---
id: '0001'
title: Best-in-class menu bar monitoring UX patterns
status: open
evidence: VERIFIED
sources: 1
created: '2026-03-24'
---

## Claim

The best menu bar monitoring apps (Stats, iStat Menus, MenuBar Stats) follow a consistent pattern: compact icon/indicator in the bar itself (color-coded or mini-graph), detailed panel on click. Stats (open source, 25k+ stars) shows 10 modules with selective enable/disable. Key UX principles: (1) menu bar icon should be glanceable — color shift green→orange→red for status, (2) click opens detailed panel with current metrics, (3) users can selectively show/hide modules to save menu bar space, (4) notifications for threshold crossings. For apple-a-day, the icon should convey health status at a glance (healthy vs degraded) and the panel should show score dimensions and recent findings.

## Supporting Evidence

> **Evidence: [VERIFIED]** — github.com/exelban/stats, bjango.com/mac/istatmenus, seense.com/menubarstats, retrieved 2026-03-24

## Caveats

None identified yet.
