menucal docs
Everything you need to get the most out of menucal — your calendar, always visible.
Installation
menucal is a native macOS app that runs entirely in your menu bar. It requires macOS 13 Ventura or later.
Download menucal
Download the menucal.zip file and extract it. You'll get a menucal.app file.
Double click the menucal.zip file to open it. Then, open the menucal folder and drag the menucal.app file to your /Applications folder.
Grant the app permission to open.
menucal is distributed outside the App Store. You might need to grant the app permission to open in Settings -> Privacy & Security.
Click Done and then go to Settings -> Privacy & Security -> Security and click Open Anyway.
Click Open Anyway to allow the app to run.
Touch ID or enter your password to confirm.
menucal is completely safe to use and does not collect any data from you. The only reason that you have to go through this whole process is because I'm not paying 100$ per year for an Apple Developer account (yet).Onboarding
On first launch, menucal walks you through three screens:
Click on Grant Calendar Access to give menucal permission to access your calendar.
Click on Allow Full Access
Click Get Started on the last screen to begin your trial and start using the app.
The menu bar
After launch, menucal adds an item to your menu bar showing a calendar icon and your next upcoming event.
| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| 📅 Team standup · in 12m | An event is coming up within the hour |
| 📅 Team standup · 14:00 | Next event is later today |
| 📅 Team standup · 45m left | An event is happening right now |
| 📅 Mon 16 Mar | No more events today |
Above is an example of what the menu bar icon looks like.
Left-click
Opens the menucal popover — your calendar grid and event list.
Right-click
Opens a context menu with:
- Settings… — opens the Settings window ⌘,
- Trial: X days left — visible during your trial, click to unlock
- Quit menucal ⌘Q
Calendar view
Click the menu bar icon to open the popover. The top half shows a full month calendar grid.
Navigating months
Use the ‹ and › arrows at the top of the calendar to move between months.
Selecting a day
Single-click any day to filter the event list below to show only that day's events. Click again to deselect.
Creating an event from a day
Double-click any day to open the new event form, pre-filled with that date.
Today is always highlighted with a blue circle. Weekends can optionally be dimmed — see Appearance settings.
Viewing events
Below the calendar grid, menucal shows two sections:
- Today (or the selected day's name) — events from now until end of day
- Upcoming — events in the next 7 days
Each event row shows the event title, time range, and a relative time label (e.g. "in 2h", "now", "in 3d"). Events happening right now are highlighted with a subtle red background.
Event details
Tap any event to open an inline detail sheet showing:
- Full title, date, and time
- Calendar name and colour
- Relative time ("Happening now" / "in 2h")
- Notes and URL (if set)
- A trash icon to delete (only for editable calendars)
- An Open in Calendar link to jump to Calendar.app
Holiday and birthday calendars are read-only — the delete button won't appear for those events.
Creating events
There are two ways to create a new event:
- Click the + button in the Today section header
- Double-click any day in the calendar grid
Both open the New Event form as an inline sheet that slides up from the bottom of the popover.
Creating a new event
Click Add (or press Return) to save. The event list refreshes automatically.
Settings → Calendars
Open Settings by right-clicking the menu bar icon → Settings. The Calendars tab lists all your calendars grouped by source (iCloud, Google, etc.).
Toggle any calendar off to hide its events from the popover and menu bar title. Your hidden calendar preferences are saved and persist across relaunches.
Settings → Appearance
The Appearance tab currently has two main settings:
- Dim weekends — Saturday and Sunday appear muted in the calendar grid and day headers, helping the work week stand out.
- Enable work hours — You can select one or more calendars that are only shown during selected work hours.
License & trial
menucal comes with a 7-day free trial. No account or credit card required — just download and start using it.
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Free trial | Full access for 7 days from first launch. A banner shows days remaining. |
| Trial expired | The popover is locked. Enter a license key to unlock. |
| Activated | Permanent access. No expiry, no restrictions. |
You can check your license status at any time in Settings → License tab.
Entering a license key
To support menucal and satco, we ask that you purchase menucal for a one-time fee of 10$ after the 7-day free trial ends.
You can enter your license key in either of these places:
- Settings → License → the activate field at the bottom
- The paywall screen that appears when your trial expires
Troubleshooting
I bought menucal on Gumroad, but I can't unlock the app
Check your email for a receipt from Gumroad. This receipt has your license key in it. Your license key is personal and will only work for you. Do not share it with anyone.
Above is an example of what the Gumroad receipt might look like. Check your email for messages from noreply@customers.gumroad.com or noreply@email.satco.dev.
If you have any questions or need help, please feel free to email hello@satco.dev
