Open the right way

Don't open index.html directly — downloads and fonts won't work.

Close this tab, then double-click OPEN-WEBSITE.command in the unzipped folder.

This zip runs locally — double-click OPEN-WEBSITE.command.

Menu bar · Apple Silicon & Intel · macOS 14+

rNitro

Made by chopsticks

Real-time CPU, temperature, memory, battery, and more — right in your Mac menu bar. Current: v1.3.32 · requires macOS 14+ (Sonoma or later). Free · no account · no telemetry.

Terms apply once per session · Apple Silicon

zsh — bash
# Paste in Terminal (Stable) — download + install
~ %
🍎 macOS ⌨️ CLI 🐧 Linux 🪟 Windows (legacy)
NOTICE
Intel Mac will no longer be getting updates after v1.2.5-Beta.
Apple Silicon continues to receive updates. Plan to move to an Apple Silicon Mac for ongoing support.

M1 / M2 / M3 / M4 → Apple Silicon. Older Intel Macs → Intel (compiles on your Mac · last updates through v1.2.5-Beta).

First open on macOS

Builds are ad-hoc signed (not Apple-notarized yet). If macOS blocks the app: right-click rNitro.app → Open → Open. Prefer the App ZIP or Terminal install (no Xcode) from this site.

Privacy · Terms · GitHub Releases

v1.3.32-Experimental
rNitro for macOS — menu bar monitor, Lab tools, AI chat, New style UI. Requires macOS 14.0+ (Sonoma / Sequoia / later) · universal when available.
What people say
Live reviews from Product Hunt and AlternativeTo
mz mzxl_gProduct Hunt ★★★★★ Aug 1, 2026
“rnitro keeps track of your mac’s performance with a clean, lightweight interface that covers all the important system stats. it’s a solid replacement for bulkier monitoring apps if you prefer something simple, fast, and focused on privacy.”
dr drdestensProduct Hunt ★★★★★ Aug 1, 2026
“rnitro is a lightweight and easy-to-use system monitor that gives you all the essential stats without slowing down your mac. it’s a great replacement for heavier monitoring apps if you want something fast, simple, and privacy-friendly.” “vs iStat Menus 6 — rnitro is basically a free istats but better amazing customizability and i recommend it to anyone who comes across it”
dc donut-coderZGAlternativeTo ★★★★★ Aug 1, 2026 1 like
“i have not seen a better cpu monitoring software, very accurate and opensource”
ja jameshealyAlternativeTo ★★★★★ Jul 17, 2026 2 likes
“A thoughtful tool. rNitro does exactly what it says: it tucks a clean system monitor into your menu bar and stays out of the way. What stands out is the care behind the choices — it’s free, open source, no subscriptions. The design is genuinely nice, too. The icon is sharp and the readout is easy to read at a glance. For a lightweight utility, it hits the right balance: useful information without clutter. Worth a look if you want a no-nonsense way to keep an eye on your Mac.”
donut-coderZG reply Aug 1, 2026

“i agree plenty very useful software”

ws wslamAlternativeTo comment Jul 9, 2026 1 like
“Excellent effort! Convenient All In One!”

Review on Product Hunt → | Review on AlternativeTo →

Older macOS — downloads & limits
macOS 14+ Supported. Use the current App ZIP above.
macOS 11–13 No app build. Current rNitro uses SwiftUI APIs that need macOS 14+. Big Sur / Monterey / Ventura are not supported. See the info pack.
Mac OS X 10.x Not supported. No binary — too old for modern SwiftUI.
Mac OS 8 / 9 Not possible. Classic Mac OS is a different platform. No rNitro app exists.
GitHub source

The info pack is documentation only — not an installer for Mac OS 8, OS X, or macOS 11–13.

Download the current build for Apple Silicon (or Intel installers below). Terms apply once per session. Also on GitHub Releases.

Product

macOS · Apple Silicon · Menu bar

See rNitro on your Mac

Menu bar monitor with Advisor, Chat, Chat Config, App cleaner, Lab, and Settings — built for macOS 14+ (Sonoma and later).

rNitro menu bar monitor showing CPU, temperature, memory, and battery
Menu bar + Monitor — live CPU, temps, memory, battery, and more
rNitro Advisor
Advisor — System Advisor with live stats and thresholds
rNitro Chat
Chat — Bring-your-own AI providers
rNitro Chat Config
Chat Config — API keys and chat provider setup
rNitro App cleaner
App cleaner — Find large files and free space
rNitro Lab
Lab — Experimental tools — thermal weather, time-scrub, reports
rNitro Settings
Settings — Appearance, menubar, alerts, general
Roadmap

Next releases

Single mainline for macOS. Older Final/Beta tags are archives only. · Updated 2026-07-23

Current on this channel: v1.3.32-Experimental

v1.3.x / v1.4.0 planned

ETA: Ongoing

  • Battery hierarchy (one primary % + details)
  • Appearance: Look vs color mode split
  • Notarized builds when Developer ID is ready
  • Optional migrate prompt for old Stable/Beta installs
Changelog

