What if your menu bar was a keyboard-controlled command center?

Details

External ID

46659943

Source

HN

Company

—

Product

What if your menu bar was a keyboard-controlled command center?

Website domain

extrabar.app

Launched

Jan. 17, 2026

Cohort

—

Upvotes

60

Upvotes percentile

0.8353096179183136

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Fetched at

Sept. 7, 2026, 9:25 p.m.

Updated at

Sept. 7, 2026, 9:25 p.m.

Description

Hey Hacker News The ones that know me here know that I am a productivity geek.After DockFlow to manage my Dock and ExtraDock, which gives me more space to manage my apps and files, I decided to tackle the macOS big boss: the menu bar.I spend ~40% of my day context-switching between apps — Zoom meetings, Slack channels, Code projects, and Figma designs. My macOS menu bar has too many useless icons I almost never use.So I thought to myself, how can I use this area to improve my workflows?Most solutions (Bartender, Ice) require screen recording permissions, and did not really solve my issues. I wanted custom menus in the apps, not the ones that the developers decided for me.After a few iterations and exploring different solutions, ExtraBar was created. Instead of just hiding icons, what if the menu bar became a keyboard-controlled command center that has the actions I need? No permissions. No telemetry. Just local actions.This is ExtraBar: Set up the menu with the apps and actions YOU need, and use a hotkey to bring it up with full keyboard navigation built in.What you can do: - Jump into your next Zoom call with a keystroke - Open specific Slack channels instantly (no menu clicking) - Launch VS Code projects directly - Trigger Apple Shortcuts workflows - Integrate with Raycast for advanced automation - Custom deep links to Figma, Spotify, or any URLReal-world example: I've removed my menu bar icons. Everything is keyboard- controlled: cmd+B → 2 (Zoom) → 4 (my personal meeting) → I'm in.Why it's different: Bartender and Ice hide icons. ExtraBar uses your menu bar to do things. Bartender requires screen recording permissions. Ice requires accessibility permissions. ExtraBar works offline with zero permissions - (Enhance functionality with only accessibility permissions, not a must)Technical: - Written in SwiftUI; native on Apple Silicon and Intel - Zero OS permissions required (optional accessibility for enhanced keyboard nav) - All data stored locally (no cloud, no telemetry) - Very Customizable with custom configuration built in for popular apps + fully customizable configuration actions. - Import/export action configurationsThe app is improving weekly based on community feedback. We're also building configuration sharing so users can share setups.Already got some great feedback from Reddit and Producthunt, and I can't wait to get yours!Check out the website: https://extrabar.app ProductHunt: https://www.producthunt.com/products/extrabar

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