Control and other system gestures.

Use Cases

Browsers

• Open links in new background tabs
• Close tabs with a click
• Open bookmarks/history in new tabs

Design & Creative Tools

• Pan canvas in Figma, Photoshop, Illustrator, GIMP
• Navigate large documents in PDF viewers
• Scroll in any direction without modifier keys

Development

• Close editor tabs in VS Code, Sublime Text, IDEs
• Middle-click paste in terminals (where supported)
• Pan around large codebases in code visualization tools

3D & CAD Software

• Orbit and pan viewports in Blender, FreeCAD, Fusion 360, SketchUp, Maya, ZBrush, OnShape
• Navigate Google Earth and mapping applications
• Essential for apps with broken or missing trackpad support

Productivity

• Autoscroll in supported applications
• Any workflow that expects middle-mouse input

Features

• Three-finger tap → Middle mouse click
• Three-finger drag → Middle mouse drag (pan/orbit in 3D apps)
• Works with system gestures — Mission Control, Exposé, and other macOS gestures remain functional
• Native macOS app — Menu bar interface, no terminal configuration required
• Configurable — Adjust sensitivity and smoothing to your preference
• Launch at login — Set it and forget it

Installation

Homebrew (Recommended)

brew install --cask middledrag

MacPorts

sudo port install MiddleDrag

Manual Download

1. Download the latest .pkg installer from Releases
2. Open the installer and follow the prompts
3. Launch MiddleDrag from your Applications folder
4. Grant Accessibility permissions when prompted

Verify Download Integrity

Downloads are cryptographically attested via GitHub Artifact Attestations.

# Requires GitHub CLI: brew install gh
gh attestation verify ~/Downloads/MiddleDrag-{VERSION}.pkg --repo NullPointerDepressiveDisorder/MiddleDrag

Usage

MiddleDrag runs in your menu bar as a hand icon.

| Gesture | Action | |---------|--------| | Three-finger tap | Middle click | | Three-finger drag | Middle drag (pan/orbit) |

Settings

• Enabled — Toggle gesture recognition
• Drag Sensitivity — Cursor speed during drag (0.5x – 2x)
• Require Exactly 3 Fingers — Ignore 4+ finger touches
• Launch at Login — Auto-start with macOS

Why MiddleDrag?

vs. BetterTouchTool ($10-24)

BetterTouchTool is powerful but overwhelming. Hundreds of options, complex interface, middle-click buried among features you'll never use. MiddleDrag does one thing well.

vs. Middle ($8)

Middle costs $8 for functionality that should be free. It's also closed-source. MiddleDrag is MIT-licensed and community-maintained.

vs. MiddleClick (open source)

MiddleClick requires terminal commands for all configuration — no GUI. MiddleDrag provides a native macOS settings interface. Both are open source, but MiddleDrag is actively maintained for modern macOS versions.

Requirements

• macOS 15.0 (Sequoia) or later
• Built-in trackpad or Magic Trackpad
• Accessibility permissions

How It Works

MiddleDrag uses Apple's private MultitouchSupport framework to intercept raw touch data before the system gesture recognizer processes it. This allows three-finger gestures to generate middle-mouse events while leaving Mission Control and other system gestures intact.

Technical flow:

1. MultitouchSupport framework provides raw touch coordinates
2. GestureRecognizer detects three-finger tap/drag patterns
3. Accessibility API generates synthetic middle-mouse events
4. CGEventTap suppresses conflicting system click events

Building from Source

git clone https://github.com/NullPointerDepressiveDisorder/MiddleDrag.git
cd MiddleDrag
./build.sh

Or open MiddleDrag.xcodeproj in Xcode 16+.

<details> <summary>Project Structure</summary>

MiddleDrag/
├── Core/
│   ├── GestureRecognizer.swift    # Gesture detection logic
│   ├── MouseEventGenerator.swift  # Mouse event synthesis
│   └── MultitouchFramework.swift  # Private API bindings
├── Managers/
│   ├── DeviceMonitor.swift        # Trackpad monitoring
│   └── MultitouchManager.swift    # Main coordinator
├── Models/
│   ├── GestureModels.swift        # Configuration types
│   └── TouchModels.swift          # Touch data structures
├── UI/
│   ├── AlertHelper.swift          # Dialog utilities
│   └── MenuBarController.swift    # Menu bar interface
└── Utilities/
    ├── LaunchAtLoginManager.swift # Login item management
    └── PreferencesManager.swift   # Settings persistence

</details>

Compatibility

| macOS Version | Status | |---------------|--------| | macOS 15 (Sequoia) | ✅ Supported | | macOS 26 beta (Tahoe) | ✅ Compatible |

Works with built-in MacBook trackpads and external Magic Trackpads.

Troubleshooting

<details> <summary>Gestures not working</summary>

1. Check Accessibility permissions: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility
2. Toggle "Enabled" in the menu bar
3. Restart the app

</details> <details> <summary>After updating, gestures stopped</summary>

macOS treats each app version as a new application. Re-grant permissions:

1. System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility
2. Toggle MiddleDrag off then on
3. Restart MiddleDrag

</details> <details> <summary>Conflicts with system gestures</summary>

Use soft taps instead of physical clicks. The app is designed to coexist with system gestures, but pressing down hard may still trigger Mission Control.

</details>

Contributing

Contributions welcome. See CONTRIBUTING.md.

Acknowledgements

MiddleDrag uses Sentry for crash reporting and Sparkle for auto-updates. See THIRD_PARTY_LICENSES for full license texts.

Trademark

MiddleDrag™ is used as a trademark by Karan Kunal Mohindroo. The MIT License grants rights to the code, not the name. You may use the name "MiddleDrag" for:

• Forks intended for contribution back to this project
• Describing compatibility (e.g., "works with MiddleDrag")
• Factual references and reviews

If you distribute a modified version as a separate project, we ask that you choose a different name to avoid user confusion.

License

MIT License

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<p align="center"> <i>The middle mouse button your Mac trackpad is missing.</i> </p>