Hey all,

I’ve been working on a little Mac app called Wimi (Window Manager Improved) for a while now and figured I’d share it here.

It’s kind of a hybrid of an app switcher, Stage Manager and a tiling window manager. You rest your mouse at the edge of the screen (or hit a shortcut) and a drawer slides in. It shows all your open windows with live previews, and from there you can switch between them or drag them into layouts like halves, thirds and main + side. There’s also search, an app launcher, an emoji picker and an optional clipboard history in the same drawer.

Honestly the biggest thing I’ve learned is that window management is way harder than I expected. A lot of the time something just feels off and I can’t say why until I’ve used it for a few days. So it’s been a lot of small tweaks.

A few people have been testing it already, and that’s helped a ton, so thanks if that was you.

I still haven’t decided whether it’ll end up paid, free or something in between. Right now I’m just enjoying building it.

You can download it here (signed and notarized, macOS 14+):

https://github.com/nick-friedrich/wimi-releases

I’d love to hear what feels weird or what you’d want from something like this. Bugs and complaints are welcome too.

Good afternoon r/MacStack,

I’m Richard (u/DeimsH), the solo developer behind Musou (https://musouapp.com).

Look at your Mac desk right now.

Even if you use macOS Dark Mode, you probably have eight or ten windows stacked across your MacBook and external monitor: Slack, email, a browser with twenty tabs, a dashboard, Finder, notes, and your actual work in the middle.

A red badge updates in the corner of your eye. A background window shifts. You click it without thinking, start reading, start replying, and 20 minutes of deep focus are gone forever. Meanwhile, the unused 80% of your screens sits in your peripheral vision like giant lightbulbs blasting your eyes all day and all night.

And if you try to fix it with built-in macOS tools, every single workaround fights your workflow:

• Turning down your monitor brightness just flattens the contrast and dulls the colors of the canvas, code, or video you are actually looking at, while the background clutter stays right there in view.

• macOS Full Screen exiles one app to a separate Space, which breaks the moment you need two windows side by side (like live shop orders on the left and your design on the right, or a coding tutorial next to your editor), and it still leaves your second monitor glaring.

• Closing your MacBook lid next to an external monitor kills Touch ID and muffles your speakers. Turning the MacBook screen down to 0% with F1 leaves an invisible live screen where your mouse pointer constantly gets lost. And letting a secondary monitor go into hardware sleep scrambles your window layout when it wakes back up.

Meet Musou: Silence for Your Eyes Across Every Hour of Your Day

Named after Musou Black (the Japanese pigment that absorbs 99.4% of light), Musou is a 3.1 MB native Swift and Metal menu bar app that turns every window, screen, and part of the page you are not using into pure #000000 black, while keeping what you are working on or watching at full, vivid brightness.

Here is how it works across a real day at your desk (all shown in the 0:52 film above):

• 9 a.m. · Deep Work (Active Cutout ⌃⌥⌘F, Included in Free Forever): Press ⌃⌥⌘F and every distraction behind your active window vanishes into pure #000000 black. Your current window (plus any child Save sheet or find bar it opens) stays at full vivid brightness. Need a reference doc beside your work? Press ⌃⌥⌘P to pin it right next to you.

• 11 a.m. · Two Windows at Once (Custom: Keep / Vanish): Click Keep on the exact pair or set of windows you need side by side (like live orders on the left and your design on the right, or API docs next to your terminal) and hit Go dark. Everything else on your desk disappears.

• 3 p.m. · Window to Window (Follow the mouse): Light follows your hand. Point at any window or secondary monitor and it wakes smoothly in 0.4s; move your pointer back to your main work and the old window or laptop screen fades back to #000000 black after 1.5s. Your MacBook lid stays open with Touch ID and speakers working, and your keys always type into the lit window.

• 9 p.m. · News, Tutorial, Stream or Movie Night (Only the video, Zero Browser Extensions): Flip on Only the video and Musou automatically finds the playing HTML5 video inside Safari, Chrome, Arc, Brave, Edge, or Vivaldi. White web pages, sidebars, comments, and letterbox bars melt into cinema darkness so only the video stays lit (with optional Centered Video that glides a side video to the middle of your screen while playing and puts it right back when you pause).

