GuardBar

A native macOS menu bar application for managing AdGuard Home.

Status

GuardBar is currently in active development and testing.

Coming soon to the Mac App Store!

Want to try it early? You can build from source (see instructions below).

Features

• Quick Access - Manage AdGuard Home directly from your menu bar
• One-Click Toggle - Enable or disable ad blocking instantly
• Smart Timers - Temporarily disable protection with customizable presets (30s, 1m, 5m, 30m, 1h, 2h)
• Real-Time Status - Color-coded menu bar icons show protection status at a glance
• Background Monitoring - Automatic status updates via configurable polling
• Start at Login - Launches automatically with macOS
• Native Experience - Built with SwiftUI for a smooth, modern macOS feel

Requirements

• macOS 14.0 (Sonoma) or later
• AdGuard Home instance (running on your network)
• AdGuard Home credentials (username and password)

Building from Source

Prerequisites

• Xcode 15.0 or later
• macOS 14.0 or later

Build Instructions

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/gzambran/GuardBar.git
cd GuardBar

2. Open the project in Xcode:

open GuardBar.xcodeproj

3. Build and run:
   • Select the GuardBar scheme
   • Press Cmd+R to build and run

First Launch Setup

1. Click the GuardBar icon in your menu bar
2. Open Settings (Cmd+,)
3. Enter your AdGuard Home connection details:
   • Host/IP address
   • Port (default: 80)
   • Username
   • Password
4. Click "Test Connection" to verify

Usage

Toggle Protection

• Enable/Disable: Click the menu bar icon and select "Enable Ad Blocking" or "Disable for Permanently"
• Temporary Disable: Choose a preset time (30 seconds to 2 hours) for automatic re-enable

Menu Bar Icons

• Green Shield: Protection is ON
• Red Shield: Protection is OFF
• Orange Clock: Timer active (will re-enable automatically)
• Gray Shield: Loading or connection error

Settings

Access settings via:

• Menu bar icon → Settings
• Keyboard shortcut: Cmd+,

Configure:

• AdGuard Home connection
• Background polling interval
• Timer presets
• Start at login

Architecture

GuardBar is built with modern Swift best practices:

• SwiftUI for the user interface
• MVVM architecture with proper separation of concerns
• Combine framework for reactive programming
• ServiceManagement for login item management
• Keychain for secure password storage
• Feature-based code organization for maintainability

Support Development

GuardBar is open source (MIT License). While you can build it yourself, purchasing from the Mac App Store supports development and provides:

• Easy installation and automatic updates
• Priority support
• Supports future development

[Coming to Mac App Store Soon]

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you would like to change.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• Inspired by PiBar
• Built for the AdGuard Home community

Contact

• GitHub: @gzambran
• Issues: GitHub Issues

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Note: GuardBar is not affiliated with or endorsed by AdGuard.