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I built a native macOS menu bar companion for Portless
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Portless replaces port numbers with named URLs for local development. I built PortlessBar to make those apps and the proxy controls accessible from the macOS menu bar. What it does...
Portless replaces port numbers with named URLs for local development. I built PortlessBar to make those apps and the proxy controls accessible from the macOS menu bar.
What it does
PortlessBar shows your current Portless registrations as URLs. Click one to open it in your default browser. The switch at the top connects or disconnects the proxy without stopping your development servers.
You still start your apps with the Portless CLI. The menu bar companion handles opening them and controlling the proxy. Settings includes Launch at Login and update preferences.
How the integration works
The app is written in Swift. It reads Portless's state files and process arguments to discover registrations and the proxy configuration. When reconnecting, it uses the observed configuration.
That keeps the UI small, but makes compatibility with Portless versions a practical concern. The current release has been tested with Portless 0.8.0 and 0.15.6. Changes to Portless's state format or process arguments may require updates to the companion.
For custom installations, PORTLESSBAR_CLI and PORTLESS_STATE_DIR can supply the CLI and registry paths when launching the app directly from Terminal. Finder and login launches don't inherit your shell environment.
The app uses Sparkle for signed in-app updates. The downloadable build is Developer ID signed and notarized, with support for Apple Silicon and Intel.
Try it
You'll need macOS 14 or newer and an existing Portless installation. Complete Portless's initial proxy setup, certificate trust, and any required hosts configuration in Terminal first.
Install with Homebrew:
brew install --cask akshitkrnagpal/tap/portlessbar
Or download the universal app, unzip it, and move it to Applications. Open PortlessBar, then run your development apps through Portless as usual. Their URLs appear in the menu automatically.
macOS may ask for administrator approval when controlling a privileged proxy.
Source and feedback
PortlessBar is free and open source under Apache 2.0. It has no account or analytics. It's an independent companion, not affiliated with Vercel.
If you use Portless on a Mac, I'd appreciate feedback on compatibility and the menu layout. Which part of your local development workflow would you want the companion to make easier?