How to Install Custom Cursors on Windows 11 (Step by Step)
Follow the four steps below and your new cursor is on in about a minute. No admin rights, no restart.
You need: a cursor pack zip. Don't have one yet? Grab a free pack from the custom cursor packs for Windows 11 page; the steps below use one of those.
Step 1: Unzip the pack
Open your Downloads folder, right-click the zip and choose Extract All, then click Extract.
Don't run anything from inside the zip; the installer needs the extracted cursors folder next to it.
Step 2: Double-click Install.cmd
Open the extracted folder and double-click Install.cmd.
- If Windows shows Open File – Security Warning, click Run.
- If it shows Windows protected your PC, click More info, then Run anyway.
- The screen flickers once while Windows Explorer restarts. That's expected.
When it finishes, the Mouse Properties window opens on its own.
Step 3: Pick the pack in Scheme
In Mouse Properties, open the Pointers tab and choose the pack (it starts with "Cursorhero") from the Scheme list.
Step 4: Click Apply
Click Apply, then OK. Your cursor changes the moment you click Apply.
Why the last click? Windows doesn't let a script switch cursor schemes by itself, so the installer opens the window and you confirm with Apply once. After that the scheme stays on until you change it.
Install a single .cur or .ani file (no installer)
Use this for a single cursor, an animated .ani cursor, or a pack without Install.cmd.
- Press Win + R, type
main.cpland press Enter (or go to Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Mouse → Additional mouse settings). - Open the Pointers tab and select the role to change, e.g. Normal Select.
- Click Browse, pick the matching
.curor.anifile and click Open. - Repeat for any other roles, click Save As to keep it as a scheme, then Apply.
Which file goes where in a 10-state pack:
| Pointer role | File |
|---|---|
| Normal Select | Arrow.cur |
| Text Select | IBeam.cur |
| Link Select | Hand.cur |
| Busy | Wait.cur |
| Precision Select | Crosshair.cur |
| Unavailable | No.cur |
| Vertical Resize | SizeNS.cur |
| Horizontal Resize | SizeWE.cur |
| Diagonal Resize 1 | SizeNWSE.cur |
| Diagonal Resize 2 | SizeNESW.cur |
How to get a custom cursor on Windows 11
Windows 11 itself only ships built-in pointer styles. Settings → Accessibility → Mouse pointer and touch changes the pointer style (colour, inverted, or a preset) and its size, and Microsoft's Change mouse settings article documents no gallery or store for third-party cursor packs. Anything beyond those presets comes from a .cur or .ani file you install yourself, and there are three practical routes:
| What you want | Where it comes from | Then |
|---|---|---|
| A whole themed pack (10 states at once) | A pack from the custom cursor packs for Windows 11 page, or one you generate | Unzip → run Install.cmd → pick the scheme → Apply |
| One cursor replaced (only the text cursor, only the link hand) | Any single .cur/.ani file, including one file taken out of a pack | main.cpl → Pointers → Browse → pick the file → Apply (the single-file steps above) |
| A cursor that doesn't exist yet | Describe it and let the generator draw a matching 10-state pack | Same installer flow as a downloaded pack |
The files always end up in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Cursors, and Windows remembers the selection per user account — so a pack installed on one account is not visible to the other accounts on the same PC.
Switch back to the default cursor
- Press Win + R, type
main.cpl, press Enter. - On the Pointers tab, choose Windows Default (system scheme) in Scheme.
- Click Apply.
The cursor files stay in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Cursors; they're harmless, and you can delete that folder if you want them gone.
If it didn't work
- The cursor didn't change. Open
main.cpl→ Pointers, pick the scheme and click Apply. The installer can't do this click for you. - Install.cmd closed straight away. Your antivirus or Windows blocked it. Right-click Install.cmd → Properties, tick Unblock, click OK, and run it again.
- The scheme isn't in the list. Make sure you unzipped first (Step 1) and ran
Install.cmdfrom the extracted folder, not from inside the zip. - Another user on the PC still has the old cursor. Cursor schemes are per account; run
Install.cmdfrom that account too. - Don't use the Accessibility size slider afterwards. Changing the pointer style or size in Settings → Accessibility → Mouse pointer and touch switches Windows back to its own cursors. If that happens, re-apply the scheme in
main.cpl.
FAQ
Do I need admin rights to add a custom cursor on Windows 11?
No. The .cur/.ani files are copied into your own profile at %LOCALAPPDATA%\Cursors and the pointer scheme is a per-user setting, so a standard account can install a pack; the only manual step is the Apply click in the Mouse Properties window.
Why is my cursor not in Settings → Accessibility → Mouse pointer and touch?
Because that panel only lists Microsoft's built-in styles and sizes. Third-party cursors never appear there — they live on the Pointers tab (main.cpl) under Scheme and Customize, which is why this guide sends you there at Step 3.
Can I add a custom cursor without running an installer?
Yes. If you only want one file changed, skip Install.cmd entirely and use main.cpl → Pointers → Browse, as described in the single-file section above; the installer is just a shortcut for registering all ten roles at once.
Make a pack that's yours
Describe the cursor you want in a sentence and the generator draws a matching 10-state pack with the same installer. Your first successful preview is free.