GitHub state changes many times an hour, and every common way of watching it either interrupts you or costs a context switch. The menu bar is the one surface that is always visible and never in the way. That's the whole bet behind gbar.
What people use instead
| Approach | Good at | Falls short |
|---|---|---|
| Pinned browser tab | Full GitHub UI | You check it, it doesn't tell you; every look is a context switch |
| E-mail notifications | Durable record | Minutes late, no CI state, drowns in list noise |
| PR menu bar apps | Same always-visible surface | PR-only viewers: no issues, inbox, quick actions or saved searches |
| gbar | One glance: PRs, per-check CI, issues, inbox, actions | Not a full client; deep work still happens on github.com |
gbar is openly inspired by PullBar; the difference is scope. PullBar is a PR viewer, while gbar is a general GitHub bar: mentioned PRs, issues, per-check CI, quick actions (approve, merge, mark read), desktop notifications, a starred-repo signal, a watchlist that feeds Actions and Releases tabs, arbitrary saved queries, and multiple accounts including GitHub Enterprise.
Principles
- Glanceable. What needs you (PRs awaiting review, failing CI, new review requests) reads straight from the menu bar badge, no window required. The menu shows state; one click lands you on the exact page.
- Yours to run. OAuth device flow or a personal access token, tokens in the Keychain, no backend between you and the GitHub API. Set it up in a couple of minutes.
- Source-available. The entire app is on GitHub under PolyForm Shield: read what touches your token, modify it, redistribute it. The one thing the license forbids is reselling it as a competing product.
The best status surface is the one you never have to open.
Convinced? Getting started takes about a minute.