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macOS · Menu bar

Deadbolt

Hand someone your Mac without handing over Messages — the apps you pick ask for Touch ID

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About Deadbolt

Deadbolt is built to add per-app authentication to macOS. Put an app on the protected list and it is meant to ask for Touch ID, or Deadbolt's own master password, before its windows can be read. Focus is the trigger: when a protected app comes to the front, Deadbolt hides its windows first and puts up the auth panel second. Session modes cover every time, once per session, or a timer, and an emergency lock on Cmd+Shift+L is designed to seal everything in one keystroke. It re-locks on screen lock and on sleep.

Who it's for

Anyone who shares a Mac or wants per-app privacy without locking the whole machine.

What it does

  • Touch ID authentication per app
  • Windows hidden on focus change, before the unlock prompt
  • Session modes: every time, once per session, timed
  • Emergency lock hotkey (Cmd+Shift+L)
  • Auto-lock on screen lock and sleep
  • Activity log of every unlock prompt's outcome

Behind the build

Deadbolt hides a protected app inside its NSWorkspace.didActivateApplicationNotification handler, on the main thread and in the same call stack, and only then asks for Touch ID.

The goal is to have the windows gone within a frame, but the notification arrives after the app is already active and hide() only sends a request, so a brief flash can't be ruled out. Unlock state lives only in memory, so a relaunch starts with every app locked; while Deadbolt isn't running, nothing is protected.

The full write-upHide a macOS app the moment it activates, then ask for Touch ID

Information

Runs on
macOS · Menu bar
Status
Source only
Requires
macOS 13+
Source
Public on GitHub
Telemetry
None
Built with
Swift & SwiftUI
Stack
SwiftUILocalAuthenticationAccessibility APIAppKit

Works well with

  • Vault

    Deadbolt locks apps, Vault encrypts files

  • EchoType

    EchoType auto-pauses on Deadbolt-protected apps

Deadbolt is source only, for now.

The code is public, but there's no packaged release yet. Build it from the repository today, or leave an email and hear when there's one you can double-click.

Tell me when it shipsView source

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