Mouser: An open source alternative to Logi-Plus mouse software

273 points by avionics-guy 13 hours ago

I discovered this project because all-of-a-sudden Logi Options Plus software updater started taking 40-60% of my Intel Macbook Pro until I killed the process (of course it restarts). In my searches I ended up at a reddit discussion where I found other people with same issues.

I'm a minor contributor to this project but it aims to reduce/eliminate the need to use Logitech proprietary software and telemetry. We could use help if other people are interested.

Please check out the github link for more detailed motivations (eliminating telemetry) as a part of this project. Here is link: https://github.com/TomBadash/MouseControl

pier25 - 9 hours ago

The Logi Options app is such a piece of crap. On macOS it also requires special permissions otherwise it won't even work.

If you only need to connect a device to the Bolt adapter you can use this web app by Logitech without having to install anything:

https://logiwebconnect.com/

y-curious - 9 hours ago

My friend used to work at Logitech. Everyone in the trenches knows the software they pump out is trash, but the higher ups are somehow convinced that it “sets them apart”. I assume they think it sets them apart in a good way, but it’s quite the opposite.
userbinator - 4 hours ago

On macOS it also requires special permissions otherwise it won't even work.
That doesn't sound unusual for something that interacts directly with hardware.
- lmz - 2 hours ago
  
  Also any app-specific bindings would I guess require some hooking (input interception / injection) at the software level.
atonse - 6 hours ago

I’ve been using SteerMouse as an alternative for years. It completely disappears and works 100% of the time.
stanac - 9 hours ago

It's probably the only program I despise, but need. I want to use small button under the wheel as middle click (I have short fingers), and until now, the only way to do it is/was to use logi options+. LO+ updater will get stuck on update every couple of months and while it's updating my button configuration doesn't work. Solution? kill process, uninstall, reinstall and hope it will not get stuck again any time soon.
I have to test Mauser.
While I am here, can anyone recommend good alternative mouse with both smooth/quick and precision scroll like logitech's? Back and forth buttons are also a must for me, horizontal scroll optional. Ideally a mouse would save configuration onto itself, so I don't have rely on garbage software like LO+.
- k12sosse - 5 hours ago
  
  The scroll isn't anything special but you might find something that works for you (there's a large lineup), corsair make an ok mouse that can save multiple hardware profiles, and is programmable with input remapping and macros, etc.
stevenpetryk - 9 hours ago

I'm always afraid of the day Logitech takes this away. Somebody should try to make an open source deploy of this too.
pvab3 - 7 hours ago

Chrome or Edge only it says

car - 11 hours ago

For posterity, I can very much recommend MacMousefix. It's $2.99 to own, totally worth it to me. Open source.

https://macmousefix.com/en/

Also available via brew:

  brew install mac-mouse-fix

And on Github too:

https://github.com/noah-nuebling/mac-mouse-fix

gumby271 - 10 hours ago

That's pretty cool, I've been wanting something like this so I don't have to reach for the touchpad on my Mac all the time. But I gotta say, I did NOT expect to be scrolling in the Z axis all of a sudden on that site!
y-curious - 9 hours ago

Is there anything like this for the MX Ergo? I would be very interested in any software-based “hacks” for the mouse.
- wlesieutre - 8 hours ago
  
  You could also try out a Steermouse free trial, it has MX Ergo S on the recommended mice list, so MX Ero is a maybe
  https://plentycom.jp/en/steermouse/
  I don’t have a mouse on my Mac now (trackpad too good) but Steermouse has been around for about 25 years and I used it for many of those. Way less awful than the Logitech software.
  - Eric_WVGG - 3 hours ago
    
    SteerMouse is legendary. I think it’s been around since Jaguar? Case study in getting it right the first time.
    
    wlesieutre - 3 hours ago
    
    Not quite as old as I remembered, their About page puts it at 2005. But yes it's a remarkably long lasting product.
    https://steermouse.com/about-us/
    Funny how 20 years ago Logitech's software sucked enough for me to pay for an alternative, and two decades later Logitech's software still sucks enough for people to pay for an alternative.
- voltaireodactyl - 8 hours ago
  
