# Essential Menu Bar and Background Apps for macOS

As a Mac user, having the right menu bar and background apps can greatly enhance your experience. This article compiles quality apps recommended by the community to help you create a more efficient work environment.

# System Tools

# Window Management

• Rectangle (opens new window) - Window management tool, supports keyboard shortcuts for window resizing and positioning (Free)
• AltTab (opens new window) - Windows-style window switcher with preview support (Free)
• Easy Move+Resize (opens new window) - Free-form window dragging and resizing (Free)
• HazeOver (opens new window) - Highlights foreground windows by dimming background windows [Paid]
• Tiles (opens new window) - Simple window manager (Free)
• Swish (opens new window) - Elegant trackpad gesture enhancement tool [$16]
• DockDoor (opens new window) - Dock window preview tool (Free)

# Menu Bar Management

• Hidden Bar (opens new window) - Clean menu bar icon management tool (Free)
• Bartender (opens new window) - Professional menu bar management tool for organising icons [Paid]
• ItsyCal (opens new window) - Menu bar calendar tool with schedule display (Free)
• Calendar 366 II (opens new window) - Menu bar calendar with list view [Paid]
• Ice (opens new window) - Next-generation menu bar management tool (Free)
• Stretch It (opens new window) - Menu bar timer tool [Paid]

# System Monitoring

• Stats (opens new window) - Lightweight system monitoring tool showing CPU, memory status (Free)
• iStat Menus (opens new window) - Powerful system monitoring suite showing CPU, memory, storage status [Paid]
• DriveDX (opens new window) - Hard drive health monitoring [Paid]
• MonitorControl (opens new window) - External display brightness control (Free)
• BetterDisplay (opens new window) - Display and TV settings enhancement tool [Paid]
• AlDente (opens new window) - Battery management and charging limit tool [Paid]
• Battery Indicator (opens new window) - Battery remaining time display (Free)

# Productivity Tools

# Input Enhancement

• BetterTouchTool (opens new window) - Keyboard, mouse, trackpad, Touch Bar customisation tool [Paid]
• Karabiner Elements (opens new window) - Keyboard customisation tool (Free)
• aText (opens new window) - Text expansion tool (v2 version recommended) [Paid]
• MOS (opens new window) - Smooth mouse scrolling (Free)
• MiddleClick (opens new window) - Trackpad middle-click functionality (Free)
• Supercharge (opens new window) - Multi-function system enhancement tool [Paid]

# Launchers and Efficiency

• Raycast (opens new window) - Stylish Spotlight alternative with plugin support (Free)
• Alfred (opens new window) - Powerful flexible launcher, more capable than Raycast but with traditional interface [Paid]
• Fig (opens new window) - Modern command-line auto-completion tool (Free)
• Keyboard Maestro (opens new window) - Powerful automation tool for creating complex macros [$36]
• Velja (opens new window) - Smart browser selection tool [Paid]
• ColdTurkey Blocker (opens new window) - App and website restriction tool for breaking bad habits [Paid]

# Clipboard Management

• Maccy (opens new window) - Simple and efficient clipboard manager (Free)
• CleanClip (opens new window) - Professional clipboard enhancement tool [Paid]
• Unclutter (opens new window) - Multi-function tool for clipboard, file storage, and notes [Paid]
• Clop (opens new window) - Automatic clipboard content compression (Free)
• Pure Paste (opens new window) - Plain text pasting tool (Free)

# Files and Storage

# File Management

• Hazel (opens new window) - File automation management tool with rule processing [Paid]
• Cryptomator (opens new window) - Cloud storage encryption tool [Paid]
• Hyperduck (opens new window) - iOS device file transfer tool [Paid]
• Dropover (opens new window) - Temporary file holding tool [Paid]
• FilePane (opens new window) - Excellent drag-and-drop tool (currently development paused) [Paid]

# Cloud Storage

• Koofr (opens new window) - Secure cloud storage
• Sync.com (opens new window) - Secure cloud storage

# Network Tools

# Network and Security

• Little Snitch (opens new window) - Excellent macOS firewall tool [Paid]
• Micro Snitch (opens new window) - Camera and microphone usage notifications [Paid]
• Tunnelblick (opens new window) - OpenVPN client (Free)
• Enpass (opens new window) - Simple and affordable password manager [Paid]
• Faktor (opens new window) - 2FA authentication code tool for Chromium browsers [Paid]

# Download and Browsing

• Transmission (opens new window) - Lightweight BT download tool (Free)
• NeatDownloadManager (opens new window) - Download manager (Free)
• Choosy (opens new window) - Smart default browser application [Paid]

# Reading and Subscriptions

• NetNewsWire (opens new window) - Native RSS reader with clean interface (Free)
• Mimestream (opens new window) - Native Gmail client [$50/year]

# Other Useful Tools

# Screenshot and Media

• Shottr (opens new window) - Feature-rich screenshot tool with annotation support (Free)
• CleanShot X (opens new window) - Most innovative screenshot and screen recording tool [Paid]
• BackgroundMusic (opens new window) - Independent volume control for each application (Free)
• Music Decoy (opens new window) - Prevents automatic music app launch (Free)

# Practical Utilities

• Amphetamine (opens new window) - System sleep prevention tool with timer support (Free)
• OneSwitch (opens new window) - Collection of commonly used function shortcuts [$5]
• TopNotch (opens new window) - MacBook notch screen optimisation tool [$6]
• CommandQ (opens new window) - Delays CMD+Q execution to prevent accidental operations [Paid]
• Quitter (opens new window) - Automatically hides or quits inactive applications (Free)
• Numi (opens new window) - Menu bar calculator with text input support (Free)
• MacUpdater (opens new window) - Application update tool [Paid]
• YellowDot (opens new window) - Customise menu bar indicator colours (Free)

# Translation Tools

• Easydict (opens new window) - Menu bar translation tool supporting input/screenshot/selection/OCR (Free)
• DeepL (opens new window) - Professional translation tool (Free)
• ChatGPT (opens new window) - AI conversation assistant (Free)

# Summary

All the above applications have been verified by the community and are reliable. Beginners can start with free apps like Rectangle, Hidden Bar, and MonitorControl, or freemium apps like CleanClip. Users requiring higher efficiency might consider paid apps like Bartender, Alfred, and Keyboard Maestro, which offer more professional features.

When choosing apps, it's recommended to decide based on personal needs and budget. Some simple free apps might be sufficient for daily use, while certain paid apps could significantly improve work efficiency in specific scenarios.

Note: Apps marked [Paid] require purchase but specific prices aren't shown, those with specific prices listed are paid apps, and those marked (Free) can be used free of charge.