Velvet Scroll

A little comfort for your desktop

A softer way
to scroll.

Keep the little movements precise.
Let the big flicks take you further.

Mouse-wheel acceleration for Linux, with a gentle touch and one easy toggle. Small enough to stay out of your way.

Get Velvet Scroll Meet your new little helper

Free & open source Made for Linux

Velvet Scroll's purple settings window, with an acceleration slider, optional coasting and individual mouse selection
A little window. A lovely difference.
Your wheel, with a little more flow.
KDE PlasmaWayland & X11Qt desktop controlsLightweight Rust daemon

Thoughtful little details

More flow.
Still your mouse.

For long pages, sprawling projects and those moments when one more wheel turn becomes twenty.

Precise when you need it.

Turn the wheel slowly for the usual fine control. Flick it quickly to scroll farther, with acceleration you can adjust to your liking.

A little glide, if you like.

Optional coasting adds a short tail after a fast flick. It starts off, so you can settle into the feel before trying it.

There when you want it.

Toggle from the tray, the settings window or a keyboard shortcut. Select your mice individually. Close the window and keep scrolling.

A smoother journey for your wheel.
The familiar feel of your pointer.

Wheel scrolling changes; pointer movement and mouse calibration are preserved.

Make yourself comfortable

A little less scrolling.
A little more doing.

Pick the package that fits your Linux desktop. Velvet Scroll is free, open source, and yours to make at home.

All releases & checksums
LinuxLatest stable release
Choose a package on GitHub

Packages are available on GitHub Releases.

Then install your download

sudo apt install ./velvet-scroll_*.deb

Use one downloaded package matching your architecture. Builds require glibc 2.39 or newer.

Finish setup: device permissions & first launch

Before you settle in

A few little answers.

Will it work with my desktop?

Velvet Scroll works through Linux evdev and uinput, below the desktop. It is designed for KDE Plasma, GNOME and other desktops on Wayland or X11. Linux device access and an active-seat permission setup are required. Hardware and desktop testing is ongoing; see the compatibility notes.

Does it change my cursor speed?

Only wheel values are accelerated. The virtual mouse preserves the physical mouse's identity, calibration, pointer deltas and event timing so your usual pointer settings remain in effect.

Is this like an unlocked scroll wheel?

It brings some of that convenience to a regular wheel: a quick flick travels farther, and optional coasting adds a short glide. It is a software approximation, not a physical free-spinning wheel. Animation and smoothness still depend on the application.

Can I switch it off quickly?

Yes. Use the tray toggle or bind velvet-scroll toggle to a desktop keyboard shortcut. You can also disable it in the settings window. No mouse is selected automatically.

Do I need to run it as root?

No. The daemon and GUI run as your desktop user. Installing the package and setting up device permissions requires administrator access once. Follow the installation guide, then launch Velvet Scroll without sudo.

How can I help?

Try it with your setup, report a bug, or contribute a change. Include your distro, desktop/session type and mouse model. Redact device serial numbers and personal paths from any diagnostic output.