What do you think are the best mice for use with linux?
What factors do you think are most important in selecting a mouse? (eg precision, build quality, comfort, other)
Price is optional
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Tons of brands use Windows-only software to control button mapping, lighting, etc.
Anything outside basic movement, scrolling, and the first three buttons will need additional software.
It’s been a while since I looked. Anyone know a good universal mouse config tool for linux that would let me map all buttons on a per-app basis?
i havent found a mouse that doesnt work at all, but my side buttons arent working (probably my issue, but still). it more about a mouse manufacturer who treats linux users as first class citizens.
I think you can try to check arch wiki for known mouse problem and their solution
Not a mosie, but ny Logitech KB doest work properly on #LMDE no PrntScr etc.
I most logitech mice soley because you can unlock the scroll wheel and it can go brrrrrrrrr
yeah i love that too
Any Logitech hid+ device. Bolt or… Whatever the other one is called
Quite recently I moved to my first trackball (Elecom Deft Pro) and that was a life changer. I’ve shared my experience here.
thanks. i am mildly curious about trackballs. good write up
I was looking for a mouse recently. My priorities were:
- Comfortable (i.e. vertical; after getting used to it I’m not looking back)
- Standard format replaceable battery, since built-ins always end up depleting or swelling and being hard to replace
- Nice scroll wheel (highly subjective though)
- Easy switching between Linux and Windows systems
- Small-ish, portable
I got the Logitech Lift. I am pleasantly surprised by how nice it is.
Granted I mostly use my mouse for browsing, scrolling and navigating UIs. The rest is all keyboard. For games I prefer controllers and game pads so precision/high performance wasn’t an issue for me at all.
To me Logitech mice are usually so much better than others that I wouldn’t even look at other brands unless I was looking for an ultra specific feature. The cons are the pricing and I think modern Logitech mice use less durable switches than a few years ago.
They would need special vendor software nog available on Linux, but solaar is pretty good and for my logi keyboard it even offers features that Logitech’s software doesn’t (swap function and fn keys, map fn+right/left as Home and End).
Specifically, to me they are better because I still enjoy the build quality and because I need a feature that only pricey Logitech mice (and my out-of-production cheaper mouse) have. Which is connecting with both Bluetooth and an HID compatible dongle, and switch between devices with a button. Some other mice have the switching functionality, but they only have Bluetooth, and I also need the dongle.
The wheel that goes brrrr is also cool, but I don’t have that.
Beware of rubber coated mice, the rubber will eventually come off. You can try to super glue it back on. You might need to get a new device, but mine is out of production, and the cheapest mouse with the feature I need now costs like 60€ which I’m not going to spend.
yes i have a logitech. i really like it - other than the side button issue mentioned elsewhere (probably my fault as others has noted). they seem to be often recommended - including in this thread - but i was wondering if there were other high quality mice i hadnt heard of.
also i didn’t know about solaar. thanks
I personally would make sure to choose a mouse with on-board storage. E.g. most (all?) Logitech mice store DPI and RGB on the mouse, which means it works independent of the OS. At least some other manufacturers require a Windows “driver” to disable RGB and configure DPI, which is annoying as those aren’t available on Linux, and have to be constantly run in the background.
Basic configuration of Logitech mice can be done through Piper on Linux.
Edit: Precision shouldn’t be an issue with any decent mouse sensor. The PixArt PMW 3310 or later is good enough for even gaming and can be found in 20$ mice. Comfort is subjective, but I prefer larger mice where I can put most of my hand on top.
Edit 2: I’ve now read you’re already using a Logitech mouse and are having issue with the the side buttons. What issues do you have with them? My G Pro Wireless side buttons work for going a website back/forward in the web browser, but I don’t use them much.
I’ll second the onboard storage, and add that any >3-button mouse should have buttons that map to actual key/character presses. I got a Razer Basilisk Pro on clearance, and it does have onboard storage, so once I turned off the RGB in the windows software on an old laptop, I could get rid of it. What I didn’t realize til later is that the nice little thumb lever can’t be remapped by anything but the Razer software (which has to be running all the time) because it doesnt register as any key combo, it had to be processed through their app to be used. Damn it.
