New releases, features and background on channelBar for Mac, iPhone, Apple TV and Apple Vision Pro – straight from its developer.
Want to jump straight to the right chapter, or read along while you listen? On Apple TV, you open an episode right in the mosaic, start it at any chapter or any line of the transcript, choose the speed and shorten long pauses with TRIM. The player bar keeps controlling the episode while you read. The video shows you how in under two minutes.
Want your server to tell you when the backup is done? With the channelbar command-line tool, a Linux server sends its messages through channelBar Cloud straight to your menu bar, and no port has to be open on your Mac. One line at the end of your script is enough. The video shows you how in three minutes.
Is the kitchen window open, is a light still on? A static channel brings the current values from Home Assistant or an MQTT broker live into the menu bar, and with switches and sliders in its menu, you control your home right from there. Icons and pipelines turn it into exactly the display you want. The video shows you how in under five and a half minutes.
A web address, a YouTube name or a search word is all it takes: on Apple TV, you add new feeds right from the plus in the mosaic, no iPhone or Mac needed. In Settings, you manage your channels and feeds and choose how often channelBar checks for new entries. The video shows you how in just over two minutes.
Your server reports a finished backup, a script a new version? Your own scripts and programs can send channelBar messages through the command-line tool or a webhook, and the newest one shows up in the menu bar right away. The video shows you how in just over two minutes.
Where do the messages come from, how long do they stay, and what shows up in the menu bar? In channelBar, you set this for each channel on its own: feeds and polling interval, retention and filters, symbol, number color and the layout in the menu. The video shows you how in just under three minutes.
One channel, all news, only what’s unread or your own mix of feeds from several channels: in the mosaic, you decide what each column shows and can give it a name. In Settings, you set how many columns there are and how much each row shows. The video shows you how in under two minutes.
Want to read along while you listen, or find the moment they talked about deep sleep? On your Mac, channelBar’s podcast player shows chapters and transcript side by side, searches the transcript and shortens long pauses with TRIM. The menu bar controls the episode too, even with the player closed. The video shows you how in just over two minutes.
You remember a message, but not where you saw it? Search in channelBar finds it again across all your channels – in the message, the link, the context and even in your podcast transcripts. A click on an episode opens the player with the match already highlighted in the transcript. The video shows you how in just over a minute and a half.
What’s new, and what have you already read? In the channelBar TV mosaic, the newest items sit at the top, a purple dot marks what’s unread, and one click opens an item big, with a QR code so you can keep reading on your iPhone. The video shows you how in just over a minute.
All your news at a glance instead of menu by menu? The Stream brings the messages from your channels into one window, newest on top. You check off what you’ve read, snap the window to the screen edge and read articles in the built-in browser right next to it. The video shows you how in two and a half minutes.
Up in the menu bar, every channel has its own icon, and the red number shows how much is new. One click opens its feeds with all their headlines, a right-click marks a message as read without closing the menu, and anything that can wait goes to “Consume Later”. The video shows you how in under two minutes.
Want to pair your Apple TV with your Mac or iPhone, or use it on its own without an account? Both work. On its own, channelBar TV suggests feeds for your topics, creates one channel each for news, podcasts and videos, and shows them as a mosaic. The video shows you how in about a minute and a quarter.
Just installed? The guided setup suggests news, podcasts and videos for your topics and creates one channel for each type, each with its own icon in the menu bar. Then you decide whether to read just in the menu bar or also in the Stream at the edge of your screen. The video shows you how in just under a minute and a half.
News, podcasts, videos – or by topic instead? How you organize your channels depends on what a channel controls: what you mark as read in one go, what gets its own place on Mac and Apple TV, and what syncs with your other devices. The video shows you what matters in under two minutes.
Many buttons in channelBar can do more than you see. Press and hold, and you jump to the next channel, hide the unread count or step through the maximum height. Messages, the player bar and the player have gestures like these too. The video shows you all of them in about two minutes.
Want to hear just one chapter, or find the moment they talked about deep sleep? The podcast player in channelBar jumps to the right chapter with a tap, lets the transcript follow along and searches it. TRIM shortens long pauses, and the sleep timer stops the episode when you drift off. The video shows you how in under two minutes.
Found something interesting, but no time right now? Swipe the message to the right, and it goes to “Consume Later”. If your devices are paired, you’ll find it on your Mac, Apple TV and Vision Pro too. If you like, channelBar downloads saved podcast episodes to your iPhone, so they play without a connection. The video shows you how in just over a minute.
New stuff comes in every day. With the filter, you only see what’s unread and read your way up from the oldest message. A tap on the check mark or a swipe to the left marks a message as read, and the arrow brings it back if you were too fast. The video shows you how in just over a minute.
Your app is still empty? The guided setup suggests feeds for your languages and topics. Later, the plus in a channel adds more – by web address, YouTube handle or search term. And if you’re coming from another app, an OPML file brings your subscriptions along. The video shows you all three ways.
Looking for a message you read the other day, or a moment in a podcast? Search in channelBar Feeds finds it again – in the message, the link, the context and even in your podcast transcripts. The video shows you how in one minute.
With version 1.5.2, channelBar runs on four platforms: Mac, iPhone, Apple TV and Apple Vision Pro. And starting today, our news reaches you the way it should – as a feed. Here you’ll find out what’s new and regularly get short videos with tips.