A macOS menu bar app for toggling the Apple Metal performance HUD system wide. Avoids having to execute commands via the Terminal.
When you want to see the performance HUD, just enable using MetalHUDHelper and restart the game or application.
The app eliminates the need to execute these commands from the terminal:
defaults write -g MetalForceHudEnabled -bool YES to enable and defaults write -g MetalForceHudEnabled -bool NO to disable.
MetalHUDHelper reads and writes the MetalForceHudEnabled preference in the global domain (~/Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences.plist) through CFPreferences directly, rather than shelling out to defaults. This is a user-owned preference, so toggling never requires administrator privileges.
Reads go through the same preference resolution Metal itself performs. macOS can hold this key in two host scopes, and a per-host value silently takes precedence over the global one, so the app clears any per-host value when you toggle — keeping the global domain authoritative.
Discover the Metal Performance HUD WWDC Talk
- One-click toggle enabling/disabling the Metal performance HUD system wide
- Status persists after reboot
- App can start on login by enabling "Start at Login" via settings
Note: after toggling, you need quit and relaunch the target application(s) for the changes to take effect
If the HUD still does not appear after relaunching, check for a stale per-host value, which overrides the global setting:
# should report that the domain/default pair does not exist
defaults -currentHost read -g MetalForceHudEnabled
# clears it if it is set
defaults -currentHost delete -g MetalForceHudEnabledToggling in MetalHUDHelper clears this for you, so you should only need this if the HUD was set up by other means.
macOS 15.0 or later
You can install MetalHUDHelper using either of the following options:
- Download the latest
.dmgfrom the Releases page - Drag MetalHUDHelper to your
Applicationsfolder
brew tap oliwonders/tap
brew install --cask metalhudhelperThen launch MetalHUDHelper from your Applications folder.
After installing, click the menu bar icon and toggle the Metal Performance HUD on or off. Restart any game or application to see the HUD take effect.
Report issues at GitHub Issues page or email support.
Enjoy!
Created by oli/wonders