A smaller menu bar starts with one all-in-one switch.
OnlySwitch puts everyday macOS controls—such as hiding desktop icons, changing appearance, keeping the Mac awake, and managing the notch—into one customizable menu-bar app. Add, remove, and reorder switches and Shortcuts, assign keyboard shortcuts, or place controls on the desktop as widgets.
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brew install only-switchDownload the latest OnlySwitch DMG.
Important
Automatic updating is broken in version 2.5.6 and earlier. If you are on one of those versions, update manually or reinstall with Homebrew.
- Launch OnlySwitch and enable it under System Settings → Menu Bar if macOS does not show its icon.
- Click the OnlySwitch menu-bar icon to open the control list.
- Open settings to add, remove, and reorder switches or Shortcuts, configure hotkeys, and enable optional features.
- On supported macOS versions, add Only Widget from the widget gallery for desktop or Notification Center access.
To control OnlySwitch from an iPhone or iPad, install OnlyRemote from the App Store, then open iOS Remote in OnlySwitch settings to enable local-network access and pair the device.
- Automate recurring Mac tasks with Schedules.
- Import macOS Shortcuts into OnlySwitch and control switches and Shortcuts with keyboard shortcuts.
- Customize which controls appear and arrange them to fit your workflow. Built-in switches are grouped by category and can be searched by name.
- Manage every optional page from one place: OnlySwitch Settings → Tabs shows or hides tabs in the menu-bar list and Only Control.
- Use Apple Widgets on macOS Sonoma and later, including Evolution controls.
- Open the compact Only Control interface for a focused control panel.
- Control your Mac from iPhone or iPad with OnlyRemote.
- Enable the optional Desktop Pet, drag it anywhere, click it to show or dismiss Only Control, and skip to the next track or radio station with playback animations for Apple Music, Spotify, and Radio.
- Enable Turn off after sleep for Keep Awake to turn it off when you manually put your Mac to sleep.
Open OnlySwitch Settings → Schedules to automate supported switches, buttons, Shortcuts, and Evolutions. Run an action at a repeating interval, at a specific minute every hour, or at a set time on selected days. For example, turn Dim Screen on at 8:00 AM and off at 7:00 PM every day, or run Empty Trash every Saturday at 9:00 AM.
Use the Schedules tab in the menu bar or Only Control to see what runs next, run an action immediately, or turn a schedule on or off. Show or hide the tab under OnlySwitch Settings → Tabs. Schedules run locally while OnlySwitch is running, even with no window open.
| Switch | Status | Switch | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hide desktop | finished | Hide notch | has known issues |
| Dark mode | finished | Low power mode | requires initial authorization |
| Screen Saver | finished | Show Finder Path Bar | finished |
| Night Shift | finished | Mute mic | finished |
| Autohide Dock | finished | Small launchpad icon | finished |
| AirPods | finished | Pomodoro timer | finished |
| Bluetooth | finished | Show extension name | finished |
| Xcode cache | finished | Show user library folder | finished |
| Autohide Menu Bar | finished | Mute | finished |
| Show hidden files | finished | Empty pasteboard | finished |
| Radio Station | finished | Empty trash | finished |
| Keep awake | finished | Show Recent Apps on Dock | finished |
| Spotify | finished | Apple Music | finished |
| Screen Test & Clean | finished | Hide Menu Bar Icons | partially finished |
| FKey | finished | Back Noises | finished |
| Dim Screen | finished | Eject Discs | finished |
| Hide Windows | partially finished | True Tone | finished |
| Top Sticker | partially finished | Key Light | finished |
| Only Agent | finished | Natural Scrolling | finished |
| Show desktop pet | finished | Tailscale | requires official client |
| Dock Preview | requires Accessibility and Screen Recording |
Switches can be added to or removed from the list. Optional tabs (Authenticator, Sound Mixer, Brightness, Screenshots & Record, System Monitor, Codex Usage, Claude Usage, Aphrodite, Xcode Cleaner, and App Uninstaller) are shown or hidden under OnlySwitch Settings → Tabs; switches that only toggled a tab have been replaced by this page.
Sound Mixer sets the volume and mute state of each app that is playing audio. On macOS 14.4 or later, each app can also expand its own 10-band equalizer (−12 to +12 dB, with a flat reset) and route its audio to one or more output devices at the same time. Equalizer settings and output selections are remembered per app; selecting no output follows the system default. If every selected device is disconnected, the app's original audio is restored until a selected device returns.
