OverflowBar vs SwiftBar
OverflowBar
github.comSwiftBar
swiftbar.appSide by side
| Figure | OverflowBar | SwiftBar |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 0 | 1 |
| Spec score · Menu Bar Customization Software | 6.7 (#25) | 7.7 (#10) |
| Distribution | The maker offers a downloadable DMG and a Homebrew Cask installation. | The maker's page offers a direct macOS download and installation through Homebrew. |
| License | The project is available under the MIT License. | The GitHub repository identifies SwiftBar as MIT licensed. |
| Project status | The project describes itself as an early public release and says compatibility work is ongoing because menu bar management relies on OS behavior without a dedicated public API. | The maker describes SwiftBar as an open source project by Ameba. |
| Purpose | OverflowBar hides selected menu bar status icons behind an arrow and reveals them in a second row. | SwiftBar runs scripts from a plugin folder and displays their output in the macOS menu bar. |
Plans
In their own words
OverflowBar
OverflowBar has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
SwiftBar
SwiftBar displays the output of custom scripts in the macOS menu bar and turns it into interactive menus. Plugins can be written in Bash, Python, Ruby, Swift, or JavaScript; SwiftBar runs them on a user-defined schedule and builds menu items from their output. Menus can include icons, colors, dropdowns, submenus, and click actions. Items can open URLs, run shell scripts, refresh plugins, or use keyboard shortcuts. Refresh intervals can be set in plugin filenames or with cron syntax in metadata. SwiftBar includes a plugin repository through its Get Plugins menu, and its product page describes hundreds of community-created plugins. Its plugin API is adopted from BitBar, allowing existing BitBar and xbar plugins to run. SwiftBar also supports plugins made with the macOS Shortcuts app and provides a settings interface for their refresh schedule. It is a free, open source project by Ameba, licensed under MIT. SwiftBar requires macOS 12 or later and is available as a direct download or through Homebrew.