macOS menu bar utility

Dimmer

Dimmer helps the window you are using stand out by gently darkening the rest of your Mac desktop. It is built for large monitors, multi-display desks, and window-heavy workflows where the active task can get lost in visual noise.

Focus without rearranging your workspace

Dimmer watches the active app locally, keeps its visible window areas clear, and places a transparent dimming layer over everything else. You can keep reference material, chat, terminals, browsers, and design tools open without every window competing for attention.

Automatic focus

Dimmer follows the active app using the local macOS window list, with no extra setup.

Local only

No accounts, analytics, ads, network service, tracking, or remote configuration. Your window list and settings stay on your Mac.

Practical utility

Adjust intensity and color, set custom shortcuts, launch at login, and keep separate Light and Dark appearance profiles.

Designed for busy Mac desktops

Use Dimmer from the menu bar when you need a quieter screen, or let it run in the background and control it with global shortcuts, Shortcuts, Focus Filters, or AppleScript.

Highlight each display independently, or dim secondary displays when your focused work is on one screen.
Exclude apps that should never be dimmed, then allow them again from the menu bar when needed.
Temporarily clear the overlay while holding the function key.
Automatically soften dimming for full-screen and known video apps.
Hide dimming when Finder is showing the desktop instead of a normal window.

Small controls, practical defaults

Dimmer is intentionally a menu bar app: no dock clutter, no account setup, and no subscription flow. The settings focus on how the overlay behaves in real workspaces.

Window-aware overlay

Visible window bounds are used to cut clear areas out of the dim layer, so the highlighted app stays readable while nearby windows recede.

Automation ready

Shortcuts, Focus Filter, and AppleScript support make it possible to turn dimming on for specific contexts or adjust intensity from other workflows.

Customizable menu

Choose which menu items appear, tune color and intensity, configure shortcuts, and keep app exclusion rules simple and local.