Hide menu bar icons with a cover instead of moving them off screen

Sliding the icons off the screen meant bringing them all back just to
open one menu, which flickered. Draw a frosted window over the other
apps' icons instead: they keep their real positions, so tapping a tile
opens its menu in place with no reveal, and the cover leaves a gap so
the hamburger is never hidden.

💘 Generated with Crush

Assisted-by: Crush:deepseek-v4.1-flash

AGENTS.md

@@ -120,38 +120,32 @@ no control over this, so the app creates its own `NSStatusItem` and:
 `/tmp/simpletopbar-items.txt`; use it to verify the icon is not under the notch
 (x should be ~1200, not ~765).
 
-## Hiding other menu bar items
+## Hiding other menu bar items (cover)
 
-`MenuBarHider` creates a zero-width spacer `NSStatusItem` at launch and grows its
-length to `hiddenLength` (10_000) to push the icons on its left off-screen. It is
-**on by default** (`hideMenuBarItems` defaults to true, then persisted). Its
-preferred position controls where the hidden/kept boundary lands:
+`MenuBarHider` drives `MenuBarCover`, which hides other apps' icons by drawing
+our own frosted window ("cover") over them instead of moving them off-screen.
+Because the icons keep their real positions, `press` opens their menus in place
+with no reveal. Verified with `--diag-cover` (cover windows at level 26) and
+`--diag-press` (the WireGuard menu opens at a positive x, not off-screen).
 
-- Seed **250** (default) puts the boundary just left of Wi-Fi, so every
-  third-party app icon goes to x < 0 (cmux, Kapture, moomoo, WireGuard,
-  TextInputMenuAgent, Now Playing) while **Wi-Fi (x≈1173), Spotlight, Clock,
-  Battery, Control Center and our hamburger stay visible**.
-- Verified with `--diag-hide` across positions 100–400. Below ~200 Wi-Fi gets
-  hidden too; above ~300 app icons (Now Playing, TextInput) leak back.
-- `debug.spacerPos` (Double) overrides the seed for tuning without rebuilding.
-- Pressing a tray tile calls `MenuBarItemManager.press`. A hidden item sits
-  off-screen, and its menu opens off-screen too (verified with `--diag-press`:
-  the menu window lands at negative x). So press briefly `suspend()`s the hider,
-  waits ~0.2s for the layout to settle, performs the accessibility action
-  (`kAXPressAction`, then `kAXShowMenuAction`), and `resume()`s ~0.1s later. The
-  menu is its own window anchored at the item's on-screen spot, so it survives
-  re-hiding.
-- **Cannot reveal a single icon.** The spacer hides a contiguous block to its
-  left, so a press can only reveal the whole block. Isolating one item would
-  need either per-item ordering control (not available) or covering the icons
-  with an overlay window instead of moving them off-screen.
-- **Order matters**: `AppDelegate` must call `setupStatusItem()` *before*
-  `MenuBarHider.shared.prepare()`. If the hider contracts the bar first, the
-  hamburger is created into the collapsed space and lands off-screen.
-- **Wi-Fi/Spotlight/Clock/Battery/Control Center cannot be hidden**: macOS pins
-  them to the far right and a third-party item can never be inserted to their
-  right, so the spacer has nothing to push them with. This is a macOS
-  constraint, not a bug.
+- `MenuBarCover.shouldHide` covers everything except the Apple keep-list
+  (Wi-Fi, Battery, Clock, Control Center, Spotlight/Search).
+- `runs(from:)` merges adjacent item frames into contiguous cover windows;
+  `subtracting(_:from:)` carves out the hamburger so it is never covered
+  (`MenuBarItemManager.refresh` passes `avoid:` = our own item's frame).
+- Frames come from AX (`kAXPositionAttribute` + `kAXSizeAttribute`) with a
+  **top-left origin**; `windowFrame(for:primaryHeight:)` flips Y for NSWindow.
+- The cover window level is 26 (just above status items at 25, below menus at
+  ~101), so opened menus draw on top of it.
+- `ignoresMouseEvents = false` makes the covered strip swallow clicks so the
+  hidden icons cannot be clicked through.
+
+### Legacy: off-screen spacer
+
+An earlier approach used a zero-width spacer `NSStatusItem` grown to width
+10_000 to push icons off the left edge. It is no longer used because it required
+a visible reveal to open a menu. Findings if it is ever revived: preferred
+position ~250 kept Wi-Fi while hiding apps, and `debug.spacerPos` overrode it.
 
