v1.8.0 — Intruder photo

Wardlume v1.8.0: Intruder photo.

• 📷 Intruder photo (optional, off by default). When someone fails to unlock while warded (wrong Touch ID or password), Wardlume takes one photo with your Mac's camera. Cancelling never triggers it, and the camera light always shows.
• 🔒 Photos stay on this Mac, inside Wardlume's private folder, and are deleted after 7, 30, or 90 days (or when you choose). Wardlume still has no internet access, so they can't leave your Mac. Check it: codesign -d --entitlements - /Applications/Wardlume.app shows the camera entitlement and no network entitlement.
• 🪧 A clear notice on the ward, "Failed unlocks are photographed", warns anyone at your desk. You can turn it off.
• 🔔 After you unlock, a card tells you how many failed attempts were photographed, with View Photos.
• 🗂️ New Settings → Intruder photo with the switch, a Take Test Photo check, the photos, Open in Finder, Export…, and Delete All.
• 🎛️ Turn it on or off anywhere: the menu bar, the optional Camera row in setup, or Overview → Permissions, which also links to System Settings to remove camera access entirely. The switch can't be changed while warded.

Update

On v1.7.4, use Check for Updates… in the menu bar (or wait for the automatic check). Otherwise:

brew upgrade --cask wardlume

New install

brew tap arpitagarwal1301/tap
brew trust arpitagarwal1301/tap
brew install --cask wardlume

Or download the .pkg (recommended) or .dmg below (see the FAQ for the one-time first-launch step). Your settings and permissions carry over. The .zip is for the in-app updater.

Requires macOS Tahoe 26+ on Apple Silicon.

Security: VirusTotal scanned the release files, 0/56 engines flagged: .pkg · .dmg · .zip

v1.7.4 — Privacy you can verify, and in-app updates

Wardlume v1.7.4: privacy you can verify, and in-app updates.

• 🛡️ New Settings → Privacy & security. Live facts read from the app itself: Internet access: blocked by macOS, screen capture only while warded, nothing ever saved. A Privacy button on Overview takes you there.
• 🔍 Verify it yourself. One Terminal command shows that Wardlume has no network entitlement, so macOS refuses any connection it tries: codesign -d --entitlements - /Applications/Wardlume.app. LuLu and Little Snitch confirm it too.
• 🔄 In-app updates. Updates install from inside Wardlume, signed and checked before install, through a separate sandboxed downloader (Sparkle). Wardlume asks once before checking automatically. Manage it in Settings → Advanced → Updates.
• ⚠️ Clear update errors. If a check fails, you'll see why: offline, server unreachable, or a server error, with a website download as the fallback.
• 💗 Sponsor Wardlume in the menu bar menu.
• ⬆️ This is the last manual update. From here on, new versions arrive in the app.

Update

brew upgrade --cask wardlume

New install

brew tap arpitagarwal1301/tap
brew trust arpitagarwal1301/tap
brew install --cask wardlume

Or download the .pkg (recommended) or .dmg below (see the FAQ for the one-time first-launch step). Your settings and permissions carry over. The .zip is for the in-app updater.

Requires macOS Tahoe 26+ on Apple Silicon.

Security: download links checked on VirusTotal, 0/92 vendors flagged: .pkg · .dmg · .zip

v1.7.3 — Easier permission setup

Wardlume v1.7.3: easier permission setup.

• 🧲 Dragging Wardlume into System Settings works. The icon in the setup helper now drops into the permission list like it does from Finder.
• 🪟 One helper that stays put. A single floating guide sits beside System Settings instead of a new popup for every permission, and closes itself once the permission is on.
• ✅ Wardlume is added to the list for you. Usually you just flip the switch.
• 🔔 No leftover macOS alert after granting Screen Recording.
• 📂 Reveal in Finder reuses its window instead of opening a new one on every click.
• 🔗 Check for Updates, Privacy, and Terms open the new download home directly.

