What's new
3.5.1
A small follow-up to 3.5. Adds a "Blur Stage Manager" toggle, fixes a Stage Manager fade glitch on left-aligned Dock setups, and opens up a much richer set of scripting commands for fine-grained Apple Shortcuts automation.
• New: "Blur Stage Manager" toggle in Settings — for users who'd rather keep Stage Manager dimmed along with the rest of the background
• Fixed: Stage Manager strip fade now works correctly when Stage Manager is on the right side of the screen (left-aligned Dock)
• New: Many more scripting commands — fine-grained control over blur, monochrome intensity, tint (presets and custom hex colors), grain, display mode, and app-wide focus, for use in Apple Shortcuts and other automation tools
3.5.1
A small follow-up to 3.5. Adds a "Blur Stage Manager" toggle, fixes a Stage Manager fade glitch on left-aligned Dock setups, and opens up a much richer set of scripting commands for fine-grained Apple Shortcuts automation.
• New: "Blur Stage Manager" toggle in Settings — for users who'd rather keep Stage Manager dimmed along with the rest of the background
• Fixed: Stage Manager strip fade now works correctly when Stage Manager is on the right side of the screen (left-aligned Dock)
• New: Many more scripting commands — fine-grained control over blur, monochrome intensity, tint (presets and custom hex colors), grain, display mode, and app-wide focus, for use in Apple Shortcuts and other automation tools
3.5
The major 3.5 update is built around what's been asked for the most. The multi-monitor blur bug is finally fixed, Stage Manager is detected and supported automatically, App Groups treat multiple apps as a single focus context, and blur-free mode keeps just tint, grain, and monochrome for those who prefer a classic dimming look. Plus a long list of polish and fixes throughout.
• New: App Groups - use two or more apps as one. Group related apps so they share focus
• New: Stage Manager support - Monocle now detects Stage Manager automatically and keeps your window strip visible alongside the focused app
• New: Multi-screen settings - pick between Per Screen and Global highlighting to control how Monocle behaves across displays
• New: Monocle now detects the macOS "Displays have separate Spaces" setting and adjusts its settings
• New: Corner Peek - flick the cursor to a screen corner for a quick peek under the overlay. Lives in a new Gestures tile
• New: Reveal effects - choose how overlays appear and disappear, with a new Cursor reveal alongside the classic Fade
• New: More scripting commands added in Settings, with more on the way
• New: Blur-free mode - turn blur off completely while keeping tint, grain, and monochrome, for those who prefer the look of classic dimming apps
• New: Each shake action (Toggle, Peek) can be disabled individually via a new "Off" option, without flipping the master shake toggle
• New: License can now be activated on multiple user profiles on the same Mac
• Improved: Rebuilt blur rendering for a leaner, more efficient pipeline
• Improved: Idle CPU usage
• Improved: Shake to peek now extends past its 2-second minimum as long as the modifier stays held
• Improved: Menu bar and dock auto-hide improvements and fixes
• Improved: Ignored Apps picker now supports multi-select (Cmd-click to add several at once)
• Improved: Many Settings visual tweaks and layout improvements throughout
• Improved: Interacting with other menu bar items now properly closes Monocle's settings
• Improved: Settings content fades softly at the top and bottom while you scroll
• Improved: Overlays rebuild cleanly when displays are docked, undocked, or hot-plugged
• Fixed: An annoying bug where multi-display setups often had only one monitor blurred
• Fixed: Sleep, wake, and screen lock no longer leave the app in a broken state
• Improved: Plenty of other bug fixes, improvements, and code cleanup under the hood
3.5
The major 3.5 update is built around what's been asked for the most. The multi-monitor blur bug is finally fixed, Stage Manager is detected and supported automatically, App Groups treat multiple apps as a single focus context, and blur-free mode keeps just tint, grain, and monochrome for those who prefer a classic dimming look. Plus a long list of polish and fixes throughout.
