Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting

Log: ~/Library/Logs/SmartHiddenBar.log (Settings → About → Reveal log). Hide decisions and errors are logged, no personal data.

The SmartHiddenBar icon is hidden or missing

• Not running from /Applications. The allow-list can't match another copy and hides its icon. The app shows "Move SmartHiddenBar to /Applications and open it from there." and quits. Move it to /Applications and open that copy. Quit any other copy first.
• No room on the bar. macOS keeps items off the bar when it is full or behind the notch. Quit or hide other apps' items, or reduce the number of items.
• Accessibility not granted. Without it the icon still appears, but nothing is read or hidden. See below.

If the app's own icon gets parked, it releases the allow-list on its own and logs own item … released.

It stopped working after an update

Accessibility was dropped (releases before 1.3.2 were ad-hoc signed, so the signature changed on every update). Toggle SmartHiddenBar off and on in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility, or:

tccutil reset Accessibility com.roypadina.SmartHiddenBar

Then grant it again. See Permissions.

Nothing hides on first run

Nothing is left of the icon yet. ⌘-drag the SmartHiddenBar icon to the right of the items you want hidden. Everything left of it hides on the next refresh.

Items I expect are not hidden

• Hiding is per app: if any of an app's items is right of the icon, the whole app stays visible.
• Apple's own items (Control Center, Wi-Fi, clock) can't be hidden.
• Only items left of the icon hide.

A menu bar app never shows

macOS keeps it off the bar: System Settings → Menu Bar → Allow in the Menu Bar is off for that app. It stays hidden even with SmartHiddenBar quit, and the log says <app> kept off the bar by macOS. Turn it on there and relaunch the app. Its menu is still reachable from the icon bar and the Apps menu meanwhile.

The app must also be in /Applications: macOS matches the allow-list only for apps installed there.

Real icons don't show

Screen Recording isn't granted (Settings shows "Screen Recording isn't granted, so app icons are shown") or macOS's monthly re-ask was declined. See Permissions.

Conflicts with Hidden Bar, Ice, Thaw and similar

Other menu bar managers move or hide the same items, and Hidden Bar uses the same private allow-list. Two apps holding it fight each other. Quit them while SmartHiddenBar runs, and remove them from Login Items.

"Hiding isn't available on this macOS"

The private MenuBarClientCore API is missing or changed, typically after a macOS update. Everything stays visible and the right-click menu still reaches every item. Details are in the log (hide: MenuBarClientCore API missing). Check for a newer release; this needs a code change. The macOS 27 point releases are the likely trigger.

A hidden item's menu is stale or does nothing

The mirror is a snapshot and the pick is replayed only if the row title still matches. If a menu changes while open, reopen it. Apps that build their menu lazily are pressed open briefly (a short flash of the real menu).

Icon bar says "No hidden items"

Nothing is currently off the bar, or the inventory hasn't refreshed yet (it needs Accessibility and refreshes every 5 seconds).

Reset everything

tccutil reset Accessibility com.roypadina.SmartHiddenBar
tccutil reset ScreenCapture com.roypadina.SmartHiddenBar
defaults delete com.roypadina.SmartHiddenBar

Then relaunch from /Applications.