Proposal
Keep the menu bar quiet while the Mac is thermally Good, and only surface a compact monochrome temperature next to the template fan.fill icon when status is Warm or Hot.
This avoids colored status-item icons (HIG prefers template / wallpaper-adaptive chrome) while still making elevated heat glanceable.
Behavior
| State |
Peak temp |
Menu bar |
| Good |
< 75°C |
Fan icon only |
| Warm |
≥ 75°C |
Fan + 78° (integer, respects °C/°F setting) |
| Hot |
≥ 90°C |
Fan + temp |
Thresholds match the existing popover “System Temp: Good / Warm / Hot” header.
Settings
Display → Show Temp in Menu Bar (default on)
Subtitle: Only when Warm or Hot — stays quiet when Good
Why not color?
Apple HIG and AppKit practice favor template menu bar icons. Semantic green/orange/red in the bar fights wallpaper-adaptive tinting and contentTintColor on NSStatusBarButton is unreliable. Shape + optional digits is the calmer Jobsian path.
Implementation sketch
- Shared
ThermalStatus (Good/Warm/Hot) used by popover + status item
NSStatusItem: template fan.fill; set button.title only when Warm/Hot- Update only when the displayed string / mode changes (no per-poll flicker)
Happy to send a focused PR.
Proposal
Keep the menu bar quiet while the Mac is thermally Good, and only surface a compact monochrome temperature next to the template
fan.fillicon when status is Warm or Hot.This avoids colored status-item icons (HIG prefers template / wallpaper-adaptive chrome) while still making elevated heat glanceable.
Behavior
78°(integer, respects °C/°F setting)Thresholds match the existing popover “System Temp: Good / Warm / Hot” header.
Settings
Display → Show Temp in Menu Bar (default on)
Subtitle: Only when Warm or Hot — stays quiet when Good
Why not color?
Apple HIG and AppKit practice favor template menu bar icons. Semantic green/orange/red in the bar fights wallpaper-adaptive tinting and
contentTintColoronNSStatusBarButtonis unreliable. Shape + optional digits is the calmer Jobsian path.Implementation sketch
ThermalStatus(Good/Warm/Hot) used by popover + status itemNSStatusItem: templatefan.fill; setbutton.titleonly when Warm/HotHappy to send a focused PR.