• New: App Groups - use two or more apps as one. Group related apps so they share focus
• New: Stage Manager support - Monocle now detects Stage Manager automatically and keeps your window strip visible alongside the focused app
• New: Multi-screen settings - pick between Per Screen and Global highlighting to control how Monocle behaves across displays
• New: Monocle now detects the macOS "Displays have separate Spaces" setting and adjusts its settings
• New: Corner Peek - flick the cursor to a screen corner for a quick peek under the overlay. Lives in a new Gestures tile
• New: Reveal effects - choose how overlays appear and disappear, with a new Cursor reveal alongside the classic Fade
• New: More scripting commands added in Settings, with more on the way
• New: Blur-free mode - turn blur off completely while keeping tint, grain, and monochrome, for those who prefer the look of classic dimming apps
• New: Each shake action (Toggle, Peek) can be disabled individually via a new "Off" option, without flipping the master shake toggle
• New: License can now be activated on multiple user profiles on the same Mac
• Improved: Rebuilt blur rendering for a leaner, more efficient pipeline
• Improved: Idle CPU usage
• Improved: Shake to peek now extends past its 2-second minimum as long as the modifier stays held
• Improved: Menu bar and dock auto-hide improvements and fixes
• Improved: Ignored Apps picker now supports multi-select (Cmd-click to add several at once)
• Improved: Many Settings visual tweaks and layout improvements throughout
• Improved: Interacting with other menu bar items now properly closes Monocle's settings
• Improved: Settings content fades softly at the top and bottom while you scroll
• Improved: Overlays rebuild cleanly when displays are docked, undocked, or hot-plugged
• Fixed: An annoying bug where multi-display setups often had only one monitor blurred
• Fixed: Sleep, wake, and screen lock no longer leave the app in a broken state
• Improved: Plenty of other bug fixes, improvements, and code cleanup under the hood
3.0.3
This update fixes a few Settings issues, removes the experimental before/after GIF feature, and includes minor improvements.
• Fixed: Launch at login toggle now updates its state correctly
• Fixed: Updated links in the Contact tile in Settings
• Removed: Experimental GIF before/after feature
• Improved: Code cleanup and minor tweaks
3.0.3
This update fixes a few Settings issues, removes the experimental before/after GIF feature, and includes minor improvements.
• Fixed: Launch at login toggle now updates its state correctly
• Fixed: Updated links in the Contact tile in Settings
• Removed: Experimental GIF before/after feature
• Improved: Code cleanup and minor tweaks
3.0.2
This update adds a shake intensity slider, giving you precise control over gesture sensitivity to match your preferred interaction style.
• New: Shake gesture sensitivity slider
3.0.2
This update adds a shake intensity slider, giving you precise control over gesture sensitivity to match your preferred interaction style.
• New: Shake gesture sensitivity slider
3.0.1
This minor update brings shake gesture control improvements and quality-of-life refinements
• Improved: Shake to toggle sensitivity and added optional modifiers
• Improved: Automatically temporarily hide overlay when dragging files
• New: Swipe naturally to dismiss Monocle settings with two-finger drag
• Improved: Tiny copywriting tweaks in the onboarding settings tile
3.0.1
This minor update brings shake gesture control improvements and quality-of-life refinements
• Improved: Shake to toggle sensitivity and added optional modifiers
• Improved: Automatically temporarily hide overlay when dragging files
• New: Swipe naturally to dismiss Monocle settings with two-finger drag
• Improved: Tiny copywriting tweaks in the onboarding settings tile
3.0
The biggest update since launch — rebuilt from the ground up with a native macOS feel. Finally cracked custom blur intensity, added shake-to-toggle gestures, grayscale mode, and custom tint colors. Now with automation support, Homebrew install, and major performance optimizations. Feels like something that shipped with your Mac.
