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System Tray / Menu Bar

Kshan lives in your macOS menu bar, Windows notification area, or Linux app indicator area, so you can control tracking without opening the main window. On macOS, closing the main window doesn't quit Kshan — the tray icon is how you get back in.

The menu​

Click the tray icon to open:

  • Status line: "Tracking active" (info only)
  • Pause tracking — toggles the window tracker on/off
  • Complete current task — enabled only while a scheduled timebox covers right now
  • Up to 5 tasks scheduled today, each with a Mark as completed submenu
  • Create new task — opens the main window on the Calendar tab
  • Settings — opens the main window on the Settings tab
  • Open Kshan — shows/focuses the main window
  • Quit Kshan — stops tracking and exits

:::info Media needed — Screenshot Capture: The tray dropdown menu open on macOS (menu bar icon + full menu list, including a couple of today's tasks with the "Mark as completed" submenu visible on one). Suggested file: static/img/screenshots/tray-menu-macos.png :::

On macOS and Linux (not currently supported on Windows), the tray also shows a short text label next to the icon. Choose what it displays in Preferences → Tracking → "Menu bar shows":

  • Current task (default)
  • Next task
  • Hours tracked today
  • Focus % today
note

Only one metric shows at a time. "Next task" only looks at today — it shows nothing once today's tasks are done, even if you have tasks scheduled tomorrow.

:::info Media needed — Screenshot Capture: The "Menu bar shows" option in Preferences → Tracking, with the dropdown open showing all four choices. Suggested file: static/img/screenshots/menu-bar-shows-option.png :::