Bartender 6
Bartender 6 is a macOS menu bar utility that helps you hide, reveal, organize, and automate menu bar items for a cleaner workspace.
What is Bartender 6?
Bartender 6 is a macOS utility for managing crowded menu bars on Mac laptops and desktops. It helps users hide less important menu bar items, reveal them quickly when needed, and keep frequently used controls easier to reach. The app is useful for people who run many menu bar apps, work on smaller displays, or want better access to items affected by the MacBook notch. Bartender 6 also includes grouping, search, presets, and trigger-based automation so different menu bar layouts can be used for work, home, recording, or screen sharing. It supports current macOS workflows on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs, making it a focused utility for customizing how the menu bar behaves and looks.
Key features
- Hide and quickly reveal menu bar items when you need them
- Access menu bar items that would otherwise be obscured by the MacBook notch
- Group related menu bar items into a single custom item
- Switch between saved menu bar presets for different workflows
- Apply menu bar changes automatically based on time, Wi-Fi, battery, location, and other triggers
- Search for menu bar items from the keyboard and activate them quickly
- Customize the appearance of the menu bar with styling options
- Show hidden items in a separate Bartender Bar beneath the menu bar
Review app leftovers with diCleaner
Inspect caches, support files, containers, and login items before cleaning.
Safety overview
Status: Mostly safe
Bartender 6 is a legitimate menu bar management app for macOS. Its behavior can involve Accessibility and screen-related permissions because those permissions are consistent with controlling, revealing, and arranging menu bar items. The app may also move the pointer during some layout operations, which the developer documents as part of how certain menu bar management features work. If you use it, review the permissions it requests in System Settings and enable only the access needed for the features you want.
Recommendation: Keep Bartender 6 if you actively use multiple menu bar apps or want tighter control over a crowded menu bar. If you no longer use its hiding, grouping, or automation features, you can remove it and return to the standard macOS menu bar behavior.
Common paths
/Applications/Bartender.app
Cache paths
~/Library/Caches/com.surteesstudios.Bartender
Support paths
~/Library/Application Support/Bartender
Preference paths
~/Library/Preferences/com.surteesstudios.Bartender.plist
Share your experience
Be the first to share your experience.