• Redesigned: Completely revamped UI and UX for a more polished, native-feeling macOS experience
• New: Custom Blur Radius! After a year, I finally cracked the code to allow adjustable intensity for native macOS materials
• New: Shake cursor to toggle Monocle, or Shift + shake to peek (reimagines how you use Monocle)
• New: Grayscale Mode (turn background windows black and white)
• New: Custom Tint Colors (choose from a set of colors or match your system accent color)
• New: Automation support via URL scheme (control Monocle with Shell, AppleScript, or Shortcuts)
• New: Homebrew support (install via brew install --cask monocle-app)
• New: Fresh app icon (letter ‘M’ combined with the iconic Finder smile to create an abstract relaxed face)
• New: Customizable menu bar left-click action (open Settings or toggle overlay)
• New: Global shortcut to quickly toggle Monocle Settings
• Improved: Significant performance and memory optimizations (just the first round!)
• Improved: Simplified license reset flow (remembers key on failure)
• Improved: Excluded apps now respect screen bounds
• Improved: Better behavior for “Highlight all windows of the same app”
• Fixed: Resolved overlay flash when closing popup windows like “Look Up”
• Fixed: Menu bar and Dock now reappear correctly when switching to excluded apps
• Fixed: Various other bug fixes and improvements
• Removed: Rarely used “Global” multi-screen behavior to simplify the codebase
3.0
The biggest update since launch — rebuilt from the ground up with a native macOS feel. Finally cracked custom blur intensity, added shake-to-toggle gestures, grayscale mode, and custom tint colors. Now with automation support, Homebrew install, and major performance optimizations. Feels like something that shipped with your Mac.
• Redesigned: Completely revamped UI and UX for a more polished, native-feeling macOS experience
• New: Custom Blur Radius! After a year, I finally cracked the code to allow adjustable intensity for native macOS materials
• New: Shake cursor to toggle Monocle, or Shift + shake to peek (reimagines how you use Monocle)
• New: Grayscale Mode (turn background windows black and white)
• New: Custom Tint Colors (choose from a set of colors or match your system accent color)
• New: Automation support via URL scheme (control Monocle with Shell, AppleScript, or Shortcuts)
• New: Homebrew support (install via brew install --cask monocle-app)
• New: Fresh app icon (letter ‘M’ combined with the iconic Finder smile to create an abstract relaxed face)
• New: Customizable menu bar left-click action (open Settings or toggle overlay)
• New: Global shortcut to quickly toggle Monocle Settings
• Improved: Significant performance and memory optimizations (just the first round!)
• Improved: Simplified license reset flow (remembers key on failure)
• Improved: Excluded apps now respect screen bounds
• Improved: Better behavior for “Highlight all windows of the same app”
• Fixed: Resolved overlay flash when closing popup windows like “Look Up”
• Fixed: Menu bar and Dock now reappear correctly when switching to excluded apps
• Fixed: Various other bug fixes and improvements
• Removed: Rarely used “Global” multi-screen behavior to simplify the codebase
2.0
Major update with smoother window-to-window transitions, more customization options, and experimental tool for sharing desktop setups. Settings got a full refresh with macOS 26 Tahoe support, a new license reset feature, and polished interface elements for a cleaner, more intuitive experience. Many bugs have been fixed for better stability and reliability.
• New: Smooth window-to-window transitions (Experimental)
• New: Option to keep all windows of the same app unblurred when switching between them (Experimental)
• New: Before/After GIF Preview generator for sharing desktop setups on social media (Experimental)
• New: License reset feature to free up license seats from previous macOS installs or devices
• Improved: Updated and simplified Settings UI with full macOS 26 Tahoe support
• Improved: Monocle’s theme picker now affects all Monocle windows, not just the overlay
• Improved: Auto-hide dock and menu bar permission check code greatly simplified
• Improved: Revamped right-click menu with icons
• Improved: Redesigned Menu bar icons for Excluded and Gradient modes
• Improved: Added “Ideas / Issues?” button in Settings for easier bug reporting and feature suggestions
• Improved: Enhanced onboarding tooltip
• Improved: Various codebase fixes and cleaner implementation
• Fixed: Removing shortcuts using trash icon now properly updates shortcut state
• Fixed: Reset all settings button now properly updates shortcut default states
• Fixed: Clicking “Settings…” in menu bar while Settings window is open now brings it to front instead of closing
• Fixed: Monocle losing focus when dismissing “no updates available” dialog while other windows are open
• Fixed: Excluding/including apps now properly updates menu bar icon state
• Fixed: License checking bug that sometimes forced license disable on relaunch
• Fixed: Minimized Monocle windows can now be properly restored by clicking dock icon
2.0
Major update with smoother window-to-window transitions, more customization options, and experimental tool for sharing desktop setups. Settings got a full refresh with macOS 26 Tahoe support, a new license reset feature, and polished interface elements for a cleaner, more intuitive experience. Many bugs have been fixed for better stability and reliability.
