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whatwatts v1.0

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@git-anish git-anish released this 15 Mar 04:26
· 6 commits to main since this release
v1.0
019bcf9

whatwatts is a lightweight menu bar app for seeing what your Mac is doing right now when it is plugged in: charger wattage, battery flow, and an optional system-power estimate.

What is new in v1.0:

  • adapter, battery, and optional SMC system-power readout in one compact menu bar item
  • rolling 60-second system-power average in low-power mode
  • live 1-second updates when Always Live Updates is enabled
  • optional hide-battery-flow behavior for full or optimized-charge hold states
  • menu and preferences toggles for each displayed metric
  • cleaned up preferences window and documentation

Screenshots:

App

App

Preferences

Preferences

Downloads:

  • whatwatts-intel.zip for Intel Macs
  • whatwatts-apple-silicon.zip for Apple Silicon Macs

Source is public in this repo, so you can inspect exactly what the app does before running it.

Low-power mode behavior:

  • Idle: checks once a minute to stay lightweight
  • After plugging or unplugging a charger: updates once a second for 20 seconds
  • System power: shown as a 60-second average unless Always Live Updates is enabled

Trust and first launch:

  • If macOS blocks the app, you can always use System Settings > Privacy & Security > Open Anyway
  • If you prefer Terminal, there are two options:
  • Use a test run command if you want to launch whatwatts from ~/Downloads first. This does not require an administrator password.
  • Use an install command if you want to move it into /Applications. This usually requires an administrator password.
  • Pick the command that matches your Mac, paste it into Terminal, and press Return.

Intel test run:

curl -L https://github.com/git-anish/whatwatts/releases/download/v1.0/whatwatts-intel.zip -o ~/Downloads/whatwatts-intel.zip && ditto -x -k ~/Downloads/whatwatts-intel.zip ~/Downloads && xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine ~/Downloads/whatwatts-intel.app && open ~/Downloads/whatwatts-intel.app

Apple Silicon test run:

curl -L https://github.com/git-anish/whatwatts/releases/download/v1.0/whatwatts-apple-silicon.zip -o ~/Downloads/whatwatts-apple-silicon.zip && ditto -x -k ~/Downloads/whatwatts-apple-silicon.zip ~/Downloads && xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine ~/Downloads/whatwatts-apple-silicon.app && open ~/Downloads/whatwatts-apple-silicon.app

Intel install:

curl -L https://github.com/git-anish/whatwatts/releases/download/v1.0/whatwatts-intel.zip -o ~/Downloads/whatwatts-intel.zip && ditto -x -k ~/Downloads/whatwatts-intel.zip ~/Downloads && sudo rm -rf /Applications/whatwatts.app && sudo mv ~/Downloads/whatwatts-intel.app /Applications/whatwatts.app && sudo xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/whatwatts.app && open /Applications/whatwatts.app

Apple Silicon install:

curl -L https://github.com/git-anish/whatwatts/releases/download/v1.0/whatwatts-apple-silicon.zip -o ~/Downloads/whatwatts-apple-silicon.zip && ditto -x -k ~/Downloads/whatwatts-apple-silicon.zip ~/Downloads && sudo rm -rf /Applications/whatwatts.app && sudo mv ~/Downloads/whatwatts-apple-silicon.app /Applications/whatwatts.app && sudo xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/whatwatts.app && open /Applications/whatwatts.app

What the commands do:

  • curl -L ... downloads the release zip from GitHub
  • ditto -x -k ... unzips the app
  • xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine ... removes macOS quarantine so the app can launch
  • open ... launches the app
  • sudo rm and sudo mv only appear in the install version because moving the app into /Applications usually needs admin access

Note: the SMC system-power value is inspired by SAP Power Monitor and uses private Apple interfaces. It works now, including on an Intel Mac we tested, but it may stop working on future macOS or hardware revisions.

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