The short answer. One Switch and OnlySwitch are the general-purpose switchboards: dark mode, the notch, Bluetooth, AirPods, Shortcuts and a dozen other toggles in one menu. MacTools is the open-source equivalent with a plugin model. Itsyhome and Itsytv push the same idea outward to HomeKit, Home Assistant and an Apple TV, and Hue in the Menu does it for Philips Hue lights. Sharptooth is the Bluetooth-specific tool with hotkeys and automation, Luminescent brings back keyboard backlight shortcuts, and FnKeyboard exposes the function keys. The dividing question is how many switches you actually flip in a day, because a switchboard with thirty toggles is slower than the three-key shortcut you would have learned instead.

This guide covers 9 menu bar system toggles for macOS. Every fact below is drawn from the same verified records that back each app’s own page. The recommendations are our editorial judgment, not payment.

Quick comparison

App What it is Pricing Licence Version
FnKeyboard Mac utility Open source MIT 1.1.0
Hue in the Menu system tool Free not published 1.5.1
Itsyhome system tool Open source MIT 1.3.0
Itsytv system tool Open source not published 1.6.1
Luminescent Mac utility not published not published —
MacTools system tool Open source GPL-3.0 2.0.0
One Switch system tool not published not published 1.35.4
OnlySwitch system tool Open source MIT 2.8.1
Sharptooth system tool Free not published —

What actually decides this

  • How many of the toggles you will use. A switchboard earns its menu bar space at roughly four or more daily toggles. Below that, the system shortcut or a keyboard binding is faster, and the app is a launcher for things you could already reach.
  • Whether it covers devices or only settings. Dark mode is a local setting. A light, a television and a thermostat are devices with their own state, which can be stale. A toggle that lies about the state of a device is worse than no toggle.
  • What happens when a device is offline. The failure mode of a smart-home toggle is a spinner and then nothing. A tool that reports the failure is usable; one that flips the icon optimistically is not.
  • Whether the plugin model is real. An extensible menu bar toolkit is only as good as the plugins someone maintains. The record naming a plugin model is a claim about architecture, not about coverage.
  • What it costs in the menu bar. Every one of these lives in the same scarce strip of screen. A switchboard that needs its own icon and a submenu has already spent the space it was supposed to save.

Our picks

  • One Switch — Its record describes adding various switches to the menu bar, which is the general switchboard case. Choose it when you flip several unrelated system settings every day.
  • OnlySwitch — Its record describes an all-in-one menu bar app covering the notch, dark mode, AirPods and Shortcuts, which is the open switchboard case. Choose it when you want the open-source switchboard including the notch toggle.
  • MacTools — Its record describes an open-source menu bar toolkit with plugins for display controls, system toggles and device status, which is the extensible case. Choose it when you want a toolkit you can extend with plugins.
  • Itsyhome — Its record describes controlling HomeKit and Home Assistant from the menu bar, which is the home-automation case. Choose it when the switches are smart-home devices rather than Mac settings.
  • Sharptooth — Its record describes managing Bluetooth devices with hotkeys and automation, which is the single-protocol case. Choose it when Bluetooth is the only thing you need to manage.
  • Hue in the Menu — Its record describes Philips Hue management in the menu bar with multi-room support, which is the single-vendor case. Choose it when the lights are Philips Hue and nothing else.

The apps

FnKeyboard

FnKeyboard is a Mac utility for macOS. Quick access to function keys from the menu bar. It is released under MIT.

What it does. Menu-bar only — lives in the status bar with a keyboard icon, no Dock clutter. Beautiful popover — all 12 function keys grouped like a real Mac keyboard. SF Symbols — each key shows the matching system icon and label. Animations — hover highlight and spring-press feedback.

FnKeyboard is listed with current version 1.1.0.

Full profile and verified facts for FnKeyboard →

Hue in the Menu

Hue in the Menu is a system tool for macOS. Philips Hue light management in the menu bar with multi-room support. It is free.

Hue in the Menu is listed with current version 1.5.1.

Full profile and verified facts for Hue in the Menu →

Itsyhome

Itsyhome is a system tool for macOS. Control your HomeKit and Home Assistant smart home from the menu bar. It is released under MIT.

What it does. Control your HomeKit and Home Assistant smart home from iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple TV. Cameras, lights, thermostats, locks, fans, blinds, and more – always one tap away. Universal purchase.

Itsyhome is listed with current version 1.3.0.