• New: Smooth window-to-window transitions (Experimental)
• New: Option to keep all windows of the same app unblurred when switching between them (Experimental)
• New: Before/After GIF Preview generator for sharing desktop setups on social media (Experimental)
• New: License reset feature to free up license seats from previous macOS installs or devices
• Improved: Updated and simplified Settings UI with full macOS 26 Tahoe support
• Improved: Monocle’s theme picker now affects all Monocle windows, not just the overlay
• Improved: Auto-hide dock and menu bar permission check code greatly simplified
• Improved: Revamped right-click menu with icons
• Improved: Redesigned Menu bar icons for Excluded and Gradient modes
• Improved: Added “Ideas / Issues?” button in Settings for easier bug reporting and feature suggestions
• Improved: Enhanced onboarding tooltip
• Improved: Various codebase fixes and cleaner implementation
• Fixed: Removing shortcuts using trash icon now properly updates shortcut state
• Fixed: Reset all settings button now properly updates shortcut default states
• Fixed: Clicking “Settings…” in menu bar while Settings window is open now brings it to front instead of closing
• Fixed: Monocle losing focus when dismissing “no updates available” dialog while other windows are open
• Fixed: Excluding/including apps now properly updates menu bar icon state
• Fixed: License checking bug that sometimes forced license disable on relaunch
• Fixed: Minimized Monocle windows can now be properly restored by clicking dock icon
1.1.2
This update brings small but impactful improvements: a cleaner Rules settings page, CMD + W support for closing Monocle windows, a Trash icon to easily remove shortcuts, and groundwork for smoother future window transitions.
• Fixed: Scrollbar no longer appears in Rules view when using a mouse
• Improved: Added a "Trash" icon for removing shortcuts
• Improved: You can now use CMD + W to close Monocle windows (Settings and License)
• Refactored: Simplified fade in/out transition code in preparation for smoother window-to-window transition
1.1.2
This update brings small but impactful improvements: a cleaner Rules settings page, CMD + W support for closing Monocle windows, a Trash icon to easily remove shortcuts, and groundwork for smoother future window transitions.
• Fixed: Scrollbar no longer appears in Rules view when using a mouse
• Improved: Added a "Trash" icon for removing shortcuts
• Improved: You can now use CMD + W to close Monocle windows (Settings and License)
• Refactored: Simplified fade in/out transition code in preparation for smoother window-to-window transition
1.1.1
A minor update addressing the grain rendering issue to eliminate repeating patterns and stripes.
• Fixed: Improved grain function to eliminate repeating patterns and stripes
1.1.1
A minor update addressing the grain rendering issue to eliminate repeating patterns and stripes.
• Fixed: Improved grain function to eliminate repeating patterns and stripes
1.1
This update brings critical fixes for external monitors, improved blur performance, and new experimental features like overlay opacity sliders and automatic Dock/menu bar hiding.