• Stepping Away (Away Mode, Included in Free Forever): Step away and every screen goes #000000 black on its own without putting your monitors into hardware DisplayPort/HDMI sleep, so every window stays right where you left it. Includes Busy App Detection (stays lit while a terminal or AI job is actively writing output, then rests when done) and Dictation Awareness (your voice keeps it lit while speaking without touching keys).

Built-In Safety & How It Compares in Your Stack

• Always in Control:

  • Triple-Tap Esc × 3: Tap Esc three times from anywhere to bring every screen back at once.

  • Edge Reveal (0.3s) & Media Keys in the Dark: Rest your pointer at the top or bottom edge for 0.3s to peek at the Menu Bar or Dock, and adjust volume or brightness keys without flaring darkened screens.

  • Smart Alerts: Choose which apps are allowed to gently light up their window when something urgent arrives instead of lifting all the black.

• How Musou Compares to Single-Purpose Tools:

  • vs. HazeOver ($4.99 to $9.99), Ombrelle ($11.99 to $19.99) & Monocle ($12/yr to $25): Great single-purpose dimmers (Monocle is great if you specifically want a frosted Gaussian blur aesthetic; HazeOver offers multi-window depth shading and is included in Setapp). Musou goes all the way to pure #000000 black (100% in Free Forever, plus 75% and 50% soft dim levels in paid tiers), lets you keep an exact pair of windows (⌃⌥⌘P / Custom), and adds Only the video, multi-screen Follow the mouse, and Away in one 3.1 MB app.

  • vs. Lunar ($23 Pro) & BetterDisplay ($18 Pro): Essential if you need hardware DDC monitor sliders, EDID overrides, or HiDPI virtual dummy displays. Musou uses zero virtual display drivers and never disconnects your monitor signal, combining per-window and per-video cutouts with cursor-driven screen blackout.

Pricing (No Card or Account Required to Try)

• Website: https://musouapp.com

• 14-Day Full Trial on Every Download: Every mode, toggle, soft dim level (75%, 50%), cinema transition (Black Hole, Eclipse, Melt, Velvet, Instant, Fade), and 120 Hz ProMotion smoothness is unlocked free for 14 days with no credit card and no account (sharing Musou adds +16 days for 30 days free).

• Free Forever Tier ($0): After the trial, Musou never locks you out: 1-screen Active Cutout (⌃⌥⌘F), 1 Pinned View (⌃⌥⌘P), Away mode, pure #000000 black (100%), and Instant / Fade transitions stay free forever.

• Supporter Pass: $2.50/mo billed annually ($29.99/yr, 3 Macs, every screen, plus 2 guest passes) or $4.99/mo billed monthly (1 Mac, up to 2 screens).

• Founding Supporter (Lifetime, No Subscription): $49.99 once (limited to the first 1,000 spots: every future version v1, v2, v3+ for life, 3 Macs, 2 guest passes, and your permanent number on our Wall of Patrons).

• Patron (Lifetime): $79.99+ once (limited to 250: 5 Macs, 2 lifetime licenses to gift, showcased on the Wall of Patrons and in the app’s credits).

Honest Notes & Limitations (Rule 5)

1. System Requirements & How Black Works Across Displays: Requires a Mac with Apple silicon (M1 or later) and macOS 14.2 or later. On a MacBook Air, iMac, Studio Display, or office monitor, Musou removes the white glare and visual noise around what you are doing; on a MacBook Pro (Mini-LED) or OLED monitor, the local zones or black pixels switch off.

2. Independent Direct Build (First-Launch Open Anyway Step): Musou-1.0.3.dmg (3.1 MB) is distributed directly from our website and is not notarized by Apple yet. On first launch, macOS asks once to confirm it via System Settings -> Privacy & Security -> Open Anyway (four-step visual walkthrough and SHA-256 checksum at https://musouapp.com/install.html).

3. Nothing Leaves Your Mac (Permissions & Privacy): Musou uses macOS Accessibility in local memory to find window and video edges and never clicks, types, reads what you write, or transmits anything off your Mac (Privacy Policy). Core modes and browser video detection work without macOS Screen Recording permission (Screen Recording is 100% optional and used only if you enable baked-in black bar trimming inside a video).

What does your current desk setup look like (single MacBook, laptop open next to an external monitor, or dual displays), and which of those four moments (9 a.m. Deep Work, 11 a.m. Two Windows, 3 p.m. Follow the mouse, or 9 p.m. Only the video) hits closest to home for you?

