The privacy-first menu bar manager for macOS. Native, lightweight, and scriptable.
Hide clutter. Lock sensitive icons behind Touch ID. Find any app instantly.
Icons Hidden
SaneBar is open source. You are welcome to clone the repo and build it yourself for free. If you'd like to support development and get a ready-to-use, notarized version, you can purchase the DMG for $5 at sanebar.com.
Note: Homebrew is not supported. All software updates are delivered directly through the app.
Requirements: macOS 15 Sequoia or later
- Click the SaneBar icon to show/hide your menu bar icons
- ⌘+drag icons to choose which ones hide
- Option-click the SaneBar icon to open Power Search
- That's it!
Icons to the left of the Separator (|) = can be hidden
Icons to the right of the Separator (|) = always visible
- 🔒 Secure Reveal — The only menu bar manager that locks hidden icons behind system authentication (password prompt). Protect sensitive apps like crypto wallets, messaging tools, and VPNs.
- 100% On-Device — No analytics. No telemetry. No network requests. Everything stays on your Mac.
- Find Hidden Icon — Search and click any menu bar app, even if hidden behind the Notch
- Keyboard Navigation — Arrow keys to navigate, Enter to select, Escape to close
- Virtual Click — Activate menu bar items without seeing them
- Per-Icon Hotkeys — Global shortcuts for your most-used menu bar apps
- AppleScript Support — Full scripting integration for Shortcuts and automation workflows
- Smart Triggers — Auto-show on Focus Mode, WiFi network, app launch, or low battery
- Profiles — Save different setups for work, home, or presentations
- One-click hide/show — Toggle visibility with a single click or hotkey (default: ⌘)
- ⌘+drag to organize — Choose which icons hide and which stay visible
- Auto-hide — Icons disappear after a configurable delay
- Hover to reveal — Move your cursor to the top of the screen to show hidden icons
- Scroll to reveal — Two-finger scroll in the menu bar area
- Directional scroll — Scroll up to show, scroll down to hide (optional)
- Click to toggle — Left-click in menu bar toggles visibility (optional)
- ⌘+drag reveal — All icons appear while rearranging so you can organize freely
- Liquid Glass — Beautiful translucent styling on macOS 26 Tahoe
- Bar Styling — Tint, shadow, borders, and rounded corners (all macOS versions)
Works perfectly on Macs with Notch. 100% private — no network requests, no analytics, no account.
🔍 Find Hidden Icon
Quickly find and activate any menu bar app without lifting your hands from the keyboard.
- Option-click the SaneBar icon, or use the menu Find Icon… (default hotkey: ⌘⇧Space)
- Type an app name and press Return
- SaneBar will reveal hidden icons and virtually click the app's menu bar item
- After a configurable delay (default 15 seconds), icons automatically hide again
This works even if the icon is physically hidden behind the Notch or off-screen!
Assign a specific global hotkey to any menu bar app.
- Open Find Icon… window
- Select an app from the list
- Click the Record Shortcut box in the footer
- Press your desired key combination
- Now, pressing that hotkey will instantly show hidden items and open that app's menu
Customize the look of your menu bar panel.
- Go to Settings → Appearance
- Enable "Custom Appearance"
- On macOS 26 Tahoe: Enable Translucent Background for the native Liquid Glass look
- On older macOS: Adjust Tint Color, Opacity, Shadow, Border, and Rounded Corners
Save different menu bar configurations for different contexts (e.g., "Work", "Gaming", "Presentation").
- Go to Settings → General → Saved Profiles
- Click Save as Profile…
- Restore any profile with a single click
Worried about losing icons behind the Notch?
