# Main Features of Vorssaint‑Utils: Modular macOS Utilities in a Single Menu‑Bar App

> Discover Vorssaint-Utils, a modular macOS menu bar app offering window management, clipboard history, sound mixing, system monitoring, and more. Enhance your workflow with these versatile utilities.

- Repository: [vorssaint/vorssaint-utils](https://github.com/vorssaint/vorssaint-utils)
- Tags: deep-dive
- Published: 2026-09-13

---

**Vorssaint‑utils is a modular macOS utility suite that exposes dozens of independent tools—window management, clipboard history, sound mixing, and system monitoring—through a single menu‑bar icon, with each feature defined in the `AppFeature` enum and dynamically loaded via [`FeatureCatalog.swift`](https://github.com/vorssaint/vorssaint-utils/blob/main/FeatureCatalog.swift).**

Vorssaint‑utils (vorssaint/vorssaint-utils) organizes its capabilities around a central **feature hub** architecture. Rather than monolithic bloat, the application exposes a catalog of optional utilities that users can install, enable, or remove on demand. This design keeps resource usage minimal while providing advanced window management, input customization, and system monitoring tools.

## Feature Catalog Overview

The `AppFeature` enum in [`Sources/Vorssaint/Core/FeatureCatalog.swift`](https://github.com/vorssaint/vorssaint-utils/blob/main/Sources/Vorssaint/Core/FeatureCatalog.swift) defines every available utility. Features are grouped logically for the Settings UI and can be toggled independently. Below are the seven primary categories and their representative capabilities.

### Windows & Dock

This group enhances macOS window navigation and the Dock experience:

- **App Switcher** (`AppFeature.switcher`): A richer Command‑Tab experience displaying live window thumbnails
- **Dock Preview** (`AppFeature.dockPreview`): Hover‑over window thumbnails activated via Accessibility APIs
- **Window Layout** (`AppFeature.windowLayout`): Snap windows to halves, thirds, or corners using keyboard shortcuts

### Mouse & Keyboard

Input customization utilities that modify pointer behavior and modifier keys:

- **Focus‑Follows‑Mouse** (`AppFeature.focusFollowsMouse`): Automatically activate windows under the cursor
- **Smooth Scrolling** (`AppFeature.smoothScroll`) and **Scroll Inverter** (`AppFeature.scrollInverter`): Customize scroll wheel physics and direction
- **Super Key** (`AppFeature.superKey`): Remap Caps Lock or right‑side modifiers into custom shortcuts

### Clipboard & Files

Data management tools for the pasteboard and transient file storage:

- **Clipboard History** (`AppFeature.clipboardHistory`): Persistent history with pinning, image support, and automatic clearing rules
- **Shelf** (`AppFeature.shelf`): A temporary "parking" area for files, text snippets, and links
- **URL Cleaner** (`AppFeature.urlCleaner`): Automatically strip tracking parameters from copied URLs

### Sound

Audio routing and per‑application volume control:

- **Volume Mixer** (`AppFeature.mixer`): Per‑app volume adjustment, boost past 100 %, and hiding inactive applications
- **Sound Output Switcher** (`AppFeature.soundOutputSwitcher`): Rapidly switch audio outputs using global shortcuts

### Energy & Display

Hardware control utilities for sleep prevention and screen brightness:

- **Keep Awake** (`AppFeature.keepAwake`): Prevent system sleep, jiggle the mouse, or maintain operation with the lid closed
- **Brightness & Extra Brightness** (`AppFeature.brightness`, `AppFeature.extraBrightness`): Standard adjustment plus XDR panel over‑driving for HDR displays

### Tools

General productivity and maintenance utilities:

- **Command Bar** (`AppFeature.commandBar`): Universal launcher supporting actions, app launching, and text snippet insertion
- **Screen Capture & Recorder** (`AppFeature.screenshot`, `AppFeature.screenRecorder`): Screenshots, area recordings, OCR text recognition, and audio‑track selection
- **Cleaner & Uninstaller** (`AppFeature.cleaner`, `AppFeature.uninstaller`): Cache sweeping, log deletion, and complete application removal

### System Monitor

Live hardware telemetry with alerting capabilities:

- **CPU, Memory, Disk, Power & Network monitors** (`AppFeature.monitorCPU`, `AppFeature.monitorMemory`, etc.): Real‑time graphs with configurable alert thresholds
- **Fan Control (beta)** (`AppFeature.fanControl`): Manual fan speed curve adjustment

## Architecture and Dynamic Activation

Vorssaint‑utils uses a **dynamic activation** system to load only the features you need. In [`FeatureCatalog.swift`](https://github.com/vorssaint/vorssaint-utils/blob/main/FeatureCatalog.swift), each `AppFeature` declares its `availabilityKey` and `enabledKeys`, which map to `UserDefaults` entries.

### Permission Mapping

Each feature declares required macOS permissions via the `permissions` property. For example, the App Switcher requires **Accessibility** access, while Dock Preview needs **Screen Recording** permissions. The hub requests only the grants necessary for currently active features, enforcing a privacy‑first approach with no telemetry.

