Hide other menu bar icons by default

The point of the app is a single hamburger that replaces the tray, so
hiding the other icons should be the out-of-the-box state. Remember the
user's choice, and create the hamburger before the hider so it is not
itself pushed off-screen.

💘 Generated with Crush

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

AGENTS.md

@@ -38,6 +38,10 @@ executable SwiftPM package, no external dependencies (all Apple frameworks).
   or per-element, so every helper returns `nil` instead of force-unwrapping. The
   `enumerate()` routine is `nonisolated static` so `--self-test` can run it.
 - Items are keyed by `pid-index`; `MenuBarItem` equality ignores the AX element.
+- Control Center is special: its extras menu bar lists **every module it owns**,
+  including ones not in the bar, which are parked off-screen at `y≈982`.
+  `enumerate()` drops items whose AX position `y > 60` and de-duplicates by
+  title per app, otherwise the tray fills with identical "Control Center" tiles.
 - Reading another app's UI is the only TCC permission needed; there is no Screen
   Recording or Apple Events usage.
 
@@ -112,6 +116,28 @@ 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
+
+`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:
+
+- 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.
+- **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.
+
 ## Gotchas
 
 - `AppListModel` is `@MainActor`; the `NSWorkspace` observers hop back with

README.md

@@ -27,11 +27,26 @@ still works.
 
 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 items to its left
-off-screen. This is reliable only when SimpleTopBar starts at login (its spacer
-then sits to the right of later-launched apps' items) and may need re-toggling
-after items move around. It is off by default and always undone on quit; if the
-app dies, macOS removes the spacer automatically.
+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.
+
+What it can and cannot hide:
+
+- 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).
 
 ## Install with Homebrew
 

Sources/SimpleTopBar/App.swift

@@ -43,8 +43,10 @@ final class AppDelegate: NSObject, NSApplicationDelegate {
 
         AppListModel.shared.start()
         MenuBarItemManager.shared.start()
-        MenuBarHider.shared.prepare()
+        // 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.
         setupStatusItem()
+        MenuBarHider.shared.prepare()
 
         if CommandLine.arguments.contains("--diag") {
             DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + 2.5) {
@@ -53,6 +55,14 @@ final class AppDelegate: NSObject, NSApplicationDelegate {
             return
         }
 
+        if CommandLine.arguments.contains("--diag-hide") {
+            MenuBarHider.shared.enabled = true
+            DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + 3) {
+                dumpMenuBarItems()
+            }
+            return
+        }
+
         // The tray is empty without Accessibility permission, so surface the
         // system prompt once at launch instead of waiting for the user to open
         // the panel and find the button.

Sources/SimpleTopBar/MenuBarItems.swift

@@ -68,11 +68,23 @@ final class MenuBarItemManager: ObservableObject {
             guard let bar = extrasMenuBar(of: axApp),
                   let children = children(of: bar) else { continue }
 
+            var seenTitles = Set<String>()
             for (index, child) in children.enumerated() {
+                // 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 {
+                    continue
+                }
+
                 let title = stringAttribute(child, kAXDescriptionAttribute)
                     ?? stringAttribute(child, kAXTitleAttribute)
                     ?? app.localizedName
                     ?? "Item"
+                // Several Control Center modules share the generic title
+                // "Control Center"; show each distinct title once per app.
+                if !seenTitles.insert(title).inserted { continue }
+
                 found.append(MenuBarItem(
                     id: "\(pid)-\(index)",
                     pid: pid,
@@ -139,10 +151,10 @@ final class MenuBarItemManager: ObservableObject {
 }
 
 /// 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 items to its left
+/// 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. Reliable only when SimpleTopBar starts at login (its spacer then sits
-/// to the right of later-launched apps' items). Always restored on quit.
+/// 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.
 @MainActor
 final class MenuBarHider: ObservableObject {
     static let shared = MenuBarHider()
@@ -150,37 +162,55 @@ final class MenuBarHider: ObservableObject {
     /// 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
-    @Published var enabled = false {
+    @Published var enabled: Bool {
         didSet {
             guard enabled != oldValue else { return }
+            UserDefaults.standard.set(enabled, forKey: Self.defaultsKey)
             apply(enabled)
         }
     }
 
     private var spacer: NSStatusItem?
 
-    private init() {}
+    private init() {
+        // Hide by default: the menu bar then shows only SimpleTopBar's hamburger
+        // plus the Apple items macOS will not let us move.
+        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)
     }
 
     private func apply(_ hiding: Bool) {
-        prepare()
         spacer?.length = hiding ? Self.hiddenLength : 0
         isHiding = hiding
     }
 
-    /// Put the menu bar back the way we found it. Called on quit.
+    /// Put the menu bar back the way we found it. Called on quit. Leaves the
+    /// user's preference intact.
     func restore() {
         spacer?.length = 0
         isHiding = false
-        enabled = false
     }
 }
 

Sources/SimpleTopBar/TopBarView.swift

@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ struct TopBarView: View {
                 .controlSize(.mini)
                 .padding(.horizontal, 12)
                 .padding(.top, 6)
-                .help("Best-effort: pushes the real items off the menu bar so they only live here. Reliable when SimpleTopBar starts at login.")
+                .help("Best-effort: pushes other apps' icons off the menu bar so they only live here. Apple's Wi-Fi, Spotlight, Clock, Battery and Control Center stay visible; macOS won't let any third-party app move them.")
             }
         }
     }

build-app.sh

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 set -euo pipefail
 cd "$(dirname "$0")"
 
-VERSION="${1:-0.2.2}"
+VERSION="${1:-0.2.3}"
 
 swift build -c release