CrackMacHow to lock the mouse to one screen on a Mac
macOS has no setting to lock the pointer to one display. You can make it much harder to cross by arranging the displays so they touch along only a short stretch, or use a small app such as EdgeCase, MouseLocker or Virtual Wall to put a barrier between the screens. If the screen you want to keep the pointer off is a broken MacBook display, there are better options, further down.
The free trick: let the displays barely touch
- Open System Settings, Displays, and click Arrange.
- Drag the second display so it touches the first along only a short stretch, near a corner.
- Click Done.
The pointer can now cross only through that short stretch, so it stops drifting onto the other screen by accident. To move to the other display on purpose, aim for the corner. It isn't a real lock, but it costs nothing and needs no app.
Apps that lock the cursor to one display
- EdgeCase puts a barrier where your screens meet. You cross by pushing through it, holding a modifier key or pausing at the edge.
- MouseLocker sits in the menu bar and confines the pointer to a monitor you choose, with a keyboard shortcut to switch it on and off.
- Virtual Wall keeps the pointer on one monitor at a time without disconnecting the others.
All three are on the Mac App Store. We haven't tested them against each other, and prices change, so check the listings. Games and remote desktop apps often have their own option to capture the mouse, which is worth trying first if that's your use.
Keep the pointer off a broken MacBook screen
With a laptop, the usual reason for wanting this is a damaged built-in screen. You work on an external monitor, and the pointer keeps vanishing into the laptop's broken display, where a stray click lands on something you can't see.
- The whole laptop screen is unusable: close the lid and use clamshell mode, so macOS forgets the built-in screen. How to set it up. To keep the lid open, turn the built-in screen off instead.
- Only part of it is broken: keep the good part as a second screen. CrackMac stops the pointer at the edge of the damage, keeps windows and menus off it and paints it black.
If the damage runs along one edge, CrackMac can keep windows, menus and the pointer off it. There's a free 30-minute trial.
If you keep losing the pointer for other reasons, see why the Mac cursor disappears and how to find it.
Quick answers
Can you lock the mouse to one screen on a Mac?
Not with a built-in setting. You can make crossing harder by arranging the displays so they touch along only a short stretch, or use an app such as EdgeCase, MouseLocker or Virtual Wall to put a barrier between the screens.
How do I stop my mouse going to my second monitor on a Mac?
Open System Settings, Displays, Arrange, and drag the second display so it touches the first only near a corner. The pointer can then cross only through that short stretch. For a hard stop, use a cursor-locking app.
How do I keep the cursor off a broken MacBook screen?
If the whole built-in screen is unusable, close the lid and use clamshell mode, or mirror the displays. If only part of it is broken, CrackMac confines the pointer to the working area so it can't slip into the damage.
Keeping the pointer off a damaged MacBook screen?
If only part of the built-in screen is broken, you don't have to give up the whole thing. CrackMac stops the pointer at the edge of the damage and keeps windows and menus off it, so the rest stays usable as a second screen.
- Works on macOS 13 or later, Apple silicon and Intel.
- Free for 30 minutes of use, then a one-time price. No subscription.
- A refund within 7 days, no questions asked.