Thaw app icon

Thaw

github.com

Open-source Ice fork that hides, searches, and restyles Mac menu bar items. Homebrew stable supports macOS 14+; current development targets macOS 26.

Menubar Managers Open Source Free
Thaw screenshot showing the app interface

Thaw is an open-source menu bar manager, forked from Ice, that organizes menu bar icons through hiding, search, profiles, and reordering without a subscription. (Free, open-source)

The core workflow splits menu bar items into visible, hidden, and always-hidden sections. Items move between sections via drag-and-drop, and auto-rehide returns items to their hidden state automatically after interaction. A dedicated “separate bar” can display hidden items in a secondary row below the main menu bar, useful on MacBooks with the notch. Hotkey-driven search scans all menu bar items, including hidden ones, enabling keyboard navigation without visual scanning.

Appearance customization covers tinting, shadows, border styles, and rounded corners for the menu bar itself. Light and dark mode settings apply independently, allowing a tinted appearance in dark mode and a stock look in light mode. Menu bar profiles store visibility configurations for different contexts—work, presentation, or minimal—with hotkey activation. The app is built in Swift (about 99.6% of the codebase) and is translated into 20 languages via Crowdin.

Thaw is a community fork of Ice (by Jordan Baird). Ice’s last stable release is 0.11.12 (October 2024). The current Thaw repository is github.com/thaw-app/Thaw (about 10,000 GitHub stars). Stable 1.2.0 shipped in April 2026; 2.0.0 release candidates followed in August 2026.

System requirements: Homebrew stable (brew install --cask thaw) requires macOS 14 or later. Current development and thaw@beta target macOS 26+. Apple Silicon and Intel. Direct download from GitHub Releases. No App Store listing.

Pricing: (Free, open-source) GPL-3.0 license. Sponsorship via GitHub Sponsors or Patreon.

Limitations: README and beta builds target macOS 26+, so new features may not land on 14/15. Item grouping is not shipped. No separate marketing site beyond GitHub.

Alternatives: Ice (original GPL-3.0 project, macOS 14+, last stable October 2024). Bartender 6 (paid, one-time or Pro subscription; context-aware presets and AppleScript). Hidden Bar (free, single show/hide toggle with no automation).

Suitable for users who want a maintained, free Ice-style menu bar manager. Use the stable cask on macOS 14+; use current GitHub/beta builds if you are already on macOS 26.

FAQ

What does Thaw do?+

Thaw manages the macOS 26 menu bar by hiding, showing, and rearranging items. It supports drag-and-drop reordering, a separate bar for hidden items, menu bar search via hotkey, and appearance customization including tinting, shadows, borders, and rounded corners.

Is Thaw free?+

Yes. Thaw is free and open-source under the GPL-3.0 license. It is available via Homebrew (`brew install --cask thaw`) or as a direct download from GitHub releases.

How do I install Thaw on macOS?+

Install the stable build with `brew install --cask thaw`, or the beta with `brew install --cask thaw@beta`. Or download a release from https://github.com/thaw-app/Thaw/releases. There is no App Store listing. The older github.com/stonerl/Thaw URL only redirects to this repo.

Does Thaw run on Apple Silicon?+

Yes. Thaw runs on Apple Silicon and Intel. Homebrew's stable cask (1.2.0) requires macOS 14 or later. Current development and the beta cask target macOS 26 or later.

What is the difference between Thaw and Ice?+

Thaw is a community-maintained fork of Ice (by Jordan Baird). Ice's last stable release is 0.11.12 (October 2024) and is no longer actively developed. Thaw continues the GPL-3.0 codebase with regular commits, macOS 26/27 fixes, and translations.

Can Thaw save different menu bar layouts?+

Yes. Thaw supports profiles that store icon visibility layouts for different contexts, with hotkeys to switch them. Menu bar item groups (clustering related utilities) are still listed as unfinished on the project roadmap.

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