What's new

Every feature, fix, and improvement shipped in MacPulse — from day one to the latest release.

1.2.6 May 30, 2026 Latest
Added
  • Shareable Report Card. Generate a polished image of your Mac — chip, cores, RAM, macOS version, plus live CPU, memory, disk, GPU, thermal, and battery readings — then copy, save, or share it. Available from the dashboard toolbar and the menu bar.
  • Performance session cards. Turn any recorded performance session into a shareable card showing average and peak CPU/GPU/memory, 1% low and minimum FPS, peak temperature, and CPU clock — perfect for showing how your Mac handled a specific game or workload.
  • Rename performance sessions. Right-click a session in the Performance sidebar to rename it (previously you could only delete it).
Fixed
  • Performance recordings no longer get stuck at 0 FPS after a screen-capture hiccup — each recording re-checks cleanly instead of staying at 0 until you relaunch.
  • Clearer Screen Recording permission prompt: when macOS hasn't granted the access FPS measurement needs, the Performance view explains it and links straight to the setting.
1.2.5 May 29, 2026
Added
  • Full localization of the Insights engine. Every insight — its headline, suggestion, and detail text — across CPU, memory, thermal, battery, disk, GPU, network, Bluetooth, and SMART disk health is now translated into Spanish, French, German, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese. The Insights History view, insight action buttons, severity and category labels, and the navigation sidebar are localized too. Previously this text always appeared in English regardless of your system language.
1.2.4 May 18, 2026
Fixed
  • Fan control on M5 Macs. Manual fan speed and custom fan curves had no effect on MacBook Pro M5 because Apple changed the casing of the SMC fan-mode register from F{n}Md to F{n}md. MacPulse now probes both at startup and uses whichever the chip exposes, so manual mode actually engages and target-RPM writes take effect.
  • Fan curves not firing on newer Apple Silicon. The temperature lookup only knew M1/M2 sensor keys, so on M3/M4/M5 the curve timer never got a reading. Expanded the key list to cover M3 Pro / M3 Max / M4 / M5 P-core sensors.
  • Diagnostics no longer redacted as <private>. Fan-control log messages from the privileged helper are now publishable, so users sharing logs for troubleshooting can see what actually happened.
1.2.3.1 May 16, 2026
Fixed
  • Fixed a licensing bug.
1.2.3 May 8, 2026
Fixed
  • Crash on launch on some Macs. Volumes that report more available capacity than their declared size — common on APFS containers shared across multiple volumes — could trigger an unsigned-integer underflow in the disk-usage calculation, terminating the app a few seconds after launch on the first poll cycle. The calculation now clamps to zero in this case.
1.2.2 April 22, 2026
Added
  • Ask Insights (macOS 26 Tahoe only): New sidebar entry under Analytics lets you ask natural-language questions about your Mac's history — “How high did CPU go yesterday?”, “Which apps used the most energy today?”, “What’s been writing to disk?”, “Did Xcode use a lot of CPU?”. Runs entirely on-device via Apple Intelligence — nothing leaves your Mac. On older macOS versions the feature simply doesn’t appear; the rest of the app works as before. Not available in the App Store build.
  • Per-process activity history: MacPulse now remembers which apps were busy (CPU, memory, disk I/O, idle wake-ups, and a synthetic activity score) every 60 seconds, so questions like “which apps drained my battery yesterday?” actually get answered across the last 30 days — not just “right now.” 30-day retention with automatic rollup (minute → hourly → daily).
Fixed
  • Phantom disk-I/O spikes. IOKit disk counters could appear to jump backwards when a volume was mounted or unmounted, and the old delta path treated that as a huge valid reading — producing occasional bogus “103 GB/s” samples that poisoned averages and peaks in the History view. Counter regressions and any rate above 30 GB/s are now rejected as artifacts.
1.2.1 April 17, 2026
Fixed
  • "What's New" dialog could not be dismissed on version upgrade. After updating from 1.1.x to 1.2.0, the Continue button did nothing and Cmd+Q was blocked by the stuck sheet. Dismiss wiring is restored. If you are currently stuck on 1.2.0, force quit the app once (Dock → right-click → Force Quit) — on relaunch the dialog will not return and Sparkle will offer this update automatically.
1.2.0 April 17, 2026
Added
  • Insights History: New sidebar entry under Analytics showing every insight your Mac has produced, with 24h / 7d / 30d range, category, and severity filters. Insights were already persisted for 30 days — now you can actually browse them.
  • Quick Actions on insights: Each insight detail popover has one-click buttons for the right follow-up — Open Activity Monitor, Storage Settings, Energy Settings, Disk Utility, Network Settings, Display Settings. No more digging through System Settings.
  • Snooze: Right-click any insight on the Dashboard to hide it for 1 hour, 6 hours, or until tomorrow. Unlike Dismiss, the rule keeps running — it just stops showing until the timer is up.
  • Per-rule enable/disable: Settings → Insights now includes a collapsible list of every rule with a toggle. Turn off the ones you don't care about; Reset to Defaults clears the disabled set too.
