Ten Incredibly Useful Menu Bar Apps You Should Install on Your Mac
You know all about how to set up your Macbook’s dock , but you’re also on the menu bar. Some of your Mac’s best apps sit modestly in the menu bar and let you use all of their best features through a tiny drop-down menu. Not all features can be used from here, but these apps save time by accessing important options with just a couple of clicks, allowing you to complete tasks much faster. Here are some of the best menu bar apps you should install on your Mac.
Al dente
Slow down your Mac’s battery drain with AlDente . It allows you to set charging limits on your MacBook , which helps prevent premature battery aging. If you want to change said restrictions, all you need is the Menu Bar app.
amphetamine
Want to keep your Mac from turning off the display every time you step away for a minute? Amphetamine is a free menu bar app that keeps your screen on until you say so. You can choose how long you want the display to stay awake right from the menu bar, which is very handy.
CopyClip
CopyClip is a clipboard management application that can be conveniently accessed from the menu bar. You can click its icon to see all items recently saved to the clipboard and use keyboard shortcuts (Command + 1-9) to quickly access any of them.
Yoink
Yoink makes it easy to drag and drop items between two folders on your Mac. If you find something interesting worth copying, you can drag and drop it directly onto Yoink’s menu bar icon and the app will save it. You can drag this item from the menu bar to add it to another application later.
Magnet
Your Mac could use a better window manager, and Magnet is one of the best. Its Menu Bar app lets you quickly arrange windows to your liking. You can snap a Chrome window to the left side of the screen, Mail to the top right quarter, and Slack to the bottom right quarter. The Magnet Menu Bar app is especially useful when you can’t remember keyboard shortcuts to quickly arrange windows.
sound source
If you want to control the volume of individual applications , consider using SoundSource . This is a great app that allows you to set lower volume for messaging apps and higher volume for media apps like Music or VLC Media Player. It can be used entirely from the menu bar.
Clean Shot X
CleanShot X is one of the best screenshot apps for your Mac . Its Menu Bar app lets you take all sorts of screenshots and screen recordings, and also includes some options that don’t have a keyboard shortcut.
ItsyCal
If you want a simple menu bar calendar app,ItsyCal is a good choice. Although, to be honest, you can use just about any calendar app that has a menu bar utility, so feel free to choose. macOS doesn’t show the calendar when you click on the clock in the menu bar, so any third party app that does is a better alternative.
Having said that, the Calendar 366 II is worth noting because its Menu Bar app allows you to replace the system clock. You can disable your Mac’s system clock first, then go to Calendar 366’s settings to change the menu bar icon to one that shows the date and time. This lets you copy a useful Windows feature where you can click the clock to see the calendar.
Later
Later quickly saves all open apps so you can access them in the future. This is a great way to clear out a cluttered workspace on a Mac. The Menu Bar application closes all open applications in one go and restores them to the same location on the desktop later.
Bartender
The last recommendation on our list is an app to manage all your new apps in the menu bar. If you have too many good apps in your menu bar, it starts to look messy. The bartender will help you clean up the mess. Apart from great organization features, you will appreciate its ability to automatically show or hide certain icons in the menu bar. For example, Bartender can only show the Wi-Fi icon when you’re not connected to the Internet, or hide the battery icon when your MacBook is charging. If you end up using a lot of menu bar apps, you should definitely have Bartender.