This guide walks through everything you need to get Lounge running on your Mac, from download to your first customized menu bar layout.
Requirements
Lounge requires macOS 26 (Tahoe) or later. It runs on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.
1. Download and install
Download Lounge directly — no App Store required. Because Lounge relies on the Accessibility API to reposition menu bar items, it can't be distributed through the Mac App Store; it's signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple instead, so Gatekeeper will let it run without extra steps.
2. Grant Accessibility permission
On first launch, macOS will ask you to grant Lounge Accessibility permission. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility, and toggle Lounge on. This permission is what lets Lounge move a hidden status item that pushes other icons off-screen to hide them, and shrink it back to reveal them.
3. Organize your menu bar
Lounge shows a divider marker in your menu bar. Hold ⌘ and drag any icon left or right across the divider to sort it into the visible or hidden section. Do this once for each app you want tucked away.
4. Learn the shortcut
⌘⇧L toggles the hidden section instantly, from any app, without touching your mouse. If you're on a MacBook with a notch, you can also just hover near the notch to open the same panel visually.
5. Customize in Preferences
Open Lounge's preferences panel to fine-tune:
- Launch at login — so Lounge is running before you even open your first app
- Icon style and divider character — match your aesthetic
- Animation speed — snappier or smoother transitions
- Custom keyboard shortcut — remap away from ⌘⇧L if needed
- License and subscription management — all in one place
6. Try clipboard history
Lounge includes a built-in clipboard history view. Copy something, then check the clipboard section in the panel to search and reuse recent snippets without breaking your workflow.
Pricing and trial
Lounge costs $3.99/year, and every subscription starts with a 7-day free trial — no credit card commitment required to explore the full feature set.
Next steps
Once you're set up, read how to declutter your macOS menu bar for a practical sorting workflow, or check the agent tutorials if you want to wire Claude Code, Cursor, Codex CLI, Gemini CLI, or Aider notifications into Lounge Pro's menu bar panel.