  • Top Memory Consumers on Memory tab (Direct): The Memory detail view now lists the top 5 processes by resident memory, with columns for memory, percent of total RAM, and thread count. Updates every 10 seconds while the tab is visible.
  • SMART disk health rule (Direct): Surfaces a warning the moment any drive's SMART status flips from Verified to Failing, with a one-click Disk Utility shortcut.
  • Bluetooth reconnection churn rule (Direct): Detects devices that repeatedly connect and disconnect within an hour (5+ transitions = noteworthy, 10+ = warning) and names the worst-offending device — so you know which AirPod battery to check.
  • Process-aware insight messages: Memory and CPU insights now name the actual apps using the most resources — "Top memory users right now: Chrome (3.2 GB), Xcode (1.1 GB)" instead of generic "close unused apps" text. Direct build only; MAS falls back to the generic message.
Changed / Fixed
  • Dismissals persist across midnight. Previously, dismissing an insight near midnight could see it resurface at 12:01 AM because the dedup id contained the date. Dismissals now persist by rule id with a 24-hour TTL.
  • Notification throttle: the same warning no longer fires a duplicate macOS notification every 5 minutes while the condition persists — 24 hours per (rule, severity).
  • Hysteresis on CPU and Thermal rules. Metrics oscillating around the threshold no longer flip the warning on and off; rules now require a 3-sample consecutive streak in minute-level records before firing.
  • Network anomaly baseline floor. The rule now requires a baseline above 100 KB/s before comparing today's throughput — at very low baselines, a single browsing spike would produce misleadingly huge ratios.
  • Battery drain anomaly uses a median across per-interval rates instead of a global mean, so one short hot-GPU interval can't trigger a false alarm.
  • Insight suggestions no longer look like fake links. Suggestion text is now muted italic (card) / primary (popover) rather than blue — the clickable elements are the new Quick Actions buttons, which are obviously interactive.
1.1.9 April 16, 2026
Fixed
  • Insights readability: Long insight messages no longer appear truncated with no way to see the full text. Every insight row is now tappable and opens a popover with the full message, suggestion, and a new Details section explaining what was measured and likely causes. Text is selectable and a "Copy" button makes it easy to share with support.
  • Fan insights: Fan anomaly rules now include concrete diagnostic details — sample counts, peak temperature, thresholds, and next steps (e.g. SMC reset instructions, powermetrics cross-check command).
1.1.8 April 16, 2026
Added
  • Menu Bar Only Mode shortcut: New "hide dock" button in the menu bar popover and a Window menu command (⇧⌘M) to switch into menu-bar-only mode instantly — no more digging through Settings.
1.1.7 April 14, 2026
Added
  • Network: Cumulative download/upload traffic counters in the detail view and per-interface rows (lifetime since boot).
  • Auto-updates (direct build): Sparkle updates now install silently on next launch.
Fixed
  • Insights: Recommended action text now wraps vertically instead of being cut off with an ellipsis.
  • Menu bar popover: CPU/RAM/Disk mini gauges no longer show truncated percentages (e.g. "20....").
1.1.6 April 12, 2026
Fixed
  • MAS in-app purchase: Fixed critical bug where the purchase button was permanently disabled for users whose trial had expired. An async let cancellation issue prevented Product.products(for:) from completing, leaving the price unloaded and the button non-functional.
1.1.4 April 6, 2026
Fixed
  • Bug fixes
1.1.0 March 9, 2026
Smarter Insights Engine
  • Completely overhauled Insights Engine with pluggable rule architecture
  • 10 new insight rules: CPU user/system imbalance, recurring weekly patterns, fan speed anomalies, charging patterns, disk read I/O spikes, GPU memory pressure, GPU temperature warnings, daily network usage tracking, system overload detection, and heavy workload alerts
  • Actionable suggestions on every insight — tells you what to do, not just what's wrong
  • Category badges (Performance, Memory, Storage, Thermal, Power, Network, System) for at-a-glance grouping
  • Configurable thresholds in Settings > Insights
  • Insight history persisted to database with 30-day retention
  • Warning-level insights pushed as system notifications (opt-in)
  • Statistical anomaly detection using z-score analysis
  • Cross-module compound insights detect system-wide overload
  • Fanless Mac detection — no more false fan warnings on MacBook Air
Accessibility
  • VoiceOver support across all charts, gauges, meters, cards, and interactive elements
  • Accessibility labels, hints, and values throughout the app
Localization
  • Language picker in Settings (English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Simplified Chinese)
  • Localized UI strings throughout dashboard and menu bar
New Features
  • TipKit integration with contextual tips for export, history, performance, fan control, and menu bar
  • What's New sheet shown automatically after updates
  • App Intents / Siri Shortcuts support
  • Redesigned 5-page onboarding walkthrough
