The latest articles on DEV Community by Jo Jo (@joeystdio). https://dev.to/joeystdio https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F4206187%2Fea032258-ef83-4154-aafa-1f435dfb7b2a.png https://dev.to/joeystdio en Jo Jo Sun, 25 Oct 2026 08:06:42 +0000 https://dev.to/joeystdio/i-built-two-free-open-source-native-macos-menu-bar-utilities-in-swift-ghostmouse-portradar-bi9 https://dev.to/joeystdio/i-built-two-free-open-source-native-macos-menu-bar-utilities-in-swift-ghostmouse-portradar-bi9 <p>Over the weekend I built and open-sourced two native macOS menu bar utilities in pure Swift &amp; SwiftUI (<code>macOS 14+</code> Universal binaries for Apple Silicon &amp; Intel) to solve two everyday problems on my Mac — 100% free and MIT licensed.</p> <h2> 1. 👻 GhostMouse — Invisible Stealth Mouse Mover &amp; Awake Utility </h2> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F35pcos14ftoy2y1l4c8q.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F35pcos14ftoy2y1l4c8q.png" alt="GhostMouse Screenshot" width="800" height="565"></a></p> <p>I loved how the classic Windows Mouse Mover had an invisible <strong>"Stealth"</strong> mode where your cursor never visibly moves on screen, and how it automatically stops the instant you touch your physical mouse or keyboard — so I built that natively for macOS.</p> <h3> Key Features: </h3> <ul> <li> <strong>True Invisible Stealth Mode:</strong> Dispatches zero-displacement hardware HID pulses (<code>+1/-1</code> delta at the exact same pixel) combined with <code>IOPMAssertionDeclareUserActivity</code>. Your cursor never visibly moves a single pixel, while macOS, Microsoft Teams, and Slack register active hardware input.</li> <li> <strong>Natural Mode:</strong> Prefer visible movement? Smoothly glides the cursor out and back to its exact starting coordinate (<code>Subtle 5px</code>, <code>Medium 40px</code>, or <code>Full 150px</code>).</li> <li> <strong>Instant Activity Detection (<code>Stop</code> vs <code>Smart Pause</code>):</strong> Tags its own synthetic <code>CGEvent</code>s (<code>0x4A494747</code>) so the moment you move your physical mouse or press any key, it either turns off immediately (<code>Stop</code>) or pauses and auto-resumes after an idle threshold (<code>Smart Pause</code>).</li> <li> <strong>Built-in Schedule &amp; Countdown Timer:</strong> Restrict activity to work hours/days or set an auto-deactivate timer.</li> <li> <strong>Global Hotkey:</strong> Toggle anywhere with <strong><code>⌃⌘J</code></strong> or right-click the menu bar icon.</li> </ul> <h3> Install GhostMouse: </h3> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight shell"><code>brew tap joeystdio/tap brew <span class="nb">install</span> <span class="nt">--cask</span> ghostmouse </code></pre> </div> <ul> <li> <strong>GitHub Repo:</strong> <a href="https://github.com/joeystdio/GhostMouse" rel="noopener noreferrer">github.com/joeystdio/GhostMouse</a> </li> <li> <strong>Website &amp; Direct <code>.dmg</code> Download:</strong> <a href="https://joeystdio.github.io/GhostMouse/" rel="noopener noreferrer">joeystdio.github.io/GhostMouse</a> </li> </ul> <h2> 2. 📡 PortRadar — Menu Bar Localhost &amp; Dev Port Manager </h2> <p>Every developer runs into <code>EADDRINUSE: address already in use :::3000</code> and has to drop into a terminal to run <code>lsof -i :3000</code> and <code>kill -9</code>. <strong>PortRadar</strong> puts a live TCP port radar right in your macOS menu bar.</p> <h3> Key Features: </h3> <ul> <li> <strong>1-Click Kill (<code>SIGTERM</code> / <code>SIGKILL -9</code>):</strong> Free any stuck localhost port in a single click.</li> <li> <strong>Smart Stack &amp; Framework Detection:</strong> Automatically inspects process arguments to badge <strong>Next.js</strong>, <strong>Vite</strong>, <strong>Angular</strong>, <strong>Node.js</strong>, <strong>Bun</strong>, <strong>.NET / Kestrel</strong>, <strong>FastAPI / Python</strong>, <strong>Go</strong>, <strong>Rust</strong>, <strong>Docker / OrbStack</strong>, <strong>PostgreSQL</strong>, <strong>Redis</strong>, <strong>MySQL</strong>, <strong>MongoDB</strong>, and <strong>Ollama</strong> — along with live <strong>RAM (MB)</strong>, <strong>CPU %</strong>, and <strong>PID</strong> badges.</li> <li> <strong>Pinned Watchlist Bar:</strong> Pin your core ports (<code>:3000</code>, <code>:5173</code>, <code>:8080</code>, <code>:5000</code>, <code>:5432</code>, <code>:6379</code>) to the top watchlist bar with live green/grey status indicators and 1-click Open in Browser.</li> <li> <strong>Global Hotkey:</strong> Summon anywhere with <strong><code>⌃⌘P</code></strong>.</li> </ul> <h3> Install PortRadar: </h3> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight shell"><code>brew tap joeystdio/tap brew <span class="nb">install</span> <span class="nt">--cask</span> portradar </code></pre> </div> <ul> <li> <strong>GitHub Repo:</strong> <a href="https://github.com/joeystdio/PortRadar" rel="noopener noreferrer">github.com/joeystdio/PortRadar</a> </li> <li> <strong>Website &amp; Direct <code>.dmg</code> Download:</strong> <a href="https://joeystdio.github.io/PortRadar/" rel="noopener noreferrer">joeystdio.github.io/PortRadar</a> </li> </ul> <p>Both projects are 100% open-source under the MIT license and built with zero external dependencies using Swift Package Manager. Feedback, stars, and PRs are very welcome!</p> macos swift opensource webdev