• Critical Fix: Resolved blur display issues when using external monitors
• Fixed: “Click wallpaper to reveal desktop” now properly allows interaction with desktop items
• Fixed: Blur now works correctly when desktop icons are hidden via System Settings or third-party apps
• New: Added sliders to control overlay opacity (Experimental) and fade transition timing
• New: Option to automatically hide Dock and/or menu bar when in focus mode (Experimental)
• Improved: Replaced tooltip check icon with a clearer “Got it!” button
• Improved: Added support for function keys (F1-F12) in keyboard shortcuts
• Fixed: Eliminated flickering when switching between Deep and Ambient modes
• Fixed: Removed 1px artifact that appeared in the center of the screen when focus was off
• Fixed: Resolved grain pattern rendering issues affecting some users
• Fixed: Improved interaction with menu bar items when Settings or License windows are open
• New: Minimalistic app menu and dock icon when Settings or License window is open
• Fixed: License key input field placeholder dots appeared too cramped on some devices
• Improved: Settings UI adjustments for clearer organization and controls
• Improved: Simplified and refactored detection code for better performance
• Various other bug fixes and improvements
1.1
This update brings critical fixes for external monitors, improved blur performance, and new experimental features like overlay opacity sliders and automatic Dock/menu bar hiding.
• Critical Fix: Resolved blur display issues when using external monitors
• Fixed: “Click wallpaper to reveal desktop” now properly allows interaction with desktop items
• Fixed: Blur now works correctly when desktop icons are hidden via System Settings or third-party apps
• New: Added sliders to control overlay opacity (Experimental) and fade transition timing
• New: Option to automatically hide Dock and/or menu bar when in focus mode (Experimental)
• Improved: Replaced tooltip check icon with a clearer “Got it!” button
• Improved: Added support for function keys (F1-F12) in keyboard shortcuts
• Fixed: Eliminated flickering when switching between Deep and Ambient modes
• Fixed: Removed 1px artifact that appeared in the center of the screen when focus was off
• Fixed: Resolved grain pattern rendering issues affecting some users
• Fixed: Improved interaction with menu bar items when Settings or License windows are open
• New: Minimalistic app menu and dock icon when Settings or License window is open
• Fixed: License key input field placeholder dots appeared too cramped on some devices
• Improved: Settings UI adjustments for clearer organization and controls
• Improved: Simplified and refactored detection code for better performance
• Various other bug fixes and improvements
1.0.2
This update improves macOS 14 compatibility and adds more global shortcuts. The Settings interface and right-click menu have also been refined for a more user-friendly experience.
• Fixed: Blur layer now displays correctly on macOS 14 (previously showing solid color)
• Added: New global shortcuts for switching focus mode and excluding/including apps
• Added: Dedicated Shortcuts tab in Settings
• Added: Finder is now excluded by default to allow desktop icon interaction (temporary solution while working on proper desktop click detection)
• New: Redesigned onboarding tooltip with improved visuals
• New: Added menu bar icon indicator for excluded apps
• Improved: Simplified and restructured Settings interface
• Improved: Streamlined right-click menu
• Fixed: Control + click now properly simulates right-click on menu bar icon
• Various UI refinements and bug fixes
1.0.2
This update improves macOS 14 compatibility and adds more global shortcuts. The Settings interface and right-click menu have also been refined for a more user-friendly experience.
• Fixed: Blur layer now displays correctly on macOS 14 (previously showing solid color)
• Added: New global shortcuts for switching focus mode and excluding/including apps
• Added: Dedicated Shortcuts tab in Settings
• Added: Finder is now excluded by default to allow desktop icon interaction (temporary solution while working on proper desktop click detection)
• New: Redesigned onboarding tooltip with improved visuals
• New: Added menu bar icon indicator for excluded apps
• Improved: Simplified and restructured Settings interface
• Improved: Streamlined right-click menu
• Fixed: Control + click now properly simulates right-click on menu bar icon
• Various UI refinements and bug fixes
1.0.1
A small update introducing a helpful tooltip guide for first-time users to make onboarding smoother.
• Added a simple tooltip guide when you first launch the app
1.0.1
A small update introducing a helpful tooltip guide for first-time users to make onboarding smoother.
• Added a simple tooltip guide when you first launch the app