If you have 50+ apps, macOS might hide some of them behind the camera housing (the "Notch") or off-screen. SaneBar handles this gracefully:
- Hiding: SaneBar pushes unused icons safely off-screen so your menu bar looks clean
- Safety Lock: If SaneBar itself would get pushed off-screen, it refuses to hide to ensure you never lose control
- Find Hidden Icon: Can't see an icon because it's behind the Notch? Open Find Icon…, type the app name and hit Enter. SaneBar will find it and click it for you, even if it's invisible
- Tighter Icon Spacing: Reduce system-wide menu bar spacing to fit more icons. Go to Settings → Appearance and enable "Reduce space between icons" (requires logout)
All settings are in the Settings window (click SaneBar icon → Settings, or press ⌘,).
| Tab | What's there |
|---|---|
| General | Launch at login, show in Dock, security (authentication lock), software updates, saved profiles |
| Rules | Auto-hide behavior, revealing gestures (hover, scroll), automatic triggers (battery, apps, Wi-Fi) |
| Appearance | Divider style, menu bar styling (tint, opacity, shadow, border, corners), icon spacing |
| Shortcuts | Global keyboard shortcuts, AppleScript commands |
| Experimental | Beta features being tested, easy bug reporting |
| About | Version info, privacy badge, licenses, support, report issue |
- Hover near top — Show hidden icons when you move cursor to the top of the screen
- Scroll up — Two-finger scroll up in the menu bar reveals hidden icons
- Low Battery — Auto-show when battery drops below threshold
- App Launch — Show when specific apps start
- Wi-Fi Change — Show on specific networks (click "Add current network")
- Focus Mode — Show when macOS Focus Mode changes (Work, Personal, etc.)
Reduce the spacing between all menu bar icons system-wide to fit more icons before they get hidden by the notch.
- Enable: Toggle "Reduce space between icons" in Appearance Settings
- Defaults: Ships with notch-friendly values (spacing=4, padding=4)
- Logout required: macOS reads these settings at login, so you must log out and back in for changes to take effect
- Reversible: Disable the toggle and log out to restore default spacing
Your data stays on your Mac. SaneBar makes zero network requests. No analytics. No telemetry. No account.
Free to use! If SaneBar helps you, star this repo.
| Address | |
|---|---|
| BTC | 3Go9nJu3dj2qaa4EAYXrTsTf5AnhcrPQke |
| SOL | FBvU83GUmwEYk3HMwZh3GBorGvrVVWSPb8VLCKeLiWZZ |
| ZEC | t1PaQ7LSoRDVvXLaQTWmy5tKUAiKxuE9hBN |
Build from source
- macOS 15.0+ (Sequoia or later)
- Xcode 16+
- Ruby 3.0+
- XcodeGen
git clone https://github.com/sane-apps/SaneBar.git
cd SaneBar
bundle install
./scripts/SaneMaster.rb verify
./scripts/SaneMaster.rb launchSaneBar/
├── Core/ # Business logic
│ ├── Services/ # AccessibilityService, HoverService, etc.
│ ├── Controllers/ # StatusBarController, SettingsController
│ └── Models/ # Data models
├── UI/ # SwiftUI views
│ ├── Settings/ # Modular settings tabs
│ └── SearchWindow/ # Find Hidden Icon UI
├── Tests/ # 241 unit tests with mocks
├── scripts/ # Build automation (SaneMaster.rb)
└── project.yml # XcodeGen configuration
AppleScript automation
# Toggle hidden items
osascript -e 'tell app "SaneBar" to toggle'
# Show hidden items
osascript -e 'tell app "SaneBar" to show hidden'
# Hide items
osascript -e 'tell app "SaneBar" to hide items'The story
Built pair programming with Claude. Wanted a menu bar manager that wasn't $15, didn't phone home, and actually worked on macOS Tahoe with Liquid Glass.
Documentation for contributors
| Document | Purpose |
|---|---|
| CONTRIBUTING.md | How to contribute |
| SECURITY.md | Security policy and reporting |
| CHANGELOG.md | Version history |
| ROADMAP.md | Feature status overview |
| BUG_TRACKING.md | Bug reports with GitHub links |
| DEVELOPMENT.md | Development rules and SOP |
MIT — see LICENSE