  Steermouse fills this gap brilliantly. Covers every device I’ve ever tried and I have some significant exotics.
lwhi - 9 hours ago

I tried this, and it's nice .. but it did let me programme all the buttons on my Logitech MX Vertical.
TyrunDemeg101 - 9 hours ago

Holy crap, just tried this and I was skeptical, but it sold me within minutes. This truly is great!

flexagoon - 11 hours ago

For Linux users, there is Piper[1] based on their libratbag library[2], which supports the majority of mice

[1]: https://github.com/libratbag/piper/

[2]: https://github.com/libratbag/libratbag

ASalazarMX - 11 hours ago

And Solaar! https://github.com/pwr-Solaar/Solaar
- coumbaya - an hour ago
  
  Does anybody know if there is a way to remap the "gesture button" (thumb) to launch a .sh ? I've tried a dozen way without success, the only thing I can do is map the .sh to an actual gesture (button+scroll up) but I don't want to use gestures !
- whalesalad - 11 hours ago
  
  I use this to manage my unifying receiver. I don't think I have touched it once in years, just works.
  - sys_64738 - 9 hours ago
    
    Agreed. I found it so avoided having to install the Logitech spyware anywhere. I won't make that mistake twice.
  - SV_BubbleTime - 10 hours ago
    
    Another vote here. MX keys and mouse and Linux Mint. Love it, set up once and have never touched it since.

schnacki - 9 hours ago

BetterTouchTool has also recently added full Logitech support (keyboard & mouse) and it has been working great for me. (Fully replaces the Logitech Options+ and/or Ghub apps).

Especially the smooth scroll modifier available in BTT (not exclusive to Logitech mice) has helped me a lot, it transforms any mouses scroll events into trackpad like scrolling events that allow for e.g. page swipes, mail archive, scrolling in calendar etc. - things that usually only work with Magic Mouse or Apple Trackpads

jimmydoe - 8 hours ago

BTT also has nice gestures support for this which is a drop in replacement for options plus.

kstrauser - 11 hours ago

Very cool, thanks!

In a similar vein, I've been using SteerMouse (https://plentycom.jp/en/steermouse/) in the same way for many years, for the same reasons. Logi's hardware is nice, but their software just freaking sucks the electrons out of a battery. It's awful. I refuse to run their driver aka mini-OS just to do the right thing when I click a button with my thumb.

Groxx - 10 hours ago

I haven't had a Mac in about a year, but SteerMouse had been installed on all of them for well over a decade prior to that. Excellent software.

d3Xt3r - 39 minutes ago

> Mouser

For a second I thought you were talking about the developer Mouser, who wrote a bunch of fantastic tiny and portable utilities for Windows[1].

[1] https://www.donationcoder.com/software/mouser

jordand - 7 hours ago

A full FOSS replacement is absolutely necessary now. Options+ gets noticably worse every 6 months. The latest thing now is that every time you open it, a pop-up 'View available offers' Ad shows which (of course) you can't disable. The bloat is ridiculous given they embedded a whole additional GUI framework (Flutter) just for that AI Prompt builder many people don't want.

dvdplm - 11 hours ago

Thank you. I’m constantly baffled by the terrible quality of Logitech’s software. Such great hardware and such horrible software. Very much needed an oss alternative.

Retr0id - 11 hours ago

I'm also baffled by the quality of their hardware, their mice are all coated in a type of rubber that turns to goop after a few years.
- Gigachad - 10 hours ago
  
  I wish products would just give up on these rubberised materials. They always turn to goop over time. Unless it’s a part designed to be easily user replaced, just stick to hard plastic.
- SparkyMcUnicorn - 10 hours ago
  
  I use the g305, and have to replace it roughly once a year because the scroll button eventually stops working. I've been through 5-6 of them. Regularly on sale for around $25.
  Wish I could find a better mouse I like as much as this one that I didn't need to pay a yearly subscription for. It's just the right size, lightweight, wireless, and being able to store the customizations to on board memory is nice.
  - w0m - 10 hours ago
    
    humans are naturally slimy. Anything you touch for 8h/day will be slimy in turn. Some of us are slimier than others.
- userbinator - 4 hours ago
  
