UpKeepy

A small macOS menu bar app that keeps your Mac up to date, like topgrade but graphical and one click away, with a feature brew itself can't do: ghost cask detection.

upkeepy.fr · macOS 14+ · Swift / SwiftUI · Open source (MIT)

What it does

• Homebrew: formulae + apps (casks), with automatic cleanup.
• npm: outdated global packages, installed at the exact version (not @latest) with a post-install check that exposes the fake successes where npm exits 0 even though the native module failed to compile.
• RubyGems: outdated gems (the macOS system Ruby is skipped, since its gems are managed by Apple and touching them would break things).
• macOS: lists system updates and opens System Settings.
• Ghost casks: detects apps that Homebrew thinks are installed but were removed by hand, and offers, for each one, to reinstall or remove the reference. This is the signature feature.
• Smart diagnostics: when an update fails, the banner shows the likely cause and the command to run (e.g. missing distutils on Python 3.13 → npm install -g node-gyp@latest).
• Demo mode: a toggle in the ⏰ footer menu that shows a simulated set of pending updates and ghost casks, for screenshots and demos, independently of what the machine actually has. No command is run while it is on, and a DEMO badge stays visible in the header.
• Periodic background checks (30 min / 1 h / 6 h / 24 h, adjustable from the ⏰ menu in the footer) + a system notification when new updates appear between two checks.

Granularity

• One package: ⬇️ button on the row, spinner + live output + summary.
• Everything: an "Update all" button with an X/N progress bar that moves package by package, showing the current name and its live output.
• Targeted uninstall: 🗑️ button with a confirmation dialog (brew, global npm, gems).
• A summary at the end, always: ✅/❌ + measured duration + an expandable, selectable detail view (to copy-paste a log).

The menu bar icon reflects the live status:

Icon	State
✅ checkmark.seal	everything is up to date
⬇️ arrow.down.circle	updates available
🔄 arrow.triangle.2.circlepath	checking / updating
⚠️ exclamationmark.triangle	error

Installation

Requires macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later. The build is signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple: it opens without a Gatekeeper warning. 2 MB, no dependencies, no telemetry, no account.

Homebrew

brew install --cask anisselbd/tap/upkeepy

Direct download

Grab the .dmg from the latest release, then drag UpKeepy to Applications.

From source

No full Xcode needed, just the Command Line Tools.

git clone https://github.com/anisselbd/upkeepy.git
cd upkeepy
./build.sh        # compiles + bundles UpKeepy.app
open UpKeepy.app  # launches the app (icon in the menu bar)

To launch it at every startup: System Settings → General → Login Items → add UpKeepy.app.

Architecture

File	Role
Models.swift	data types (UpdatePackage, GhostCask, states)
Shell.swift	command execution with an enriched PATH (a GUI app does not inherit the shell's PATH)
MaintenanceEngine.swift	business logic: checks, parsing, updates, ghost detection
AppState.swift	observable state (@MainActor) shared by the UI
MenuContentView.swift	SwiftUI interface of the popover
UpKeepyApp.swift	MenuBarExtra entry point
Tools/make-icon.swift	generates the app icon in code (Core Graphics)

Regenerate the icon

swift Tools/make-icon.swift
iconutil -c icns AppIcon.iconset -o Resources/AppIcon.icns
./build.sh

Known limitations

• macOS updates are listed but not applied inside the app (sudo elevation is not handled): UpKeepy opens System Settings to finish them.
• No built-in launch-at-startup yet (add it by hand for now, see above).

What's next (demo mode, launch at startup, grouped updates) lives in ROADMAP.md.

License

MIT. Do what you want with it.