Tools for HEY

MenuBar for HEY

MenuBar for HEY is a free Mac menu bar app for HEY email, for macOS 15 or later. It runs on Apple silicon and Intel Macs and needs a HEY account.

Your HEY Imbox and Screener, one click away in the Mac menu bar.

Free and unofficial. Made by Soules Studio LTD, and not affiliated with 37signals.

Download MenuBar for HEY

You need a HEY account to use it.

Version 0.6.5, 31.8 MB.

  • macOS 15 or later
  • Universal, for Apple silicon and Intel
  • Notarised by Apple, so macOS opens it without a warning

Or install it with Homebrew: brew install --cask soules-studio-ltd/tap/menubar-for-hey

What it does

A badge for new threads

A dot on the envelope means someone is waiting in the Screener. The number beside it counts new threads in your Imbox, and a bundle counts as one. It counts nothing else.

The envelope in the menu bar, with a dot beside it and a badge reading 11.
Eleven new threads, and someone waiting in the Screener.

The Screener, without opening HEY

First time senders wait in the Screener, and the popover lists them above your new threads. Screen in or Screen out with one click from the top of the popover. Screen in sends them to your Imbox, or to The Feed or Paper Trail from its menu.

The popover, with a first time sender on top offering Screen in, Screen out and Open in HEY, and new threads listed below.
A first time sender above the new threads.

A notification when mail arrives

A thread that lands in your Imbox while the app is connected to HEY arrives as a macOS notification, with Reply Later and Set Aside as its actions. How HEY notifications work on your Mac.

A macOS notification from MenuBar for HEY naming the sender and the subject of a new thread.
The notification names the sender and the subject.

Act on a thread from its row

Hover a row for Reply Later, Set Aside, Mark seen, or open it in HEY. Reply Later and Set Aside move the thread out of your Imbox. Mark seen leaves it where it is and stops it being new.

The popover with the pointer over one thread, which shows four action buttons on its row.
Hovering a row brings up its four buttons.

Keyboard shortcuts

The popover answers to the keys HEY uses. j and k move between rows, l and a move the selected thread to Reply Later or Set Aside, e marks it seen, and i, p and d screen a sender in to the Imbox, Paper Trail or The Feed. Return opens the selected row in HEY and Escape closes the popover.

Every keyboard shortcut, and what is not supported.

How it connects

MenuBar for HEY runs the official hey command line tool, which ships inside the app. To sign in, the tool opens HEY's sign in page in your browser.

The Swift package MenuBar for HEY uses to talk to the HEY CLI, HEYCliKit, is open source and MIT licensed.

Your sign in lives in the macOS Keychain and in the tool's own config folder, both managed by the tool. The app never reads them and never stores a token.

Every piece of mail the app shows comes through that tool, running on your Mac. The app never calls app.hey.com itself. Open in HEY hands the thread's address to your browser.

To see how the app runs the tool, signs you in and hears about new mail, read how MenuBar for HEY works with the HEY CLI.

Read how MenuBar for HEY handles your data.

Free

MenuBar for HEY is free, and it stays free.

If it has earned a place in your menu bar, you can give it a coffee. It changes nothing about the app.

There is also a Thank you page.

See what changed in each release in the changelog.

Questions

Is there a menu bar app for HEY email?

Yes. MenuBar for HEY is a free Mac menu bar app that shows how many new threads are waiting in your HEY Imbox and shows a dot when a first time sender is waiting in the Screener. MenuBar for HEY is unofficial and made by Soules Studio LTD.

Can I get HEY notifications on my Mac?

Yes. The HEY apps can notify you for the contacts and threads you choose. MenuBar for HEY adds a macOS notification for every new thread that lands in your Imbox while the app is connected to HEY, with Reply Later and Set Aside as actions. A notification for first time senders in the Screener, with Screen in and Screen out as actions, can be turned on in the settings of MenuBar for HEY.

Does HEY work with Apple Mail?

HEY is read in its own apps for the web, Mac, Windows, iOS and Android. The official HEY CLI lets other tools on a Mac work with a HEY account too, and MenuBar for HEY is built on it. MenuBar for HEY keeps new threads and the Screener one click away in the menu bar, and runs alongside Apple Mail or whichever app you use for your other accounts.

Is MenuBar for HEY made by 37signals?

No. MenuBar for HEY is made by Soules Studio LTD and is not affiliated with 37signals, the company behind HEY. MenuBar for HEY reaches your mail only through the official HEY CLI.

Is MenuBar for HEY free?

Yes. MenuBar for HEY is free, with no trial and no paid tier. An optional coffee supports its development and changes nothing about the app.

Does MenuBar for HEY need the HEY CLI installed?

No. MenuBar for HEY ships its own pinned copy of the official HEY CLI inside the app, so there is nothing else to install. A copy of the HEY CLI you installed yourself keeps working alongside it.

Which macOS versions does MenuBar for HEY run on?

MenuBar for HEY runs on macOS 15 or later. The same download runs natively on Apple silicon and Intel Macs.