  Likely to be https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyurethane#Hydrolysis_and_bi...
- Sindisil - 10 hours ago
  
  Huh. Haven't experienced that myself, having used a Master MX for several years (now in use by my wife), a VX Revolution for a few years before that (now my son's backpack mouse), and a Master MX Vertical most recently. My son has gone through several other Logi mice as his primary mice, too, but they've died of either worn out switches or feet (he's an avid gamer).
  Not trying to invalidate your experience -- I've see with my own eyes a similar thing happen with rubberized coatings on laptops & keyboard wrist rests (other's not my own).
  Just putting it out there that it's by no means the universal experience.
  - mikkupikku - 5 hours ago
    
    They just don't make mice like they used to. I've been playing games with my intellimouse for the better part of 30 years. Baffles me when I hear of people blowing through several mice.
  - Retr0id - 9 hours ago
    
    I have wondered if my skin oils are somehow naturally more caustic than average.
    
    dugite-code - 6 hours ago
    
    I had issues during COVID. The hand sanitizer and Hand Moisturizer seemed to be a brutal combom on my work MX mice.
    Everyone had the horrid goop issue as well, you're not mad.
    
    Onavo - 9 hours ago
    
    I think they fixed it in their latest MX4, it's silicone (I think?) now instead of rubber.
    https://www.reddit.com/r/logitech/comments/1nq2luo/got_the_m...
    
    Retr0id - 9 hours ago
    
    Damn, I replaced my MX2 with an MX3 fairly recently...
- m463 - 3 hours ago
  
  not unique to logitech. This happens with my steelseries mice too. I have to clean them with alcohol or something.

coumbaya - 2 hours ago

For a minute I had hope this would work on linux. I'm using Solaar and it kind of works but I haven't managed to make it per-application, also the UI and rule editor is the most cryptic thing ever.

gh123man - 3 hours ago

Funny timing, I've been working on essentially the same thing for Razer mice on macOS. I started this project because the basilisk v3 hyperspeed has no native mac OS support, and no documented bluetooth protocol, so I packet captured and reverse engineered it.

https://github.com/gh123man/OpenSnek

ComputerGuru - 5 hours ago

Open source is the only way to go.

Out-of-the-box, most Linux distributions automatically report the battery status on my (admittedly ancient) Performance MX and I get a desktop notification when the battery is running low so I can run and swap the rechargeables, but I've found no way to do that on Windows (even with Logitech software).

touwer - 11 hours ago

LinearMouse on macos is also good. With Mos

sys_64738 - 9 hours ago

Love Linear Mouse.

bigjay517 - 10 hours ago

I find that Logi Options+ mostly just stays hidden and works. It does use more RAM than I'd like (125.8MB right now). When it does break it's disruptive, or they add some feature I don't want.

- AI Prompting (enabled by default)

- Auto update stuck wasting CPU cycles

- The recent certificate issue

I'd like to find a replacement because I am annoyed by it, but I have not found a replacement that matches ALL of the features I use from Options+.

I keep the default settings in Options+ but in my testing I can't match all the same behavior with the 3rd party solutions:

- Pointer acceleration

- Workspace switching speed

- Smooth scrolling speed / acceleration

Scrolling is usually my main problem where scrolling in one direction jumps in the wrong direction first before correcting. This is most noticeable when scrolling line by line.

I've tested all the 3rd party options mentioned here(with the exception of Mouser). Does anyone else have these problems with the 3rd party alternatives?

jordwest - 10 hours ago

I’ve been using the offline version of Options+ that somebody recommended me a while back, it removes AI and auto updating and has done the job for me.
It’s kind of hidden on their website but you can grab it here:
https://hub.sync.logitech.com/options/post/logi-options-offl...
That said I think this will be my last Logitech device. They’re just not very durable products and die too quickly
- paularmstrong - 9 hours ago
  
  Thanks for pointing this out. I had no idea it existed. The other options in the comments just didn't quite work the way I would like.
  - The main topic requires me to pull python dependencies, build, run manually on Mac - All others can't reassign the button below the scroll wheel on the MX Master 3/4
- itopaloglu83 - 9 hours ago
  