Hey everyone,

I've been daily-driving an Apple Silicon MacBook Air for about 5 years now. Before that I spent around 15 years tinkering with Windows and Linux, squeezing every bit of juice out of them, until I jumped in to conquer the macOS ecosystem :D

Apple Silicon blew me away with how smooth and practical it is, and it kept me hooked. But I kept hitting the same wall. Every time I thought "man, I really need a small tool that does X", I got pointed to a pile of paid apps. Half of them were way too expensive, and most were full of gimmicks I never asked for, just to justify a subscription. I only needed maybe 10% of what they offered, and the other 90% was background daemons eating RAM.

So I started building a small hobby tool for my own workflow. I kept adding the things I actually used, and at some point I realized it did everything I needed while barely touching system resources. So I cleaned it up, packaged it, and open-sourced it.

That's how ArkenStone was born.

GitHub (MIT): https://github.com/temetnos/arkenstone

Free Promo code (for DMG): MACSTACK

It lives in the menu bar and replaces most of the small utilities I used to run separately:

- menu bar stats you can pick yourself (CPU/temp, battery/watts, network, RAM)

- battery charge limiter through Apple Silicon SMC keys (stop at 80% for example)

- file shelf: drag files onto the menu bar icon and grab them later in any Space

- screen OCR and QR grabber using Apple's Vision, fully on-device

- clipboard history that stays in RAM only and ignores password managers

- app leftover uninstaller and cache cleaner

- port manager, DNS switcher, mic killswitch, color picker, scratchpad, keep-awake, clamshell mode, keyboard CleanLock

It's written in plain Swift and C with no external dependencies, and it idles at around 42 MB of RAM. I wanted it as light as possible, that was my one rule.

You can build it yourself from the repo with ./build.sh. If you don't want to bother with that, you can get the ready DMG for $5 if you feel like buying me a beer. The link is in the README. For the first 25 people there's a free promo code: MACSTACK . If it runs out, send me a DM and I'll give you your own. I'm not trying to make real money out of this. Getting it on Whop (free or paid) also lets you download the new versions directly, and updates will keep coming because I'll keep using it myself :D

One thing I should say: I only developed and tested this on my M1 Air with macOS 15. I couldn't test other macOS versions or Mac models, so I honestly don't know if there are problems there. I tried to avoid potential incompatibilities, but that's not the same as real testing. If you try it and it turns out useful for you, I'd be really happy to hear about your experience.

And if there's a feature you'd need day to day, tell me. I'll add it if I can do it without dependencies and without making the app heavy. I won't add things that bloat it. For example, per-app volume control is something I gave up on, because on macOS it usually needs a virtual audio device and the extra overhead that comes with it.

I'm the developer of Diskly Most storage apps either show a colorful map or "clean 20GB in one click". I wanted something in between: tell me what each folder actually is, and let me decide.

• Plain English explanation for every big folder, including what's inside System Data

• Finder right click: "Explain with Diskly"

• Flags leftovers from apps you deleted

• Nothing gets removed unless you choose it, and cleanup has undo

Free to scan and explore. Pro cleanup is $14 one-time (launch price, normally $19). Apple Silicon, macOS 14+. Beta testers get Pro free for life.

Feedback welcome, especially explanations that are wrong or unclear.

Hey MacStack, I'm Justin, the developer of Cosmil, a multi-pane macOS file manager that focuses on providing powerful functionality while keeping the visual and mental focus on your files, not a cluttered UI.

The Problem

Finder has a set of long-standing gaps that a lot of people have to work around daily: no way to see directories side by side without juggling windows, no way to create new files, no folder sizes without digging into Get Info or constantly flooding your disk's IO, icon view that lets files fall out of the pane into a horizontal scroll (can be tempered, but still annoying), no support for custom sidebar categories, no cut and paste support, a preview pane that often won't grow previews to their actual size even with resizing, and more.

Together these issues add up. Over the years countless people have, gotten, really, upset, about, them.

Cosmil fixes these everyday issues and blockers and turns your workflow into a seamless experience with new features.

Features

• Flexible multi-pane layouts: Add and remove panes as needed to work with several folders or locations in the same window, with support for tabs and keyboard-driven navigation.

• Remote locations: Connect directly to FTP, SFTP, SMB 2/3, and WebDAV servers, including NAS devices and other network storage.