### Resource Management

When a feature is disabled, its `availabilityKey` is set to `false` in `UserDefaults.standard`, immediately freeing CPU, memory, and energy resources. This granular control prevents background bloat from unused utilities.

## Programmatic Feature Control

Developers and power users can inspect or toggle features via the public Swift API defined in [`FeatureCatalog.swift`](https://github.com/vorssaint/vorssaint-utils/blob/main/FeatureCatalog.swift).

### Checking Feature Status

The `availabilityKey` property returns the `UserDefaults` key tracking installation status, while `enabledKeys` contains the Boolean flags that activate the feature:

```swift
import Vorssaint

func isFeatureActive(_ feature: AppFeature) -> Bool {
    let available = UserDefaults.standard.bool(forKey: feature.availabilityKey)
    let enabled = feature.enabledKeys.isEmpty ||
        feature.enabledKeys.contains { UserDefaults.standard.bool(forKey: $0) }
    return available && enabled
}

let switcherActive = isFeatureActive(.switcher)
print("Switcher active: \(switcherActive)")

```

### Enabling Features Programmatically

To install and activate a feature via script or extension:

```swift
func enableFeature(_ feature: AppFeature) {
    UserDefaults.standard.set(true, forKey: feature.availabilityKey)
    if let primaryKey = feature.enabledKeys.first {
        UserDefaults.standard.set(true, forKey: primaryKey)
    }
}

enableFeature(.shelf)

```

### Filtering by Permission

Identify which active features require specific macOS permissions using `activeFeatures(using:)`:

```swift
let activeAccessibility = AppFeature.activeFeatures(
    using: .accessibility,
    defaults: .standard
)
print("Features using Accessibility: \(activeAccessibility.map { $0.rawValue })")

```

## Key Implementation Files

The feature system is distributed across four core files:

- **[`Sources/Vorssaint/Core/FeatureCatalog.swift`](https://github.com/vorssaint/vorssaint-utils/blob/main/Sources/Vorssaint/Core/FeatureCatalog.swift)**: Defines the `AppFeature` enum, feature groups, permission mappings, and activation logic
- **[`Sources/Vorssaint/Core/FeatureStrings.swift`](https://github.com/vorssaint/vorssaint-utils/blob/main/Sources/Vorssaint/Core/FeatureStrings.swift)**: Localized UI strings for feature titles, captions, and toggle labels
- **[`Sources/Vorssaint/main.swift`](https://github.com/vorssaint/vorssaint-utils/blob/main/Sources/Vorssaint/main.swift)**: Application entry point that initializes the menu‑bar icon and injects the feature hub
- **[`Sources/Vorssaint/Core/SettingsCategoryStrings.swift`](https://github.com/vorssaint/vorssaint-utils/blob/main/Sources/Vorssaint/Core/SettingsCategoryStrings.swift)**: Localized names for Settings sections (Essentials, Windows Controls, etc.)

## Summary

- Vorssaint‑utils exposes **seven feature groups** containing over twenty distinct utilities, from window snapping to fan control
- Features are defined in the **`AppFeature`** enum and grouped via **`FeatureGroup`** for the Settings UI
- Dynamic activation uses **`availabilityKey`** and **`enabledKeys`** stored in `UserDefaults`, ensuring unused features consume zero resources
- Permission requirements are declared per‑feature in `permissions`, allowing granular macOS grant requests
- The public API supports programmatic inspection via `isFeatureActive()` and `activeFeatures(using:)` methods

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How do I check if a specific vorssaint‑utils feature is currently running?

Use the `isFeatureActive(_:)` helper pattern shown in [`FeatureCatalog.swift`](https://github.com/vorssaint/vorssaint-utils/blob/main/FeatureCatalog.swift). This checks both the `availabilityKey` (installation status) and `enabledKeys` (activation flags) in `UserDefaults.standard`. A feature is only considered active when both conditions return true.

### Can I use vorssaint‑utils features without installing all of them?

Yes. Vorssaint‑utils uses a modular architecture where each utility is optional. Features are loaded dynamically based on their `availabilityKey` values. Uninstalling a feature by setting its availability to `false` immediately releases its memory and CPU resources.

### Which vorssaint‑utils features require Accessibility permissions?

Features that manipulate window focus or keyboard input—specifically the **App Switcher** (`AppFeature.switcher`), **Focus‑Follows‑Mouse** (`AppFeature.focusFollowsMouse`), and **Super Key** (`AppFeature.superKey`)—require Accessibility access. You can query exactly which active features need this permission by calling `AppFeature.activeFeatures(using: .accessibility, defaults: .standard)`.

### Where are feature availability settings stored in vorssaint‑utils?

Availability and enable states persist via `UserDefaults` using keys defined by the `availabilityKey` and `enabledKeys` properties of each `AppFeature`. For example, the shelf feature stores its installation status under the key returned by `AppFeature.shelf.availabilityKey`, while its on/off state maps to the strings in `AppFeature.shelf.enabledKeys`.