Mouse Jiggler for Mac, Free Download
A featherweight macOS app that keeps your Mac awake and your presence dot green. Open-source. No telemetry. No ads in the binary.
Mouse Jiggler 2.0.25 for macOS
Released May 2026, runs on every Mac from Catalina through Sequoia 15.4
Direct ZIP, no installer, no bundled extras. SHA verified on every release.
The short version. Mouse Jiggler 2.0.25 is a 402 KB menu bar app that nudges your cursor by a single pixel at a chosen interval. macOS reads that as user input, so the display will not sleep, the screensaver will not kick in, and Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom will not flip you to Away. Free, open-source, no account, no payment, no spyware.
What is Mouse Jiggler
Mouse Jiggler is a macOS utility in the idle prevention category. It sits in the menu bar and emits a small cursor offset at a fixed interval, which the operating system treats as a genuine input event. That single behaviour solves a surprising range of problems for people who work from home, run long renders, present from a Mac, or just want their screen to stop sleeping while they read a long PDF.
I started using it during a 90 minute Zoom workshop where I was the silent producer in the background. Slack kept flipping my status to Away every 10 minutes, which made my team think I had stepped out. Mouse Jiggler ran in the menu bar at a 30 second interval. Status stayed green, cursor never visibly moved, problem solved on day one.
The app does one thing and it does it cleanly. There is no AI, no cloud sync, no premium tier. It is the modern descendant of the original Arkane Systems Mouse Jiggler that shipped on Windows in 2008, rebuilt as a native Apple Silicon app with a sane permissions model and a Universal 2 binary.
Key features
One pixel jiggle
Offset is below the perception threshold. The OS sees input, you do not see cursor twitching mid sentence.
Custom interval
Set anywhere from 5 seconds to 60 minutes. The default 30 second interval is enough for every major chat app.
Menu bar only
No Dock icon, no window clutter, no notifications. The app footprint is a single status bar glyph.
Global hotkey
Bind a system wide shortcut to start and stop the jiggle without touching the menu. Useful when you need the mouse back instantly.
Launch at login
Registers with macOS Service Management. Survives reboots, OS updates, and forced log outs.
Zero telemetry
No analytics SDK, no network calls, no usage reports. Verified by Little Snitch and the open-source repository.
System requirements
How to install Mouse Jiggler on Mac
Two minute install. No package manager, no command line, no admin password.
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Download the ZIP
Click the blue download button above. Your browser will save mouse-jiggler-2-0-25.zip to the Downloads folder.
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Unzip and move into Applications
Double-click the ZIP. macOS expands it next to itself. Drag Mouse Jiggler.app into your /Applications folder so future updates do not litter Downloads.
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Right-click, then Open
The first launch needs a right-click and Open to bypass the standard Gatekeeper prompt for non App Store apps. After that, regular double-click works.
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Grant Accessibility permission
macOS will pop a dialog the first time the app tries to move the cursor. Click Open System Settings, find Mouse Jiggler in the Accessibility list, toggle it on. Done once, it sticks.
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Pick interval, hit Start
Click the menu bar icon, choose 30 seconds (good default) or set a custom interval. Press Start. The arrow will spin to confirm the jiggle is active.
If macOS says the app is damaged
That message is a Gatekeeper quarantine flag, not actual damage. Open Terminal and run xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Mouse\ Jiggler.app, then reopen the app. This is a known macOS behaviour for ZIP downloads, not a problem with the binary.
How to use Mouse Jiggler day to day
The app is intentionally minimal, so the workflow is short. Once installed, you usually never open the menu again. Three real settings matter.
- Interval. 30 seconds covers Slack, Teams, Zoom, Discord, and Google Meet idle thresholds. 5 to 10 seconds is overkill and only helps for picky timekeeping software. 60 minutes is enough to keep the screen on without ever interfering with anything you might be doing.
- Launch at Login. Toggle this once. The jiggle resumes the moment you reach the desktop after a reboot, so a Monday morning login does not need a manual restart.
- Hotkey. Bind a global shortcut like F6 or Option Space. Tapping it pauses the jiggle instantly when you actually need to use the cursor for something precise, and resumes it when you walk away again.
The app stores its preferences in the standard ~/Library/Preferences/com.mousejiggler.mac.plist location. There is no hidden support folder, no ~/Library/Application Support footprint, and no LaunchDaemon installed system-wide.
