DuoBar: charge, network and volume in one macOS menu bar icon

DuoBar is a small utility for macOS that gathers three familiar menu bar indicators into one compact icon. Instead of separate battery, network and sound icons, the user sees a single glyph that changes along with the state of the system. The project is open source and distributed under the MIT license.

On a MacBook, the outer ring of the icon shows the charge level and charging state, including separate states for low battery and power-saving mode. The center handles the active connection: Wi-Fi, Ethernet or offline. Four dots at the bottom reflect the current output volume.

When AirPods or other Bluetooth headphones connect to the Mac, the center briefly switches from the network to the audio device and then returns. There is no animation on disconnect.

On desktop Macs, an adaptive ring takes the place of the charge ring: by default it shows display brightness, and under sustained load on the processor, memory or cooling it brings that information to the foreground on its own. There is no manual choice of metric — the ring decides automatically.

Clicking the icon opens a compact panel: switching the sound output, volume and mute where the device exposes such properties through Core Audio. For HDMI, AirPlay and some external outputs, control remains on the device itself.

The utility runs on macOS 13 and newer, supports Apple Silicon and Intel (Universal 2), and offers English and Chinese interface languages. The latest build 1.1.0 ships in a DMG with Hardened Runtime and an ad-hoc signature; notarization is expected after enrollment in the Apple Developer Program.

System data is processed locally: no analytics, telemetry or third-party network requests. The Wi-Fi network name may require location permission — without it the connection still works, but the SSID remains unavailable. DuoBar is an independent project, not affiliated with Apple.

Translation editors: Соловьев В., Пеков А.