 ## Gotchas
 
@@ -162,7 +156,7 @@ preferred position controls where the hidden/kept boundary lands:
 - Reading `activationPolicy` is reliable but must happen on the main thread;
   keep all `NSWorkspace` access inside the model.
 - The menu bar tray needs Accessibility permission; do not add Screen Recording
-  or Apple Events usage. `MenuBarHider` must always be restored on quit, but
-  because a status item dies with its process, a crash cleans up on its own.
+  or Apple Events usage. `MenuBarHider` is restored on quit, and because the
+  cover windows belong to the process, a crash removes them automatically.
 - `.gitignore` covers `.build/`, `SimpleTopBar.app/`, `dist/` — build artifacts
   should never be committed.

README.md

@@ -23,30 +23,24 @@ permission (System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility). The panel
 prompts for it; without it the Menu Bar section is empty and everything else
 still works.
 
-## Hiding menu bar items (best-effort)
+## Hiding menu bar items
 
-macOS has no public API to move another app's status item. The **Hide items from
-the menu bar** toggle uses the spacer technique: a zero-width status item is
-created at launch whose length is expanded to push the other icons off-screen so
-they only live in this panel. It is **on by default** (the choice is
-remembered), always undone on quit, and if the app dies macOS removes the spacer
-automatically.
+macOS has no public API to move another app's status item. Instead of moving
+them, the **Hide items from the menu bar** toggle (on by default, remembered)
+draws a frosted **cover** window over the other apps' icons. They keep their real
+positions, so tapping a tile in the panel opens that app's menu in the right
+place with **no flicker**, and the cover leaves a gap for the hamburger so it is
+never hidden.
 
-What it can and cannot hide:
+What it does and does not cover:
 
-- It hides **other third-party apps' icons** (cmux, Kapture, WireGuard, input
-  source, Now Playing, …) so only your apps' icons leave the bar.
-- It **keeps Wi-Fi, Spotlight, Clock, Battery and Control Center**. The spacer's
-  boundary is tuned (preferred position 250) to fall just left of Wi-Fi, so the
-  Apple items on the right stay visible. macOS reserves that far-right area: a
-  third-party item can never be placed to the right of it, so those icons cannot
-  be pushed away even in principle. (Bartender and Ice hit the same wall and
-  cover the area with their own overlay bar instead.)
-- Newly launched apps are placed to the left of the spacer, so they are hidden
-  automatically.
-- Advanced: set `defaults write dev.tzgyn.simpletopbar debug.spacerPos -float <n>`
-  to move the boundary (larger = keep more icons; > ~400 starts leaking app
-  icons back into the bar).
+- Covers **other third-party apps' icons** (cmux, Kapture, WireGuard, input
+  source, Now Playing, …).
+- Keeps **Wi-Fi, Spotlight, Clock, Battery and Control Center** visible — macOS
+  reserves that far-right area, so those icons stay put.
+- The cover matches the menu bar's frosted look only approximately; over an
+  unusual wallpaper the covered strip may be slightly visible.
+- Turning the toggle off removes the cover immediately; quitting does too.
 
 ## Install with Homebrew
 

Sources/SimpleTopBar/App.swift

@@ -43,27 +43,27 @@ final class AppDelegate: NSObject, NSApplicationDelegate {
 
         AppListModel.shared.start()
         MenuBarItemManager.shared.start()
-        // Create the hamburger before the hider so it is placed in the visible
-        // part of the bar; the hider then contracts the space around it.
+        // Create the hamburger before the cover so its own icon is never covered.
         setupStatusItem()
-        MenuBarHider.shared.prepare()
+        MenuBarItemManager.shared.refresh()
 
         if CommandLine.arguments.contains("--diag-press") {
             DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + 2.0) {
-                MenuBarHider.shared.suspend()
-            }
-            DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + 2.25) {
                 if let item = MenuBarItemManager.enumerate().first(where: {
                     $0.title.lowercased().contains("wireguard")
                 }) {
-                    NSLog("diag-press: pressing \(item.appName) after brief reveal")
+                    NSLog("diag-press: pressing \(item.appName)")
                     _ = AXUIElementPerformAction(item.element, kAXPressAction as CFString)
                 }
             }
-            DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + 2.45) {
-                MenuBarHider.shared.resume()
+            DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + 3.5) {
+                dumpWindows()
             }
-            DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + 4.5) {
+            return
+        }
+
+        if CommandLine.arguments.contains("--diag-cover") {
+            DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + 3.0) {
                 dumpWindows()
             }
             return

