Bartender?

YESA focused first version is a sensible AI-assisted build. Keep the first release narrow and polish the workflow people repeat.

BUILD FIRST

One defined user and a repeatable end-to-end job
A small, clear data model with sign-in only if it is genuinely needed
Loading, empty, error, and success states that make the workflow feel complete

LEAVE FOR LATER

Large integration marketplaces
Multi-region scale and enterprise administration
Every power-user setting from the established product

RESEARCH NOTES

What this tool actually does.

Checked 2026-09-06

Bartender (by Surtees Studios) is a paid macOS menu bar management utility, marketed as an award-winning app with 10+ years of history and current releases Bartender 5 (macOS Sonoma era) and Bartender 6, plus a Bartender Pro tier. Core workflow: users hide menu bar items to free space and reveal them on demand via click, scroll, hover, swipe, or hotkey, and can Quick Search any item from the keyboard. Users can group related items (Wi-Fi/VPN, cloud drive apps, media controls) into one customizable item, define named presets (work, home, screen sharing, recording) that swap which items are visible, and set Trigger rules that auto-apply presets or show items based on time, date, battery, Wi-Fi, or location. It also adds a Bartender Bar below the menu bar, styles menu bars (tints, gradients, borders, shadows, rounded corners, per-space styles), supports MacBook notch-adjacent items, and can

SOURCES

RESEARCHED BUILD PROMPT

Give this to your coding agent.

Build a macOS menu bar management utility inspired by Bartender's core workflow (do not copy the Bartender brand, logo, artwork, or UI; design an original interface in your own style). The app lets users take control of their menu bar: hide selected items, reveal them on demand (click, scroll, hover, hotkey, or trackpad swipe), Quick Search any item from the keyboard, and group related items (e.g., Wi-Fi/VPN, cloud drives, media) into a single custom menu bar item. Implement as a native Swift/SwiftUI or AppKit app for macOS 12+, using NSStatusItem(s) for the host bar and dropdown, the Accessibility API (AXUIElement) to enumerate, hide/show, and activate other apps' menu bar items (with an onboarding screen that requests and validates the Accessibility permission), and CGEvent taps or global hotkeys for reveal/search. Persist configuration as JSON in Application Support. Support named presets (e.g., Work, Home, Recording, Screen Sharing) that swap visible/hidden sets, and trigger rules that auto-apply presets or show items based on time, date, battery level (IOKit), Wi-Fi SSID (CoreWLAN), and location (CoreLocation). Include a settings pane and a menu-bar dropdown exposing reveal, search, groups, presets, and quit. Out of scope: no e-commerce/licensing/payment, no cloud sync or accounts, no menu-bar theming/styling engine, no no-code widget builder, no App Store distribution. Deliver a README with build steps, required entitlements and TCC/Accessibility permission setup, and important limitations (sandbox and permission constraints, reliance on other apps' menu bar APIs, trigger polling power usage), plus a disclaimer that this is an independent, unaffiliated learning clone.

Visit the official product page