How to change your cursor on Mac
Updated 24 September 2026 · macOS 14 and later.
macOS lets you change the pointer's size and color, but not its shape. Below is everything the built-in settings can do, then how to get a custom cursor when they are not enough.
Change the size and color (built in)
- Open System Settings from the Apple menu.
- Go to Accessibility → Display.
- Scroll to Pointer. Drag Pointer size to make the arrow bigger.
- Set Pointer outline color and Pointer fill color to recolor it. The Reset button puts back the black and white arrow.
Shake mouse pointer to locate lives in the same panel. Leave it on: the pointer briefly grows when you wiggle the mouse, which helps on a big display.
Change the shape: you need an app
There is no setting for a different cursor image. Apps that change it do so through the same private system calls macOS uses for its own cursors, so every app you use sees the new pointer, not just the browser. Browser extensions only change the cursor inside web pages.
- Sleek Mouse turns the arrow into an emoji that changes with the app you are in: 💀 in Chrome, 🧌 in Discord, 👾 in Terminal. Pick a built-in pack or make your own theme of up to 10 emoji from the menu bar.
- Mousecape is a free, open-source app for full cursor sets drawn by hand. See how the two compare.
Get the normal arrow back
With the built-in settings, press Reset under Pointer. With Sleek Mouse, click Enabled in its menu bar panel or quit the app. The stock arrow returns straight away, and it also comes back if the app ever crashes.