Hammerspoon vs SwiftBar

Hammerspoon

• Mac users comfortable writing Lua who want to script their own automation
• Custom window management driven by keyboard shortcuts
• Triggering actions from system events such as joining a Wi-Fi network

SwiftBar

• Mac users comfortable writing shell, Python or other scripts
• People who already have BitBar or xbar plugins
• Showing custom status readouts or quick actions in the menu bar

Hammerspoon

• macOS only. Release 1.1.1 lists a minimum of macOS 13.0; older Macs need an earlier release.
• Out of the box it does nothing: every behavior has to be written in Lua in ~/.hammerspoon/init.lua or added as a Spoon.
• It depends on the macOS Accessibility permission, which the user has to grant by hand in the system's privacy settings.
• Crash information is collected by default; the FAQ says this can be turned off in the preferences.

SwiftBar

• macOS only; it runs on macOS Monterey (12) and later.
• It shows nothing by itself: every menu bar item needs a plugin script, taken from the plugin repository or written by the user.
• Every file in the plugin folder is imported as a plugin and made executable unless a .swiftbarignore file excludes it.
• Several preferences, such as hiding SwiftBar's own item, are not in the settings window and are set with Terminal commands.

Hammerspoon

Lua bridge to macOS

Extensions expose macOS APIs for applications, windows, screens, audio devices, batteries, clipboards, Wi-Fi, location and low-level keyboard and mouse events to Lua code.

Hotkeys

A keyboard shortcut can be bound to any Lua function, from showing a notification to running a series of window operations or an AppleScript.

Window movement and layouts

Scripts can move and resize the focused window, arrange several apps' windows into a saved layout across screens, and use window filters to act on groups of windows.

Event watchers

A configuration can react to application events, Wi-Fi network changes and USB devices, for example muting the volume when the Mac leaves the home network.

Spoons

Spoons are pre-made plugins, installed by double-clicking a .spoon file and loaded from the config. The official list includes an app launcher and a window switcher.

Menu bar items and URL triggers

Scripts can create menu bar items, draw on the screen and send iMessage or SMS messages, and other apps can trigger them through hammerspoon:// URLs.

SwiftBar

Plugins are plain scripts

Any executable script in the language of your choice becomes a menu bar item: the lines it prints before the first separator form the title, and the rest fill the drop-down menu.

Refresh intervals and cron schedules

A refresh interval goes in the file name, as in date.1m.sh, from milliseconds up to days. A metadata tag accepts cron syntax for one or several schedules instead.

BitBar and xbar compatibility

The plugin format is adopted from BitBar and xbar, so existing plugins for those run unchanged, and a Get Plugins menu item opens a bundled plugin repository.

Formatting and click actions

Per-line parameters set colors, fonts, SF Symbols, images, badges and tooltips, and make an item open a URL, run a script, show a web view or respond to a hotkey.

Shortcuts and streaming plugins

Beyond standard scripts, an Apple Shortcut can supply the menu content, ephemeral plugins create temporary items on demand, and streamable plugins stay running to push updates.

URL scheme

swiftbar:// links refresh, enable, disable or add plugins, post notifications and create temporary menu bar items, so other apps and scripts can drive it.

Hammerspoon

• Hammerspoon$0

  The complete app with every extension, as a direct download or a Homebrew cask. Open source under the MIT license.

SwiftBar

• SwiftBar$0

  The complete app with every plugin type and the bundled plugin repository. MIT licensed, with no license key or account.