All tests run on an 8-year-old MacBook Air. Every app I've built recently lives in the menubar. Not because it's trendy. Because it's the right form factor for tools that need to stay out of your way until you need them. The problem with full-window apps Full-window apps demand attention. You open them, they take over the screen, you do the thing, you close them. For occasional tasks — checking a sync status, running a quick conversion, viewing a notification — this is too much ceremony. The friction of opening a full app is enough to make you skip the task entirely. What menubar apps do differently A menubar app is always one click away. No Dock, no Cmd+Tab, no window management. Click the icon, do the thing, click away. The constraint also forces better design. You have maybe 400px of vertical space. Every feature has to earn its place. The result is usually a tighter, more focused tool than the equivalent full-window app would be. The user expectation is clear Users know what a menubar app is.…