  I switched to the offline version right after Logitech forcefully and without my permission downloaded and installed bunch of crap software on my Mac. I was furious that a stupid mouse driver app has the right to install a random crapware. I’m still fuming about it when I remember it.
userbinator - 4 hours ago

125.8MB right now
20 years ago that would be insane (many machines still had only 512MB of RAM total), and "AI Prompting" sounds like satire, and yet this is the reality we're in now --- all that just to configure a mouse.
Personally my mouses don't need anything more than the OS' default settings.
crooked-v - 9 hours ago

> It does use more RAM than I'd like (125.8MB right now).
For me it regularly ballooned to 1+ GB somehow, until I removed it entirely in favor of BetterMouse.

wolrah - 11 hours ago

Currently only for MX Master 3S, for anyone with other Options-controlled mice getting their hopes up.

daveidol - 4 hours ago

Is there anything like this for the Logitech keyboards (eg MX Keys Mini)? I want to remap some keys there too but don’t want to run Options+

s_u_d_o - 8 hours ago

I usually work on several devices simultaneously, and having to lift, turn the mouse and press the button on the bottom to switch between devices has been a huge hurdle for me. Do you think we can achieve this device-switching mechanism, from within those 6 programmable keys instead? Or this is not possible?

userbinator - 7 hours ago

Download → Mouser.zip (44 MB)

I smell LLM... and 44MB compressed for a mouse control panel applet (at least it's not an Electron app?) is still quite disturbing and a reminder of just how inefficient software has become.

bigyabai - 6 hours ago

The unzipped binary is 2.2mb, all the rest in Qt dependencies by the look of it.
44mb really isn't that offensive for a statically linked app anyhow.
aneyadeng - 3 hours ago

[flagged]

kej - 9 hours ago

An update to the Logitech software last year added a fast way to access some kind of Logitech AI, but made it so the combination of mouse and dongle I was using no longer worked together. It was kind of a parable for the whole industry lately.

rcarmo - 10 hours ago

This is pretty awesome - I have another Logitech mouse (the smaller, more pragmatic M720) and was looking for a way to ditch Logi Options+, which is insanely bloated for what it does. I suspect adapting this will take an hour or so with an LLM...

armadyl - 10 hours ago

FYI Logitech also offers an air gapped version of Options+ which cuts out a lot of the slop and telemetry in the normal version: https://prosupport.logi.com/hc/en-us/articles/10991109278871...

If you have to use Options that's probably the way to go (if none of the third party options work for you).

itopaloglu83 - 9 hours ago

If you run it through command line you get some additional features you can turn off or selectively turn on.
I’m still pissed beyond words that they used the driver software as an excuse and installed crapware on my Mac when they released the AI version.

cozzyd - 6 hours ago

Mouser is where you buy ICs...

pants2 - 9 hours ago

Nice! Is there a similar option for Logitech Webcams?

abound - 6 hours ago

Came here looking for this. The Logi+ Options app is, as others have noted, less than stellar. I just want to control the zoom, flip, and coloring on my MX Brio.

Gigachad - 10 hours ago

I wonder if this or anything else can pair devices to the unifying receiver. That’s the only reason I ever use the Logitech app.

gonzus - 8 hours ago

Solaar?

pprotas - 10 hours ago

Another alternative (apparently the Logi software is so bad that it spawned many of these): BetterMouse. It supports my MX Master 4 https://better-mouse.com/

lwhi - 10 hours ago

I dumped my Logitech MX Vertical mouse because of that lousy software.

This seems like a great idea.

atonse - 6 hours ago

Try SteerMouse. Been using it with my MX 3 for years.

joshu - 10 hours ago

how is it that logitech software is such awful trash

johnhamlin - 4 hours ago

So no Linux?

jbrooks84 - 8 hours ago

Logi software is so bad

dbg31415 - 5 hours ago

The features I want are the macro builder from Razer, and chords.

fix4fun - 8 hours ago

Nice project. Respect :)

I worry only how long it will be supported? I hope there will be small community maintaining it ;)

Once again nice project and good luck.

Razengan - 10 hours ago

Missed opportunity to call it Jerry

joemi - 9 hours ago

Might still be worth it considering Mouser (the electronics supplier) is already a (pretty big) thing.