Sources/SimpleTopBar/MenuBarItems.swift

@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ struct MenuBarItem: Identifiable, Equatable {
     let appName: String
     let title: String
     let icon: NSImage
+    /// Frame in Accessibility coordinates (origin top-left of the main screen).
+    let frame: CGRect?
     let element: AXUIElement
 
     static func == (lhs: MenuBarItem, rhs: MenuBarItem) -> Bool {
@@ -52,9 +54,15 @@ final class MenuBarItemManager: ObservableObject {
         authorized = AXIsProcessTrusted()
         guard authorized else {
             items = []
+            MenuBarHider.shared.apply(items: [], avoid: nil)
             return
         }
-        items = Self.enumerate()
+        let ownPID = ProcessInfo.processInfo.processIdentifier
+        let all = Self.enumerate(includeOwn: true)
+        items = all.filter { $0.pid != ownPID }
+        // Our own hamburger must never be covered, even if it lands inside a run.
+        let avoid = all.first { $0.pid == ownPID }?.frame
+        MenuBarHider.shared.apply(items: items, avoid: avoid)
     }
 
     nonisolated static func enumerate(includeOwn: Bool = false) -> [MenuBarItem] {
@@ -70,10 +78,11 @@ final class MenuBarItemManager: ObservableObject {
 
             var seenTitles = Set<String>()
             for (index, child) in children.enumerated() {
+                let position = pointAttribute(child, kAXPositionAttribute)
                 // Control Center reports every module it owns, including the
                 // ones not in the menu bar, which are parked off-screen around
                 // y=982. Keep only items actually sitting in the bar.
-                if let position = pointAttribute(child, kAXPositionAttribute), position.y > 60 {
+                if let position, position.y > 60 {
                     continue
                 }
 
@@ -85,12 +94,21 @@ final class MenuBarItemManager: ObservableObject {
                 // "Control Center"; show each distinct title once per app.
                 if !seenTitles.insert(title).inserted { continue }
 
+                let size = sizeAttribute(child, kAXSizeAttribute)
+                let frame: CGRect?
+                if let position, let size {
+                    frame = CGRect(origin: position, size: size)
+                } else {
+                    frame = nil
+                }
+
                 found.append(MenuBarItem(
                     id: "\(pid)-\(index)",
                     pid: pid,
                     appName: app.localizedName ?? app.bundleIdentifier ?? "Unknown",
                     title: title,
                     icon: Self.icon(forTitle: title, app: app),
+                    frame: frame,
                     element: child
                 ))
             }
@@ -103,28 +121,11 @@ final class MenuBarItemManager: ObservableObject {
         }
     }
 
-    /// Opens the real menu bar item, so its menu/popover appears.
-    ///
-    /// A hidden item sits off-screen, and its menu would open off-screen too.
-    /// So briefly reveal the items, let the layout settle, press the item, then
-    /// hide again shortly after. The reveal is momentary rather than lasting the
-    /// whole time the panel is open.
+    /// Opens the real menu bar item, so its menu/popover appears at its own
+    /// on-screen position. With the cover approach the item never moves, so no
+    /// reveal is needed.
     func press(_ item: MenuBarItem) {
-        let hider = MenuBarHider.shared
-        let needsReveal = hider.isHiding
-        guard needsReveal else {
         _ = performPress(item)
-            return
-        }
-        hider.suspend()
-        DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + 0.2) {
-            _ = self.performPress(item)
-            // The menu is its own window, positioned at the item's on-screen
-            // spot, so the bar can be re-hidden almost immediately.
-            DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + 0.1) {
-                hider.resume()
-            }
-        }
     }
 
     private func performPress(_ item: MenuBarItem) -> Bool {
@@ -215,20 +216,26 @@ final class MenuBarItemManager: ObservableObject {
         guard AXValueGetValue(value as! AXValue, .cgPoint, &point) else { return nil }
         return point
     }
+
+    nonisolated static func sizeAttribute(_ element: AXUIElement, _ attribute: String) -> CGSize? {
+        var value: CFTypeRef?
+        guard AXUIElementCopyAttributeValue(element, attribute as CFString, &value) == .success,
+              let value,
+              CFGetTypeID(value) == AXValueGetTypeID() else { return nil }
+        var size = CGSize.zero
+        guard AXValueGetValue(value as! AXValue, .cgSize, &size) else { return nil }
+        return size
+    }
 }
 
