Documentation

Docs & FAQ

Everything you need to set up Daybar, connect your calendars, and get the most out of every feature.

Contents

1. Getting Started 2. Connecting Calendars 3. Calendar View 4. Tasks & Reminders 5. World Clock
6. Menu Bar Customization 7. Themes & Appearance 8. Focus Timer (Pomodoro) 9. Daybar Pro 10. FAQ & Troubleshooting

1 Getting Started

Installation

  1. Download the latest .dmg file from daybar.app.
  2. Open the .dmg and drag Daybar into your Applications folder.
  3. Launch Daybar from Applications. macOS may ask you to confirm since the app is downloaded from the internet — click Open.
  4. Daybar appears as an icon in your menu bar. Click it to open the popup.
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Tip: If your Mac has a notch, the menu bar icon may be hidden behind it. You can drag other menu bar icons to make room, or use a tool like Bartender to manage menu bar space.

Launch at Login

To have Daybar start automatically when you log in, open Settings → General and enable Launch at Login.

2 Connecting Calendars

Daybar connects directly to your calendar providers from your Mac. No data is routed through Daybar servers. See our Privacy Policy for details.

Google Calendar Pro

  1. Open Settings → Accounts.
  2. Click Connect Google Calendar.
  3. Sign in with your Google account and grant Daybar access.
  4. Your events appear immediately in the calendar and timeline.

Pro users can connect multiple Google accounts by clicking Add another account. Each account is shown with its own color indicator.

Microsoft / Outlook Pro

  1. Open Settings → Accounts.
  2. Click Connect Microsoft / Outlook.
  3. Sign in with your Microsoft account (personal, work, or school).

Daybar uses the secure PKCE OAuth flow — no client secret is stored on your device.

Apple Calendar & Reminders Pro

  1. Open Settings → Accounts.
  2. Click Enable Apple Calendar & Reminders.
  3. macOS will prompt you to grant calendar access — click Allow.

Apple Calendar data never leaves your device. Daybar reads events and reminders via macOS native APIs (EventKit).

Revoking Access

To disconnect a calendar account, go to Settings → Accounts and click Remove next to the account. You can also revoke access directly from your Google or Microsoft account security settings.

3 Calendar View

The main popup shows a month calendar at the top with your events listed below in a unified timeline.

Month & Week Views

Switch between month and week views using the view toggle in the calendar header.

Event Dots

Days with events show colored dots. Toggle this in Settings → Calendar → Show event dots.

Highlight Days

Accent specific days of the week (e.g. weekends). Configurable in Settings → Calendar.

Week Numbers

Show ISO week numbers in the left column. Enable in Settings → Calendar → Show week numbers.

Navigation

Unified Timeline

All events and tasks for the selected day appear in a single chronological list. Each entry shows the time, title, calendar source, and — if enabled — location. Timed events show the start time; all-day events and tasks appear at the top.

4 Tasks & Reminders

Quick-Add Tasks Free

Click the + button in the timeline header to add a local task. Type a title and press Enter. Tasks are saved locally on your device.

Natural Language Input Pro

Daybar understands natural language dates and times. Try typing:

Daybar parses the date/time automatically and creates the event at the right time.

Apple Reminders Pro

When Apple Calendar is connected, your Reminders also appear in the unified timeline. They show as checkable items with a "Reminder" label.

Event Write-Back Pro

Quick-added events can be synced back to your Google Calendar. When write-back is enabled, locally created events are pushed to your connected Google account.

5 World Clock

The world clock panel shows the current time in multiple cities at a glance. Enable or disable it in Settings → General → World Clock.

Adding & Removing Cities Pro

Click the globe icon in the bottom toolbar to open the world clock panel. Pro users can customize which cities are displayed from a list of 30+ timezones spanning all major regions.

Time Scrubber Free

Drag the time scrubber slider to preview what time it will be in all your cities at a future (or past) hour. This is useful for scheduling meetings across time zones.

6 Menu Bar Customization

Customize what Daybar shows in your macOS menu bar via Settings → Menu Bar. A live preview updates as you change settings.

Icon Style

Choose between three icon styles:

You can also hide the icon entirely.

Date & Time

Optionally display the current date, day of week, and/or time next to the icon. Date format options: short (Mar 22), medium (3/22), or full (March 22). The time display follows the 24-hour setting in General.

Meeting Countdown Pro

When enabled, the menu bar text is replaced with a countdown to your next meeting (e.g. "Standup in 12m") when an event is upcoming. This helps you never miss a meeting.

Fallback Text

If you've hidden both the icon and date/time, you can set a short custom fallback string (up to 10 characters) to display instead.

7 Themes & Appearance

Daybar ships with 4 built-in themes and 6 Pro themes. Switch themes in Settings → Appearance.