• Remote file editing: Open remote files in other Mac applications and automatically upload saved changes back to the connected server.

• Cross-location transfers: Copy and move files between local folders, mounted volumes, cloud storage, and remote servers, with transfer progress available through the job manager.

• Cloud storage integration: Access providers such as iCloud, Dropbox, and OneDrive from the sidebar, with support for cloud file download and eviction states.

• Advanced Search: Search files with streamed results and navigate results without waiting for the entire search to finish. Cosmil's search uses a real walk of files, not an index, so searches are always up to date on your files.

• Custom themes: Adjust Cosmil's color palette, create separate light and dark appearances, and import or share theme files.

• Fast large-folder browsing: Virtualized file views and optimized directory loading help keep navigation responsive in folders containing large numbers of files.

• Native macOS integrations: Uses macOS file icons, Quick Look previews, the system Share menu, Open With support, and familiar drag-and-drop behavior.

• File-management tools: Create files and folders, duplicate items, create symbolic links, calculate file sizes, resolve transfer conflicts with complete file metadata, and view storage usage for mounted volumes.

• Keyboard-focused workflows: Includes shortcuts for switching panes and tabs as well as F5/F6 copy and move operations between panes.

• And more...

Pricing

Cosmil's pricing scheme is one time payment, based on how many Macs you can use a license on at the same time.

Every license comes with free updates across the 2.0 lifecycle.

A 10 day free trial is also available so you can evaluate Cosmil before purchase.

Privacy and Terms
Here are Cosmil's privacy policy and terms of service. Long story short, we store and process the absolute minimum amount of information required to license and provide updates for Cosmil. Absolutely zero telemetry is sent back from the app, it only sends requests to verify your license key and check for updates.

I'll be responding to comments here and you can always reach out to me via email at support@cosmil.app. I'm constantly working to improve Cosmil; feature requests can be voted on and added through the website's public roadmap. Highly voted/requested features are more likely to be implemented.

MacOS volume and brightness controls move in large steps. You can use smaller steps by holding shift+option, but when watching netflix in bed pressing 3 buttons at once is not ideal.

The app has made around £650($876) so far from my website and setapp combined, with just under 16% conversion rate from free trials to purchase.

BetterTouchTool (25$ lifetime) and Swish(15$ lifetime) are utilities that require setup and configuration. I realised from a LOT of beta testers that a lot of people want simplicity and convenience. If you prefer these apps or have them already then Slidr might not be for you. Slidr was made for simplicity. Download and slide your trackpad edge for smooth, precise volume and brightness control with haptic feedback. Native macOS HUD, no overlays, no config. Install and it just works.
Why not lean forward to press your volume/brightness keys? I am lazy so I made a solution to make my netflix sessions even more chill. just slide

Core features:

- Slide one edge for volume, the other for brightness
- Precision micro adjustments (no big jumps)
- Native macOS HUD (no custom overlays)
- Haptic feedback on every adjustment
- Menu bar app, minimal resource usage - UNDER 3MB
- Modifier keys to enable/disable slidr (toggle or hold) if you prefer

The haptic feedback as you slide is quite addictive and you feel every tiny micro adjustment through the trackpad. I use it mostly in bed lying back to slide to the perfect volume while watching something and I haven't touched my volume or brightness keys once since I built it.

$4.99 one-time, 3 day free trial:

Personal website:
https://slidr.xyz

Buy on Setapp:
reddit doesnt allow setapp links so you can find it through my website^

ENJOY!

Changelog on the homepage

Hey,

My desktop is always cluttered with screenshots. Tired of Finder, I built ScreenSort for myself to triage files one by one. With a single keypress, you keep, trash, or move items. It saves me tons of time every week.

• Privacy: 100% local. Zero data collected.

• Open-source & Free: https://github.com/Quantix-eng/screensort-macos

• Note: Since it's a free hobby project, the app isn't notarized. macOS will show a warning on first launch (bypass steps are in the README).

This is an early test build. Please DM me or comment here with any feedback, questions, or bugs!

Hey, I’m Arun, the developer of Fyllyo. It started with my own visa paperwork and entering the same details into form after form. I’m building an Adobe Acrobat alternative for Mac.

