TuckTuck vs Thaw
Thaw is the project Tuck is forked from. If you are considering macOS 27, review Thaw’s beta release notes. Tuck’s own macOS 27 support is in development.
Short answer. Choose Thaw if you are on macOS 27 and accept a beta release; Tuck support is still in development. Choose Tuck if you are on macOS 26 and want the Tuck build and its planned Pro features.
The facts, side by side
| Topic | Tuck | Thaw |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free core. Tuck Pro is planned, one-time, and not on sale | Free |
| Licence | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| 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 | Its development README names macOS 26 and 27. A 3.0.0-beta.1 release dated 2 October 2026 is labelled macOS 27 only. |
| Permissions | Accessibility required. Screen Recording optional | See the Thaw README. Tuck inherits its permission model. |
Where Thaw is strong
- Upstream of Tuck, with active development and a public issue tracker.
- A 3.0.0-beta.1 release for macOS 27, published 2 October 2026.
- An upstream issue tracker for shared bugs and feature development.
How Tuck differs
- Tuck is a modified version of Thaw. At the fork (3 October 2026, upstream commit 986471fd) the changes were a rebrand: name, bundle identifier, tuck:// URL scheme and the tuckctl helper.
- Tuck plans a paid Pro unlock for power features. Thaw does not.
- Tuck credits Thaw and Ice and publishes its own NOTICE file. It does not claim Thaw’s history, badges or release record.
- macOS 27 support in Tuck is in development.
Choose Thaw if
- You are on macOS 27 and accept a beta release; Tuck support is still in development.
- You want the upstream project and its community.
- You do not want a Pro tier.
Choose Tuck if
- You are on macOS 26 and want the Tuck build and its planned Pro features.
- You prefer Tuck’s distribution and update feed at tuckmenubar.com.
Limits of this comparison. Tuck and Thaw share most of their code today. Choose on release status and your macOS version, not on feature counts. 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.