Built-in Themes

Pro Themes Pro

Custom Accent Color Pro

Pro users can override the default accent color with a preset from the accent color picker. Click any color swatch to apply it across the entire UI. Click Reset to revert to the theme default.

8 Focus Timer (Pomodoro) Pro

Daybar includes a built-in Pomodoro focus timer to help you stay productive.

How It Works

The timer runs in your menu bar and shows remaining time. Click the timer icon in the bottom toolbar to open the Pomodoro panel.

Linking Tasks

You can start a Pomodoro session directly from a task in your timeline by clicking the Focus button. This links the timer to that specific task so you can track what you're working on.

Caffeinate (Keep Awake) Free

Prevent your Mac from sleeping while you're focused. Click the coffee cup icon in the toolbar to enable caffeinate for 15 min, 30 min, 1 hr, 2 hrs, or 4 hrs. This uses the built-in macOS caffeinate command.

9 Daybar Pro

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One-time purchase, $14.99. No subscription. All future updates included. Buy once, use forever.

What's Included

Multi-Account Sync

Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, and Apple Calendar & Reminders.

6 Pro Themes + Accent Picker

Midnight Dark, Nord, Dracula, Rosé Pine, Solarized, Tokyo Night.

Meeting Countdown

See your next meeting countdown right in the menu bar.

Focus Timer

Built-in Pomodoro timer linked to your tasks.

Smart Alerts

Hard meeting alerts (30s flash warning) and daily agenda notifications.

Natural Language Input

Create events by typing "Lunch tomorrow at noon".

Activating a License

  1. Purchase Daybar Pro from the checkout page.
  2. You'll receive a license key via email in the format DBP-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX.
  3. Open Settings → Pro, paste your key, and click Activate.
  4. All Pro features unlock immediately.

Deactivating / Transferring

To move your license to another Mac, go to Settings → Pro and click Deactivate on your current device. Then activate on the new device with the same key.

10 FAQ & Troubleshooting

The menu bar icon is not visible / hidden behind the notch

On MacBooks with a notch, macOS may hide third-party menu bar icons if the bar is full. Try these fixes:

  • Quit other menu bar apps to free space.
  • Use a menu bar management tool like Bartender, Hidden Bar, or Ice.
  • In Settings → Menu Bar, switch to the minimal Dot icon style or hide the icon and use a short fallback text instead.
Google Calendar events are not showing up

Check the following:

  • Ensure the account is connected in Settings → Accounts (look for the green dot).
  • Wait a few seconds after connecting — the initial sync may take a moment.
  • Check that you granted Daybar permission to read your calendar during the Google OAuth flow.
  • Try removing the account and reconnecting.

If the issue persists, revoke Daybar's access at myaccount.google.com/permissions and reconnect.

macOS says "Daybar can't be opened because it is from an unidentified developer"

Right-click (or Control-click) the app in Finder and select Open. macOS will show a dialog with an Open button. You only need to do this once.

Alternatively, go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down, and click Open Anyway next to the Daybar message.

How do I switch to 24-hour time?

Open Settings → General and enable 24-hour time. This affects the timeline, world clock, and menu bar time display.

Can I use Daybar on multiple Macs?

Your license key can be activated on one Mac at a time. To move it, deactivate on your current device (Settings → Pro → Deactivate), then activate on the new one. If you need multi-device support, contact support@daybar.app.

Does Daybar collect my calendar data?

No. Daybar communicates directly from your Mac to Google, Microsoft, or Apple servers. We never see your events, tasks, or contacts. OAuth tokens are encrypted in macOS Keychain. See our full Privacy Policy.

How do I reset Daybar to default settings?

Daybar stores all settings in localStorage. To reset everything:

  1. Quit Daybar.
  2. Open Terminal and run:
    defaults delete app.daybar.daybar
  3. Relaunch Daybar.

This clears all preferences, theme selections, and local tasks. Calendar connections (stored in Keychain) are preserved.

The popup doesn't appear when I click the menu bar icon

This can happen if the popup window lost focus. Try clicking the icon twice (once to dismiss any hidden window, once to reopen). If the issue persists, quit and relaunch Daybar.

My license key says "invalid" but I just purchased it

Double-check that you're entering the key exactly as received (format: DBP-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX). The key is case-insensitive but must include the dashes. If your key was copy-pasted from an email, make sure no extra spaces were included. Contact support@daybar.app with your order ID if the issue continues.

Can I use Daybar without a Pro license?

Yes. The free version includes the calendar view, unified timeline, quick-add tasks, world clock with time scrubber, and caffeinate (keep-awake). Pro unlocks calendar integrations, themes, Pomodoro, alerts, and more.

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Still need help? Email us at support@daybar.app. We typically respond within 24 hours on business days. Include your app version and a description of the issue for the fastest help.