For the Music app on macOS · $1.99, once
Your music, right in the menu bar
BopBar puts Apple's Music app in your Mac's menu bar: the song you're listening to, its album art, and a progress bar, with play, pause, and skip one click away. Click the album art for a mini player with everything else.
Requires macOS 27 or later.
Screenshots show original demo songs by fictional artists.
Always in sight
The album art, song title, and artist sit in your menu bar while you work, and long titles scroll. Play, pause, next, and previous are built in, and shuffle and repeat join them when there's room. Click or drag the progress bar to jump to any part of the song.
Right-click for a menu with playback controls, Settings, and Quit.
A mini player when you want more
Click the album art to open the mini player: big artwork, a seek bar with elapsed and remaining time, shuffle, repeat, volume, and a Love button. Click the song title to jump to it in Music.
A spectrum that moves with the music
The progress bar comes alive with the song. It's on from the start, and you can switch it off in Settings.
BopBar listens only to the Music app and does the math on your Mac. Nothing is recorded, saved, or sent anywhere.
Make it fit your menu bar
Short on space? Compact shows just the album art. Expanded adds the song, the progress bar, and the buttons. You can also hide the progress bar or the buttons, pick the system accent color or one of 13 others, and have BopBar open at login.
The small things
- Works with what you play
- Your own library, Apple Music streaming, and radio stations. Streaming and radio need an Apple Music subscription.
- Finds missing album art
- When a song shows up without a cover, BopBar looks it up from Apple and keeps a copy on your Mac.
- Stays out of the Dock
- BopBar lives in the menu bar only. No Dock icon and nothing in Command-Tab.
- No accounts, no tracking
- There's nothing to sign up for. BopBar has no analytics and no ads.
- Made for macOS 27
- Requires macOS 27 or later and a Mac with Apple silicon.
- Pay once
- $1.99 on the Mac App Store. No trial, no subscription, no in-app purchases, and updates arrive through the App Store.
Up and running in a minute
BopBar works with the Music app you already use. There's nothing to import and nothing to sign in to.
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1
Get it from the Mac App Store
It installs like any other App Store app. Open it and it appears in your menu bar.
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2
Allow it to control Music
When you open BopBar, it explains why it needs Music, and when you continue, macOS asks once whether BopBar can control the Music app. That's how it reads the current song and sends play, pause, and skip.
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3
Press play
Play anything in Music and BopBar picks it up right away.
Questions
What do I need?
A Mac running macOS 27 or later with Apple's Music app. For songs in your own library, that's all. Apple Music streaming and radio work too, but they need an Apple Music subscription.
Does it work with Spotify?
No. BopBar works only with Apple's Music app.
What permissions does it ask for?
During setup, macOS asks whether BopBar can control the Music app. That one is required. The live spectrum is on by default, so the first time a song plays, macOS also asks for audio recording permission. You can turn the spectrum off during setup or in Settings, and then you won't see that prompt.
Is my audio recorded or uploaded?
No. The spectrum listens only to the Music app, analyzes the sound on your Mac to draw the bars, and throws it away. Nothing is recorded, saved, or sent. You can turn it off in Settings at any time.
Some songs have no album art. Why?
Music doesn't always hand over artwork, especially for streamed songs. BopBar then looks the cover up from Apple using only the song title, artist, and album, and saves the image on your Mac. A song Apple doesn't carry may stay without art.
Where are the settings?
Right-click BopBar in the menu bar and choose Settings, or click the gear in the mini player.
Is it a subscription?
No. It's $1.99, once, on the Mac App Store, with every feature included. Updates come through the App Store.
Can I use it on more than one Mac?
Yes. Download it from the Mac App Store on any Mac signed in with the Apple Account you bought it with.
More answers on the support page.
Put Music in your menu bar
BopBar is $1.99 on the Mac App Store.
Requires macOS 27 or later. Streaming and radio need an Apple Music subscription.