I recently discovered SaneBar while browsing GitHub, and it addresses a problem I’ve been wrestling with on my Mac Mini M4. With 50+ menu bar apps installed, the icons were constantly competing for space near the Notch. Some apps I need visible at all times, others contain sensitive information I’d rather keep private, and a few I only access occasionally. Managing this chaos manually had become a daily frustration.
SaneBar is a privacy-first menu bar organizer that hides clutter behind a single toggle, locks sensitive icons with Touch ID or password authentication, and provides instant access to any app through its Power Search feature. The app operates completely on-device with zero network requests, no analytics, and no user accounts required. It’s free, open-source under MIT license, and was built pair programming with Claude.
What impressed me during my evaluation was how natural the workflow feels. A single click shows or hides my organized icons, and holding Option while clicking activates Power Search to find any menu bar app instantly, even those hidden behind the Notch. I set up authentication for my password manager and VPN controls, so they’re only visible after biometric verification. The Command-drag gesture for reorganizing icons works exactly as expected, and I’ve configured automatic triggers based on WiFi network connections and battery levels.
The visual customization options surprised me. SaneBar supports the new Liquid Glass styling introduced in macOS 26 Tahoe, with adjustable tint, opacity, shadow, borders, and rounded corners. I’ve kept mine minimal with reduced icon spacing to maximize Notch compatibility. Performance has been excellent, roughly 1% CPU usage and around 100MB of memory on macOS 15.4 Sequoia.
The app includes AppleScript support for automation and saved configuration profiles for switching between different setups. During testing I found it handles my collection of menu bar apps gracefully, and the 241 unit tests in the repository suggest the developer takes stability seriously. Per-icon global hotkeys let me trigger specific apps without even opening the menu bar.
SaneBar requires macOS 15 Sequoia or later and can be installed via Homebrew (brew install --cask stephanjoseph/sanebar/sanebar) or direct download from GitHub releases. The developer accepts donations in Bitcoin, Solana, and Zcash but the app is completely free with no ads or in-app purchases.
If your menu bar has become unmanageable or you’re privacy-conscious about which apps are visible at all times, SaneBar provides a native, lightweight solution. The combination of privacy features, authentication locks, and search functionality makes it stand out from other menu bar managers I’ve tried.
