MaCursor

Who It's For

MaCursor is for macOS users who want to customize their system cursor appearance beyond Apple's defaults. Whether you're bored of the standard arrow and I-beam, want to import Windows cursor sets you've collected, or are a designer who wants a cursor that matches your workspace aesthetic, MaCursor provides a purpose-built editor and library manager for the task. It's also useful for streamers and content creators who want a high-contrast or branded cursor during recordings.

How It Works

MaCursor replaces macOS system cursors — arrow, I-beam, crosshair, wait spinner, and more — by writing custom cursor images into the system cursor store. A built-in library of 34+ themes can be applied with a single double-click. For custom themes, a split-pane visual editor handles metadata, the cursor list, per-cursor image slots, hotspot editing, and animated cursor previews. HiDPI/Retina displays are supported via separate 1× and 2× image representations per cursor slot.

A background helper tool (macursorhelper) runs as a lightweight login item to keep shortcuts active and reapply your chosen theme across restarts, sleep/wake cycles, and user switches — without it, cursors reset when the system reboots. Global hotkeys can be assigned to any saved theme, enabling instant switching between cursor sets from any app.

Windows cursor files (.cur and .ani) import directly: drag them onto the Cursor List pane in the editor, and animated .ani files are decomposed into sprite sheets with their frame timing preserved. The cursor scale slider adjusts the rendered size from 1× to 4×. The app ships as a universal binary, is code-signed and notarized by Apple, and includes Sparkle for automatic over-the-air updates.

Compared to Alternatives

MaCursor is based on Mousecape, which pioneered custom cursor replacement on macOS but hasn't been actively maintained and lacks a modern SwiftUI interface. MaCursor re-engineers the same underlying approach with a native SwiftUI UI, a polished theme library, a built-in editor, and macOS 15+ support. For users who only want to adjust cursor *size*, macOS System Settings → Accessibility → Display has a native slider — MaCursor is for users who want full theme replacement with custom artwork.

Requirements

• macOS 15 Sequoia or later
• No SIP modification required
• Universal binary (Apple Silicon and Intel)
• Code-signed and notarized by Apple
• Helper tool installation recommended for persistence across reboots

Getting Started

Download the latest .dmg from the GitHub Releases page, open it, and drag MaCursor to your Applications folder. Apply any built-in theme by double-clicking it. To persist your theme across restarts, go to Settings → General and click Install next to Helper Tool. Import .cursor theme files via File → Import Theme or by dragging them onto the library window.