# Menu App

A tiny native macOS menu bar app for starting, stopping, and monitoring your local ARI instance.

ARI Menu is a **completely optional** macOS native menu bar app to manage [ARI.Software](https://ari.software). It is free and its source code is available. You can use it to easily start ARI, check the status, view the logs - all from the little circle in your menu bar.

**macOS only.** ARI Menu is currently available for macOS 13 or later. Windows and Linux versions are not available yet.

![ARI Menu open in the macOS menu bar showing a green status indicator and Stop / Open / Logs / Settings options](https://ari.software/ARI-Menu.jpg)

The compiled app weighs in at around **400 KB** and uses negligible memory. It lives entirely in the menu bar — no Dock icon, no clutter.

## Features

- **One-click start and stop** — wraps the `./ari start` and `./ari stop` commands you already know
- **Live status indicator** — the menu bar icon changes color so you always know if ARI is reachable
- **Open in browser** — jump straight to `http://localhost:3000`
- **Live logs window** — tail the dev server output in a clean SwiftUI window with copy and clear
- **Launch at login** — flip a toggle and ARI starts when you log in (uses Apple's modern `SMAppService` API — no LaunchAgent plists, no cruft)
- **Quiet by design** — no Dock icon, no notifications spam, no background drama

## Requirements

- macOS 13 (Ventura) or later
- A working [ARI](https://ari.software/docs/installation) installation somewhere on disk (default expected location: `~/ARI`)
- Swift 5.9+ (ships with Xcode 15 or the standalone Command Line Tools — `xcode-select --install`)

## Install

ARI Menu's source code is available. You build it yourself in a single command — this also sidesteps macOS's Gatekeeper "could not verify" warning that downloaded apps trigger, since locally-built apps aren't quarantined.

You'll need Swift 5.9+ (ships with Xcode 15 or the standalone Apple Command Line Tools). Then run these one at a time:

Install Apple Swift 5.9+ if you don't already have it:

```
xcode-select --install
```

Clone the repo:

```
git clone https://github.com/ARIsoftware/ARI-MENU.git
```

Move into the project folder:

```
cd ARI-MENU
```

Build the app:

```
bash Scripts/build-app.sh
```

Drag the file to your Applications folder.

Double click to open the app. Look for the circle icon on the right side of your menu bar.

macOS will ask you to allow ARI Menu to manage other apps. This is required because **Stop** sends `SIGTERM` to the dev server process. Click **Allow**. You can review or revoke this later under System Settings → Privacy & Security → App Management.

1. Open the menu and click "Launch on Login" which will ensure the menu app stays open.

## Configuration

Open the menu and choose **Settings**. Ensure the Path correctly points to your ARI installation.

![ARI Menu Settings window showing the ARI Repository path field with a green Found ari script at this path confirmation, and a Status Polling slider set to 7 seconds](https://ari.software/ARI-Menu-Settings.png)

| Setting | Default | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ARI repository path | `~/ARI` | The folder containing your `ari` CLI shim. Use **Browse** to pick another location. |
| Status poll interval | 5 seconds | How often the app probes `localhost:3000`. Range: 2–30 seconds. |
| Launch at login | On | Registers the app as a login item via `SMAppService`. |

Settings are stored in standard macOS `UserDefaults` under the bundle identifier `ari.software.menu`.

## Troubleshooting

**The menu bar icon stays red even though ARI is running.** Open **Settings…** and confirm the **ARI repository path** points to the folder containing your `./ari` CLI. If you started ARI on a non-default port, the status probe (which targets `localhost:3000`) won't see it.

**"Stop" doesn't kill the dev server.** Make sure you allowed **App Management** permission on first launch (System Settings → Privacy & Security → App Management). Without it, macOS blocks the `SIGTERM`.

**The app won't open after building.** Right-click `ARIMenu.app` → **Open** → confirm in the Gatekeeper dialog. The build is ad-hoc signed, so the standard double-click is blocked the first time.

## License

[Apache License 2.0](https://github.com/ARIsoftware/ARI-MENU/blob/main/LICENSE).

## Next Steps

- [Installation — macOS](https://ari.software/docs/installation-macos) — Install the ARI app itself
- [Commands](https://ari.software/docs/commands) — Reference for the `./ari` CLI that the menu app wraps
- [Settings](https://ari.software/docs/settings) — Configure your ARI instance

## Your Personal Workspace. Your Rules.

Source Code Available. Self-Hosted. Full Data Control. Fully Extendable. AI Native. Dozens of Built-In Modules And Build Your Own In Minutes. No Coding Required.

[Get Started](https://ari.software/docs/installation)

---

Source: https://ari.software/docs/menu-app

Markdown rendering of this page, served for `Accept: text/markdown`. Full site index for agents: https://ari.software/llms.txt