-/// Best-effort menu bar item hiding. A zero-width spacer status item is created
-/// at launch; expanding its length to a huge value pushes the other apps' icons
-/// off the visible menu bar, so they can only be reached through SimpleTopBar's
-/// panel. On by default; the choice is persisted. Always restored on quit, and
-/// a crash cleans up automatically because status items die with the process.
+/// Menu bar item hiding via a "cover": the icons stay exactly where macOS put
+/// them and are hidden by our own frosted window drawn over them. Because they
+/// never move, opening one's menu needs no reveal. On by default; the choice is
+/// persisted. Always restored on quit.
 @MainActor
 final class MenuBarHider: ObservableObject {
     static let shared = MenuBarHider()
 
-    /// Width that pushes the neighbouring items off the visible menu bar.
-    static let hiddenLength: CGFloat = 10_000
-
     private static let defaultsKey = "hideMenuBarItems"
 
     @Published private(set) var isHiding = false
@@ -236,64 +243,27 @@ final class MenuBarHider: ObservableObject {
         didSet {
             guard enabled != oldValue else { return }
             UserDefaults.standard.set(enabled, forKey: Self.defaultsKey)
-            apply(enabled)
+            MenuBarItemManager.shared.refresh()
         }
     }
 
-    private var spacer: NSStatusItem?
-
     private init() {
         // Hide by default: the menu bar then shows only SimpleTopBar's hamburger
-        // plus the Apple items macOS will not let us move.
+        // plus the Apple items macOS will not let us cover.
         enabled = UserDefaults.standard.object(forKey: Self.defaultsKey) as? Bool ?? true
     }
 
-    /// Create the spacer early (at launch) so it lands as far right as possible.
-    func prepare() {
-        guard spacer == nil else { return }
-        let name = "SimpleTopBarHider"
-        let key = "NSStatusItem Preferred Position \(name)"
-        // The boundary between "hidden" and "kept" falls just left of Wi-Fi at
-        // ~250, so the other apps hide while Apple's Wi-Fi/Clock/Battery/Control
-        // Center/Spotlight stay visible. `debug.spacerPos` overrides the seed.
-        if let override = UserDefaults.standard.object(forKey: "debug.spacerPos") as? Double {
-            UserDefaults.standard.set(override, forKey: key)
-        } else if UserDefaults.standard.object(forKey: key) == nil {
-            UserDefaults.standard.set(250.0, forKey: key)
-        }
-        let item = NSStatusBar.system.statusItem(withLength: 0)
-        item.autosaveName = name
-        item.button?.isHidden = true
-        spacer = item
-        apply(enabled)
+    /// Recompute the cover windows for the current menu bar items. `avoid` is
+    /// our own hamburger's frame, which the cover must never hide.
+    func apply(items: [MenuBarItem], avoid: CGRect?) {
+        isHiding = enabled
+        MenuBarCover.shared.update(enabled: enabled, items: items, avoid: avoid)
     }
 
-    private func apply(_ hiding: Bool) {
-        spacer?.length = hiding ? Self.hiddenLength : 0
-        isHiding = hiding
-    }
-
-    /// Temporarily reveal the items (e.g. while the panel is open) so pressing
-    /// a tray icon opens its menu at its real, on-screen position. Keeps the
-    /// user's `enabled` preference untouched.
-    func suspend() {
-        guard enabled else { return }
-        spacer?.length = 0
-        isHiding = false
-    }
-
-    /// Restore hiding after a `suspend()`.
-    func resume() {
-        guard enabled else { return }
-        spacer?.length = Self.hiddenLength
-        isHiding = true
-    }
-
-    /// Put the menu bar back the way we found it. Called on quit. Leaves the
-    /// user's preference intact.
+    /// Remove the cover. Called on quit. Leaves the user's preference intact.
     func restore() {
-        spacer?.length = 0
         isHiding = false
+        MenuBarCover.shared.update(enabled: false, items: [])
     }
 }
 