When the current output is an external display with speakers, the keyboard's volume up, volume down, and mute keys adjust the display's volume over DDC/CI and show a volume HUD. Holding Shift+Option steps in finer increments. Capturing these keys requires Accessibility permission.
The Brightness tab shows one slider per active display. OnlySwitch uses native brightness control for Apple displays, DDC/CI for compatible external monitors, and a software dimming overlay when hardware control is unavailable; each row shows which method is in use. Options under OnlySwitch Settings → Display add smooth transitions, combined hardware and software dimming for an extra-dark range, synchronization with the built-in display, and an opt-in zero software brightness.
The keyboard's brightness keys adjust the external display under the pointer, using the same fine-step modifier as volume keys. On the built-in display, macOS behavior is unchanged. Software dimming changes image brightness rather than the physical backlight.
The Screenshots & Record tab collects your screenshots and screen recordings in one list. Enable Collect screenshots and recordings under OnlySwitch Settings → Screenshots & Record to save system captures and ⇧⌘5 recordings, iOS Simulator screenshots and recordings, and Xcode Device Hub screenshots and recordings to ~/Pictures/OnlySwitch Screenshots; OnlySwitch backs up your previous capture settings and restores them when you turn collection off. New captures fly into the list automatically; a recording flies in as its first frame.
Click an item to copy it, double-click to open it, drag it out to share it, or pin it to the top of the list. Recordings show a video badge with their length and are copied as files. The built-in editor adds pen strokes, rectangles, ellipses, arrows, and blur to screenshots, with undo and redo; saving overwrites the original file in its original format. Recordings can't be edited. Deleting moves files to the Trash, and Delete All keeps pinned items. Assign an optional keyboard shortcut on the Screenshots & Record settings page to open or close the tab. Clipboard-only captures are not collected.
Hover over an app in the Dock to see thumbnails of its open windows, then click a thumbnail to bring that window to the front. When you hover over Apple Music or Spotify, the preview also offers previous, play or pause, and next controls. Enable the Dock Preview switch and grant Accessibility and Screen Recording permissions when prompted.
Install and set up the official Tailscale client, then open OnlySwitch Settings → Tailscale to manage saved accounts, exit nodes, and supported network preferences. The Tailscale switch connects or disconnects the active account; its connected subtitle lets you copy your Mac's Tailscale IP.
Open OnlySwitch Settings → Xcode Cleaner, or show its tab in the menu-bar list or Only Control from Settings → Tabs. Scan your development data, review the selected items, and confirm cleanup. Supported items include DerivedData, Xcode and SwiftPM caches, simulator caches and logs, simulator devices and runtimes, and DeviceSupport files. Source projects and archives are excluded.
Open OnlySwitch Settings → App Uninstaller, or show its tab in the menu-bar list or Only Control from Settings → Tabs. Drop an app or choose one, review the application and matching related files, then confirm which items to move to Trash. Discovery covers supported locations matched by bundle identifier, so the results may not include every related file.
Dock Preview, Tailscale, Xcode Cleaner, and App Uninstaller are local Mac features and are unavailable in Only Widget or OnlyRemote. Screenshots & Record is unavailable in Only Widget; OnlyRemote Plus can view, copy, drag, and delete screenshots and play, drag, and delete recordings, but not edit them.
Open OnlySwitch Settings → Shortcuts → Gallery to browse ready-made macOS Shortcuts and add them to the Shortcuts app. In My Shortcuts, choose up to 10 to show in the OnlySwitch menu and assign keyboard shortcuts.
Anyone can contribute macOS Shortcuts. See How to contribute to the Shortcuts Gallery.
| Shortcut | Remark | Shortcut | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toggle Scroll Direction | Monterey | Invert Scroll Direction (Ventura) | Ventura |
| DarkMode Switch | Network Details | ||
| Split-Screen Apps | Passwords | ||
| Google Translate | IP Address Information | ||
| Autohide menu bar in full screen | Monterey | Flush DNS Cache | |
| Do Not Disturb | Monterey or later | Upcoming Events | |
| S-GPT | works with S-GPT Encoder, needs OpenAI API key | S-GPT Encoder |
| Action | Status |
|---|---|
| Get wallpaper image | has known issues |
| Get wallpaper URL | finished |
| Is dark mode | finished |
| Set dark mode | finished |
Open OnlySwitch Settings → Evolution → My Evolutions to create custom switches and buttons with Shell or AppleScript. Select an Evolution in the sidebar to edit its scripts, test them, and assign a keyboard shortcut. On macOS 26 or later, when Only Agent is configured, you can describe what you want and ask it to draft a script for you to review.
