Open source · macOS 14+ · Universal binary · Menu Bar Utility

A calmer menu bar,
one click away.

MenuBarCollapse is a tiny divider that tucks crowded menu bar icons out of sight and brings them back on demand. Click the chevron or press the global hotkey, Option-Command-B.

Download for macOS View on GitHub

Free & MIT licensed · Apple Silicon & Intel · Latest release

MenuBarCollapse quick menu with How to Hide Icons submenu

Features

Small by design. Native throughout.

Everything it does is built on public macOS APIs, with no accounts, no network access and no background services.

Hide icons with a divider

Command-drag icons to the left of the divider and collapse the bar to push them off screen. The chevron points left when expanded and right when collapsed.

Automatic re-hiding

The bar collapses again after a delay you choose, from 5 to 600 seconds in 5-second steps, or turn the timer off.

Global keyboard shortcut

Toggle from any app with Option-Command-B by default. Record your own shortcut in Settings, or clear it.

Expand on hover

Optionally reveal hidden icons when the pointer reaches the chevron. You can also hide the chevron while the bar is expanded.

Safe and self-correcting

Icons are restored if you quit while collapsed. If the divider ends up right of the chevron, collapsing is refused and the menu tells you how to fix it.

Light on your desktop

Choose a thin line or a dot for the divider, and launch at login if you like. It runs as an accessory app with no Dock icon.

Screenshots

See it in action.

MenuBarCollapse Settings window — Settings for the auto-hide delay, expand on hover, divider style, the global ⌥⌘B shortcut and launch at login.

MenuBarCollapse welcome window with menu bar diagram — The first-launch welcome window explains the divider and chevron with a small diagram and three steps.

Install

Up and running in a minute.

MenuBarCollapse is open source and not notarized with a paid Apple Developer ID, so macOS needs one extra step the first time.

Download MenuBarCollapse-macOS.zip and unzip it.
Move MenuBarCollapse.app to your Applications folder.
Clear the quarantine flag once, then right-click the app and choose Open:
```
xattr -cr /Applications/MenuBarCollapse.app
```
No special permissions are required. If you enable Launch at login, macOS may ask you to approve it in System Settings General Login Items.

Download

Get MenuBarCollapse for macOS

Free, forever. Built for macOS 14 Sonoma or newer, Apple Silicon and Intel.

Download for macOS All releases

MenuBarCollapse-macOS.zip · GitHub Releases

Not notarized: on first launch right-click MenuBarCollapse.app → Open.

macOS 14 Sonoma+
Universal (Apple Silicon + Intel)
MIT licensed · open source
No ads, no accounts, no telemetry

FAQ

Questions, answered.

Is MenuBarCollapse really free and open source?

Yes. It is released under the MIT license and the full source is on GitHub. There are no accounts, no ads and no paid tier. If it is useful to you, there is an optional Support button in the app.

What permissions does it need?

None for core use. It does not ask for Accessibility or Screen Recording, because collapsing only changes the length of its own status item. It may ask to post a notification if your menu bar is too crowded to show its icons, and macOS may ask you to approve Launch at login.

Where is my data stored?

Only on your Mac. Your settings are saved in the app's standard macOS preferences, and the app makes no network connections. Menu bar ordering is kept by macOS itself.

Why is the app not notarized?

Notarization requires a paid Apple Developer account, and this is a free project. Right-click the app and choose Open once to get past Gatekeeper, or build it yourself from source with Xcode.

Support ❤️

Built by one person, given away for free.

MenuBarCollapse is a free, open-source alternative to paid utilities. If it earns a spot on your Mac, a coffee keeps the updates coming.

☕ Support Or on Ko-fi

A calmer menu bar,one click away.