Sources/SimpleTopBar/Overlay.swift

@@ -0,0 +1,124 @@
+import AppKit
+
+/// Hides other apps' menu bar icons by drawing a frosted window ("cover") over
+/// them, instead of moving them off-screen. The icons keep their real positions,
+/// so their menus open in the right place with no reveal, and a target item's
+/// real icon can be left visible by cutting a hole in the cover.
+@MainActor
+final class MenuBarCover {
+    static let shared = MenuBarCover()
+
+    /// Just above the status items (level 25) but well below menus (~101).
+    private static let windowLevel = NSWindow.Level(rawValue: 26)
+
+    private var windows: [NSWindow] = []
+
+    private init() {}
+
+    func update(enabled: Bool, items: [MenuBarItem], avoid: CGRect? = nil) {
+        removeAllWindows()
+        guard enabled else { return }
+
+        let frames = items.compactMap { item -> CGRect? in
+            guard Self.shouldHide(item), let frame = item.frame else { return nil }
+            return frame
+        }
+        var runs = Self.runs(from: frames)
+        if let avoid {
+            runs = Self.subtracting(avoid, from: runs)
+        }
+        let primaryHeight = NSScreen.screens.first?.frame.height ?? 0
+        for run in runs {
+            let frame = Self.windowFrame(for: run, primaryHeight: primaryHeight)
+            windows.append(makeWindow(frame: frame))
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Which items the cover hides. Everything is covered except the Apple
+    /// items the user asked to keep visible.
+    nonisolated static func shouldHide(_ item: MenuBarItem) -> Bool {
+        let text = item.title.lowercased()
+            .replacingOccurrences(of: "\u{2010}", with: "-")
+            .replacingOccurrences(of: "\u{2011}", with: "-")
+        let keep = ["wi-fi", "wifi", "battery", "clock", "control center", "search", "spotlight"]
+        return !keep.contains(where: { text.contains($0) })
+    }
+
+    /// Merge overlapping or near frames (in Accessibility coordinates) into
+    /// contiguous runs, so adjacent icons get one cover window rather than many.
+    nonisolated static func runs(from frames: [CGRect], gap: CGFloat = 6) -> [CGRect] {
+        let sorted = frames.sorted { $0.minX < $1.minX }
+        var result: [CGRect] = []
+        for frame in sorted {
+            if let last = result.last, frame.minX <= last.maxX + gap {
+                result[result.count - 1] = last.union(frame)
+            } else {
+                result.append(frame)
+            }
+        }
+        return result
+    }
+
+    /// Carve `avoid` out of the runs so the cover never hides our own icon.
+    nonisolated static func subtracting(_ avoid: CGRect, from runs: [CGRect]) -> [CGRect] {
+        var result: [CGRect] = []
+        for run in runs {
+            guard run.intersects(avoid) else {
+                result.append(run)
+                continue
+            }
+            if avoid.minX > run.minX {
+                result.append(CGRect(x: run.minX, y: run.minY, width: avoid.minX - run.minX, height: run.height))
+            }
+            if avoid.maxX < run.maxX {
+                result.append(CGRect(x: avoid.maxX, y: run.minY, width: run.maxX - avoid.maxX, height: run.height))
+            }
+        }
+        return result
+    }
+
+    /// Accessibility coordinates use a top-left origin; NSWindow uses a
+    /// bottom-left one, so flip Y against the primary screen's height.
+    nonisolated static func windowFrame(for axFrame: CGRect, primaryHeight: CGFloat) -> CGRect {
+        CGRect(
+            x: axFrame.minX,
+            y: primaryHeight - axFrame.maxY,
+            width: axFrame.width,
+            height: axFrame.height
+        )
+    }
+
+    private func makeWindow(frame: CGRect) -> NSWindow {
+        let window = NSWindow(
+            contentRect: frame,
+            styleMask: [.borderless],
+            backing: .buffered,
+            defer: false
+        )
+        window.level = Self.windowLevel
+        window.isOpaque = false
+        window.backgroundColor = .clear
+        window.hasShadow = false
+        // Swallow clicks so the covered icons cannot be clicked through.
+        window.ignoresMouseEvents = false
+        window.collectionBehavior = [.canJoinAllSpaces, .stationary, .fullScreenAuxiliary, .ignoresCycle]
+        window.animationBehavior = .none
+
+        let effect = NSVisualEffectView(frame: CGRect(origin: .zero, size: frame.size))
+        effect.material = .menu
+        effect.blendingMode = .behindWindow
+        effect.state = .active
+        effect.autoresizingMask = [.width, .height]
+        window.contentView = effect
+
+        window.orderFrontRegardless()
+        return window
+    }
+
+    private func removeAllWindows() {
+        for window in windows {
+            window.orderOut(nil)
+        }
+        windows.removeAll()
+    }
+}

