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Hammerspoon vs xbar

Side-by-side comparison for macOS

Hammerspoon

8.0
Developer Tools

Desktop automation application

xbar

8.5
Developer Tools

View output from scripts in the menu bar

Metric Hammerspoon xbar
Category Developer Tools Developer Tools
AI Score 8.0 8.5
30-day Installs 5.7K 381
90-day Installs 16.7K 1.2K
365-day Installs 42.6K 3.5K
Version 1.1.1 2.1.7-beta
Auto-updates Yes No
Deprecated No No
GitHub Stars 14.6K 18.0K
GitHub Forks 671 649
Open Issues 657 186
License MIT MIT
Language Objective-C Go
Last GitHub Commit 4mo ago 1y ago
First Seen Nov 6, 2014 Aug 9, 2023

Reviews

Hammerspoon

Hammerspoon is a powerful macOS desktop automation tool that uses Lua scripting for custom workflows. It allows users to automate tasks, customize their environment, and integrate with various macOS features, making it ideal for developers and power users seeking flexibility.

Enables automation of macOS tasks through Lua scripting.

Pros

  • + Highly flexible and customizable automation capabilities
  • + Lua scripting provides a powerful and lightweight scripting language
  • + Strong community support and extensive documentation

Cons

  • - Steep learning curve for new users
  • - Complexity may overwhelm those unfamiliar with scripting

xbar

xbar is a powerful macOS menu bar tool that allows developers to display script outputs directly in the menu bar, offering customization and automation capabilities.

Displays output from scripts or programs in the macOS menu bar.

Pros

  • + Customizable menu bar with script outputs
  • + Strong community support and active development
  • + Open-source with MIT license

Cons

  • - Beta version with some lingering bugs
  • - No auto-update feature