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@aredtech aredtech released this 06 Jul 03:55
v1.0.0
ac0de2d

SimpleManager v1.0.0

The first public release of SimpleManager — a native macOS utility to force-quit multiple running apps in one click.

What it does

macOS's built-in Force Quit panel (⌥⌘⎋) quits apps one at a time. SimpleManager lets you multi-select as many apps as you want and force-quit them all at once — or nuke everything except itself in a single click.

Features

  • Multi-select list — check any number of running apps, then force-quit them together
  • Force Quit All — one button quits every running app except SimpleManager
  • Live auto-refresh — watches NSWorkspace notifications; launching or quitting another app updates the list instantly, no manual refresh needed
  • Graceful-then-force quit — each target gets a 2-second graceful terminate() window so apps can save work, then forceTerminate() (SIGKILL) for anything that refuses
  • Open / switch to an app — inline button on every row activates that app without quitting it
  • User-facing apps only — shows Dock / ⌘⇥ visible apps; never lists background daemons or login items
  • Self-protecting — never quits itself, even via "Force Quit All"
  • Modern SwiftUI UI — pulsing live status pill, selection progress bar, per-row quitting spinner

⚠️ Important: First-launch note

SimpleManager is currently unsigned and unnotarized (no Apple Developer ID), so macOS may refuse to open it with a misleading "SimpleManager is damaged and can't be opened. You should move it to the Trash." message. The app is not damaged — this is Gatekeeper refusing to launch an unsigned app downloaded from the internet.

Fix

After dragging SimpleManager.app into /Applications, run this in Terminal:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/SimpleManager.app

Then launch SimpleManager normally. You only need to do this once — future launches work fine.

Why this happens: files downloaded via a browser get a com.apple.quarantine extended attribute attached by macOS. For apps without a Developer ID signature + notarization ticket, Gatekeeper refuses to run them. The xattr command clears that flag. It's safe and only needs to run once.

If you instead see "unidentified developer" on right-click → Open → Open, approve it there — no Terminal needed.

Installation

Download the DMG (recommended)

  1. Download SimpleManager-v1.0.0.dmg from the assets below
  2. Double-click the DMG to mount it
  3. Drag SimpleManager.app onto the Applications folder shortcut
  4. Eject the DMG (right-click → Eject, or ⌘E)
  5. Open Terminal and run: xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/SimpleManager.app
  6. Launch SimpleManager from Launchpad or /Applications

Build from source

Requires macOS 14 (Sonoma) or newer and Swift 6.2 / Xcode 26.

git clone https://github.com/aredtech/simple-manager.git
cd simple-manager
./Scripts/build_app.sh && open .build/app/SimpleManager.app

Building from source does not require the xattr step (no quarantine flag is attached).

Usage

  1. Launch SimpleManager — it lists every running user-facing app
  2. Check the apps you want to quit (or click Select All)
  3. Click Force Quit Selected — or click Quit All to quit everything except SimpleManager
  4. Use the Open button on any row to switch to an app without quitting it

System requirements

  • macOS 14.0 (Sonoma) or newer
  • Apple Silicon or Intel
  • No special permissions or entitlements required

What's new in v1.0.0

  • Initial release
  • Multi-select force-quit with graceful-then-force semantics
  • Live NSWorkspace notification-based refresh
  • Inline open/activate button per app
  • Customizable app icon (bring-your-own PNG at Sources/Assets/AppIcon.png)
  • 6 unit tests covering self-exclusion and the quit pipeline

Known limitations

  • Only apps with activationPolicy == .regular are listed — menu-bar-only apps (.accessory) are hidden by design
  • Quitting system apps like Finder/Dock is permitted (Finder auto-relaunches on recent macOS; Dock does not)
  • App is unsigned — see the first-launch note above
  • No memory/CPU footprint display yet — planned for a future release

Verification

Verify the downloaded DMG against the published checksum:

shasum -a 256 SimpleManager-v1.0.0.dmg
cat SimpleManager-v1.0.0.dmg.sha256

The two values should match.

License

MIT — see LICENSE.

Feedback

Open an issue at https://github.com/aredtech/simple-manager/issues if you hit a bug, want a feature, or have a question.

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