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Manifold 0.1.0

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@holdmysocks holdmysocks released this 20 May 22:47
v0.1.0
e6062c2

Manifold 0.1.0 — first release

Every port, mapped.

Manifold is a free, open-source macOS menu-bar + window app that
visualizes the physical USB and Thunderbolt topology of your Mac in
real time, with per-device power draw, link-speed telemetry, and a
live battery / charger view. No network, no telemetry, no
sandbox compromises — everything is read from IOKit and displayed
locally.

This is the first public release. Everything in the list below
is new.

Highlights

Live topology

  • Device tree per host. USB controllers → physical ports (P1,
    P2, …) → connected devices → daisy-chained children. Per-port
    labels stay stable across reconnects so a flapping device doesn't
    reshuffle the list.
  • Hot-plug detection. IOKit-driven; the popover updates within
    ~100 ms of a connect or disconnect.
  • Daisy-chain awareness. Thunderbolt devices behind hubs / docks
    nest under their parent in the tree.
  • Display info. Each connected display shows resolution, refresh
    rate, panel type, and whether it's the main / built-in display.

Per-device telemetry

  • Real-time power draw in watts.
  • Negotiated link speed (USB 2 / 3 / 4 / Thunderbolt).
  • 60-sample sparkline history per device.

Battery & charger

  • Charge percentage, time-to-full / time-to-empty, charge state
    (charging, plugged in, discharging, fully charged).
  • Dedicated menu-bar battery icon with the percent rendered
    inside the body and a charging bolt when external power is
    connected.
  • An ∞ glyph at full charge while plugged in — and the literal
    "100" the moment you unplug, so you can watch the cell tick down.
  • Notch-pop notifications for plug, unplug, low battery, full
    charge, and threshold crossings.
  • USB Power Draw card showing the total draw across all
    connected devices vs. the active charger's input budget, with a
    per-device breakdown sorted by biggest consumer first.
  • Cable / port identification of where the charger is connected
    — MagSafe vs USB-C — including correct handling on MacBook Pro
    M1 Pro/Max where charging through a USB-C dock previously read
    as MagSafe.

Cable diagnostics (Apple Silicon)

  • Per-port USB-C / Thunderbolt card with PD power profile, active
    transport, e-marker fingerprint, and trust signals — adapted
    from the open-source WhatCable utility (MIT, relicensed
    GPL-3.0 with attribution).

Diagnostics engine

Five rules ship in the initial set:

  • Running @ USB 2.0 — USB 3.x device negotiated down to a USB 2
    link.
  • Power deficit — device requesting more than the port supplies.
  • Cable bottleneck — TB4 device on a TB3 link.
  • Daisy-chain depth — chain length past Apple's 6-device TB limit.
  • Hub overcommit — sum of downstream draw exceeds the hub's
    power budget.

SD card slot

Card-reader–equipped MacBook Pros now expose the SD slot as a port
chip and a row in the topology, with the card's product name and
capacity (SDHC / SDXC) when one is inserted. Detects hot-insert and
hot-eject without waiting on an unrelated USB event.

Persistent history

  • SQLite-backed event log + downsampled telemetry.
  • 24 h raw / 30 d 1-min / 1 y 1-hour by default; tunable from
    Settings.

Export

  • Event log + sample CSV (opens cleanly in Excel and Numbers).
  • Full topology as schema-versioned JSON.
  • File ▸ Export… (⌘E).

Apple Shortcuts (App Intents)

Five intents you can drop into a Shortcut or call from Spotlight:

  • Get Connected Devices
  • Get Power Draw
  • Get Active Diagnostics
  • Watch For Device Connect
  • Export Topology Snapshot

Widgets

  • Desktop small — device count + total power.
  • Desktop medium — top 4 devices with sparklines.
  • Control Center — tap to open the popover.

Settings

Sample rate, theme, notification toggles, retention sliders,
launch-at-login, and Sparkle update channel — all live-applied.

Updates & privacy

  • Sparkle auto-updates with EdDSA-signed appcast.
  • 100 % local. No network calls except the Sparkle update check.
  • No Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, AirPlay, Continuity, VPN, SMB, NFS surfaces —
    Manifold is a physical-port visualizer on purpose.

Requirements

  • macOS 26.0 or later.
  • Apple Silicon recommended (cable diagnostics + USB-C port
    occupancy are Apple-Silicon-only; everything else works on
    Intel).

Install & update

  • Already installed? Manifold auto-updates — pick Check for
    Updates…     in Settings → Updates to grab it now, or wait for the
    next scheduled check.
  • First time? Download Manifold-0.1.0.dmg, open it, drag
    Manifold to Applications. First launch: right-click → Open, then
    System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway.
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