A clean, beautiful, and ultra-lightweight macOS menu bar item that gives you advanced network information.
- Real-time Monitoring ⚡️
Automatically refreshes the information the moment your network connection changes. - Ultra-lightweight 🪶
Runs purely as a background accessory app. No Dock icon, no CPU hogging. - Native Look & Feel 🍏
Built specifically for macOS with SwiftUI, adhering to Apple's design guidelines. - Auto-Updates 🔄
Powered by Sparkle, NetworkMap stays up-to-date with new releases.
The fastest and easiest way to install and keep NetworkMap updated:
brew install carlosas/tap/networkmapThat's it! 🎉 Launch the app from your Applications folder.
- Download the latest
NetworkMap-X.Y.Z.dmgfrom the Releases page. - Open the DMG and drag NetworkMap to your Applications folder.
- Run the following command to bypass the quarantine flag (the app is not notarized by Apple):
xattr -cr /Applications/NetworkMap.app
- Launch the app from your Applications folder.
- View IP: Simply click the logo (
) in your menu bar to instantly view the network information. - Refresh: Click Refresh within the menu (or simply press
⌘ + R) to manually fetch the network information at any time. - Check for Updates: Easily manually check for new versions from the dropdown.
- Quit: Click Quit to close the app.
This application requires macOS 13.0+ and Xcode 14.1+.
To run correctly on macOS with full menu bar integration, the app must be properly packaged into an .app bundle structure with the correct custom Info.plist.
Use the provided build script instead of relying on swift build directly:
./build.sh(Note: The build script automatically executes generate_icons.swift to convert icon.svg into macOS .icns and transparent Menu Bar icons.)
After building, launch the newly packaged app bundle directly:
open NetworkMap.appSources/NetworkMap/NetworkMapApp.swift— The SwiftUI@mainentry point and Menu Bar configuration logic.Sources/NetworkMap/NetworkManager.swift— The crucial logic that handles ultra-fast, asynchronous IP fetching and powerful network path monitoring.build.sh— Automates the entire Swift build, embeds the Sparkle updater framework, injects necessary PLIST configurations (LSUIElementto effectively hide the Dock icon), and builds the macOS.appbundle.generate_icons.swift— Swift script that seamlessly compiles.icnspackages and prepares transparent Menu Bar templates directly fromicon.svg.
[x] MAC Vendor Lookup
We already capture MAC addresses and bundle nmap-mac-prefixes. Show the vendor name (Apple, TP-Link, etc.) instead of "Unknown" — that's the biggest UX gap right now. A device showing "Apple —
192.168.1.43" is 10x more useful than "Unknown".
[ ] Click-to-Copy Public IP
Same as device rows — clicking the public IP should copy it to clipboard. That's the #1 reason people check their IP.
[ ] IP Geolocation
Hit a free API (like ip-api.com) and show city/country next to the public IP. Useful for VPN users to confirm their exit node.
[ ] Port Scanning (on demand)
Add a "Scan Ports" option per device (right-click or expand). Run nmap -F (fast top-100 ports) on a selected host. Show open ports inline. Power users want this.
[ ] Device Change Notifications
Track the previous scan result. When a new device appears or disappears, fire a macOS notification. This is a lightweight intrusion detection feature — very hacker-friendly.
[ ] Local IP Display
Show the local/private IP (e.g., 192.168.1.43) alongside the public IP. People often need both.
[ ] Network Interface Info
Show which interface is active (Wi-Fi vs Ethernet), SSID name, link speed. Quick glance diagnostics.
[ ] Latency/Ping per Device
nmap's -sn already measures round-trip time. Parse and display it — helps identify slow/overloaded devices.
[ ] Device Naming / Aliases
Let users assign custom names to MAC addresses (persisted to UserDefaults). "Unknown 192.168.1.1" becomes "Router" permanently.
[ ] Scan History / Timeline
Store scan results with timestamps. Show when a device was first/last seen. Useful for tracking intermittent devices.
[ ] Show IP in Menu Bar
Option to display the public IP directly in the menu bar text (next to the icon). Many network tools do this — saves a click.
[ ] Visual Scan Progress
Replace the spinner with a progress bar or device count ticker during scans.
[ ] Expandable Device Rows
Click a device to expand and show MAC, vendor, ports, first-seen timestamp — rather than cramming everything into the row.
[ ] Search/Filter Devices
For networks with 20+ devices, a quick filter field at the top of the device list.
[ ] Configurable Scan Interval
Let users change the 15-minute auto-scan interval (or disable it entirely).
[ ] Wake-on-LAN
Send WoL magic packets to devices by MAC address. Trivial to implement, very useful for power users.
[ ] ARP Spoofing Detection
Flag duplicate MAC addresses or MAC changes for the same IP — signs of ARP poisoning.
[ ] Rogue Device Alerts
Let users mark "known" devices. Alert on any unknown device joining the network.
[ ] DNS Leak Test
Quick check to see if DNS queries are leaking outside a VPN tunnel.
[ ] Bandwidth Monitor
Use nettop or NetworkStatistics to show per-interface throughput in the menu bar.
Technical Debt
- Retry logic for failed nmap scans (exponential backoff)
- Concurrent subnet scanning for multi-homed machines
- UserDefaults/Settings pane for all the configurability above
- Accessibility — VoiceOver labels on all interactive elements
- Notarization — proper code signing so users don't need xattr -cr
- Use
arp?