What's new

Latest stable and beta highlights.

v1.3.32-Experimental · 2026-07-29

  • Easter egg: triple left-click the menu bar icon (was Option-click)
  • Fathom open: also finds ~/Applications/Fathom.app when bundle lookup fails

v1.3.30-Experimental · 2026-07-28

  • Personal easter egg: Option-click menu bar icon, or tap version five times
  • Enable Logging remains in Settings → General

v1.3.26-Experimental

  • Product name restored to rNitro (MacBar rebrand reverted).
  • Canonical site path again chopstickshq.com/rnitro.

v1.3.25-Experimental

  • Product URL is now chopstickshq.com/macbar (and macbar.chopstickshq.com).
  • Legacy /rnitro paths redirect to /macbar.
  • GitHub repo: ilikemacos/MacBar.

v1.3.24-Experimental

  • Renamed Experimental product to MacBar (formerly rNitro) for clearer discovery.
  • Installs as MacBar.app; same sensors, same chopstickshq.com/rnitro downloads.
  • Keeps rNitro as alternate name in search metadata during the transition.

v1.3.23-Experimental

  • Fix: IOHID temperature sensors were never read (SetMatching void return mis-checked) — real MTR die temps now drive the gauge.
  • Prefer Apple Silicon HID die cluster over empty/locked SMC; drop calibration-offset sensors.

Release notes

v1.3.31-Experimental · 2026-07-28
  • Click the green Live badge for the personal easter egg
  • Option-click menubar / five taps on version still work
v1.3.30-Experimental · 2026-07-28
  • Personal easter egg: Option-click menu bar icon, or tap version five times
  • Enable Logging remains in Settings → General
v1.3.29-Experimental · 2026-07-28
  • Enable Logging in Settings → General (local diagnostics to ~/Library/Logs/rNitro)
  • Structured rnitro.log with categories, rotation, open/clear controls
v1.3.3 Experimental / v1.2.12 Beta / v1.2.9 Final
Light & dark mode on website + app. Dev toolkit: site Dev Deck (CDN ping, grid, party mode); app Dev Mode environment manifest, font map, CDN ping, accent shuffle.
v1.3.2 Experimental / v1.2.11 Beta / v1.2.8 Final
Font picker UX — search fonts, filter Sans/Serif/Display/Script/Mono, star favorites, OFL credit. 50+ Google Fonts still offline.
v1.3.1 Experimental / v1.2.10 Beta / v1.2.7 Final
Version bump — same UI font library (50+ Google Fonts OFL). Patch release for channel versioning and distribution.
v1.3.0 Experimental / v1.2.9 Beta / v1.2.6 Final
UI font library — 50+ Google Fonts (OFL) in Appearance, including EB Garamond, Audiowide, and Caveat. Experimental 1.3.0 keeps all Lab toys; Beta 1.2.9 ships fonts + process tools; Stable 1.2.6 Final gets fonts without Lab.
v1.2.7 Beta / Experimental
Process tools + Dev Mode finish — Why hot?, kill/reveal (Dev), UI config JSON, Lab toys TOC collapsed. Gatekeeper guide on site.
v1.2.0 Final (Stable)
Stable catch-up — customizable UI + ⌘Q from modern builds; OpenAI/OpenRouter only; no Lab. GitHub.
v1.2.6 Experimental
New Lab toys — thermal forecast, heat haiku, throttle cosplay, overnight watch, core roulette, chaos blip. Beta keeps slim Lab.
v1.2.5 Beta / Experimental
Customizable UI + Developer Mode — menubar builder, density, accents, thresholds for everyone; optional Dev tools for sampling/logs/dumps. GitHub.
v1.2.4 Beta / Experimental
Patched a bug — ⌘Q now quits the menu bar app. Lab crash fix (scrub slider) + Experimental Features sidebar.
v1.2.3 Beta
Beta — Lab: AirDrop card, SOC budget, cooling confession, desktop widget, rnitro lab status.
v1.1.0 Final Reloaded
Stable channel — production-ready menu bar monitor for daily use. AI limited to OpenAI + OpenRouter.
Platform notes
macOS — Apple Silicon, macOS 12+. Linux — v0.1 pre-release. Windows — deprecated.
Community

Join our Minecraft server!

Nothing to do with rNitro — just a place to hang out and play. Add the server in Minecraft Java Edition and jump in.

macetech.minefort.com
Click Copy IP, then Multiplayer → Add Server → paste
What it monitors
📊
CPU Usage
Total load with a 60-second live history graph, color-coded by intensity.
🌡️
Temperature
Real SMC sensor data in °C with a visual gauge that goes orange and red under load.
Clock Speed
Base and boost MHz tracked live, showing how hard your chip is actually running.
🔲
Per-Core Breakdown
Individual usage bars and clock speeds for every logical core on your CPU.
🏁
Benchmark
Cinebench-style single-core and multi-core scores from a fixed, repeatable render workload — built right into the popover.
💬
AI Chat (v1.2.14 Beta)
Available in v1.2.14 — Chat tab with Gemini, OpenAI, Anthropic, Grok, DeepSeek, OpenRouter, LM Studio, Ollama, and Hermes (Keychain for cloud keys; local providers need no key).
How everything works

Platforms at a glance

One place to see what each build is, where it installs, and how updates work. New here? Download the macOS App ZIP (v1.3.32).

