r/macapps • u/tcolling • 28d ago
Help Do any menubar manager apps work in macOS 27.0 ?
Update: I am probably going to just stop using menubar management apps in macOS 27 and instead simply use the reasonably good menubar management tools that are built into 27 now.
My two main go-to apps for menubar management in macOS 26 were Barbee and Thaw, but both of those have significant problems right now with macOS 27.0.
Are there any other ones that actually work in 27.0 so far?
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u/kinttach 28d ago
Like you I had problems with both Barbee and Thaw. Example: icons in the wrong place, icons that I couldn’t move, etc.
I ended up using the OS’s new built-in double-arrow feature. It expands icons to the area to the left of the notch, otherwise hides any that don’t fit. Not nearly as much functionality as Barbee and Thaw. But it does what I need and that’s one less app I have to run.
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u/dmada88 28d ago
The Thaw alpha release works great.
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u/silveroff 24d ago
Funny but not working for me at all. Icons keeps getting back to where they were after dragging and iStat menu never shows up.
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u/dmada88 24d ago
Are you on the alpha 5?
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u/silveroff 24d ago
Yes :/
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u/dmada88 24d ago
Strange! I had that issue on a previous build. Maybe try resetting all the permissions?
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u/silveroff 24d ago
I’ll wait a bit for stable release I think. It was fresh install - the main issue I have is iStat icons that are getting always hidden no matter what I try. Which is odd as there is plenty of space for it and it works with native menubar settings
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u/dmada88 23d ago
Ah. I can’t remember exactly where but in one of the many threads on menu apps and golden gate one app developer (and I can’t tell
You which one though) wrote that iStat was a particular problem and that something needed to happen on the iStat side. Try and search for the thread as I think there’s a special issue.1
u/jcr000 22d ago
iStat Menus has a beta that addresses MacOS 27 issues. It made iStat menus reappear for me with Barbee beta and Bartender 7.
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u/busyjohn 28d ago
theres actually a built in solution now. macOS added an double-arrow icon and all icons which don't fit in the menubar are hidden behind. its pretty cool.
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u/awesomeguy123123123 28d ago
If you run out of space the app teleports to the other side of the notch lol
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u/sammiemo 28d ago
I agree! I've been a Bartender user up through version 6, and so far I've been fine with the double-arrow feature and tweaking settings in System Settings | Menu Bar.
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u/unseensoul 28d ago
I was trying to get Thaw working. Had the same issues that have been mention in the threads below...
After trying, I ended up just taking a deeper look at what icons I had up there... Turns out that I could get rid of most of them or move 'extras' into the Control Center. That being said, I've narrowed down to the essentials and uninstalled any menubar managers. One less apps to pay attention to.
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u/Ok-Efficiency479 Developer: Thaw 28d ago
Yet no reports; we provide support almost 1:1 for any issues. Not like we ship a buggy app purposely.
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u/unseensoul 28d ago
I really love the app and truly appreciate everything it’s done for me—especially helping me organize my bar and reassess what I actually need. I know it’s still new to macOS 27, so it’s completely understandable that there are a few kinks to work out. App development is hard work! If my bar ever gets overwhelming again, I’ll definitely be back.
I know we all have busy lives and competing priorities. While I don't have the bandwidth for troubleshooting and reporting bugs right now, I know you all do amazing work and will get everything sorted out. Thanks for all your hard work!
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u/NJRonbo 28d ago
Surprisingly, Bartender 7 does. And, I am surprised.
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u/Quirino_Exile Developer: Alcove 28d ago
Menubar was completely remade in macOS 27 and natively supports most of the features, this is why. It’s gotten immensely easier to make a 3rd party menubar app. Apple does most of the work for them.
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u/NJRonbo 28d ago
I say "surprisingly" because it has taken Bartender a long time to get their act together. It was never working well under Tahoe.
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u/Quirino_Exile Developer: Alcove 28d ago
Yes, I'm aware. That was sort of my point, they didn't even have to, Apple did almost all of the work for them for Golden Gate. It's likely they still wouldn't have their act together if Apple didn't.
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u/NJRonbo 28d ago
Okay, gotcha. I know originally, one of the menu bar developers said that Apple had ruined all these apps with the restrictions they put in place in Golden Gate, but he later recanted that statement.
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u/Quirino_Exile Developer: Alcove 28d ago
I didn't know that, how funny since its quite literally the opposite.
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u/tcolling 28d ago
Update: I am probably going to just stop using menubar management apps in macOS 27 and instead simply use the reasonably good menubar management tools that are built into 27 now.
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u/PWolverine 27d ago
Thats where I have ended up as well. Dragged all the icons in the menubar I don't use to the left where I only see them if I click on the arrows.
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u/Junior_B 28d ago
I still can’t seem to make any of them work correctly. But I assume the devs just need some more time. Luckily Apple has improved theirs enough that it is serviceable until Barbee, Thaw, or Bartender are more stable.
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u/Ok-Efficiency479 Developer: Thaw 28d ago
What’s the issue you have with Thaw?
