xbar

What xbar is

xbar puts the output of scripts and programs in the macOS menu bar, making selected information visible at a glance. Its library offers hundreds of pre-built plugins across categories such as AWS, finance, email, music, network, system, and weather. Examples include a network status display, YubiKey OATH TOTP codes, an OKX price ticker, Bluetooth trackpad battery status, miner statistics, and an RSS reader. Users can also create their own plugins in any language. Plugins can be discovered and managed in xbar's Preferences > Plugins, and the plugin directory is ~/Library/Application Support/xbar/plugins. The project describes xbar as open source under the MIT License. It says Mat Ryer and Leah Anthony rewrote the app in Go using Wails, and invites users to support it through GitHub sponsorship. xbar is free and runs on macOS; the latest release requires macOS Catalina or newer, version 10.15 or later. The app supports grouped and custom menu items as well as keyboard shortcuts. It does not support hiding or rearranging menu items. The v2.1.7-beta release notes say the plugin timeout was increased from one minute to two minutes.

Who it suits

xbar suits macOS users who want script or program output in the menu bar and prefer to choose or create the information they see. It is useful for people who want ready-made plugins across categories including finance, email, network, system, and weather.

Limits

The latest release requires macOS Catalina or newer (10.15 or later). Menu items cannot be hidden or rearranged.

Getting started

1. Visit the xbar website and download the macOS app.
2. Install and open xbar on macOS Catalina or newer.
3. Open Preferences > Plugins to discover and manage plugins.
4. Add plugins to ~/Library/Application Support/xbar/plugins.
5. Write a custom plugin in any language if you want your own menu bar output.

Verdict

Choose xbar if you use macOS and want script output or plugin information in the menu bar, with the option to make your own plugins. Look elsewhere if hiding or rearranging menu items is important to your setup.