diff --git a/electron/main.ts b/electron/main.ts
index 4d6a1db7d..0bbdb3010 100644
--- a/electron/main.ts
+++ b/electron/main.ts
@@ -50,7 +50,8 @@ import {
 } from "./netdiag.js";
 import { TouchBarManager } from "./touchbar.js";
 import { registerAuthSessionIpc } from "./auth-session-ipc.js";
-import { ThumbarController } from "./thumbar.js";
+import { ThumbarController, type ThumbarAction } from "./thumbar.js";
+import { createTray, type TrayController } from "./tray.js";
 import { OverlayManager } from "./overlay.js";
 import { detectCompositor } from "./compositor/index.js";
 import { BundleManager } from "./bundle-manager.js";
@@ -125,6 +126,7 @@ let mainWindow: BrowserWindow | null = null;
 let touchBarManager: TouchBarManager | null = null;
 let overlayManager: OverlayManager | null = null;
 let thumbar: ThumbarController | null = null;
+let tray: TrayController | null = null;
 let bundleManager: BundleManager | null = null;
 let discordRpcManager: DiscordRpcManager | null = null;
 let poTokenService: PoTokenService | null = null;
@@ -180,6 +182,10 @@ function unmaximizeWindow() {
 const shutdown = createShutdown({
   cleanup: [
     () => touchBarManager?.unregisterShortcut(),
+    () => {
+      tray?.destroy();
+      tray = null;
+    },
     () => overlayManager?.dispose(),
     () => {
       // drop the discord ipc socket so presence clears and nothing keeps the process alive
@@ -274,7 +280,8 @@ function createWindow() {
   });
 
   // the custom window controls replace the native traffic lights
-  if (process.platform === "darwin") mainWindow.setWindowButtonVisibility(false);
+  if (process.platform === "darwin")
+    mainWindow.setWindowButtonVisibility(false);
 
   // sync window state changes to renderer
   const broadcastWindowState = () => {
@@ -473,6 +480,7 @@ function createWindow() {
     if (process.platform === "darwin") {
       // macOS keeps the app alive without windows; the overlay can be rebuilt on activate
       overlayManager?.destroy();
+      tray?.update(null);
     } else {
       // closing the main window (title bar button, taskbar, alt+f4) ends the whole app
       shutdown.quit();
@@ -485,6 +493,16 @@ function createWindow() {
   mainWindow.on("restore", () => thumbar?.refresh());
 }
 
+function revealMainWindow() {
+  if (!mainWindow || mainWindow.isDestroyed()) {
+    createWindow();
+  } else {
+    if (mainWindow.isMinimized()) mainWindow.restore();
+    mainWindow.show();
+    mainWindow.focus();
+  }
+}
+
 // Single instance lock
 const gotTheLock = app.requestSingleInstanceLock();
 if (!gotTheLock) {
@@ -506,13 +524,7 @@ if (!gotTheLock) {
       app.exit(0);
       return;
     }
-    if (!mainWindow || mainWindow.isDestroyed()) {
-      createWindow();
-    } else {
-      if (mainWindow.isMinimized()) mainWindow.restore();
-      mainWindow.show();
-      mainWindow.focus();
-    }
+    revealMainWindow();
     if (raw) deliverDeeplink(parseDeeplink(raw));
   });
 
@@ -551,18 +563,23 @@ if (!gotTheLock) {
     touchBarManager.registerShortcut();
 
     const updateSleepBlocker = createSleepBlocker(powerSaveBlocker);
-    thumbar = new ThumbarController(
-      () => mainWindow,
-      (type) => {
-        if (mainWindow && !mainWindow.isDestroyed())
-          mainWindow.webContents.send("overlay:action", { type });
-      },
-    );
+    const sendPlayerAction = (type: ThumbarAction) => {
+      if (mainWindow && !mainWindow.isDestroyed())
+        mainWindow.webContents.send("overlay:action", { type });
+    };
+    thumbar = new ThumbarController(() => mainWindow, sendPlayerAction);
+    tray = createTray({
+      iconPath: path.join(process.env.VITE_PUBLIC!, "icon.png"),
+      showWindow: revealMainWindow,
+      send: sendPlayerAction,
+      quit: () => shutdown.quit(),
+    });
     ipcMain.on(
       "touchbar:update-state",
       (_event, state: { status: string; track?: unknown }) => {
         updateSleepBlocker(state.status);
         thumbar?.update(state);
+        tray?.update(state);
       },
     );
 
diff --git a/electron/thumbar.ts b/electron/thumbar.ts
index 742050a6e..3159d1d03 100644
--- a/electron/thumbar.ts
+++ b/electron/thumbar.ts
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ function glyphImage(glyph: ThumbarGlyph): NativeImage {
 export type ThumbarPlayerState =
   { status?: string; track?: unknown } | null | undefined;
 
