Questions

How to change the scroll direction on a Mac

Open System Settings, click Mouse or Trackpad, and turn Natural scrolling off. A mouse wheel then moves the page the way most people know from Windows. The catch is that the Mouse switch and the Trackpad switch are one setting: change one and the other follows. macOS has no built-in way to reverse the mouse alone, and this page says what does.

I make InputConfig, a free Mac app for controllers and other input devices. It is not the tool for this job, and the page says why.

On this page: 7 sections
  1. Steps
  2. Change it in System Settings
  3. Know why both switches move together
  4. Set the mouse alone
  5. What InputConfig does and does not do here
  6. The short version
  7. Questions

Steps

  1. Open the Apple menu and choose System Settings.
  2. Click Mouse in the sidebar, or Trackpad and then Scroll & Zoom.
  3. Turn Natural scrolling off, or back on.
  4. Scroll in any window to check the direction.
  5. For the mouse alone, use an app that reverses mouse and trackpad scrolling separately.

Change it in System Settings

  • You: Open System Settings and click Mouse, with a mouse connected. Or click Trackpad, then Scroll & Zoom. Turn Natural scrolling off or on.
  • macOS: Applies the change to the mouse and the trackpad together.
  • Check: Scroll in any window. The page now moves the other way.

Apple describes Natural scrolling as moving the contents of a window in the same direction as your fingers.

Download InputConfig on the Mac App StoreInputConfig is free on the Mac App Store. macOS 14 or later, no account, no tracking, open source.

Know why both switches move together

The Mouse page and the Trackpad page each show a Natural scrolling switch, and they are the same switch. I checked the two settings panes on my Mac, on macOS 27: both read and write one preference, and neither has a separate one for the mouse. That is why turning it off for the wheel also flips two-finger scrolling on the trackpad. Two switches on screen, one setting underneath.

Set the mouse alone

macOS does not offer this, so it takes an app. One I can point to from its maker's own page is Scroll Reverser:

  • What its maker says. It reverses the direction of scrolling, with independent settings for trackpads and mice, the Magic Mouse included.
  • Cost and source. Free and open source, under the Apache License 2.0.
  • Needs. macOS 13.5 or later, on Intel or Apple silicon, for version 1.9.
  • The setup its maker recommends. Leave Natural scrolling on in System Settings, then turn Reverse mouse on and Reverse trackpad off in the app.

I have not tested it. Those lines are from its page as I read it on October 6, 2026. Leaving Natural scrolling on and reversing only the mouse keeps trackpad gestures feeling right, according to its maker.

What InputConfig does and does not do here

  • It does not reverse a mouse wheel. InputConfig can listen to the wheel as an input, and it cannot hold the wheel's own scrolling back, so it cannot swap its direction.
  • It scrolls from a controller. A stick or a pair of buttons can scroll any window, and a stick row has Invert direction, which flips that axis for the controller alone.

The mouse tilt wheel on a Mac covers what the app does with sideways wheels. For the direction of a mouse wheel, use the macOS switch or a scroll app, not a mapper.

The short version

  • Both devices. System Settings, Mouse or Trackpad, Natural scrolling.
  • Why both change. The two switches are one setting.
  • Mouse only. An app with separate mouse and trackpad settings.

macOS gives one switch for both devices, and anything finer needs an app.

Questions

How do I reverse the scroll direction on a Mac?

Open System Settings, click Mouse or Trackpad, and turn Natural scrolling off. On the Trackpad page it is under Scroll & Zoom.

Can I change the scroll direction for the mouse only on a Mac?

Not with macOS alone. The Natural scrolling switches for the mouse and the trackpad are one setting. An app such as Scroll Reverser, which its maker describes as having independent settings for trackpads and mice, does that job.

Why does changing the mouse scroll direction change the trackpad too?

Both switches read and write the same preference. I checked the Mouse and Trackpad settings panes on macOS 27, and neither has a separate setting for the mouse.

What is Natural scrolling on a Mac?

Apple's description is that the contents of a window move in the same direction as your fingers. Turned off, a mouse wheel scrolls the way most people know from Windows.

Can InputConfig reverse my mouse wheel?

No. It can use the wheel as an input, and it cannot stop the wheel's own scrolling, so it cannot swap the direction. It can scroll from a controller stick, with its own Invert direction setting.

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Download InputConfig on the Mac App StoreFree. macOS 14 or later. No account, nothing leaves your Mac. Open source on GitHub.