Update

brew upgrade --cask wardlume

New install

brew tap arpitagarwal1301/tap
brew trust arpitagarwal1301/tap
brew install --cask wardlume

Or download the .pkg (recommended) or .dmg below (see the FAQ for the one-time first-launch step). Your settings and permissions carry over.

Requires macOS Tahoe 26+ on Apple Silicon.

v1.7.2 — Cleaner Settings and menu

Wardlume v1.7.2: cleaner Settings and menu.

• 🧭 Settings reorganized: Overview · Lock & unlock · Automation · Displays & gestures · Intruder reactions · Advanced. Every setting keeps its value.
• 🔢 "How Wardlume works" on Overview: Lock → Step away → Unlock, with your own shortcuts.
• ✏️ Clearer shortcut editing: edit and reset buttons with tooltips.
• ⚠️ Emergency exit and Reset all now live in Advanced.
• 📋 Menu bar: shows your own activate shortcut, has a quick Auto-ward toggle and Check for Updates…, and only shows permissions setup when something's missing.

Update

brew upgrade --cask wardlume

Or download the .pkg / .dmg below (see the FAQ for the one-time first-launch step). Your settings and permissions carry over.

Requires macOS Tahoe 26+ on Apple Silicon.

v1.7.1 — New download home

Wardlume v1.7.1: Wardlume has a new home.

• 🏠 Downloads, updates, and support now live at wardlume-screen-lock. Check updates, Privacy, and Terms in the app point here, and so does Homebrew.
• No other changes. Your settings and permissions carry over.

Update

brew upgrade --cask wardlume

Or download the .pkg / .dmg below. Not notarized yet, so see the FAQ for the one-time first-launch step.

Requires macOS Tahoe 26+ on Apple Silicon.

v1.7.0 — Apple Watch unlock

Originally released September 26, 2026.

Wardlume v1.7.0: unlock with your Apple Watch.

New

• ⌚ Tap to unlock with Apple Watch. Back at your Mac? Just tap the trackpad or press any key. Your watch buzzes; double-press the side button and the ward drops. No shortcut to remember.
  • Only your unlocked watch, on your wrist, can approve. If someone else touches your Mac while you're nearby, your watch buzzes too, so it doubles as an intrusion alert, and they can't approve it.
  • Requests are sent at most once per reaction cooldown, and an unanswered one expires after 30 seconds.
• 🔐 Your unlock shortcut accepts the watch too. Touch ID, Apple Watch or your password, whichever is quickest.
• 🧭 Setup built in. Settings → Overview → Unlock with Apple Watch shows whether your watch is ready, walks you through setup if it isn't, and has a Send test to watch button. The request on your watch names your Mac.

Apple Watch unlock is on by default and uses macOS's own "Use Apple Watch to unlock" (System Settings → Touch ID & Password). No app on your watch or phone, and no new permission.

Update

Homebrew:

brew upgrade --cask wardlume

New install: brew tap arpitagarwal1301/tap && brew trust arpitagarwal1301/tap && brew install --cask wardlume. On older Homebrew, skip brew trust.

Your settings and permissions carry over, so there's nothing to re-grant.

Prefer a direct download? Wardlume isn't notarized yet, so a downloaded copy needs one small, one-time step:

Wardlume-1.7.0.pkg: open it. If macOS calls it "unidentified," right-click → Open once (or System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway), then click through.

Wardlume-1.7.0.dmg: drag Wardlume into Applications. If macOS says "damaged" (it isn't; unsigned downloads are quarantined), clear it once:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Wardlume.app

Requires macOS Tahoe 26+ on Apple Silicon.

v1.6.0 — Launch at login & auto-ward when idle

Originally released September 26, 2026.

Wardlume v1.6.0: always ready, and it can ward your Mac for you.

