Mino

A lightweight, native macOS menu bar app to track GitHub releases with Homebrew integration. Built entirely with Swift and AppKit — no frameworks, no dependencies, no Xcode project required.

Mino.mp4

Features

• 👀 Menu Bar Integration: Unobtrusive status bar icon with inline repository information
• ⚡️ Inline Actions: Hover over any repository to reveal contextual action buttons with expanded, easy-to-click target areas — view release notes, open releases, install via Homebrew, or delete
• 🍺 Homebrew Integration: Detects installed Casks automatically and enables one-click install/update directly from the menu (only shown if Homebrew is installed)
• 🧩 Integrated Search: A sleek, centered search field with an intelligent Tag Cloud. Filter your repositories by language, topic, or status instantly using the auto-generated suggestion cloud.
• 🧠 Hybrid Quick Add: Copy a GitHub repository URL, open the menu, and the header intelligently transforms into a "Quick Add" action with dynamic iconography. Bypass modal windows completely!
• 📏 Dynamic Typography: Choose your preferred text size (10pt to 16pt). The entire menu UI, from repository names to release notes, scales proportionally to ensure perfect legibility for every user.
• ⏱ Tooltip Tracker: The refresh countdown is hidden for a cleaner look — simply hover over the refresh icon to see the time remaining.
• 🎯 Multi-Hunt Window: The floating "Add Repositories..." window acts as a persistent tracking hub. Keep it open while you browse Safari, and simply hit CMD+C on sequential GitHub URLs. Mino automatically sniffs your clipboard and queues them up for rapid batch-ingestion without ever losing focus.
• 📂 Quick Reveal: After installing a Cask, the app reveals the application in Finder
• 🔐 Secure Token Storage: GitHub Personal Access Tokens stored in macOS Keychain — never in plain text
• ★ Favorites: Right-click any repository to mark it as a favorite. A gold ★ appears inline — toggles instantly without closing the menu.
• 🌍 Localized: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Mandarin Chinese, Hindi, Arabic, Russian, and Japanese with automatic system detection
• 🔄 Auto-Start: Launch at login via native macOS LaunchAgent
• 🎨 Light & Dark Mode: Full support, including a forced-dark HUD panel for notifications

Installation

Prerequisites

• macOS 12.0+
• Xcode Command Line Tools (xcode-select --install)
• Homebrew (optional, for Cask integration)

Homebrew (Recommended)

brew install nad-bit/tap/mino

Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/nad-bit/Mino.git
cd Mino/SwiftApp
chmod +x build.sh
./build.sh

The compiled app bundle will be at build/Mino.app. Move it to /Applications or run it directly:

open build/Mino.app

Note: No Xcode project needed. The build.sh script compiles all Swift sources directly with swiftc.

Important: If macOS blocks the compiled application from running (saying it's damaged or cannot be verified), remove the quarantine attribute by running:

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

Usage

Adding Repositories

Fastest Way (Hybrid Quick Add):

1. Copy any GitHub repository URL to your clipboard.
2. Click the Mino menu bar icon. A Quick Add button will instantly appear at the top.
3. Click it. You're done.

Multi-Hunt Way (Batch Processing): Click the (+) button in the menu to open the floating Window.

• Don't close the window! Keep it hovering on your screen.
• Go to your browser, copy a URL (CMD+C). Watch Mino automatically catch the link. Click the Add button.
• The window remains open and the text field clears. Cycle through your browser tabs, copying and adding rapidly.

Standard Manual Input:

• Enter owner/repo format (e.g., microsoft/vscode).
• Toggle the segment to Homebrew to select from your installed Casks.

Menu Interface

Each repository displays its name, latest version, and time since release. Hover over a row to reveal action buttons aligned to the right:

Button	Action
📦	Install/update via Homebrew (if available)
📄	View release notes
↗	Open releases page on GitHub
🗑	Remove from watch list

Click the row itself to open the repository's main GitHub page.

Repos with a recent release show a ● freshness indicator (green / orange / grey) before the name when the New Release Indicator option is enabled in Preferences. The threshold (1–30 days) is configurable.

Right-click any row to toggle a ★ favorite mark.

Filtering

Simply start typing in the Integrated Search field at the top of the menu to filter your repository list in real-time. It features an intelligent Tag Cloud that suggests languages and topics from your collection for instant filtering without typing.

Preferences

Accessible via the Preferences menu item:

Option	Description
GitHub Account	Connect via OAuth for 5,000 req/hr limit (vs 60/hr unauthenticated)
Menu layout	Segmented control: Choose between 3 distinct UI arrangements (Columns, Cards, Tags)
Text Size	Segmented control: Choose your preferred reading comfort (10pt to 16pt)
Sort by	Segmented control: Date or Name
New Release Indicator	Toggle the ● freshness dot (Columns/Cards) or dynamic pill color (Tags) and configure threshold (1-30 days)
Show Owner Name	Toggle owner/ prefix in repo names
Refresh Interval	Slider: 1-24 hours between auto-checks
Start at Login	Toggle macOS LaunchAgent

System Permissions

Mino requires certain macOS permissions to function seamlessly:

• Background Activity (Login Items): Required to allow the app to run persistently in the menu bar and start automatically when you log into your Mac.
• App Management (Privacy & Security): Required because Mino executes background scripts (brew reinstall) that modify or install other applications inside your /Applications folder. macOS enforces this protection to prevent silent app tampering.

Security

Your GitHub authentication token is stored securely in macOS Keychain:

• Encrypted, never saved in raw config files
• Visible in Keychain Access under "Mino"
• Uses GitHub's official Device Authorization Flow (OAuth)

Configuration

Configuration is stored in:

~/.config/Mino/repos.json

Note: Tokens are NOT stored in this file — they're in Keychain.

Architecture

SwiftApp/
├── build.sh                    # One-step build script (no Xcode required)
└── Sources/
    ├── main.swift                      # App entry point
    ├── AppDelegate.swift               # Menu bar, lifecycle, NSMenuDelegate
    ├── RepoMenuItemView.swift          # Custom inline menu item with hover actions
    ├── SettingsWindowController.swift  # Preferences window
    ├── ConfigManager.swift             # JSON config + Keychain management
    ├── GitHubAPI.swift                 # GitHub REST API client
    ├── GitHubAuth.swift                # GitHub Device Flow OAuth handling
    ├── HomebrewManager.swift           # Homebrew Cask detection and installation
    ├── HUDPanel.swift                  # Floating notification panel
    ├── UIHandlers.swift                # Dialogs and alert helpers
    ├── Models.swift                    # Data structures (RepoInfo, AppConfig)
    ├── Constants.swift                 # App-wide constants
    ├── Translations.swift              # i18n (en, es, fr, de, it, pt, zh, hi, ar, ru, ja)
    └── Utils.swift                     # Date formatting utilities

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License — see the LICENSE file for details.

Credits

Built with pure Swift and AppKit. No external dependencies.