One click, and your pointer never moves
Sometimes you want one hidden item, not all of them. One-click access opens a compatible hidden item directly — using only the actions that item already advertises to macOS. Pelmet never synthesises a mouse event and never relocates your cursor.
What Pelmet does
- Asks the item to perform an action it has published to the macOS Accessibility API.
- Identifies items by their published attributes, including on macOS 26 Tahoe.
- Skips any item that publishes no suitable action.
- Stays off until you explicitly enable it in Settings.
What Pelmet never does
- Post synthetic mouse-down or mouse-up events.
- Move, warp, or hide your pointer.
- Capture the screen or read pixels.
- Turn any of this on without you asking for it.
Why the distinction matters
Advertised actions vs synthetic clicks
There are two ways an app can “click” something for you. The blunt way is to synthesise a mouse event at a screen coordinate: move the pointer there, press, release. It works on nearly everything, and it means a background utility is driving your input device.
The careful way is to ask the target to run an action it has already published — the same mechanism VoiceOver and other assistive technologies use. The app decides what it exposes, macOS mediates the request, and no input event is ever fabricated.
Pelmet only ever takes the second route. It is the reason this feature covers fewer items than a synthetic-click implementation would, and it is a deliberate trade: fewer items, zero surprises with your pointer. Version 0.6.1 removed the last code path that could have controlled the pointer.
Turning it on
Three steps, reversible at any time
- 01Right-click Pelmet's chevron and choose Settings…
- 02Enable one-click access. Pelmet explains what it is about to request before anything happens.
- 03Grant Accessibility permission when macOS asks. Revoke it later in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility, and Pelmet falls back gracefully.
FAQ
Common questions
- Why does one-click access need Accessibility permission?
- Because it asks another application's menu bar item to perform an action it has published to macOS. That request goes through the Accessibility API, which macOS gates behind explicit permission. Nothing else in Pelmet needs it.
- Will Pelmet move my mouse pointer?
- No. Pelmet never posts synthetic mouse events and never relocates the pointer. It calls the action an item advertises through the Accessibility API and nothing else. If an item advertises no such action, Pelmet does nothing rather than clicking on your behalf.
- What happens if I decline the permission?
- Everything else keeps working exactly as before: hiding, showing, the ⌥⌘B toggle, hover reveal, the notch overflow counter, and the Shelf. One-click access is the only feature that stops.
- Does it work with every menu bar app?
- No, and it cannot. It works with items that publish an action through the Accessibility API. Apps that do not are simply skipped — Pelmet will not fall back to faking a click.
See also: the Shelf and what Pelmet sends.
Get your menu bar back
Free, open source, and signed by Apple. Two lines of terminal or one drag to Applications.
$brew install --cask ismatBabirli/pelmet/pelmet