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BenchBarBenchBar

Roadmap

Where BenchBar is and where it goes. Versions below 1.0 may change the JSON API and the runner format; 1.0 freezes both. Dates are not promised. Ideas are welcome as issues.

Released

0.1, the CLI. Benches under launchd with one agent each, a crash guard (three restarts in ten minutes, then pause and notify), resume after reboot only when the bench was running, doctor and repair for the common breakages (missing env, node modules or built assets, crash looping agents, a stray Redis, MariaDB bound to the network, CleanMyMac), idempotent installs, the lean Procfile and the bench* helpers.

0.2, the menu bar app. The rename to BenchBar with the frappe-mac alias kept and old agents migrated, a versioned JSON API, the animated runner that sleeps, runs, speeds up with load and stumbles on crashes, start, stop, restart, site, logs and a read only doctor from the popover, crash notifications, launch at login, Reduce Motion, custom runners.

0.3, easy install. The one line installer, the manual install steps automated (MariaDB root password in the Keychain, the secure installation in SQL, the utf8mb4 drop-in, the pinned and checksummed wkhtmltopdf with Rosetta offered, the /etc/hosts line inside markers, one sudo prompt per run), benchbar adopt for existing benches, benchbar report for redacted bug reports, CI on macOS and Linux, unsigned releases built as drafts from a tag.

0.4, Frappe v16 and more than one bench. The v16 profile tested end to end on a real Mac, one MariaDB server shared by every bench, several benches side by side with their own port blocks, settings and processes, sites (site add, site default, site hosts), the scheduler opt in, doctor checks from the community threads (Full Disk Access, the toolchain as the bench sees it, honcho without pkg_resources, stale processes), and the app with a bench list, the worst state in the menu bar and the sites of each bench.

0.5, the app does more, apps and team profiles. The BenchBar window with a page per bench (sites, apps, doctor and Repair with its plan first), a log window, benchbar repair --json, benchbar mcp for coding agents, app installs and updates from the registry or any GitHub repo (private ones too), team profiles kept outside BenchBar, the benchbar.toml team lockfile, benchbar pull for a production copy with the encryption key carried over and email and the scheduler off, a new app icon, and the macOS 27 look.

0.5.5, the project skin. The documentation site at benchbar.akashmishra.com with a page per command, a short README, the community files (contributing with an AI policy, code of conduct, security policy, issue forms), and in the app an About pane with an update check, a Help menu and Report a Bug; benchbar docs and doctor links into the docs.

Later

0.6, public launch. Developer ID signing and notarization, a signed DMG, a cask in askysh/homebrew-tap, Sparkle updates, and a launch post on discuss.frappe.io.

0.7, the app for sites. Backup and restore from the app, dropping a site with a backup first, pull and the lockfile in the app, a first run wizard, profile switching per bench.

1.0. A stable JSON API and runner format, an official Homebrew cask, full doctor coverage for v15 and v16. Vouch (github.com/mitchellh/vouch) when drive-by PRs appear. Not before.

Ideas

Not scheduled, kept because they came up more than once.

  • A URL scheme for Raycast and Shortcuts, then Shortcuts actions, a Raycast extension, desktop widgets.
  • Open a bench in VS Code or Cursor, open a bench console.
  • A local mail catcher for development email.
  • Resource graphs per bench.
  • Run one scheduler event now from the app.
  • Worker restart when Python files change, opt in.
  • More speed sources for the runner: job queue depth, requests per second.
  • A runner gallery in the docs.
  • Log rotation on a size limit without a manual repair.
  • benchbar doctor --fix-hints for agents: only the fix commands, one per line.
  • More failure path tests for bench creation and app installation.
  • benchbar wipe, the uninstall recipe behind an explicit confirmation, never touching MariaDB data without a backup.
  • Intel Mac verification of the CLI.

Not planned

  • Docker or VMs. A bench runs natively: Python, Node, MariaDB and Redis from Homebrew, the processes under launchd. File watching, bench build and debugging are faster than through a VM, there is no Docker Desktop license or memory overhead, and the setup matches what most Frappe developers run on Linux.
  • The Mac App Store. App Store apps run in the App Sandbox, and a sandboxed app cannot run the CLI, start launchd agents or read a bench in your home folder. BenchBar ships as a signed, notarized download and a Homebrew cask instead.
  • Production deployment. BenchBar is for development benches.
  • Windows or Linux. The Windows and WSL path lives in askysh/frappe_wsl_dev_server.