Sources/SimpleTopBar/SelfTest.swift

@@ -103,9 +103,9 @@ func runSelfTest() {
     check(MenuBarItemManager.children(of: systemWide) == nil, "no children on a non-app element")
 
     let element = AXUIElementCreateSystemWide()
-    let first = MenuBarItem(id: "1-0", pid: 1, appName: "A", title: "T", icon: NSImage(), element: element)
-    let same = MenuBarItem(id: "1-0", pid: 1, appName: "A", title: "T", icon: NSImage(), element: element)
-    let different = MenuBarItem(id: "1-1", pid: 1, appName: "A", title: "T", icon: NSImage(), element: element)
+    let first = MenuBarItem(id: "1-0", pid: 1, appName: "A", title: "T", icon: NSImage(), frame: nil, element: element)
+    let same = MenuBarItem(id: "1-0", pid: 1, appName: "A", title: "T", icon: NSImage(), frame: nil, element: element)
+    let different = MenuBarItem(id: "1-1", pid: 1, appName: "A", title: "T", icon: NSImage(), frame: nil, element: element)
     check(first == same, "menu bar items compare by id and title")
     check(first != different, "different ids are not equal")
 
@@ -117,6 +117,27 @@ func runSelfTest() {
     check(MenuBarItemManager.symbolName(for: "Search") == "magnifyingglass", "search maps to magnifier symbol")
     check(MenuBarItemManager.symbolName(for: "cmux") == nil, "unknown titles fall back to the app icon")
 
+    // Cover geometry: adjacent icons merge into one run, far ones stay separate.
+    let merged = MenuBarCover.runs(from: [CGRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: 10, height: 20),
+                                          CGRect(x: 12, y: 0, width: 10, height: 20)])
+    check(merged == [CGRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: 22, height: 20)], "adjacent frames merge into one cover")
+    let split = MenuBarCover.runs(from: [CGRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: 10, height: 20),
+                                         CGRect(x: 100, y: 0, width: 10, height: 20)])
+    check(split.count == 2, "distant frames stay separate covers")
+
+    // Cover hides third-party apps but keeps the Apple items.
+    let hiddenApp = MenuBarItem(id: "1-0", pid: 1, appName: "cmux", title: "cmux", icon: NSImage(), frame: nil, element: element)
+    let keptWiFi = MenuBarItem(id: "2-0", pid: 2, appName: "Control Center", title: "Wi\u{2011}Fi, connected", icon: NSImage(), frame: nil, element: element)
+    let keptBattery = MenuBarItem(id: "2-1", pid: 2, appName: "Control Center", title: "Battery", icon: NSImage(), frame: nil, element: element)
+    let hiddenPlaying = MenuBarItem(id: "2-2", pid: 2, appName: "Control Center", title: "Now Playing", icon: NSImage(), frame: nil, element: element)
+    check(MenuBarCover.shouldHide(hiddenApp), "third-party apps are covered")
+    check(!MenuBarCover.shouldHide(keptWiFi), "wi-fi stays visible")
+    check(!MenuBarCover.shouldHide(keptBattery), "battery stays visible")
+    check(MenuBarCover.shouldHide(hiddenPlaying), "now playing is covered")
+
+    let converted = MenuBarCover.windowFrame(for: CGRect(x: 10, y: 0, width: 30, height: 24), primaryHeight: 1000)
+    check(converted == CGRect(x: 10, y: 976, width: 30, height: 24), "AX frame flips Y for NSWindow")
+
     let authorized = AXIsProcessTrusted()
     print("accessibility authorized=\(authorized)")
     if authorized {