Platform Version Status Recommended download Install location Updates What you get
macOSv1.3.32-ExperimentalCurrentrNitro-v1.3.32-Experimental.zip~/Applications/rNitro.appIn-app updater on launchMenu bar monitor, Lab tools, all AI providers, New style UI, display modes
CLI · Terminalv0.2-cliActiverNitro-CLI.tar.gz~/bin/rnitro or /usr/local/bin/rnitroManual — re-download tarball or curl one-linerbtop-style TUI: CPU, RAM, disk, network, battery, top processes; macOS + Linux; Python 3
Linux · Pre-releasev0.1-Linux-Beta-Pre-release-x64Pre-releaserNitro-v0.1-Linux-Beta-Pre-release-x64.tar.gz or install-rNitro-linux.sh~/.local/share/rnitroChecks version.json on launchGTK4 app: Monitor, Advisor, Chat, Cleaner; x86_64; needs Python 3.10+, GTK 4, libadwaita
Windows · Legacyv4.2.4-Windows-Final-x86DeprecatedrNitro-v4.2.4-Windows-Final-x86.exe%LOCALAPPDATA%\rNitroManual — check website or GitHubTray monitor only (CPU, temp, RAM, BTC); no AI chat or Cleaner; .NET 8 runtime for EXE
Download formats
Format Platform What it is Gatekeeper / runtime When to use
App ZIP (recommended)macOSPre-built rNitro.app — unzip and drag to ApplicationsRight-click → Open once if Gatekeeper blocks itFastest path; no admin password
PKGmacOSInstaller package → ApplicationsSystem Settings → Privacy & Security → Open if blockedOne double-click install; needs admin password
DMGmacOSDisk image — drag app to ApplicationsSame as App ZIP on first openFamiliar Mac workflow
.sh shell installermacOSFull Swift source compiled locally with swiftcNo prebuilt binary downloaded — you read the script firstMaximum trust; ~30s compile on your Mac
Tarball + .shLinuxPython/GTK source tree + install-rNitro-linux.shInstaller checks deps and sets up a venvPre-release; also on GitHub
EXE / .ps1WindowsPre-built tray app or PowerShell compile via csc.exe.NET 8 Desktop Runtime for EXELegacy only — macOS or Linux recommended for new installs
End-to-end flow
Step What happens
Pick your platform tabmacOS, Linux, or Windows — the site auto-detects your OS
Accept Terms & ConditionsAgree continues download; Disagree returns home. Optional: remember for this browser session
Download recommended fileGreen App ZIP card (current macOS build) — size shown on button
InstallFollow the How to install steps below for your tab
UpdatesmacOS: in-app prompt → download ZIP → replace app. Linux: checks same version.json. Windows: manual.
GitHub mirrorCurrent build also on GitHub Releases
How to install
1

Download the PKG, DMG, or App ZIP

Agree to the Terms & Conditions on every download, then pick a format:

  • App ZIP — unzip and drag rNitro.app to Applications (recommended).
  • PKG — double-click; installs to Applications (admin password).
  • DMG — open the disk image and drag rNitro.app to Applications.

⚠ macOS security prompt: When you open the PKG, macOS may say it can't verify the file. That's normal for indie apps. Don't click Move to Trash. Click Done, then go to System Settings → Privacy & Security and press Open at the bottom.

2

Or install from Terminal with curl

No browser download needed — paste a one-liner in Terminal. It fetches the .sh installer (readable source), saves it to /tmp, then runs it:

Paste in Terminal (Apple Silicon Mac, Xcode CLT required). The script is saved to disk first — curl | bash is blocked on purpose.

printf "\n[########------------] 1/2 Download installer\n" && curl --progress-bar -fL https://chopstickshq.com/rnitro/rNitro-v1.3.32-Experimental.sh -o /tmp/rnitro-install.sh && printf "\n[####################] 2/2 Compile & install (Xcode CLT)\n" && bash /tmp/rnitro-install.sh

Installs to ~/Applications/rNitro.app in ~30 seconds. Self-verifies its SHA-256 checksum before running.

3

First launch

If macOS blocks the app, right-click rNitro.appOpen once. No telemetry, no account — runs fully local.

Older builds are on rNitro Archives and GitHub Releases. Current: v1.3.32.

Support

Need help or found a bug?

Fill this in and you’ll be redirected to GitHub Issues with your message ready to submit. That way the team actually receives it (no broken mail apps).

Prefer a blank form? github.com/ilikemacos/rNitro/issues/new

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💬