Barkeep

Keep a crowded macOS menu bar under control.

Barkeep is a native menu bar manager for macOS. It keeps important items visible and puts everything else one click away.

Download for macOS · Report a problem · MIT licensed

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Put every item in one clear section

Barkeep splits the menu bar into three sections.

Section	What Barkeep does
Always visible	These items stay in the menu bar.
Hidden	Click the Barkeep icon to show or hide these items.
Always hidden	Option-click the Barkeep icon when you need these items.

Open Arrange Items to see all three sections together. Drag an item to another section or use the menu on its row. Barkeep checks the real menu bar after each move. It saves the new section only when macOS completes the move.

The default Barkeep icon is a small dot. You can choose from eight monochrome symbols.

Use Barkeep without leaving your current app

• Click the Barkeep icon to show or hide the Hidden section.
• Option-click the icon to show all sections.
• Right-click the icon for search, settings, updates, and other common actions.
• Press Command-Backslash to show or hide items.
• Press Command-Shift-Space to find and open a menu bar item.

Barkeep can hide items again after a delay. It can also reveal them when you click, scroll, or hover in the menu bar. Each optional trigger stops when you turn it off.

Your menu bar data stays on your Mac

Barkeep has no account and sends no analytics. It does not use Screen Recording. It stores its settings, item rules, and profiles in one local JSON file.

~/Library/Application Support/Barkeep/state.json

Accessibility access lets Barkeep list, open, and move menu bar items. Barkeep makes a fresh scan before a move and posts a Command-drag only after you choose a new section. Launch, wake, display changes, and timers cannot move an item.

Touch ID or the Mac password can protect every reveal path. Launch at Login is optional and uses the macOS login item service.

Install Barkeep

Download the latest DMG from the GitHub releases page, drag Barkeep to Applications, and open it.

Barkeep supports macOS 14 or later. A local build also needs Xcode 16 or later and XcodeGen.

brew install xcodegen
make check
make install

make install builds the app, installs it in ~/Applications, and opens it. A Developer ID certificate gives local builds a stable identity. Without one, macOS can ask for Accessibility access again after a rebuild.

Verify a downloaded build

Public builds use Developer ID signing and Apple notarization. After a release is available you can check the installed app with these commands.

codesign --verify --deep --strict --verbose=2 /Applications/Barkeep.app
spctl --assess --type execute --verbose=4 /Applications/Barkeep.app

Each release also includes a SHA-256 checksum for its DMG.

shasum -a 256 ~/Downloads/Barkeep-*.dmg

Build and test the app

make check       # Generate the Xcode project and run tests
make build       # Build and sign dist/Barkeep.app
make install     # Install to ~/Applications and open the app
make dmg         # Build a drag-install DMG
make release     # Sign, notarize, staple, and prepare a release

These are the main source areas.

Sources/Barkeep/App/             app lifecycle and coordination
Sources/Barkeep/StatusBar/       status items and visibility boundaries
Sources/Barkeep/Accessibility/   item scanning and confirmed moves
Sources/Barkeep/System/          hotkeys, triggers, login, spacing, and updates
Sources/Barkeep/UI/              settings, search, and permission views
Tests/BarkeepTests/              unit tests for state and core rules
scripts/                         build, install, DMG, and release commands

Read AGENTS.md before changing the app. The supporting docs cover the product rules, architecture, clean-room source audit, common problems, and release process.

Current limits

The current app includes the three visibility sections, safe item moves, search, reveal triggers, Touch ID protection, profiles, backups, tighter item spacing, and Sparkle updates.

A second menu bar, custom bar styling, low-battery rules, scripts, and network triggers are not part of the current app. Profiles save Barkeep's stored rules and settings. Loading a profile does not move every real menu bar item into place yet.

Report bugs and request features

Open a GitHub issue with your macOS version, display layout, the app that owns the menu bar item, and what Barkeep did. The troubleshooting guide lists safe checks for common problems.

Pull request creation is limited to repository collaborators. This keeps changes tied to the menu bar safety rules and signed release checks.

License

Barkeep uses the MIT License.