Evolution scripts run locally with the permissions of OnlySwitch. Review scripts before saving or importing them, especially scripts that execute shell commands, Apple Events, or privileged operations.
Switch to Gallery to browse ready-made Evolutions. Use Add to bring one into My Evolutions, where you can review and edit it. Anyone can contribute an Evolution; see How to contribute to the Evolution Gallery.
| Evolution | Remark | Evolution | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stage Manager | Update Software | installed via App Store | |
| Hide desktop Widget | Sonoma | Hide Desktop Icons | Sonoma |
| Clamshell | Wi-Fi Switch |
Evolution supports two types:
- A Button runs its script when you press Run.
- A Switch has four editable fields:
- Check status: runs when the OnlySwitch list appears or settings change. The debug button shows the script output.
- True condition: defines the output that represents the on state.
- Turn on: changes the state to on.
- Turn off: changes the state to off.
Before saving, use Test on any new or changed Run, Turn on, or Turn off script.
Aphrodite builds mini apps from natural language. Describe what you want, choose a configured AI provider and model, then generate, run, edit, save, share, or import the result. Aphrodite requires macOS 26 or later and uses the model-provider settings configured in OnlySwitch.
Only Agent is a conversational assistant for macOS 26 or later. Choose a model and describe the change you want to make. Only Agent can ask follow-up questions and draft Shell or AppleScript that you can run or save as an Evolution button. Use Preview first to review the script before running it, or Run directly to execute it immediately. If you choose a hosted model, your prompt may be sent to its provider.
You can also control OnlySwitch with natural language through OpenClaw. Say things like “empty trash”, “toggle keep awake”, or “turn on dark mode” to trigger the matching switch through a deeplink. See OpenClaw setup for installation as an extra skill directory or under ~/.openclaw/skills.
System Monitor shows live CPU, GPU, memory, disk, and network usage. Open its tab in Only Control, then choose dashboard cards and optional menu-bar indicators under OnlySwitch Settings → System Monitor. CPU and memory cards can expand to show the busiest processes. Network Details includes Wi-Fi or Ethernet information, local and public IP addresses, and—when macOS exposes them—SSID, signal strength, and link rate.
Enabled menu-bar indicators keep sampling while the Only Control popover is closed. The minimum sampling interval is one second. Public-IP lookup sends external requests to ipify's IPv4 and IPv6 endpoints; results are cached for up to five minutes.
Some values may be unavailable when the hardware or macOS does not expose them, including temperature readings. GPU reporting relies on private, undocumented macOS APIs and may stop working after a system update. Network usage is system-wide; per-process network rates are not available.
When a process is associated with a regular macOS application, click its row in the CPU or memory process list to activate that application. Protected or background-only processes may not be activatable.
Codex Usage is an optional built-in tab showing the signed-in Codex account's plan, remaining five-hour and weekly usage, reset times, available credits, and reset-credit information. It uses the existing local Codex sign-in, so OnlySwitch does not require a separate sign-in.
Claude Usage shows the Claude Code account's plan and its reported five-hour, weekly, model-specific, and extra usage. It reads your existing Claude Code sign-in; if the credentials have expired, sign in to Claude Code again.
Turn on Codex Usage or Claude Usage under OnlySwitch Settings → Tabs to show them in OnlySwitch and Only Control.
OnlyRemote controls OnlySwitch from iPhone or iPad over the local network. Open iOS Remote in OnlySwitch settings to enable access and pair a device. Choose which tabs appear under OnlyRemote's Settings → Tabs; Controls is always shown, while System Monitor, Codex Usage, Claude Usage, Sound Mixer, Brightness, Screenshots & Record, and Aphrodite are optional.
OnlyRemote Plus unlocks the Sound Mixer tab (per-app volume, mute, equalizer, and output routing), the Brightness tab (per-display brightness), the Screenshots & Record tab (view, copy, drag, and delete Mac screenshots; play, drag, and delete screen recordings up to 512 MB), and Aphrodite. The Sound Mixer, Brightness, and Screenshots & Record tabs need the latest OnlySwitch on the Mac; recordings appear only when the Mac runs an OnlySwitch version that supports them. If the iPhone or iPad cannot find your Mac, both apps show the discovery error.
Only Widget can be configured with supported built-in switches and buttons and placed on the desktop or in Notification Center. Clicking a widget triggers the corresponding control. Evolution is supported in widgets.
Screen Test opens a full-screen solid-color view for checking dead pixels or cleaning the display. Use the left and right arrow keys to cycle through black, white, red, green, and blue.