New

• 🚀 Launch at login. Wardlume now starts quietly in the menu bar when you log in, with no window popping up.
  • On by default. The first time you open v1.6.0, macOS shows a "Login item added" notification.
  • Turn it off anytime in Settings → Behavior, or in System Settings → Login Items. Wardlume never turns it back on by itself.
• ⏱️ Auto-ward when idle. Walked away without pressing ⌘⇧L? Wardlume can cast the ward for you.
  • It kicks in after 1–15 minutes with no keyboard or mouse input, after a 10-second countdown you cancel just by moving the mouse.
  • It pauses while a video or presentation keeps your screen awake, and when the screen is locked or the screensaver is on.
  • Off by default. Turn it on in Settings → Behavior → Auto-ward when idle.

Neither feature needs a new permission.

Update

Homebrew:

brew upgrade --cask wardlume

New install: brew tap arpitagarwal1301/tap && brew trust arpitagarwal1301/tap && brew install --cask wardlume. On older Homebrew, skip brew trust.

Your settings and permissions carry over, so there's nothing to re-grant.

Prefer a direct download? Wardlume isn't notarized yet, so a downloaded copy needs one small, one-time step:

Wardlume-1.6.0.pkg: open it. If macOS calls it "unidentified," right-click → Open once (or System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway), then click through.

Wardlume-1.6.0.dmg: drag Wardlume into Applications. If macOS says "damaged" (it isn't; unsigned downloads are quarantined), clear it once:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Wardlume.app

Requires macOS Tahoe 26+ on Apple Silicon.

v1.5.0 — Multi-monitor ward & security fixes

Originally released September 26, 2026.

Wardlume v1.5.0: smarter multi-monitor wards and important security fixes. Updating is recommended.

New

• 🖥️ The ward follows you. It now appears on the display you activate it from, not just the main one.
• 👀 Other monitors stay visible. They keep showing their screen with input locked. Touch one and the "Input locked" screen appears right there. Prefer the old look? Settings → Behavior → Other monitors → Black out.
• 🪟 The ward follows Space switches. It's on every Space, so switching can't slide it away.

Security fixes

• 🔌 Unplugging a monitor no longer unlocks your Mac. Previously, pulling a monitor cable while the ward was up turned it off. Now the ward moves to your laptop screen and input stays locked. Plugging a monitor back in doesn't unlock either.
• ⚙️ Settings can't be clicked through the ward. If the Settings window was open when you activated the ward, its Deactivate button could be clicked through the glass without Touch ID. Settings is now hidden while warded and comes back when you unlock.
• ✋ Trackpad gestures are really blocked. Mission Control, Spaces and Launchpad swipes are now blocked by the input lock itself. The old approach never took effect inside the macOS app sandbox.

Update

Homebrew:

brew upgrade --cask wardlume

New install: brew tap arpitagarwal1301/tap && brew trust arpitagarwal1301/tap && brew install --cask wardlume. On older Homebrew, skip brew trust.

Your settings and permissions carry over, so there's nothing to re-grant.

Prefer a direct download? Wardlume isn't notarized yet, so a downloaded copy needs one small, one-time step:

Wardlume-1.5.0.pkg: open it. If macOS calls it "unidentified," right-click → Open once (or System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway), then click through.

Wardlume-1.5.0.dmg: drag Wardlume into Applications. If macOS says "damaged" (it isn't; unsigned downloads are quarantined), clear it once:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Wardlume.app

Requires macOS Tahoe 26+ on Apple Silicon.

v1.4.0 — Keep Mac awake while warded

Originally released September 26, 2026.

Wardlume v1.4.0: your Mac stays awake while you're away, and the screen-capture prompt no longer hides behind the ward.

New

• ☕ Keeps your Mac awake while warded. Before, the display's idle timer could put the screen to sleep, which ended the ward (for safety, Wardlume always drops the ward on sleep) and could pause your agents. Now the display and system stay awake for as long as the ward is up, and normal sleep resumes the moment you unlock.
  • On by default. Turn it off in Settings → Behavior → Keep Mac awake while warded.
  • The Overview status card shows "Mac kept awake" while it's active.
  • Needs no permission: nothing new to grant. It's a standard macOS power assertion (the same mechanism as caffeinate), named Wardlume: ward active, keeping display awake in pmset -g assertions.
  • It only prevents idle sleep. Closing the lid or choosing Sleep still sleeps your Mac, and the ward still ends when it does.