Why people use a mouse jiggler in 2026
The use cases have grown well past the original “stop the screensaver” reason from the 2010s. Here is the realistic break-down based on what the macOS remote work crowd actually does with it.
| Scenario | What goes wrong without it | What Mouse Jiggler fixes |
|---|---|---|
| Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zoom presence | Status flips to Away after 5 to 10 minutes of no input | Cursor offset every 30 seconds keeps the dot green indefinitely |
| Long video render, audio bounce, photo export | Display sleeps mid render, throttling kicks in on some apps | Display stays awake without changing system Energy Saver settings |
| Reading long PDFs or specifications | Screen dims and locks every few minutes, breaking concentration | Continuous activity keeps the screen at full brightness |
| Trade show kiosks and lobby displays | macOS sleeps after 1 minute on default kiosk profile | Persistent input prevents lock screen and screensaver |
| Pair programming over screen share | Idle disconnect from VS Code Live Share or Tuple | Connection holds for the full session length |
| Watching long lectures or training videos | Display dims, pause prompts, autoplay timeouts | Display locked to active state for hours on end |
The one I hear about most is the remote work scenario. Companies have shifted from raw timekeeping software toward presence indicators in chat tools, which makes the green dot the de facto productivity metric on a lot of teams. A mouse jiggler is the most direct fix for that without changing how the day actually flows.
Is Mouse Jiggler safe
Yes. The binary is open-source and notarized.
Three reasons the app is safe to install. First, the source code is published, so the build is reproducible from the same Git tag. Second, the binary is signed and notarized through Apple, which means Apple has scanned it for malware and approved the developer ID. Third, Little Snitch and Lulu both confirm the app makes zero outbound connections after launch.
The Accessibility permission is the only sensitive grant the app requests. That permission is required for any macOS app that programmatically moves the cursor, including Magnet, BetterTouchTool, Hammerspoon, and Apple’s own VoiceOver. The risk model is not different.
If you want to triple-check before installing, run the file through VirusTotal at virustotal.com after download. Mouse Jiggler 2.0.25 returns a clean report across all 70+ AV engines.
Version history
- 2.0.25 (May 2026). Sequoia 15.4 compatibility, fixed a permission re-prompt loop on Apple Silicon Macs, smaller signed binary.
- 2.0.20 (February 2026). Added global hotkey support, pause on lid close detection.
- 2.0.10 (October 2025). Sonoma 14 release, Universal 2 binary, dropped 32 bit Intel.
- 2.0.0 (June 2025). Full rewrite in Swift, native menu bar UI, replaced legacy Carbon timer with GCD scheduling.
- 1.x (2018 to 2024). Original Objective-C build maintained for older macOS releases. Frozen, no new features.
Frequently asked questions
Is Mouse Jiggler free to download?
Yes. Version 2.0.25 is released under the MIT license, free for personal and commercial use, and contains no paid tier, no ads in the app, and no telemetry.
What does Mouse Jiggler actually do?
It sends a one-pixel cursor offset at a chosen interval. macOS treats that offset as user input, which prevents display sleep, screensaver activation, and idle status flips in Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Discord.
Does Mouse Jiggler work on macOS Sequoia 15?
Yes. 2.0.25 is fully compatible with Sequoia 15.0 through 15.4 on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. Compatibility goes back to macOS Catalina 10.15.
Will Slack or Teams know I am using Mouse Jiggler?
No. Slack and Teams check whether macOS reports the system as idle, not what app generated the input. A simulated cursor move resets the idle timer the same way a real one does, so your green dot stays on.
Is Mouse Jiggler safe?
Yes. The app is open-source, notarized by Apple, and signed with a verified developer ID. It makes zero network calls and contains no third party SDKs in the binary.
How do I uninstall Mouse Jiggler?
Quit the app from the menu bar, drag Mouse Jiggler.app to the Trash, and optionally remove the entry under System Settings, Privacy and Security, Accessibility. There is no installer remnant or hidden support folder.
Does the app use a lot of CPU or battery?
No. CPU usage stays below 0.1 percent on Apple Silicon. The cursor offset is sent through the standard Core Graphics event tap. Battery impact is negligible compared to the display itself.
Why is the cursor barely visible when it jiggles?
By design. A one-pixel offset is below the human perception threshold. The OS still sees input, but you do not see the cursor moving while you read or type.
Can I set Mouse Jiggler to start at login?
Yes. Open the menu bar, click Preferences, toggle Launch at Login. The app registers with macOS Service Management and survives reboots and OS updates.
Does it work when the lid is closed?
No software jiggler can override clamshell sleep on a MacBook. With an external display, keyboard, and power adapter connected (the Apple-supported clamshell setup) the app continues to run.
What is the difference between Mouse Jiggler and an auto clicker?
Mouse Jiggler simulates cursor movement only. An auto clicker sends actual click events. For pure idle prevention either works. For tasks that need clicks, like AFK gameplay or repeated UI actions, you want an auto clicker.
Is there a Mouse Jiggler for Windows?
This page hosts the macOS build only. Windows users have several open-source options including Move Mouse and the original Arkane Systems Mouse Jiggler on GitHub.