Hostbar icon

Hostbar

Your hostname, always in sight.

Three Macs, two screen‑sharing windows, one KVM — and a terminal about to run something destructive. Hostbar puts the machine's name right in the menu bar, so “wait, which computer is this?” stops being a question.

Mac 2026.2.0, released 8 September 2026 · Requires macOS 13 or later · Updates itself

Windows 2026.2.1, released 13 September 2026 · 64‑bit · Unzip and run; it offers to install itself to your Programs folder · Updates itself

The Windows build is code‑signed by Paradigm Consulting Co LLC (Scratch Itch Software). Windows may still show a SmartScreen warning while the publisher builds reputation — choose “More info” → “Run anyway.”

Runs entirely on your own machine. The only connection it makes is a daily update check against this site.

Always visible.

The hostname lives in the menu bar, on every desktop and in every full‑screen escape. No dock hunting, no hostname in a terminal, no guessing.

Made for machine jugglers.

Screen sharing, remote desktops, KVM switches, a laptop and a desktop that look identical — if you work across machines, the one label that matters is the one Hostbar shows.

Keeps itself up to date.

Hostbar checks for updates daily, asks before installing, verifies the download is signed by Scratch Itch Software, then swaps itself in place and relaunches.

The fine print