Fixed

• Screen-capture prompt trapped behind the ward. On macOS 15+, the first time Wardlume captured the screen, macOS asked whether it could "bypass the system private window picker." That prompt appeared behind the ward, where it couldn't be clicked, so you had to unlock just to allow it. Wardlume now triggers the prompt at launch or when setup finishes, before any ward is up, so you can click Allow right away.

Install

Homebrew (easiest, no Gatekeeper prompt):

brew tap arpitagarwal1301/tap
brew trust arpitagarwal1301/tap
brew install --cask wardlume

Already installed? brew upgrade --cask wardlume.

The cask installs the .pkg, so there's no "damaged" prompt and no quarantine cleanup. Homebrew 6+ requires trusting a third-party tap once before installing from it. On older Homebrew, brew trust doesn't exist and isn't needed, so just skip that line.

Prefer a direct download? Wardlume isn't notarized yet, so a downloaded copy needs one small, one-time step:

Wardlume-1.4.0.pkg: open it. If macOS calls it "unidentified," right-click → Open once (or System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway), then click through. Wardlume opens normally afterward.

Wardlume-1.4.0.dmg: drag Wardlume into Applications. If macOS says "damaged" (it isn't; unsigned downloads are quarantined), clear it once:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Wardlume.app

Requires macOS Tahoe 26+ on Apple Silicon.

v1.3.0 — Seamless permissions & first-launch onboarding

Originally released July 2, 2026.

Wardlume v1.3.0 — seamless permissions & first-launch onboarding.

New

• 🧭 Guided permissions setup — a first-launch wizard walks you through all three permissions (Screen Recording, Accessibility, Input Monitoring) in one window: request → deep-link to the exact System Settings pane → live re-check as you grant → one-click Quit & Reopen for the grants macOS only applies after a relaunch. No more alert-and-quit dance.
• Opening the app now does something. Permissions missing → the setup wizard; everything granted → Settings opens on the Overview pane. The app never terminates itself at launch anymore.
• "Permissions Setup…" in the menu bar re-runs the wizard anytime.

Built on PermissionPilot 🛩️

The onboarding is powered by PermissionPilot — our open-source, zero-dependency SwiftUI permissions/onboarding SDK for locally-distributed Mac apps (16 macOS permissions: detection, prompting, System Settings deep-links, relaunch handling, drop-in wizard/checklist UI; MIT). Wardlume is its first sandboxed production consumer, and this integration drove three upstream fixes released as PermissionPilot v0.2.0. Building a Mac app that needs TCC permissions? Give it a look.

Hardening

• Ward activation now verifies all three permissions (fail-closed) and opens the wizard instead of a modal alert when one is missing.
• A screen-capture failure at ward start now tears the ward down safely (previously only a mid-session capture loss did).
• Launch/reopen routing is suppressed while the ward is armed.

Install

Homebrew (easiest — no Gatekeeper prompt):

brew tap arpitagarwal1301/tap
brew trust arpitagarwal1301/tap
brew install --cask wardlume

The cask installs the .pkg, so there's no "damaged" prompt and no quarantine cleanup. Homebrew 6+ requires trusting a third-party tap once before installing from it; on older Homebrew, brew trust doesn't exist and isn't needed — just skip that line.

Prefer a direct download? Wardlume isn't notarized yet, so a downloaded copy needs one small one-time step:

Wardlume-1.3.0.pkg: open it; if macOS calls it "unidentified," right-click → Open (or System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway) once, then click through. Wardlume opens normally afterward.

Wardlume-1.3.0.dmg: drag Wardlume into Applications. If macOS says "damaged" (it isn't — unsigned downloads are quarantined), clear it once:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Wardlume.app

Requires macOS Tahoe 26+ on Apple Silicon.