Full profile and verified facts for Itsyhome →

Itsytv

Itsytv is a system tool for macOS. Control your Apple TV from the menu bar. It is open source.

Itsytv is listed with current version 1.6.1.

Full profile and verified facts for Itsytv →

Luminescent

Luminescent is a Mac utility for macOS. Bring back Keyboard Backlight Shortcuts for the MacBook. Its pricing is not published.

Full profile and verified facts for Luminescent →

MacTools

MacTools is a system tool for macOS. Open-source menu bar toolkit with plugins for display controls, system toggles, cleanup, device status, and everyday utilities. It is released under GPL-3.0.

What it does. A free and open-source collection of native macOS menu bar tools. - mactools-app/MacTools.

MacTools is listed with current version 2.0.0.

Full profile and verified facts for MacTools →

One Switch

One Switch is a system tool for macOS. Mac menu bar app that adds various switches to the Mac’s menu bar. Its pricing is not published.

One Switch is listed with current version 1.35.4.

Full profile and verified facts for One Switch →

OnlySwitch

OnlySwitch is a system tool for macOS. ⚙️ All-in-One menu bar app, hide 💻MacBook Pro’s notch, dark mode, AirPods, Shortcuts. It is released under MIT.

What it does. All-in-One menu bar app, hide 💻MacBook Pro’s notch, dark mode, AirPods, Shortcuts.

OnlySwitch is listed with current version 2.8.1.

Full profile and verified facts for OnlySwitch →

Sharptooth

Sharptooth is a system tool for macOS. Menu bar tool for managing Bluetooth devices with hotkeys and automation. It is free.

Full profile and verified facts for Sharptooth →

How to choose

Open source: FnKeyboard, Itsyhome, Itsytv, MacTools and OnlySwitch (5 of 9).

Common mistakes

  • Installing a switchboard for one toggle. The keyboard shortcut was already there.
  • Trusting a device toggle that shows the state it last sent rather than the state the device reported.
  • Adding a second menu bar manager on top of the one already hiding icons, and losing track of both.
  • Turning on a notch-hiding toggle and then wondering why a menu bar item disappeared behind the camera housing.

How this guide was put together

Each app’s facts come from its own record: the developer’s own pages and repository, the App Store listing where one exists, and the documentation, each with a source grade and an access date. Where a fact rests on the developer’s own statement rather than on something we verified independently, the sentence says so. Where our data has no value for something, the guide says “not published” instead of guessing.

A price appears here only where the record carries one from a stated source; the guide never estimates one, and it records the pricing model alongside so the two can be read together. Prices change and vary by region, so each app links to its own page for the current detail.

The facts and the recommendations are kept apart on purpose. Everything in the app entries, the comparison table and the answers above is composed from the records. The short answer, the criteria and the picks are our editorial judgment: they reflect what we would choose and why, and they are not paid for. Where we make a recommendation we name the condition it applies under, because we do not call anything “the best” without explaining the criteria.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I choose between these menu bar system toggles?

There is no single answer — it depends on what you need. This guide covers 9 menu bar system toggles: FnKeyboard, Hue in the Menu, Itsyhome, Itsytv, Luminescent, MacTools, One Switch, OnlySwitch and Sharptooth. They differ mainly in pricing model, licence and the trade-offs each one carries. Pick by the trade-off you care about rather than by rank.

Are these menu bar system toggles free?

Pricing across this group: open source (FnKeyboard, Itsyhome, Itsytv, MacTools and OnlySwitch), free (Hue in the Menu and Sharptooth) and not published (Luminescent and One Switch). Where we list pricing as not published, the developer does not state a model we could verify — check their own site before assuming anything about cost. We quote a price only where the record carries one from a stated source, and we never estimate one. Prices change and vary by region and by store, so always check the developer’s own page for the current figure.

Which of these menu bar system toggles are open source?

FnKeyboard (MIT), Itsyhome (MIT), Itsytv (not published), MacTools (GPL-3.0) and OnlySwitch (MIT) are open source.

Do these menu bar system toggles support Apple Silicon?

Our data does not carry an explicit Apple Silicon statement for any app in this group, so we do not claim one. The absence of a statement is not the same as the absence of support.

How do I choose between them?

Start with how you pay: the guide groups these apps by pricing model, because the budget is the constraint most people actually have. Then check the trade-offs listed for each app: the limitations are the part that decides most people’s choice, because they describe what the app will not do for you.