  • Privacy manifest (PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy) for App Store compliance
UI Polish
  • Native ContentUnavailableView for empty states
  • Animated memory composition bar segments
  • Smooth dashboard view transitions
  • Show All toggle for insights with more than 5 items
1.0.9.9 March 8, 2026
Fixed
  • Fix license wipe caused by UserDefaults key collision with macOS system keys (com.apple.* keys)
  • Hardening data moved to dedicated UserDefaults(suiteName:) to prevent collision
  • Legacy key migration validates format before migrating
  • Improved license reliability and data integrity
  • Fix flaky testCPUTimeOfDayPeakDetection by using dynamic peak hours
1.0.9.8 March 7, 2026
Fixed
  • Tighten battery drain insight: require 2-hour baseline, cap ratio at 5x to avoid false positives
  • Fix battery drain insight comparison logic
  • Fixed-width network speed display in menu bar to prevent layout jumps
1.0.9.4 March 6, 2026
Fixed
  • Fix FPS permission loop caused by CGRequestScreenCaptureAccess triggering infinite requests
  • Improved Screen Recording permission UX with clear permission-denied state
1.0.9 March 5, 2026
Changed
  • Replace CVDisplayLink FPS counter with ScreenCaptureKit for accurate display frame rate measurement
  • CVDisplayLink measured VSync rate (~122fps on 60Hz), not actual rendered frames
  • New SCK-based counter reports real frame delivery (~47fps idle, ~60fps gaming)
  • Labels changed to "Display FPS" for transparency
Added
  • Memory chart and summary stats (Avg/Max Memory) added to performance session views
1.0.8 March 4, 2026
Fixed
  • Fix P-core/E-core swap in per-core grid display
  • Fix dashboard window activation when opening from menu bar
  • Improve widget data reliability and refresh timing
  • Fix FPS averaging calculation
  • MAS branding: "System Insights" name for App Store (Apple rejected "MacPulse" under Guideline 5.2.5)
1.0.5 March 3, 2026
Fixed
  • Fix dashboard window not activating when opened from menu bar popover
  • Fix dock icon not persisting across launches
  • Fix widget extension discovery (re-register with LaunchServices on build number change)
  • Fix Time Machine hang during widget data writes
  • Fix thermal sensor numbering in detail view
1.0.3 March 2, 2026
Fixed
  • Fix CPU notification firing immediately on fresh installs due to 0% threshold default
1.0.2 March 1, 2026
Fixed
  • Fix help URL pointing to correct feedback repository
  • Fix thermal gauge missing degree symbol
  • Add Fahrenheit temperature unit toggle in Settings
1.0.1 February 28, 2026
Added
  • Privileged helper for SMC fan control (avoids requiring root for fan speed writes)
  • Per-app resource breakdown in top processes
  • Extended notification types: GPU sustained usage, GPU temperature, battery low charge, fan anomaly
  • Top processes dashboard card showing CPU and memory leaders
Changed
  • Build script updated for helper tool signing
1.0.0 February 25, 2026 Initial Release
MacPulse — Activity Monitor reimagined as a gorgeous, native SwiftUI dashboard with historical analytics and a menu bar companion.
Real-Time Monitoring
  • CPU — Per-core usage with P-core/E-core differentiation (Apple Silicon), user/system breakdown, frequency monitoring via IOReport
  • Memory — Usage breakdown (wired/compressed/cached/free), pressure level, swap monitoring
  • Network — Per-interface throughput (download/upload), private and public IP display
  • Disk — Volume usage, I/O rates (read/write), external disk detection with eject support
  • Thermal — SMC temperature sensors (CPU/GPU/ambient), fan RPM and percentage, power sensor readings (Direct only)
  • Battery — Charge percent, power source, time remaining, health, cycle count, temperature, Bluetooth device batteries (Direct only)
  • GPU — Utilization via IOKit IOAccelerator, memory via Metal, device name, temperature
Analytics & Insights
  • Historical trend charts with time range picker (1h / 24h / 7d / 30d)
  • CSV data export for all modules
  • Plain-English insights from rule-based InsightsEngine (23 rules covering all modules)
  • Performance session recording with 1-second polling and live charts (Direct only)
Menu Bar Companion
  • Configurable status bar: Icon Only, Text, Sparkline, or Text + Sparkline
  • Compact popover with CPU/Memory/Disk gauges, network speed, thermal, GPU, battery rows
  • Top 5 processes by CPU usage (Direct only)
  • Per-module toggle to customize popover content
Fan Control (Direct only)
  • Custom fan curves: Silent, Balanced, Performance, Full Speed, plus custom curve editor
  • Thermal watchdog forces max fans if CPU exceeds 95°C
  • Automatic fan reset on app quit
Settings
  • Configurable poll interval, launch at login, text size scaling
  • Per-type notification thresholds with cooldowns
  • Temperature unit toggle (Celsius/Fahrenheit)
Architecture
  • Native SwiftUI on macOS 14 Sonoma+, Universal Binary (Apple Silicon + Intel)
  • SQLite persistence via GRDB.swift with WAL mode and automatic retention policy
  • WidgetKit extension for home screen widgets
  • Sparkle auto-updates for direct distribution
  • 14-day trial with LemonSqueezy activation and Keychain-backed license storage