TuckTuck vs Hidden Bar
Hidden Bar is simple on purpose. Tuck adds search, a separate bar and more controls for people who want them.
Short answer. Choose Hidden Bar if you want the simplest tool and nothing else. Choose Tuck if some hidden icons are still unreachable because of the notch.
The facts, side by side
| Topic | Tuck | Hidden Bar |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free core. Tuck Pro is planned, one-time, and not on sale | Free |
| Licence | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Source for users | Yes: GPL-3.0 entitles everyone who receives Tuck to its source | Yes |
| macOS support | macOS 26. macOS 27 support is in development | The current README requires macOS 13 or later. Confirm the release notes for your OS; Tuck’s macOS 27 support is in development. |
| Permissions | Accessibility required. Screen Recording optional | Not confirmed by us. |
Where Hidden Bar is strong
- Free, MIT-licensed and simple. Users praise it for keeping the menu bar tidy.
- Fewer settings to learn.
- Available from the Mac App Store as well as GitHub, with different version numbers on each.
How Tuck differs
- Tuck has keyboard search, a separate Tuck Bar for notched displays, hotkeys and appearance options.
- Tuck asks for Accessibility; Screen Recording is optional.
- Tuck requires macOS 26.
- Tuck has more to configure. Simple Mode shows only the essentials.
Choose Hidden Bar if
- You want the simplest tool and nothing else.
- You run a macOS version older than 26.
- It already works for you.
Choose Tuck if
- Some hidden icons are still unreachable because of the notch.
- You want to search menu bar items from the keyboard.
- You are on macOS 26 and want a project working on macOS 27 support.
Limits of this comparison. Simplicity is a real feature. If Hidden Bar does the job, more options are not an improvement. We have not run benchmarks, so we make no speed, memory or battery claims about either app. Tuck’s first build is not released yet.