-const PLAYING_STATUSES = new Set(["playing", "loading", "buffering"]);
+export const PLAYING_STATUSES = new Set(["playing", "loading", "buffering"]);
 
 export class ThumbarController {
   private icons: Record<ThumbarGlyph, NativeImage> | null = null;
diff --git a/electron/tray.test.ts b/electron/tray.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..df510d8d7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/electron/tray.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,131 @@
+import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+
+type FakeItem = {
+  label?: string;
+  type?: string;
+  enabled?: boolean;
+  click?: () => void;
+};
+
+const { trays, FakeTray } = vi.hoisted(() => {
+  const trays: InstanceType<typeof FakeTray>[] = [];
+
+  class FakeTray {
+    destroyed = false;
+    listeners = new Map<string, () => void>();
+    setToolTip = vi.fn();
+    setContextMenu = vi.fn<(menu: FakeItem[]) => void>();
+    constructor() {
+      trays.push(this);
+    }
+    on(event: string, listener: () => void) {
+      this.listeners.set(event, listener);
+    }
+    isDestroyed() {
+      return this.destroyed;
+    }
+    destroy() {
+      this.destroyed = true;
+    }
+  }
+
+  return { trays, FakeTray };
+});
+
+vi.mock("electron", () => ({
+  Tray: FakeTray,
+  Menu: { buildFromTemplate: (template: FakeItem[]) => template },
+  nativeImage: {
+    createFromPath: vi.fn(() => ({ resize: vi.fn(() => ({})) })),
+  },
+}));
+
+import { createTray } from "./tray";
+import type { ThumbarAction } from "./thumbar";
+
+describe("TrayController", () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    trays.length = 0;
+  });
+
+  function setup(platform: NodeJS.Platform = "win32") {
+    const sent: ThumbarAction[] = [];
+    const showWindow = vi.fn();
+    const quit = vi.fn();
+    const controller = createTray({
+      iconPath: "icon.png",
+      showWindow,
+      send: (action) => sent.push(action),
+      quit,
+      platform,
+    });
+    const tray = trays[0]!;
+    const lastMenu = () => tray.setContextMenu.mock.calls.at(-1)?.[0] ?? [];
+    const item = (label: string) => lastMenu().find((i) => i.label === label);
+    return { sent, showWindow, quit, controller, tray, lastMenu, item };
+  }
+
+  it("starts with playback disabled until a track is loaded", () => {
+    const { item } = setup();
+    expect(item("Show Liner")?.enabled).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(item("Previous")?.enabled).toBe(false);
+    expect(item("Play")?.enabled).toBe(false);
+    expect(item("Next")?.enabled).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("routes playback items to the player while a track plays", () => {
+    const { sent, controller, item } = setup();
+    controller.update({ status: "playing", track: { id: "a" } });
+    item("Previous")?.click?.();
+    item("Pause")?.click?.();
+    item("Next")?.click?.();
+    expect(sent).toEqual(["prev", "togglePlay", "next"]);
+  });
+
+  it("only rebuilds the menu when the play state changes", () => {
+    const { tray, controller, item } = setup();
+    controller.update({ status: "playing", track: { id: "a" } });
+    controller.update({ status: "buffering", track: { id: "b" } });
+    expect(tray.setContextMenu).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+    controller.update({ status: "paused", track: { id: "b" } });
+    expect(item("Play")?.enabled).toBe(true);
+    expect(tray.setContextMenu).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(3);
+  });
+
+  it("disables playback items when the track is removed", () => {
+    const { controller, item } = setup();
+    controller.update({ status: "playing", track: { id: "a" } });
+    controller.update({ status: "idle", track: null });
+    expect(item("Previous")?.enabled).toBe(false);
+    expect(item("Play")?.enabled).toBe(false);
+    expect(item("Next")?.enabled).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("shows the window and quits from the menu", () => {
+    const { showWindow, quit, item } = setup();
+    item("Show Liner")?.click?.();
