The useful parts of your Mac,
in the menu bar.

Everything in one place.

Wallpapers that change on their own.

Pick a channel and you’re done. A channel is a topic; a mix spreads photos across several.

• Seven key-free sources: Wallhaven, Wikimedia Commons, Bing, Art Institute of Chicago, NASA, Picsum and local folders.
• Each source weighs Little, Normal or A lot, and the draw really respects those weights.
• It only keeps the current photo of each display: everything else is downloaded and deleted.

One mode, one click.

A profile changes the wallpaper, keeps the Mac awake and picks the menu bar data, all at once.

• Work and Break come built in; create your own from your current settings.
• They can switch on by themselves at a set time on set days.

Your Mac, in plain language.

Processor, memory, disk, network and battery, with charts and a sentence that tells you how it’s going.

• Choose which data you always see in the menu bar, with a preview.
• Measure your internet by hand or on a schedule, with a saved history.
• A notice in the notch when your disk is about to fill up.

Nothing you copy gets lost.

A history of text and images with search, and a panel next to your cursor with ⌃⌥⌘V.

• It ignores what password managers mark as secret, plus any apps you exclude.
• It cleans itself up; pinned items are never deleted.
• Optional auto-paste.

A shelf to carry files.

Drop what you need, switch apps and drag it where it goes. Opens with ⌃⌥⌘B.

• It stores references, not copies: it uses no disk space.
• AirDrop one file or the whole shelf.
• Convert images (PNG, JPEG, HEIC, TIFF) and zip or unzip, offline.
• You can also drop onto the menu bar icon or onto the notch.

The notch, put to use.

A panel that hangs from the notch with what’s playing (and its lyrics, in real time), volume, weather and your next event.

• Opens on hover or only on click, whichever you prefer.
• Pomodoro timer, mute the microphone, color eyedropper and quick buttons for the clipboard and the shelf.
• Notices for battery, downloads, screenshots, USB drives, AirPods and camera or microphone in use.

Clean your keyboard without typing a thing.

The screen dims with a countdown and the keyboard stops responding.

• The basic lock needs no permissions.
• You can always get out: at zero, or by holding Esc for three seconds.

Volume, at hand.

Your Mac’s output, volume and mute, plus the own volume of Music and Spotify.

• Also inside the notch panel.

How it was made.

faro started as a replacement for a paid app that only changed the wallpaper, and grew to bring together the utilities usually spread across ten apps.

Version by version

1. 0.1A prototype that changed the wallpaper using Wallhaven.
2. 0.3Storage and a clipboard history.
3. 0.5The file shelf.
4. 0.8The notch panel.
5. 0.9Profiles and hand-drawn controls.
6. 1.0faro is born: name, logo and a free license.
7. 1.2English interface, audio, Bluetooth and more photo sources.
8. 1.3Quick buttons in the notch and open on click.
9. 1.4New-version notices and the privacy policy.
10. 1.5Timer, microphone, batteries, notices and shelf tools.
11. 1.6Synced lyrics in the notch.