How to middle click on a Mac
Middle click is a standard mouse button that macOS supports fully, but Apple's own input devices don't have it. What works depends on which device you're holding.
With a third-party mouse
Press the scroll wheel. macOS has supported the middle button since the first USB mice; nothing to configure. If a wheel press does nothing in a particular app, that app simply doesn't use middle click.
With a Magic Mouse
The Magic Mouse has one touch surface and reports only left and right clicks. There is no middle-click setting in System Settings. The same utilities that work for trackpads can map a gesture on it, but since its surface is small, most people pick a three-finger click rather than a tap.
With a trackpad
Built-in MacBook trackpads and the Magic Trackpad have no middle button either. Your options are a keyboard equivalent in apps that offer one, or a utility such as The Mid Click that turns a three-finger tap or click into a real middle-button event. The trackpad guide walks through both.
Keyboard equivalents that cover the common cases
| You want to | Instead of middle click | Where it works |
|---|---|---|
| Open a link in a background tab | ⌘ + click | Safari, Chrome, Arc, Firefox, Edge |
| Open a link in a new foreground tab | ⌘⇧ + click | Same browsers |
| Close the current tab | ⌘W | Everywhere with tabs |
| Close a tab you're pointing at | No equivalent | — |
| Orbit in Blender | ⌥ + drag with Emulate 3 Button Mouse on | Blender only |
| Paste selection in a terminal | ⌘V | Terminal, iTerm2 |
| Autoscroll a page | No equivalent on macOS | — |
What "middle click" means to macOS
Internally it's mouse button number 2 (buttons count from zero), delivered to apps as otherMouseDown and otherMouseUp events. Any software that generates those events, or any hardware that reports a third button, gives you the real thing. The technical page follows the event from the trackpad's touch frames to the app.