How to Change and Customize Your Cursor on macOS Tahoe

Every time macOS updates, the interface develops and innovates. One recent change in macOS Tahoe is the mouse cursor. With the recent macOS Tahoe release, Apple has replaced the iconic “Mickey Mouse glove” cursor with a more generic and anatomically correct-looking glove-wearing hand.

Many users say they cannot get used to this shift, and this has also sparked their desire to customize the cursors on their Macs. By customizing cursors, you may also enhance productivity and aesthetic appeal. Now, let’s explore how to customize the cursor on your Mac to make it truly your own.

Why Is My Mouse Cursor Being Weird in macOS Tahoe?

If you’ve upgraded to macOS Tahoe, your mouse cursor may have undergone some big changes:

• The overall design of the cursors has become more rounded, fitting with the new aesthetic of your Mac operating system.
• The iconic “Mickey Mouse glove” hand cursor with a more generic and anatomically correct-looking glove-wearing hand.
• The arrow pointer has also been slightly redesigned to be more rounded.

Aside from these updates, if you find the mouse cursor continues to behave erratically in macOS Tahoe, consider the following causes and remedies:

• In most cases, a quick but simple restart will fix minor bugs and issues.
• If you continue to find problems, reset the preferences. Deleting the preference files can force them to be rebuilt.
• Boot your Mac in Safe Mode to check whether the problem will continue. This can identify whether there is a third-party software issue.
• Ensure your macOS is up to date, since Apple could release fixes for the issues.
• Check for hardware problems. Make sure your mouse or trackpad is clean. Clear rubbish and get your Mac fully charged. For a wired mouse, unplug it and plug it into a different USB port.

Can You Get Custom Cursors on a Mac?

YES, you may have personalized cursors on a Mac. In regular situations, you may change the color and the cursor size in Settings. This will give you more visibility and preference.

In case you want a more full-scale customization, you can also utilize some third-party applications, which may create more unique effects. Apart from that, if you are using Google Chrome, you can even use browser extensions like Custom Cursor to change the cursor in the browser. Furthermore, power users can even create cursors using applications like cbmp and ctgen.

How to Change My Mouse Cursor Back to Normal on Your Mac?

If you do not like the new appearance or your mouse cursor in the new macOS, you can follow the steps below to restore your mouse cursor to normal in both appearance and function.

1. Click on the Apple menu and open “System Settings”.
2. Navigate to “Accessibility” and “Display”.

   

3. Adjust the settings related to the cursor under the “Pointer”.

   

4. Try to reset the size and colors of your cursor by setting the default size and default colors.
5. If you’ve enabled the “Shake mouse pointer to locate” feature, uncheck the box.

How to Change the Cursor Style on a Mac?

Like adjusting other features in your macOS, you can also customize the size, color, and even the appearance of your cursor with Settings.

However, if you want to have more control over the mouse cursor, you can apply some third-party solutions. With tools like Mousescape, you can import, create, and apply custom cursor themes to satisfy your needs further.

Change the Cursor Style on a Mac via Settings

Whether you’re using macOS Tahoe or Monterey, you can customize the cursor for Mac in the Settings. Through the “Accessibility” settings under Display, you can adjust the size of the cursor, change the color of the cursor, enlarge the cursor when shaking the mouse, and more. Here are the steps to change the cursor style on your Mac system.

1. Click on the Apple menu and select “System Settings”.
2. Navigate to “Accessibility” in the sidebar.
3. Tap on the “Display” icon.
4. Click the “Pointer” tab to customize your cursor.
5. Also, you can adjust the size of your cursor via the slider.
6. Besides, change the appearance of your cursor by clicking the color boxes.
7. Check the box for "Shake mouse pointer to locate" to make your cursor temporarily grow when you move it quickly.

Change the Cursor Style on a Mac via Mousescape

If the customization options in Settings cannot satisfy your needs, you can use a third-party app to further change your mouse cursor in your macOS.

Among the popular options in 2025, you can give the free tool “Mousescape” a try. With Mousescape, you can customize and animate your mouse cursor using .cape files. By importing, editing, and applying custom cursors, you can revert to the old “Mickey Mouse glove” cursor or apply new designs in terms of your preferences. Here is what you can do with Mousescape:

• Manage and apply custom cursor sets by importing .cape files.
• Apply animated cursors, enjoying more dynamic mouse cursor experiences.
• As the mouse cursor is in high resolution, your cursor will look sharp and clear on your displays.
• Create new cursor sets, edit existing ones, and switch between different cursor themes.
• Enjoy the custom cursor resources and packs shared in the community. You can find various cursor designs online and import them into the Mousescape

Bonus Tip: How to Improve Your Experience on macOS Tahoe

Many other toolkits can enhance your experience when using macOS. If you’re the one who relies heavily on your Mac, you can equip your Mac with BuhoCleaner.

This professional Mac cleaner enables you to optimize your Mac system by locating and deleting unwanted data, files, app cache, system logs, and duplicated photos and videos. With simple clicks, you can free up the storage space and improve the performance.

Besides, the BuhoCleaner menu bar app also allows you to monitor your Mac’s storage space, performance, and overall health in real time. If you find your system slows down suddenly, you can free up the storage space with ease.

Here is what you benefit from BuhoCleaner:

• Identify and remove redundant files, cache, and system logs that accumulate over time, helping you get more storage space to run smoothly.
• Locate and remove duplicate files such as photos and videos.
• Monitor system statistics such as CPU usage, temperature, RAM usage, network speed, and free up the disk space from the menu bar.
• Deleted unwanted applications to get more internal space.
• BuhoCleaner is well-suited to macOS Tahoe and Apple M1-M4 Macs.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it’s easy to get a custom cursor if you don’t like the new design in macOS Tahoe. The most straightforward way is to customize the cursor in the built-in Settings. With simple clicks, you can adjust the size and colors of the mouse cursor. To achieve more control over your mouse cursor, you can also try third-party apps like Mousescape. This free and open-source app allows you to upload, create, and apply your own mouse cursors. Possibly, you can revert to the classic mouse cursor designs.

To further enhance the user experience on your Mac, you can install BuhoCleaner on your Mac. By removing redundant files and monitoring storage space in real-time, you can always keep your Mac running smoothly.