Zapbar - Your Mac keyboard as TV remote
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Zapbar is a free, open-source menu bar remote for your TV. It finds your TV, sets it up, and gives you one power button, typing and link sending from your Mac, APK install by drag and drop, and screenshots. Local network only, no tracking.
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Hi all, I'm Jim. I'm still learning to build, so this is a small one.
Zapbar used to be called Mac Android TV Remote. It lives in the Mac menu bar, and I made it because typing a search with the TV remote is painful.
What it does:
- Finds your TV on the network and walks you through setup (Sony first, Xiaomi too).
- One power button that says Turn on or Turn off.
- Send text and links from your Mac to the TV.
- Drag an APK onto it to install it, with a log of what happened.
- Take a screenshot of the TV and save it.
- Launch at login. Free, open source, local network only, no tracking.
Download: https://github.com/pohstep/mac-android-tv-remote/releases/tag/v1.2.0
Honest limits:
- I tested it on a Sony Bravia. Xiaomi support is experimental and was only tried against a mock, not a real set.
- Typing is English only, and typing, links and installs need network debugging turned on once on the TV.
- It isn't signed with an Apple developer account yet. The first time, right-click Zapbar and choose Open (on macOS 15, use Open Anyway in System Settings, Privacy & Security). The README has the steps.
- Mac only, macOS 13 or later.
The screenshots use the built-in demo TV, so no real TV is shown.
What TV do you have, and where did setup get stuck? Ideas welcome. Thanks for looking.