🧠 7 Menu Bar Apps Every macOS Developer Should Have in 2025
If you’re a macOS developer, you already know that the menu bar isn’t just for Wi-Fi and battery icons — it’s prime real estate. With the right set of tools sitting quietly up there, you can save time, improve your workflow, and actually make your Mac feel smarter.
Here are 7 menu bar apps that I genuinely think every developer should try in 2025 👇
1️⃣ Rectangle — Window Management That Just Works
Let’s start with the essential.
Rectangle is the unsung hero of macOS productivity — it lets you snap, resize, and organize windows with simple keyboard shortcuts.
Forget juggling multiple monitors and Finder windows. Rectangle just makes multitasking feel right.
🧩 Why devs love it: You can code on one half, preview on the other — with a single shortcut.
2️⃣ BetterDisplay — Take Full Control of Your Screens
🔗 github.com/waydabber/BetterDisplay
If you use an external monitor (who doesn’t?), this one’s gold.
BetterDisplay unlocks advanced scaling options, virtual monitors, and crisp HiDPI resolutions Apple never gave you access to.
💡 Bonus: It can even turn your Mac into an AirPlay display.
Perfect for when you’re testing designs or demoing something quickly.
3️⃣ Sip — For Pixel-Perfect Color Picking
Designers and front-end devs — this one’s for you.
Sip lives in your menu bar, letting you pick colors anywhere on screen, organize palettes, and export them in any format (HEX, RGB, SwiftUI, you name it).
🎨 Why it rocks: It syncs palettes across devices and integrates with Figma and Xcode.
Because color consistency is part of clean code.
4️⃣ Port Smith — Manage Local Ports Like a Pro
Ever wondered which process is blocking port 3000 again? 😤
Port Smith sits quietly in your menu bar and shows which ports are open, what’s using them, and lets you kill the culprit instantly.
⚙️ Perfect for: Web devs juggling multiple local servers, APIs, or Docker containers.
No more lsof | grep 3000 — just clean, visual control.
5️⃣ Hidden Bar — Keep Your Menu Bar Minimal
If your menu bar looks like Times Square, this app’s for you.
Hidden Bar hides the clutter behind a clean divider, keeping your active tools visible and everything else tucked away.
✨ Why devs love it: Less visual noise, more focus.
Plus, it’s open source and crazy lightweight.
6️⃣ Stats — The Developer’s System Monitor
Think of Stats as “Activity Monitor, but actually useful.”
CPU usage, memory, network speeds, battery health — all in your menu bar, beautifully displayed and low on resources.
📊 Pro tip: Add temperature and fan speed widgets to catch runaway builds before they melt your MacBook.
7️⃣ Raycast — The Spotlight Replacement for Power Users
Raycast is what happens when Spotlight and Alfred have a genius baby.
Launch apps, trigger scripts, search the web, control VSCode, manage GitHub issues — all with keyboard commands.
⚡ Why devs can’t live without it: It’s lightning-fast, customizable, and integrates deeply with dev tools.
🧩 Wrapping Up
Your menu bar can be more than just a status strip — it can be your productivity command center.
If you’re a developer in 2025, these seven tools will help you write better code, debug faster, and stay organized — without ever leaving the top of your screen.
Try a few, customize your setup, and watch your workflow transform.
And if you constantly deal with blocked ports or local servers… well, Port Smith’s got your back. ⚓