Readable over any wallpaper
Charts sit on a darker plate, the CPU and RAM titles take the chart color, and a soft outline keeps every number clear, from a bright daytime sky to a dark desktop.
Fan control and live stats, right in your menu bar.
Temperature, fan speed, CPU, RAM and network at a glance, plus a manual target or a temperature curve you hand back to macOS in one click.
40.6 C1975 RPMActual
Target45% / ~ 2205 RPM
Curve target40% / ~ 1975 RPM
ChipApple M4 Pro
Cores10P + 4E
Awake since2d 5hSep 22, 2026 at 9:14 AM
Processes using the most CPU
SSafari18.4%
WWindowServer9.7%
XXcode7.2%
MMusic3.1%
FFinder1.6%
MMail1.2%
NNotes0.8%
TTerminal0.5%
Used13.2 GB
Available10.8 GB
PressureNormal
Processes using the most memory
SSafari3.2 GB
XXcode2.6 GB
WWindowServer1.1 GB
MMusic640 MB
MMail412 MB
FFinder318 MB
NNotes204 MB
TTerminal96 MB
InterfaceWi-Fi (en0)
Local IP192.168.1.24
Public IP203.0.113.42
Router192.168.1.1
This session
1.4 GB212 MB
MacGauge
v1.7.3
Fans, temperature, and live system stats in your menu bar.
- Fan control
- Temperature
- Modules
Made with care for macOS
© 2026 StevenACZ
Click the menu bar items, switch modes, drag the target. Live preview with sample data.
The whole app in under a minute.
A short film with sound: live stats in the menu bar, Manual and Curve fan control, a detail for every module, your colors, and one click to hand the fans back to macOS.
Made for the menu bar.
MacGauge stays readable over any wallpaper, and in Full mode its fan icon shows at a glance how hard your Mac is working.
A fan that feels the load
In Full mode the menu bar fan turns slowly while your Mac is calm and speeds up as the fans, CPU or temperature climb.
Four tabs. Nothing hidden.
Every tab, toggle and slider works, and your changes drive the menu bar above, live.
General
Temperature
Language
Performance
Start at loginOpens MacGauge automatically when you log in.
Restore on quitReturns the fans to automatic system control when the app quits.
Check for updates automaticallyChecks GitHub Releases every 30 minutes and when your Mac wakes. Nothing about your Mac is sent.
UpdatesMacGauge v1.7.3
Welcome to MacGauge
Control
Manual Target
45%~ 2205 RPM
Fan Curve
40° · 40%60° · 50%80° · 80%
Drag points · double-click to add · right-click to delete
Menu Bar Item
41 CThis is how MacGauge looks in your menu bar right now.
Color styleTemperature follows your temperature colors below; Mono uses the menu bar's own color.
Animate fan iconThe blades spin with the fan's real speed.
The Efficient performance mode keeps the fan icon still. Switch to Full in Settings > General to spin it.
Temperature Colors
The menu bar changes color as the Mac heats up. Drag the handles to adjust the thresholds.Normal
Medium
Hot
Menu Bar Modules
↑104 KB/s↓827 KB/sCPU12%RAM35%40 CSimulated preview — watch how your styles react.
Show in the menu barClick a module to show or hide it. Each one opens its own detail.
SpacingHow much breathing room the modules keep in the menu bar. Together (recommended) joins them and the fan in one block, with clicks still per module.
Hold ⌘ and drag MacGauge in the menu bar to place it where you like. Together moves the modules and the fan as one block; the other spacings let you order each one.
CPU usage
CPU12%Simulated preview — watch how your styles react.Hidden right now — enable it in Modules.
Color styleMulticolor keeps the module's own tint; By load paints the chart with your own usage colors.
The chart takes these colors as usage climbs. Drag the handles to adjust the thresholds.
Low
Medium
High
Graph lengthLength of this module's chart.
Memory usage
RAM12%Simulated preview — watch how your styles react.Hidden right now — enable it in Modules.
Color styleMulticolor keeps the module's own tint; By load paints the chart with your own usage colors.
The chart takes these colors as usage climbs. Drag the handles to adjust the thresholds.
Low
Medium
High
Graph lengthLength of this module's chart.
Network activity
↑104 KB/s↓827 KB/sSimulated preview — watch how your styles react.Hidden right now — enable it in Modules.
Color styleThe up and down arrows follow the selected style; Multicolor lets you pick a color for each direction.
Upload color
Download color
Privileged Helper
MacGauge uses a privileged system helper to change fan speeds. Without it the app can only read sensors.AuthorizedFan control is active. You can revoke it anytime in System Settings > Login Items.
Extreme Ranges
Unlock extreme rangesManual control stays inside a safe band to protect the fans.
Current manual range20% – 90%
Return Control to macOS
Hands the fans back to automatic system control immediately, as if MacGauge were not running.Monitoring runs as your user. Fan control needs a one-time helper approval, and a watchdog returns the fans to macOS after three awake minutes without the app.
Use fan control with care: it can interfere with macOS thermal management and, at worst, damage hardware.
The real app, recorded.
One take on a MacBook Pro M1, not sped up. Temperatures and RPM work right away; fan control asks you to authorize the helper once.
A focused CLI ships inside.
macfan lives in MacGauge.app/Contents/Resources. Writes stay dry runs unless you add sudo, --live and --i-understand.
$macfan statusChip: Apple M4 ProProcess thermal state: nominalPrivilege: userSMC: availableFan count: 1Representative SMC temperature: 52.3 C$macfan set --percent 45[dry-run] Would set fan 0 to 2205 RPM.[dry-run] Add --live --i-understand and run with sudo to write to SMC.$
Questions, answered.
Which Macs does MacGauge support?
Any Apple Silicon Mac (M1 or later) running macOS 13 Ventura or later. Fans are detected dynamically, one or several. Fanless models such as MacBook Air are shown as passively cooled and have no fan to control.
Does monitoring require administrator access?
No. Temperature, fan RPM, CPU, memory and network monitoring run as your normal user. Manual and Curve need a one-time privileged helper authorization from Settings > Safety.
Does MacGauge send analytics or use the network?
It has no analytics and does not ask for Accessibility. It contacts api.ipify.org only when you open the network popover or refresh the public IP, and GitHub Releases for update checks, which you can turn off.
What happens if the app crashes during manual control?
The helper has an awake-time watchdog: after three minutes without the app while manual control is armed, it tries to return every fan to macOS automatic control. It is a safety net, not a guarantee against every helper, firmware or hardware failure.
Can macOS override MacGauge?
Yes. MacGauge detects contested control and re-asserts the target, but thermalmonitord, firmware and model-specific behavior keep the final authority.
How do I move MacGauge in the menu bar?
Hold ⌘ and drag its icons. With Together, the default, Network, CPU, RAM and the fan move as one block, and MacGauge keeps the place you choose.
Is MacGauge the same project as MacFan or M4FanControl?
Yes. MacGauge is the current name. MacFan and M4FanControl survive only in history and a few internal identifiers, so existing helper authorizations and settings keep working.
Your Mac, at a glance.
Drag it to Applications and start with read-only monitoring. Signed updates take it from there.
Download for MacVersion 1.7.3 · Release notes · All releases
Apple Silicon (M1 or later) · macOS 13 Ventura or later · Free, MIT license