Plonk for MAC
Free, open-source menu bar toolbox for Apple Silicon Macs: window zones, workspaces, screenshots, OCR, a ruler, keep-awake and pointer tools.
Plonk Overview
Plonk is a free, open-source toolbox for the Mac that puts a set of everyday utilities behind one menu bar icon. It arranges windows in snap zones you draw yourself, saves workspaces that put apps back on the right monitor, takes and annotates screenshots, copies text from anything on screen with on-device OCR, measures the screen in points and pixels, keeps the Mac awake and adds pointer tools. Every tool shares one interface, one command palette and one set of settings, and each module except the shortcut guide can be switched off.
Plonk also ships a command-line tool and an MCP server with 22 tools, so an AI agent can use the same features, and everything stays on your Mac. It is made by ostapondo under the MIT licence. The developer calls it early: it is version 0.4.x by a single author, and the MCP tool names and HTTP API can still change. Releases are built for Apple Silicon only and need macOS 13 or later. Plonk is signed with a self-made certificate but not notarized by Apple, so macOS blocks a copy you download by hand: open it once, then choose Open Anyway in System Settings, Privacy & Security, or clear the quarantine flag in Terminal. Version 0.4.3 brings native Liquid Glass on macOS 26.
Key Features
Plonk replaces a row of single-purpose menu bar apps with one modular app.
- Zones and workspaces: draw window places and restore apps on the correct displays.
- Screenshots: capture a region, window or full screen and annotate it.
- On-device OCR: copy words from screenshots, paused video, dialogs or locked PDFs.
- Screen ruler: read distances in macOS points and physical pixels.
- Live crops: pin a changing part of the screen above everything else.
- Pulse: keep the Mac awake by timer, schedule, open app, charging state or process.
- Pointer tools: find the cursor, add crosshairs or click rings, jump to the next display.
- Shortcut guide: read the shortcuts the front app actually exposes in its menus.
What’s New in Version 0.4.3
Plonk 0.4.3 updates the look on macOS 26.
- The app now uses native Liquid Glass on macOS 26; version 0.4.2 used a fallback material
- Shorter MCP Registry description to meet its length limit
Plonk FAQ
Is Plonk free?
Yes. Plonk is free and open source under the MIT licence.
What does Plonk do?
It gathers several utilities behind one menu bar icon: window zones and workspaces, screenshots with annotation, on-device OCR, a screen ruler, live crops, keep-awake, pointer tools and a shortcut guide.
Which Macs does Plonk run on?
Releases are built for Apple Silicon only and need macOS 13 or later. They will not run on Intel Macs; building from source might work there, but the developer says nobody has tried it yet.
Why does macOS warn me when I open Plonk?
Plonk is signed with a self-made certificate and is not notarized by Apple. Open it once, dismiss the warning, then choose Open Anyway in System Settings, Privacy & Security, or run xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Plonk.app in Terminal.
Can I install Plonk with Homebrew?
Yes, from the developer's own tap: brew install --cask ostapondo/plonk/plonk. The cask clears the quarantine flag for you.
Which permissions does Plonk need?
Accessibility, then relaunch. Screen Recording is asked for separately the first time you capture. It does not need Full Disk Access, Automation or Keychain access.
Can I turn off the tools I do not use?
Yes. Every module except the shortcut guide can be switched off. A switched-off tool disappears from the sidebar and menu, releases its shortcuts and is refused to agents.
Does Plonk work with Rectangle?
Yes, as long as the shortcuts do not collide. Plonk can also import Rectangle bindings. Tiling managers such as yabai and Amethyst pull windows out of zones, so run one or the other.
Can an AI agent control Plonk?
Yes. Plonk ships an MCP server with 22 tools and a plonk command-line tool. The developer notes that the MCP tool names and the HTTP API can still change between minor versions.
Where does the Plonk download on plonk.FULLMAC.app come from?
The download button leads to the official Plonk release page on GitHub at https://github.com/ostapondo/Plonk/releases/latest. plonk.FULLMAC.app does not change or repackage the app.
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FULLMAC.app does not host this app. Download buttons lead to the developer’s own pages.