+    item("Quit Liner")?.click?.();
+    expect(showWindow).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+    expect(quit).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+  });
+
+  it("brings the window back on click outside macos", () => {
+    const { tray, showWindow } = setup();
+    tray.listeners.get("click")?.();
+    expect(showWindow).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+  });
+
+  it("leaves the click to the menu on macos", () => {
+    const { tray, item } = setup("darwin");
+    expect(tray.listeners.has("click")).toBe(false);
+    expect(item("Show Liner")).toBeDefined();
+  });
+
+  it("stops touching the tray once destroyed", () => {
+    const { tray, controller } = setup();
+    controller.destroy();
+    expect(tray.destroyed).toBe(true);
+    controller.update({ status: "playing", track: { id: "a" } });
+    expect(tray.setContextMenu).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/electron/tray.ts b/electron/tray.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a38dadb88
--- /dev/null
+++ b/electron/tray.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,112 @@
+import {
+  Menu,
+  Tray,
+  nativeImage,
+  type MenuItemConstructorOptions,
+} from "electron";
+import {
+  PLAYING_STATUSES,
+  type ThumbarAction,
+  type ThumbarPlayerState,
+} from "./thumbar.js";
+
+const MACOS_ICON_SIZE = 16;
+const ICON_SIZE = 32;
+
+export interface TrayDeps {
+  iconPath: string;
+  showWindow: () => void;
+  send: (action: ThumbarAction) => void;
+  quit: () => void;
+  platform?: NodeJS.Platform;
+}
+
+export function trayMenuTemplate(
+  state: { hasTrack: boolean; playing: boolean },
+  deps: Pick<TrayDeps, "showWindow" | "send" | "quit">,
+): MenuItemConstructorOptions[] {
+  return [
+    { label: "Show Liner", click: () => deps.showWindow() },
+    { type: "separator" },
+    {
+      label: "Previous",
+      enabled: state.hasTrack,
+      click: () => deps.send("prev"),
+    },
+    {
+      label: state.playing ? "Pause" : "Play",
+      enabled: state.hasTrack,
+      click: () => deps.send("togglePlay"),
+    },
+    {
+      label: "Next",
+      enabled: state.hasTrack,
+      click: () => deps.send("next"),
+    },
+    { type: "separator" },
+    { label: "Quit Liner", click: () => deps.quit() },
+  ];
+}
+
+export class TrayController {
+  private tray: Tray | null = null;
+  private hasTrack = false;
+  private playing = false;
+  private appliedKey: string | null = null;
+
+  constructor(private readonly deps: TrayDeps) {}
+
+  create() {
+    if (this.tray) return;
+    const platform = this.deps.platform ?? process.platform;
+    const opensMenuOnClick = platform === "darwin";
+    try {
+      const size = opensMenuOnClick ? MACOS_ICON_SIZE : ICON_SIZE;
+      const icon = nativeImage
+        .createFromPath(this.deps.iconPath)
+        .resize({ width: size, height: size });
+      this.tray = new Tray(icon);
+    } catch (err) {
+      console.warn("[tray] could not create tray icon:", err);
+      return;
+    }
+    this.tray.setToolTip("Liner");
+    if (!opensMenuOnClick) {
+      this.tray.on("click", () => this.deps.showWindow());
+    }
+    this.apply(true);
+  }
+
+  update(state: ThumbarPlayerState) {
+    this.hasTrack = Boolean(state?.track);
+    this.playing = PLAYING_STATUSES.has(state?.status ?? "");
+    this.apply(false);
+  }
+
+  destroy() {
+    if (this.tray && !this.tray.isDestroyed()) this.tray.destroy();
+    this.tray = null;
+    this.appliedKey = null;
+  }
+
+  private apply(force: boolean) {
+    if (!this.tray || this.tray.isDestroyed()) return;
+    const key = this.hasTrack ? (this.playing ? "playing" : "paused") : "none";
+    if (!force && key === this.appliedKey) return;
+    this.tray.setContextMenu(
+      Menu.buildFromTemplate(
+        trayMenuTemplate(
+          { hasTrack: this.hasTrack, playing: this.playing },
+          this.deps,
+        ),
+      ),
+    );
+    this.appliedKey = key;
+  }
+}
+
+export function createTray(deps: TrayDeps): TrayController {
+  const tray = new TrayController(deps);
+  tray.create();
+  return tray;
+}