The latest articles on DEV Community by Spare Team (@spareteam). https://dev.to/spareteam 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%2F4162597%2F8da9111a-19a3-4b38-8e65-625fad7b456e.png https://dev.to/spareteam en Spare Team Mon, 05 Oct 2026 00:16:04 +0000 https://dev.to/spareteam/we-shipped-spare-for-mac-describe-a-plugin-in-one-sentence-and-it-gets-built-and-installed-2p7n https://dev.to/spareteam/we-shipped-spare-for-mac-describe-a-plugin-in-one-sentence-and-it-gets-built-and-installed-2p7n <p>Hi DEV, we're a small team in Montreal, and we just shipped <strong>Spare for Mac</strong>: a desktop app where you describe a little tool or toy in one sentence, and Spare builds it and installs it as a plugin on your Mac.</p> <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%2F2ciz6k3rzm5pj12kr1cq.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%2F2ciz6k3rzm5pj12kr1cq.png" alt="Spare for Mac Create page" width="800" height="479"></a></p> <h2> Why we built it </h2> <p>Codex and Claude Code can already write a menu-bar timer or a clipboard finder for you. But you still have to build it, package it, figure out where it lives and how to run it, and then explain to a friend how to install it. For small personal things, that last mile is usually where the fun dies.</p> <p>So Spare does the last mile: the plugin shows up in <strong>My Plugins</strong>, you click it, it runs.</p> <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%2F50arfgn496g8mq8of2eg.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%2F50arfgn496g8mq8of2eg.png" alt="My Plugins in Spare for Mac" width="800" height="479"></a></p> <h2> A few things to make </h2> <ul> <li>A menu-bar Pomodoro timer that reminds you to stand up</li> <li>A desktop pet that gets hungry, wants attention, and grows the longer you care for it</li> <li>A clipboard history plugin that searches your last 50 items</li> <li>A lunch wheel that decides what you eat</li> </ul> <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%2Fcpiarjkigzazwgpj2wfq.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%2Fcpiarjkigzazwgpj2wfq.png" alt="A plugin running on the Mac" width="800" height="479"></a></p> <h2> Sharing and the community </h2> <ul> <li> <strong>One-click share</strong>: send a plugin to a friend; they open it in Spare and it's installed.</li> <li> <strong>Community works</strong>: games, desk pets and small tools other people published, each with its license shown (most are MIT). Install in one click.</li> </ul> <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%2Fgzlhw0t4wfstj7lqoa4y.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%2Fgzlhw0t4wfstj7lqoa4y.png" alt="Community works in Discover" width="800" height="479"></a></p> <h2> Pricing </h2> <ul> <li>GPT-5.6 is free to use (fair-use limits apply), covered by the Spare open-source community.</li> <li>Pro is $9.9/month and unlocks GPT-6.</li> </ul> <h2> Try it </h2> <p>macOS 14+ on Apple silicon: <a href="https://spare.cool/en/mac?utm_source=devto&amp;utm_medium=post&amp;utm_campaign=202610_mac_launch&amp;utm_content=launch" rel="noopener noreferrer">spare.cool/mac</a></p> <p>On first launch, double-click Spare once, then go to System Settings &gt; Privacy &amp; Security &gt; Open Anyway.</p> <p>What would you build first? Tell us in the comments and we'll try making it.</p> <p><em>This post was drafted with AI assistance and reviewed by the Spare team.</em></p> macos ai productivity opensource