# SwiftBar

> Open-source tool that puts script output in the Mac menu bar

SwiftBar is an open-source macOS app that turns the output of a script into a menu bar item with a drop-down menu. A plugin is any executable script, in any language, saved in a plugin folder with its refresh interval in the file name. SwiftBar also runs existing BitBar and xbar plugins and bundles a plugin repository. It is MIT licensed, published by Ameba Labs, and installed from GitHub Releases or Homebrew.

- **Category:** Desktop Utilities
- **Made by:** Ameba Labs
- **Website:** https://swiftbar.app
- **Runs on:** macOS
- **Facts last checked:** Oct 9, 2026

## Pricing

SwiftBar is free to use.

- **Pricing model:** Free
- **Free plan:** The whole app is open source under the MIT license, downloaded from GitHub Releases or installed with Homebrew. No paid edition is listed; the repository carries a sponsor link.
- **Free trial:** None listed.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| SwiftBar | $0 | The complete app with every plugin type and the bundled plugin repository. MIT licensed, with no license key or account. |

Read from https://github.com/swiftbar/SwiftBar on Oct 9, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with SwiftBar before buying.

## Key features

- **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.

## Good for

- 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

## Worth knowing

- 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.

## Works with

Apple Shortcuts, xbar

**Tags:** Menu bar app, Open source

## Alternatives

- [Hammerspoon](https://toolgpa.com/tools/hammerspoon): Free, open-source macOS automation scripted in Lua. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/hammerspoon-vs-swiftbar)
- [Stats](https://toolgpa.com/tools/stats): Free, open-source system monitor for the Mac menu bar. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/stats-vs-swiftbar)
- [iStat Menus](https://toolgpa.com/tools/istat-menus): System monitor that lives in the Mac menu bar. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/istat-menus-vs-swiftbar)
- [Bartender](https://toolgpa.com/tools/bartender): Menu bar manager for macOS that hides and organizes items. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/bartender-vs-swiftbar)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 9, 2026:

- https://swiftbar.app/
- https://github.com/swiftbar/SwiftBar
- https://github.com/swiftbar/SwiftBar/releases/tag/v2.1.1
- https://formulae.brew.sh/cask/swiftbar
- https://ameba.co/

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/swiftbar
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).