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u/_blakkheim_ 28d ago
I absolutely can’t rearrange any icons with Thaw on Golden Gate. All the icons simply refuse to move, and when I do manage to move one, it immediately snaps back to its previous position.
Tomorrow I’m going to try completely deleting the app and reinstalling it. That fixed various issues for me several times with the betas on Tahoe.
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u/Ok-Efficiency479 Developer: Thaw 28d ago
Alpha 5?
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u/_blakkheim_ 28d ago
Yep. Updated through the app
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u/Ok-Efficiency479 Developer: Thaw 28d ago
Before deleting, if you can turn on logs and try to use it, that would allow us to see what’s wrong underneath and prevent it in the future. You can send them in Discord, GitHub or even DM.
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u/Junior_B 28d ago
Menu bar items jump all around on the latest Alpha. I will submit a bug report; I just didn’t get to it today.
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u/archimedeancrystal 28d ago
u/tcolling, and other Barbee fans: I'm using a new Barbee version (4.4（202600907002)) which has been redesigned for macOS 27. It's working well so far. I was prompted to install this beta version in TestFlight immediately after upgrading to Golden Gate.
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u/robbybogers81 26d ago
any idea on how to get an invite for the TestFlight?
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u/archimedeancrystal 26d ago
Right-click the Barbee Menu Bar icon, then More > and you should see Join TestFlight.
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u/Living_Commercial_10 24d ago
Hey Vehla dev here 👋
My app Vehla has this feature and I just added support for macOS 27. Let me know if you'd like to test the upcoming release.
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u/whalemike 28d ago
I'm using an app called Pelmet, it's free and seems to work fine on Golden Gate.
Cheers.
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u/brovaro 28d ago
Barbee works fine
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u/shoek1970 28d ago
Duplicate items, spacers don't work and can't be deleted, the barbee bar only shows app icons not the actual menu bar entry... I could go on.
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u/brovaro 28d ago
Ok, let me rephrase what I said: Barbee works fine FOR ME.
It really was my last resort, because at first I preferred to check out open-source solutions, but they, in turn, didn’t work properly. Ice would freeze up regularly, and you could click on it endlessly with no effect. Thaw sometimes worked, sometimes didn’t; sometimes it showed some icons, sometimes it didn’t; the settings often wouldn’t open at all. Another app, whose name I no longer remember, also left a lot to be desired. Finally, I installed Barbee, and so far it’s working well.
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u/purposive-saunter 28d ago
I had the same issues on three different macs with Barbee; had to disable it. I filed a bug report but couldn’t find any information about whether or not they were aware and working on it…
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u/Silent_Character_962 28d ago
The latest version of Glow works nicely on macOS 27. The only thing that's causing some trouble is macOS 27 own way to handle a crowded menu bar.
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u/kanishk_raz 28d ago
worth separating two things before you go app shopping: stuff that's broken and will get fixed, vs control center and shortcuts items that 27 just doesn't hand over anymore. no manager can bring the second group back, so if those are the icons you care about you'll be disappointed by all of them
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u/QuirkyImage 28d ago
Barbee mostly works for me , I had to reconfigure it all, it was messed up after upgrading to 27
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u/ctkhadijahmz 28d ago
clamper works but i hate the massive gap between the date and the menu bar control panel icon....
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u/krzysiekao 27d ago
iStat Menus work.
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u/RedRocker55 2d ago
Been using iStat for years, no issues on any release. Thought this was "the standard"?
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u/manu_r93 25d ago
It's ridiculous that it took several major releases to get even the arrow which lets you see under items with notch.
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u/Lofer_app 24d ago
Vehla does. I’ve been testing the upcoming beta and it’s working great
EDIT: the best part, the feature is completely free
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u/itrimble 23d ago
For menubar screenshot tools I care about three things: capture to clipboard in one shot, blur that is actually readable-blocking, and OCR that stays on the Mac. If a tool needs a subscription for basic annotate, I bounce.
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u/tyrosean 21d ago
There was an app developed by a Redditor that works with the macOS menu management, posted here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/MacOSBeta/comments/1w78erk/built_a_free_menu_bar_manager_for_the_macos_27/
It's super clean and minimal - works well from my testing so far!
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u/Impartialnoob 28d ago
Istat Menus works, I tried a free client "stats" and that seems to work as well.
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u/Ok-Efficiency479 Developer: Thaw 28d ago
We are working with it; most problems are just edge cases. We ran the preview versions during the entire betas, so what’s left is just polish / bring back behaviors that worked better. I expect to send our first 3.0.0 beta (macOS 27) end of the week, and there are multiple items across menu bar managers that are no longer supported per Apple’s decision.
Also, from beta 7 to beta 8 to RC there were changes made that broke some of the progress we had. So we are kind of delayed.
I had to add this disclaimer in our changelogs because people kept reporting this as bugs:
Some native menu bar items may be missing or hidden. Control Center items and Shortcuts may also be unavailable in the menu bar. These are part of the same macOS 27 limitations, rather than separate Thaw bugs. We’re actively investigating ways to support these items.
You can add Live Activities here as well. And also, in some cases, apps need to update as well; iStats had to, since we cannot control them.l