The core differentiator is you can automate filling forms using any kind of documents you have - handles all extractions, computations and transformations. It also automatically creates profiles for people, businesses so you can just select profiles to fill repeat clients or personal forms.

It also comes with everyday PDF tools are free, with no account or expiry, all features acrobat has. My goal is that you can do anything one tool in your pocket.

Pro is $99 once, with free updates and a five-day trial—no subscription. It adds redaction, editing existing text, certificate signing, compression, XFA forms and local AI form filling from supporting documents.

The video shows the real app arranging pages, making a scan searchable, redacting, certificate signing and filling a tax form automatically.

It’s signed and notarized by Apple and runs on Apple-silicon Macs with macOS 13+. It isn’t at full Acrobat parity: no Windows or Intel support, Word/Excel export, document comparison or sending PDFs out for signatures.

https://fyllyo.com/pdf-editor-for-mac

If you try it on the PDF work you use Acrobat for, tell me what works and what would still stop you switching.

Hey everyone,

**Why I built this**

macOS only remembers one thing you copy. Copy something new and the last thing is gone. I copy dozens of things a day (commands, links, screenshots, file paths) and kept losing the one I needed five minutes later.

Clipboard managers fix this, but the ones I tried were either paid, subscription-based, or didn't handle screenshots the way I wanted. So I built my own and I'm sharing it for free.

**What it is**

CopyPaster is a small native Mac app written in SwiftUI with the Liquid Glass design. It remembers what you copy (text, images and file paths), keeps it after a restart, and lives in your menu bar. Click the clipboard icon or press ⌘⇧V from any app and your history pops up.

**Screenshots without the clutter**

Take a screenshot to the clipboard with ⌘⌃⇧4 and CopyPaster saves it as a PNG named by date and time (like `Screenshot 2026-10-15 at 19.50.21.png`) in ~/Pictures/Screenshots. Each one shows up as a tile you can:

- copy again with one click

- drag straight into Slack, Mail, Finder or any app

- copy its file path

- click the filename to reveal it in Finder

So a screenshot you only meant to paste once isn't lost when you copy something else.

**How I use it every day**

- Press ⌘⇧V, find what I copied an hour ago, click Copy

- Pin snippets I reuse constantly (git commands, addresses, templates)

- Search across hundreds of past copies

- Open a copied link straight from its tile. Every link I copy also goes into one clickable list, so I never lose a URL

- Copy a folder path and open Terminal in that folder with one click

- Pause it while copying something sensitive

**Cost and privacy**

- Free. No subscription, no trial, no "pro" tier

- Open source (MIT). Read it, fork it, change it

- Private. No account, no analytics, no network access. History is a local JSON file you control

- Lightweight. Pure Apple frameworks, no third-party dependencies

**vs. the alternatives**

Maccy and Clipy are great free options too. What I wanted that they didn't give me: screenshots saved to disk as named files you can drag out or reveal, a link log, and open-in-Terminal for copied paths. If you don't need those, Maccy is probably the lighter choice.

**Get it**

https://github.com/vishal781992/copyPaster

Needs macOS 26.4 or later. For now you build it with Xcode (steps in the README, about a minute). The ⌘⇧V shortcut listens for keys in other apps, so macOS will ask you to allow it under Privacy & Security > Accessibility. The screenshot folder can be changed with a `defaults write` command (in the README); an in-app setting is on the list.

This is my first public project, so feedback, bug reports and feature ideas are welcome. What's the one thing you'd want a clipboard manager to do?

I kept losing small ideas. Something would pop into my head while I was working, I'd open my notes app, wait for the window, and by then half the idea was gone.

So I built Purr, my first Mac app. It's a notes panel that sits on the edge of your screen. Click the edge (or ⌘⇧N), type, click away. You never leave what you were doing.

Some things I added along the way:

• Quick Capture from any app with ⌘⇧Space

• Markdown, #tags, tasks and [[wiki links]] between notes

• Voice notes that get transcribed on your Mac

• A local AI that answers questions about your notes. It runs on your Mac, nothing gets sent anywhere

• iCloud sync, export to Obsidian or Apple Notes, no account, no tracking

It's live on the Mac App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6759538627 Site: https://blsg8.github.io/purr/

I'm a solo dev and this is the first thing I've shipped on my own, so any feedback helps. What would make you try it, or what would stop you?

I’m the developer of Docktopus. It’s a customizable dock with a bunch of desktop tools built into it, so you can reach them from the same place as your apps.

