btop for macOS

btop, running as a real native macOS app.

A thin AppKit wrapper that embeds a terminal (SwiftTerm) and runs btop inside it. Unlike launching btop in iTerm or Terminal, it is its own application — so the menu bar, Dock, and ⌘-Tab all read "btop", with its own icon and window.

Features

• Its own app identity — dedicated icon, Dock entry, and menu bar (no more "iTerm2").
• Native window — resizable; the terminal reflows as you drag.
• Familiar shortcuts — ⌘Q quits, ⌘W closes; relaunching refocuses the window.
• Tiny & self-contained — a single lightweight app around your existing btop.

Requirements

• macOS 13 (Ventura) or later, on Apple Silicon

• btop, installed via Homebrew:

  brew install btop

Install

Download the latest .dmg from the Releases page, open it, and drag btop into Applications. Launch it from Spotlight, Alfred, or the Dock.

First launch: right-click btop → Open once. The app is open-source but not notarized, so macOS asks for confirmation the first time.

Build from source

git clone https://github.com/stavfx/btop-mac.git
cd btop-mac
./build.sh     # compiles dist/btop.app (Xcode Swift toolchain + SwiftTerm)
./install.sh   # installs to ~/Applications and registers with Launch Services

The icon is generated by icon/make-icon.swift; run ./icon/make-icon.sh to rebuild icon/btop.icns after changing the design.