Edit: Have you tried looking at what keycodes the side buttons on your current mouse are mapped to? Sometimes you can intercept that input and make it perform correctly. I haven’t done it on linux yet, but I’m sure there’s an equivalent to AutoHotkey for Linux.
Using wev (wayland event viewer, which shows pressed keys) the side buttons show up as extra mouse buttons, so it should be possible to remap them.
button: 272 (left) button: 273 (right) button: 274 (middle) button: 275 (side) <- side button button: 276 (extra) <- side buttonPS: My old Logitech G710+ keyboard has some extra buttons which show up as normal numbers, which makes them pretty much useless. A while ago I found the now abandoned sidewinderd project which adds support for them. It’s sad that those manufacturers don’t create proper standards for these kind of things and instead hack it together somehow.
I’m still on an X11 session, so I used
xinput --test-xi2to look at it, and yeah. The thumb key doesn’t register any type of event. Weird, right?
Ooooo thank you! A lifesaver.
Have a ZOWIE EC2 for quite a while now:
- gaming mouse, 5 buttons
- USB compliant
- no special vendor drivers needed to use all mouse features (has buttons on bottom side for settings)
Works well on all OS.
nice. thanks
@phoh Do you mean the device the hardware when you mention mouse. If you do I think any good mouse works in any system no linux includes. I prefer mouses like this one https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Vertical-Wireless-Mouse-Rechargeable/dp/B07FNJB8TT/ref=sr_1_5?crid=2R9E7U9BIKABA&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.NtvOFD3vflxRQmrcZbBAeTvEtZpvC6RVQJQisSWTIKtHyCAZ4djsgrCneukJb7jNaHM98rsBBSb3I5ZfLgGbMF8BKXeG05Aefe05kyLeS3E2Qa6XBbUCpCYsGPKerQn_QhphPL6XkN2Z9xbIONgDYZ5FAebyWgELT9pedbyuCLgTtZSimw2tkDNmb5-6MDu5Wqip0Mpjs8NCv8BKKcR-Dq8_lMkBUIyPTviWGoNCWFE.YOTKbFt6LE8LzckOqChnY8noQx0gRl30_WPFNbOaSkQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=ergonomic+mouse&qid=1720474137&sprefix=ergonomic+mouse%2Caps%2C135&sr=8-5
yes i mean hardware.
people i work with use and love those vertical shaped mice. i find them too weird. that is probably cause i am stuck in my ways.
i have a logitech mx anywhere which i like but the side buttons don’t work very well on linux.
i am really just interested to see what people are using. maybe there is a better one out there for me.
thanks for the recommendation.
@phoh probalby you can config the mouse in your distro, for example I’m using KDE, in the settings window I can find a section to set up the mouse
Any $5 laser mouse with a scroll wheel from ebay/amazon is fine for me. Plug it in and it just works. I prefer certain shapes for comfort but I’ve never had a mouse NOT work in linux.
All xtrfy mice don’t have any software and ate conpletely configurable through onboard buttons.
The $15 Logitech mouse in the bargain bin at office max lasted me literally 4 years. Any mouse will work, your issue will be configuring those 18 button mmo mice
I have Corsair Harpoon RGB Pro RGP0074. It is good and precise, except the two shoulder buttons are too high, and that’s not very comfortable for a gamer. I have to reach with my thumb very far to press the upper shoulder button and that still means that I can misclick the other one very often. Zorin OS btw.
I have a Corsair Nightsword.
There’s an open source version of the software that, I don’t think, is official but works well. It can rebind, set RGB, change DPI settings, and most if not everything the official software can.
Corsair mice aren’t the best, and the problems seem to be certain versions of their mice. (M65 is garbage. I went through 6 of them in 6 months.) Nightsword has been great though. Scimitar is good as well, have one that’s 6 years old now.
looks interesting. thanks