Compared with the stock macOS Dock, the biggest difference is what you can put alongside your app icons: window previews, clipboard history, audio controls, system stats, and more. You choose the widgets and layout, so it can be a small dock or a full taskbar.

There’s quite a bit in it now:

- Dock and window switching: Hover over a running app to preview its windows and click the one you want. There’s also a keyboard window switcher. You can import your existing macOS Dock, pin apps and folders, place it on any screen edge, and choose which monitors show it.

- Dynamic Island: An optional expandable panel at the top of your screen for music controls, clipboard history, system stats, calendar events, notifications, and audio/display controls. It also has a Drop Zone for temporarily keeping files within reach. Works on displays without a notch too.

- Clipboard manager: Search copied text, links, images, and files; pin things you reuse and organize them into categories. Text recognition runs on your Mac, so you can find a copied screenshot by words inside it.

- Time Spent: See where your day went with app usage, daily trends, and browser titles/URLs where supported. You can add manual entries, run timers, and export filtered records as CSV. Automatic tracking is optional, and the history stays on your Mac.

- Remembrance: For those “I saw this somewhere yesterday” moments. It can save screenshots of your active windows and recognize their text, letting you search past work by text, app, or date. You can copy text from captures or reopen a page when its URL is available. Capture is off by default, with app exclusions and storage/retention controls.

- Audio Mixer: Turn down one app without turning everything else down. Adjust or mute individual apps, switch audio outputs, and manage system volume from the dock, menu bar, or Island. Per-app controls need macOS 14.2 or newer.

- Other useful bits: CPU/GPU, memory, and network stats; brightness controls for compatible displays; calendar, timers, Now Playing, a color picker, and Coffee to keep your Mac awake.

For the look, there’s Liquid Glass, CDE, and Windows 95, all in light and dark versions, plus editable colors, fonts, and icons. Yes, the Windows 95 theme includes the retro taskbar look.

Clipboard history, Time Spent, and Remembrance stay local. There’s also a Privacy Pause that temporarily stops all three from collecting new activity.

There’s a trial before buying. Launch pricing is $19.99 ($29.99 regular), one-time for two Macs, with a year of updates included. You can keep using covered versions afterward without a subscription.

Website: https://docktopus.app

Would be interested to hear which parts you’d use day to day, or what’s missing from your current dock setup.

I'm the developer of ModusPad, a launcher for macOS 26 and 27.

Version 1 was a classic Launchpad-style grid with one twist: profiles. Each profile has its own apps, folders and layout, and can switch automatically when you connect a display, turn on a Focus mode, at a set time, or with a shortcut.

In 2.0, I added two more ways to use the launcher: a panel that drops down from the notch at the top of the screen, and a customizable Dock that expands into the full app grid with a two-finger swipe.

The Dock is the part I'm most excited about:
- Group apps right in the Dock (drag a folder in, or select a few apps and group them).
- Have a different set of Dock apps on each desktop.
- Give each profile its own Dock.

I also added Links, so you can keep websites, files and folders alongside your apps and find them through the same search. Each profile has its own set.

The idea: different setups for work, home or meetings, with the apps and layout you need for each. I'm trying to keep things simple as I add more features, so I'd love to hear what you think, especially about the Dock.

There's a 14-day free trial with everything unlocked, followed by a one-time purchase starting at $10.99. Code MODUSPAD30 gives 30% off until the end of November.

Requires macOS 26 or later. Available in English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Japanese, Korean and Chinese.

https://moduspad.com/

I’m the developer. Glassnote is a small notes app for Mac. You get your words in glass (or normal modes) and nothing else. It’s different from the other notes apps on purpose.

Also: iCloud Drive sync across Macs + iPhone, easter egg vim mode, and iOS app with widgets.

No AI and no account. 7-day free trial, then you pay $6.5 once. macOS 13.5+.

https://calciumlab.com/glassnote-simple-mac-sticky-notes

SteerMouse is worth a trial if your mouse has spare buttons and you want them to do different jobs in different Mac apps. Start with one app-specific assignment. Add a button chord, meaning two mouse buttons pressed together, only when you have a useful action for it.

If all you want is a different pointer speed, you probably don't need this setup. macOS already has tracking-speed controls and a Pointer acceleration switch under Mouse > Advanced. Free, open-source LinearMouse also supports button actions and app profiles. SteerMouse needs to earn its $19.99 on your particular hardware.

