Apple no longer puts a middle-click button on its mice. Instead, the company now makes two types of mice for its Mac devices: the trackpad (available for desktops via the Magic Trackpad) and the trackpad-like Magic Mouse. But even if you're using one of the touch options Apple ships with your computer, you can still add middle-click functionality to speed up your workflow.
Apple Magic Trackpad To use this trick anywhere other than your MacBook, you'll need an Apple Magic Trackpad or Magic Mouse.
What you can do with the middle click
Anyone who has used a mouse on a PC knows that the middle button is part of the scroll wheel, and Apple's current mice don't have this feature. You can click the scroll wheel to perform certain functions, which vary depending on how the mouse is programmed. These features are still available on your Mac because you can use a third-party mouse, and they include:
Open the background link in the browser
Close browser tab
Paste selected text into Terminal on Mac
These things can save you a lot of time and are very convenient. If you're switching from Windows to Mac, you'll find Apple's lack of focus on middle-click clicking frustrating.
How macOS lets you default to middle-clicking
Although your Mac doesn't come with a middle-click button, you can use the Command-left-click shortcut to perform a middle-click. This does work, but is a bit inconvenient compared to pressing a button.
There's a better way to middle-click on Mac
If your Mac uses a trackpad or Magic Mouse, you can add a simple free utility called MiddleClick-Sonoma to give it middle-click functionality. The app binds the middle-click to a simple three-finger tap gesture, which is easy to perform on any device. It opens links and closes tabs in the background of all browsers. You can select any text in the terminal and quickly paste it into an app with a three-finger tap. In my experience, all these features work perfectly every time.
To install MiddleClick-Sonoma, go to its GitHub page and download the zip file. Open it and use Finder to drag the app to your Mac's Applications folder, which will complete the installation. You may see a security warning from Apple, but the app is safe. On your Mac, go to System Settings > Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway to run the app.
It will request accessibility permissions, which are required to allow the app to run. After granting this permission, the final step is to ensure that the application launches when your Mac boots up. To do this, go to System Settings > General > Login Items on your Mac and click the + button under "Open at login." Use the search bar to find MiddleClick and add it. Now, the application will run whenever your Mac is running.
Apple Magic Mouse Magic Mouse is Apple's improvement on the traditional pointer, but it doesn't support middle-clicking.
Remember to disable the Find gesture
By default, the three-finger tap gesture on Mac is reserved for Find. This allows you to select text and look up its meaning, definition or other information about the term from the internet. I've always found this gesture a bit annoying because I keep accidentally activating it when I don't need it.
Since MiddleClick uses the same gesture, it's a good idea to disable Find to ensure your middle click isn't interrupted. You can do this on your Mac by going to System Settings > Trackpad > Point and Click . Now, disable the lookup and data detectors . That's all you need to do to make sure you can click the middle mouse button with confidence.
Paid alternatives with more features
While MiddleClick-Sonoma is great and free, it requires some setup, and the app is typically forked once a year as someone updates it to work with a new version of macOS. This means you'll likely have to reinstall the app and set it up again every year, as long as you update your Mac regularly (which you should).
For some people, this is a big hassle. You can avoid this by opting for a paid app, and I think Middle is worth the $8 asking price. Its developers also made Rectangle, a window manager app we've recommended many times. Middle is easier to install and set up, and has the advantage of automatic updates (as long as the developer chooses to support it).
It also allows you to configure other gestures to perform middle-click. If you don't like three-finger tap, you can choose to use three-finger tap, four-finger tap, or one-finger power touch. The app also lets you disable middle-click actions in certain apps, which is nice.
