# A Mac menu bar app for AI coding agents: what to look for

> A checklist for choosing a Mac app that watches AI coding agents: coverage, answering, privacy, battery, undo and price, with Herdbell measured honestly.

Canonical: https://herdbell.com/blog/mac-menu-bar-app-for-ai-coding-agents
Last updated: 2026-10-27

More developers now run Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or Antigravity side by side, and a small set of tools has appeared to watch them. Whatever you choose, these are the questions worth asking. Below, each one is answered for Herdbell, including where it falls short.

## The checklist

| Question to ask | Herdbell |
|---|---|
| Does it cover every agent I use? | Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and Antigravity |
| Can it answer, or only notify? | Allow or deny and reply for Claude Code, Codex and Cursor; for Antigravity it shows requests and replies, and you approve in Antigravity |
| Is it private? | Everything stays on your Mac. No account, and it never calls an AI model |
| Is it light? | A native Mac app, about 1% of a CPU core when idle in our testing |
| Can I undo it? | It backs up each agent's settings first, and disconnecting removes only its own hooks |
| Is it keyboard-first? | A shortcut opens it at your cursor; Return allows, D denies |
| What does it cost? | One payment, lifetime updates, 7-day money-back guarantee |

## Where Herdbell has limits

- It needs macOS 14 Sonoma or later.
- Antigravity approvals happen in Antigravity, not in Herdbell.
- Cursor and Antigravity chats cannot be stopped from outside, so there is no Stop button for them.
- It can only answer what an agent asks it through its hooks.

## Related ideas

Whatever tool you pick, the safest setup keeps permission prompts on and makes answering them fast. See the [safety checklist](https://herdbell.com/blog/ai-coding-agent-safety-checklist).

## Common questions

### Is Herdbell an AI assistant?
No. It does not write code or call an AI model. It watches your agents and lets you answer them from anywhere.

### Does it work on Windows or Linux?
No. Herdbell is a Mac app and needs macOS 14 Sonoma or later.

## Related
- [Herdbell: pricing](https://herdbell.com/#pricing)
- [All posts](https://herdbell.com/blog)
- [What is Herdbell?](https://herdbell.com/blog/what-is-herdbell)
- [Claude Code vs Codex vs Cursor: how to monitor all of them in one place](https://herdbell.com/blog/claude-code-vs-codex-vs-cursor)