CommandBar

A global AI command bar for macOS. Hit ⌘⌥A anywhere — a full-width liquid-glass strip slides in, you type, and it either answers you inline or actually does things on your Mac.

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What it does

You type…	CommandBar does…
"What's the difference between async/await and GCD?"	Streams a concise answer inline, then auto-hides
"Open Figma"	Launches Figma immediately
"Move all PDFs from Downloads to Documents/Archive"	Shows a step-by-step plan, asks you to confirm, then runs it
"Start my coding environment"	Runs your saved workflow (open Xcode, Terminal, Spotify) in sequence
"Explain this error: EXC_BAD_ACCESS"	Gives you a short diagnosis right in the bar

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Core experience

• ⌘⌥A summons the bar from anywhere — no Dock icon, no switching apps
• Full-width liquid-glass overlay (NSVisualEffectView behind-window blur)
• Streaming AI answers via Ollama — text appears as it's generated
• Action planner — multi-step confirmation with live step progress
• Saved workflows — name any sequence and trigger it by phrase
• Keyboard-first — Tab, ⎋, ↵ handle everything; no mouse required
• 100% local — no API keys, no data leaves your machine

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Requirements

• macOS 14 Sonoma or later
• Xcode 15+
• Ollama running locally

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Setup

1. Install Ollama

Download from ollama.com and pull a model:

ollama pull llama3

Make sure Ollama is running — it listens on localhost:11434 by default.

2. Clone

git clone https://github.com/Abp0101/CommandBar.git
cd CommandBar

3. Build and run

swift build
.build/debug/CommandBar

Or open in Xcode:

open Package.swift

4. Grant permissions

On first launch, macOS will ask for Accessibility access (needed for the global hotkey). Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility and enable CommandBar.

Then press ⌘⌥A anywhere to summon the bar.

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Architecture

Sources/CommandBar/
├── CommandBarApp.swift              @main entry — Settings scene only (no Dock window)
├── AppDelegate.swift                Menu bar icon, hotkey wiring, window controller setup
├── HotkeyManager.swift              Global ⌘⌥A via Carbon RegisterEventHotKey
├── CommandBarWindowController.swift NSPanel subclass — full-width, above all windows
├── CommandBarView.swift             SwiftUI UI — state machine, text input, animations
├── ActionStep.swift                 Model for a single plan step + status enum
├── AIService.swift                  Ollama API client — intent classification + streaming answers
├── ActionExecutor.swift             NSWorkspace / NSAppleScript execution engine
├── WorkflowStore.swift              JSON-persisted reusable command sequences
├── SettingsView.swift               Preferences: General, Workflows
└── Resources/
    └── Info.plist                   LSUIElement=YES, Accessibility usage strings

State machine (CommandBarView)

idle ──[submit]──► thinking ──[is question]──► answering(text)
                          └──[is action]───► planning(steps) ──[confirm]──► executing(i, steps) ──► (auto-dismiss)

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Customising the hotkey

Open HotkeyManager.swift and change the key code and modifier mask:

// Key codes: kVK_ANSI_A = 0x00, kVK_ANSI_Space = 0x31, etc.
// Modifiers: cmdKey | optionKey | shiftKey | controlKey
RegisterEventHotKey(
    0x00,                           // ← change key code here
    UInt32(cmdKey | optionKey),     // ← change modifiers here
    hotKeyID, ...
)

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Adding new action handlers

Add a case to ActionExecutor.execute(step:):

} else if desc.contains("screenshot") {
    await takeScreenshot()
}

Then implement the handler using NSWorkspace, NSAppleScript, or a shell command via Process.

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Roadmap

• GUI hotkey picker in Preferences
• Context awareness — inject selected text automatically
• Frontmost app context (pass active app to AI for smarter answers)
• Command history with fuzzy search (↑ / ↓ to cycle)
• Plugin API for custom Swift action handlers
• Workflow recorder — "watch what I do" → save as workflow
• iCloud sync for workflows across Macs
• Inline image support (screenshots as context)

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Permissions summary

Permission	Why
Accessibility	Registering the global ⌘⌥A hotkey
Automation / Apple Events	Controlling apps via AppleScript
Network	Talking to local Ollama server

CommandBar never reads your screen, keystrokes, or files unless you explicitly ask it to perform an action involving them.

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Contributing

PRs welcome! Please open an issue first for large changes.

1. Fork → branch (feature/my-thing) → PR
2. Run swift build before opening a PR
3. Follow existing code style (no third-party dependencies unless essential)

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License

MIT © 2025 — see LICENSE