MacMouseMover

A lightweight, open-source macOS menubar app that prevents your Mac from going idle and keeps the screen awake.

Useful for presentations, monitoring dashboards, long-running tasks, downloads, video calls, or anytime you need your Mac to stay active without manual interaction.

Features

• Menubar-only — lives quietly in your menubar, no dock icon or windows
• One-click toggle — left-click to turn on/off, right-click for settings
• Scheduling — set different schedules for weekdays and weekends
• Battery-aware — optionally pause when running on battery power
• Launch at login — start automatically when you log in
• Configurable interval — choose 30s, 1m, 2m, or 5m between activity
• Randomization — optional random variation in timing and movement
• Prevents screen saver — uses macOS power assertion to prevent idle sleep
• Simulates user activity — keeps the system active for apps that monitor idle state
• Smart idle detection — only activates when you're away, never disturbs active use
• Invisible operation — tiny movement that returns to original position
• Persistent settings — remembers your preferences across restarts

Privacy & Security

This app is fully open-source. You can inspect every line of code before building. It:

• Collects no data
• Makes no network requests
• Requires only Accessibility permission (to simulate input)
• Stores settings locally via UserDefaults

Requirements

• macOS 13.0 (Ventura) or later
• Swift 5.9+ (for building from source)

Installation

Download (Easiest)

1. Download MacMouseMover.zip from the Releases page
2. Extract and move MacMouseMover.app to Applications
3. Right-click the app → Open (required once for unsigned apps)
4. Grant Accessibility permission when prompted

Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/Mazurevitz/MacMouseMover.git
cd MacMouseMover
swift build -c release
mkdir -p /Applications/MacMouseMover.app/Contents/MacOS
cp .build/release/MacMouseMover /Applications/MacMouseMover.app/Contents/MacOS/
cp Sources/MacMouseMover/Info.plist /Applications/MacMouseMover.app/Contents/

Then launch from Applications or Spotlight.

Usage

Action	Result
Left-click menubar icon	Toggle on/off
Right-click menubar icon	Open settings

Permissions

Important: The app requires Accessibility permission to work. Without it, the app will appear to run but won't actually simulate any activity.

System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility → Enable MacMouseMover

If the app isn't working:

1. Remove MacMouseMover from Accessibility list
2. Re-add /Applications/MacMouseMover.app
3. Make sure the toggle is ON
4. Restart the app

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to open issues or submit pull requests.

License

MIT License — free to use, modify, and distribute.