Kir BelevichAug 6, 2024
Lukas Kubanek

Quite late to the party, but I finally replaced Bartender on my Mac with a combination of these little status bar utilities:

Vanilla by Matthew Palmer for hiding some icons:
https://matthewpalmer.net/vanilla/

Menu Bar Spacing by @sindresorhus for narrowing down the spacing:
https://sindresorhus.com/menu-bar-spacing

Spaced by @sindresorhus for visually grouping icons:
https://sindresorhus.com/spaced

So happy with the new setup!

Vanilla - hide Mac menu bar icons for free

Vanilla is a free Mac app that lets you hide icons from your menu bar.

Aug 5, 2024 at 10:23amIvory for Mac
Show threadcakemixAug 5, 2024

@lukaskubanek @sindresorhus I use vanilla (and paid for pro) Former Bartender user here.

What I did not know is that the other two would work with vanilla.

There goes my weekend plans!

Show threadLukas KubanekAug 6, 2024
@cakemix They work together perfectly! I think that Menu Bar Spacing only changes some low-level config value for the spacing and Spaced adds new menu bar items to the mix.
Show threadKornel Aug 5, 2024
@lukaskubanek @sindresorhus you can also check out Ice (https://github.com/jordanbaird/Ice) — as a replacement for Vanilla. If you have a MacBook with Notch it can be a better option as one of the features is a floating menu bar (similar to Bartender).
GitHub - jordanbaird/Ice: Powerful menu bar manager for macOS

Powerful menu bar manager for macOS. Contribute to jordanbaird/Ice development by creating an account on GitHub.

GitHub
Show threadLukas KubanekAug 6, 2024
@niloque I’ve heard about Ice, as it was the most recommended alternative for Bartender. Though, I realized that I don't have that many items and I don't really reach for the hidden ones, so I prefer going with this lightweight approach. Though, thanks for the hint!
Show threadGlenn VersweyveldAug 5, 2024
@lukaskubanek @sindresorhus ha did not know about Vanilla.
I still use the free version of https://apps.apple.com/be/app/hidden-bar/id1452453066?mt=12
‎Hidden Bar

‎Hidden lets you hide menu bar items to give your Mac a cleaner look. Features: - Launch at login - Auto-hide after 5/10/15/30/60 seconds - Show/hide with global shortcut - Full menu bar mode - RTL languages supported. If you require any further information or feature, feel free to contact us:…

Mac App Store
Show threadMartin SchilligerAug 5, 2024
@lukaskubanek @sindresorhus But why replacing Bartender? It looks like a perfect fit to me?
Show threadLukas KubanekAug 6, 2024
@martin_schillig You haven’t heard of its recent acquisition? It didn’t go all that smoothly and raised a lot of questions… https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/06/05/bartender-acquired-by-applause-group/
Michael Tsai - Blog - Bartender Acquired by Applause Group

Show threadMartin SchilligerAug 6, 2024
@lukaskubanek Oh no, thank you for the hint!
Show threadSENTINELITEAug 7, 2024
@lukaskubanek @sindresorhus Have you ran into any that support Bartender's "Search" hotkey/function? 👀
Show threadLukas KubanekAug 8, 2024
@SENTINELITE I’m not even familiar with that feature, so I’m afraid I can’t help here.