Every mode, grouped clearly
Each display gets a submenu of modes grouped by resolution and sorted by refresh rate. HiDPI and stretched modes are labelled, and the current mode is checked.
Open source · macOS 14+ · Universal binary · Display & Brightness
Every display mode,
one click away.
ResolutionHopper lives in your menu bar and lists every mode for every connected display. Save your layout as a profile, then apply it from the menu or with a global hotkey.
Free & MIT licensed · Apple Silicon & Intel · Latest release
Features
Display control, without the digging.
A small, native menu bar utility for people with external monitors, projectors and capture cards.
Profiles for whole layouts
Save the current mode of all displays as a named profile and apply it in one click. Entries for displays that are not connected are skipped and reported in the menu.
Global hotkeys per profile
Record a shortcut for any profile in Settings. Hotkeys use Carbon RegisterEventHotKey, so no permission is needed.
15-second Keep or Revert
After each switch you get a countdown to keep the change or revert. It runs on a main run loop timer, so it still fires if the screen goes black.
Automatic rules
Apply a profile automatically when a chosen external display connects. Displays are matched by vendor, model and serial number, not display ID.
Local, with no network calls
No analytics and no third-party dependencies, only Apple frameworks. Profiles are stored as JSON on your Mac.
Screenshots
See it in action.
Install
Up and running in a minute.
ResolutionHopper is open source and not notarized with a paid Apple Developer ID, so macOS needs one extra step the first time.
- Download ResolutionHopper-macOS.zip and unzip it.
- Move ResolutionHopper.app to your Applications folder.
- Clear the quarantine flag once, then right-click the app and choose Open:
xattr -cr /Applications/ResolutionHopper.app
- No special permissions are required if you turn on Launch at login, macOS may list the app under System Settings General Login Items.
Download
Get ResolutionHopper for macOS
Free, forever. Built for macOS 14 Sonoma or newer, Apple Silicon and Intel.
Not notarized: on first launch right-click ResolutionHopper.app → Open.
- macOS 14 Sonoma+
- Universal (Apple Silicon + Intel)
- MIT licensed · open source
- No ads, no accounts, no telemetry
- Built with Claude Code · how and why
FAQ
Questions, answered.
Is ResolutionHopper really free and open source?
Yes. It is released under the MIT license and the full source is on GitHub. If you find it useful, there is an optional Support button that opens a Ko-fi page.
What permissions does it need?
None for normal use. It does not request Accessibility or Screen Recording, and hotkeys work without a permission prompt. Only if you enable Launch at login may it appear under Login Items in System Settings.
Where is my data stored?
Profiles are saved as JSON at ~/Library/Application Support/ResolutionHopper/profiles.json. The app makes no network calls, other than opening the Ko-fi page in your browser when you click Support.
Why isn't the app notarized?
Notarization requires a paid Apple Developer account. Right-click the app and choose Open once to get past Gatekeeper, or build it yourself from source with Xcode.
Was this written by AI?
Yes. ResolutionHopper was generated by Claude Code from a written spec as a clean-room reimplementation, with no code or assets from any commercial app. The full source is on GitHub under MIT, so you can read every line before you run it. It has had less human review than a hand-written app, so bug reports are welcome.
Support ❤️
Built by one person, given away for free.
ResolutionHopper 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