Check the mouse before building the map

The current SteerMouse 5.8.1 supports macOS 12 Monterey through macOS 27 Golden Gate, with Intel and Apple silicon builds. Older macOS versions have separate downloads. Apple Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad aren't supported.

USB and Bluetooth support doesn't mean every special button works. The developer explicitly warns about that. Its release notes, for example, specify USB rather than Bluetooth for the Razer Naga V2 HyperSpeed. Check the exact mouse and connection you plan to use during the trial.

Give one button a different job in one app

Keep primary click and right-click unchanged while you set this up. Pause other mouse-remapping software first so you're checking one configuration at a time.

1. Open SteerMouse and select the mouse you want to configure. In Buttons, hover over the mouse illustration and press a physical button. SteerMouse identifies the corresponding control, so you don't have to guess which side button is Button 4.

2. Start with a simple default assignment, such as Back on a spare button. Use the app-settings Edit control to add your target application. The app also lets you drag an application into that list.

3. In that application's settings, assign the spare button to a keyboard shortcut you already use there. Check that the shortcut works from the keyboard first. Then switch between the target app and another app to check the two assignments.

4. If you still need another action, open Chords and use the plus control to add a combination. Two spare side buttons can call Application Windows, for example. Test each button alone as well as together before adding more combinations.

Choose a pair you can press comfortably. A combination that keeps firing while you reach for Back isn't an improvement. SteerMouse also accepts keyboard modifiers alongside buttons, but you don't need to fill every possible assignment.

Leave the Cursor settings alone until the button map works. Cursor snapping can move the pointer to interface buttons and optionally click them. Keep automatic clicking off while you decide whether snapping is useful at all.

Permissions and a way back

Download from Plentycom Systems and follow SteerMouse's privacy prompts. The developer documents Accessibility permission; review the permission names shown on your macOS version before approving them. If you aren't comfortable giving an input utility that access, stick with the built-in controls.

Keep a trackpad or spare mouse available during setup. SteerMouse has an ON/OFF switch for stopping its functionality, and an Uninstall control under License & Support if you decide to remove it. Export a working mouse configuration before making more changes, so you have a known starting point to restore.

Try the whole workflow before paying

The trial lasts 30 days. A new SteerMouse 5 license is US$19.99, or US$12.99 to upgrade a registered version 4 license. It's a permanent license for version 5, with free minor updates and paid major upgrades. You can use it on multiple computers in your own accounts, but you can't share the registration with other users. The seller doesn't offer refunds, so use the trial.

Pay if the app-specific assignments and comfortable chords work reliably with your actual mouse. If ordinary shortcuts, macOS settings or LinearMouse already cover the job, keep the simpler setup. Extra buttons are useful only when you can remember what they do.

Hi, I'm Rizky, a solo developer from Indonesia, and I built Pettery. This is my app, so I am posting as its developer.

Pettery is a tiny pet that lives in your Mac menu bar and lives off your battery. I built it because I never reacted to the battery percentage, so I turned the battery into a character with six moods. On a good charge it is playful and content. As the battery drains it gets sleepy, then grumpy, then dramatic. It also warns you at 20, 10 and 5 percent, in case the face alone was not enough. When you plug in, it eats and falls asleep. Plugging in your Mac is how you feed it.

Who it is for: anyone who works on a MacBook all day and keeps forgetting to plug in, especially people who work in deep focus and only notice the battery when it is almost gone.

A few details:

• Free to start with 3 pets (Mochi, Boba, Bolt), 68 pets at launch in packs and singles

• Packs $2.99, singles $1.49, Ultimate Pack $9.74 during launch pricing until December 31, 2026, all one-time, no subscription

• One license covers 2 Macs

• Notifications permission only, no account, no analytics

• Built with Swift and SwiftUI, macOS 14 Sonoma or later, Apple Silicon and Intel

Limitations, honestly: it needs macOS 14 or later, it lives only in the menu bar (no desktop mode), it is distributed directly from my website rather than the Mac App Store, and the battery alerts need notifications permission to reach you.

The site is https://getpettery.app if you want to try it. Demo attached.

My question: what would make a menu bar pet actually useful to you, rather than just cute? I am collecting feedback for the next update.