threefinger

Get 1.1.5 or newer — earlier versions stopped swiping after the Mac slept. threefinger --version to check, threefinger --reinstall to update.

Swipe with three fingers on the Mac trackpad to change tabs.

Left/right posts Cmd-Shift-[ / Cmd-Shift-]. Works in Safari, Chrome, Firefox, and most tabbed apps.

Move the system gestures to four fingers and you get a full set:

Fingers	Swipe	Does
Three	← / →	Previous / next tab
Four	↑	Mission Control
Four	↓	App Exposé
Four	← / →	Full-screen apps

Setup

1. Install and allow threefinger when Settings asks (Accessibility — on newer macOS Device Control and Data Access — and Input Monitoring; for threefinger, not Terminal):

   curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/firedev/threefinger/master/install.sh | bash
   threefinger --check --open

   Or: brew install firedev/tap/threefinger && brew services start threefinger

2. In Trackpad → More Gestures, move everything to four fingers so macOS doesn’t steal the three-finger swipe:

   • Mission Control → Swipe Up with Four Fingers
   • App Exposé → Swipe Down with Four Fingers
   • Swipe between full-screen applications → Swipe Left or Right with Four Fingers
   • Swipe between pages → Off (optional)

Then swipe.

More: firedev.com/projects/threefinger

Update / repair

threefinger --reinstall

Stops every copy (curl or Homebrew), installs the latest release, re-checks permissions. Re-running the curl one-liner from Setup does the same thing — both are safe to run over an existing install.

Switching from Homebrew to the curl install (one daemon, no rebuild on upgrade):

brew uninstall threefinger
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/firedev/threefinger/master/install.sh | bash

Config

Edit ~/.config/threefinger.json (Karabiner-style). By default, left/right change tabs; you can map any shortcut. Restart after editing:

brew services restart threefinger
# or, if you used the curl installer:
launchctl kickstart -k gui/$UID/com.firedev.threefinger

Build from source

git clone https://github.com/firedev/threefinger && cd threefinger
make install

Uninstall

# curl install
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/firedev/threefinger/master/uninstall.sh | bash

# Homebrew
brew uninstall threefinger

# from a clone
make uninstall

Use either Homebrew or the curl installer — not both. Two daemons will fight over the same swipe.

From 1.2.0 the release binary is signed, so upgrades keep the Accessibility grant. Coming from 1.1.x or a Homebrew build (ad-hoc signed, every upgrade), the old entry stops working even though it still shows as on. Select threefinger, click −, then + → ~/.local/bin/threefinger. The daemon restarts itself once granted.

License

MIT. Tiny Swift tool on MultitouchSupport — a one-feature BetterTouchTool replacement.