Orbit

A radial, gesture-first app switcher and file hub for macOS.

Features • Installation • Screenshots • Usage • Tech • Support • Contributing • License • 中文

Orbit is a native, menu bar companion that surfaces your running apps around the cursor, so you can jump, manage, and share without leaving your flow. Everything stays on-device.

Features

• Radial app switcher that appears at your cursor and focuses apps instantly.
• Long-press a modifier key (default: Option ⌥) to summon Orbit anywhere.
• Keyboard navigation: Tab/arrows, 1-9, and first-letter cycling for quick targeting.
• Drag an app into the center "black hole" to quit with a pixel-dissolve animation.
• Drag files into Orbit to AirDrop; hold to morph into a black hole for trash.
• Customizable card size/material, launch-at-login, and menu bar controls.

Installation

Manual Download

Download the latest .dmg from Releases.

Homebrew (coming)

brew install --cask orbit

Source

The source is partially published; a full build from source is not supported yet. Please use the packaged .dmg for now.

Install on macOS without a paid developer account

Because the app is not signed or notarized, Gatekeeper will warn. Follow these steps:

1. Download the latest .dmg from Releases.
2. Open the DMG and drag Orbit.app to Applications (or the Applications link in the DMG).
3. First launch (bypass Gatekeeper): in Applications, Control+Click (or right-click) Orbit -> Open, confirm the warning and click "Open". If blocked, go to System Settings -> Privacy & Security and click "Allow Anyway" / "Open Anyway", then open once more.
4. Permissions: grant Accessibility (and Input Monitoring if prompted) in System Settings -> Privacy & Security so global hotkeys work. Restart Orbit after granting.
5. Updates: for each new DMG, drag to Applications to replace. If Gatekeeper warns again, repeat step 3.
6. Remove quarantine if you see "file is damaged":

   sudo xattr -r -d com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Orbit.app

   then Control+Click -> Open once.
7. Uninstall: quit Orbit, delete Applications/Orbit.app. To erase data, delete ~/Library/Containers/com.yuzeguitar.Orbit and ~/Library/Preferences/com.yuzeguitar.Orbit.plist.

Requirements

• macOS 14.6 (Sonoma) or later.
• Accessibility permission for global hotkey activation.
• AirDrop requires compatible devices with Wi-Fi/Bluetooth enabled.

Screenshots

Orbit Ring	File Share (AirDrop)	File Delete

App Exit	Settings	Welcome

Usage

• Long-press the trigger modifier to open Orbit at the cursor.
• Hover or click a card to switch apps; press Enter to activate selection.
• Use Tab/arrow keys to cycle, number keys (1-9) to jump, or letters to match names.
• Drag a running app toward the center to quit it.
• Drag files onto the center for AirDrop; keep holding to turn it into a trash drop.
• Right-click the menu bar icon for Settings, permissions, and quit.

Tech Highlights

• SwiftUI + AppKit hybrid with a borderless NSPanel overlay across spaces.
• Global modifier long-press detection using event taps and Accessibility APIs.
• Custom arc layout with staggered spring animations for fan-out motion.
• Drag-and-drop pipeline with NSDragging, NSSharingService (AirDrop), and FileManager.
• Pixel dissolve effect for app dismissal feedback.

Support Orbit

If Orbit helps your workflow, you can support development here:

Ko-fi is for international supporters.

For supporters in mainland China, you can also use WeChat Pay / Alipay (QR code below).

Contributing

Issues and PRs are welcome. Please keep PRs focused and describe the behavior clearly.

License

This project is partially open-sourced under GPL-3.0 + Commons Clause. See LICENSE for details.

In short:

• Free for personal and non-commercial use.
• You may study and modify the open-sourced portions.
• Derivative works must use the same license.
• No selling or commercial use without permission.
• Core/pro features are not included in this repository.

For commercial licensing, contact: yuzeguitar@gmail.com

中文说明

Orbit 是一款原生的菜单栏效率工具：长按修饰键即可在鼠标附近展开应用环， 快速切换、管理应用，并支持文件拖拽分享/删除，所有数据本地处理。

功能特点

• 环形应用切换器：在鼠标附近展示正在运行的应用，一键切换。
• 长按修饰键触发（默认 Option ⌥），可在设置中自定义。
• 支持键盘导航：Tab/方向键、数字 1-9、首字母循环定位。
• 将应用拖入中心黑洞可退出，带像素消散动画反馈。
• 将文件拖入中心可 AirDrop，继续停留会变成“黑洞”用于删除。
• 可调卡片尺寸/材质，支持开机自启动与菜单栏控制。

安装方式

手动下载

从 Releases 下载最新 .dmg。

Homebrew (coming)

brew install --cask orbit

源码

源码仅部分公开，暂不支持完整源码构建，请优先使用 .dmg 安装包。

没有开发者账号时的安装方法

由于应用未签名/未公证，Gatekeeper 会提示风险，可按以下步骤操作:

1. 从 Releases 下载最新 .dmg。
2. 打开 DMG，将 Orbit.app 拖入 Applications (或 DMG 内的 Applications 链接)。
3. 首次运行: 在 Applications 中 Control+Click (或右键) Orbit -> Open，确认警告并点击 "Open"。 如仍被拦截，进入 System Settings -> Privacy & Security 点击 "Allow Anyway" / "Open Anyway", 然后再次打开。
4. 权限: 在 System Settings -> Privacy & Security 授予 Accessibility (如提示 Input Monitoring 也请授权)，授权后重启 Orbit。
5. 更新: 下载新 DMG 后拖入 Applications 覆盖即可，如再次提示按步骤 3 处理。
6. 若提示 "file is damaged"，可移除隔离属性:

   sudo xattr -r -d com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Orbit.app

   然后 Control+Click -> Open 一次。
7. 卸载: 退出 Orbit，删除 Applications/Orbit.app。如需清除数据，删除 ~/Library/Containers/com.yuzeguitar.Orbit 和 ~/Library/Preferences/com.yuzeguitar.Orbit.plist。

运行要求

• macOS 14.6 (Sonoma) 或更高版本。
• 需要授予 Accessibility 权限以启用全局快捷键。
• AirDrop 需要兼容设备并开启 Wi-Fi/蓝牙。

使用方式

• 长按触发键，在鼠标处呼出 Orbit。
• 悬停或点击卡片切换应用，按 Enter 确认。
• Tab/方向键循环，数字 1-9 快速定位，字母按首字母匹配。
• 拖动应用到中心可退出应用。
• 拖入文件到中心触发 AirDrop，继续停留会转为删除。
• 右键菜单栏图标可进入设置或退出。

支持作者

如果 Orbit 对你有帮助，欢迎通过下面方式支持持续开发：

可使用微信 / 支付宝扫码赞助。

海外用户可使用 Ko-fi 赞助。

许可证

本项目为 部分开源，采用 GPL-3.0 + Commons Clause 许可证 - 详见 LICENSE。

简单来说:

• 个人/非商业免费使用。
• 可学习与修改开源部分。
• 衍生作品需以相同许可证开源。
• 未经许可不得销售或商业使用。
• 核心/专业版功能未包含在本仓库。

商业授权请联系: yuzeguitar@gmail.com

支持

• 报告 Bug: https://github.com/yuzeguitarist/Orbit/issues/new?template=bug_report.md
• 功能建议: https://github.com/yuzeguitarist/Orbit/issues/new?template=feature_request.md
• 讨论区: https://github.com/yuzeguitarist/Orbit/discussions

Made by Yuze Pan (潘禹泽)