---
title: "smabar · The smart taskbar"
description: "A taskbar for Linux and Windows with an MCP server inside: pinned apps, glanceable widgets, and any widget you describe, built by the agent you already use."
canonical: "https://smabar.com/"
lang: en
---

# smabar · The smart taskbar

> A taskbar for Linux and Windows with an MCP server inside: pinned apps, glanceable widgets, and any widget you describe, built by the agent you already use.

Canonical HTML version: https://smabar.com/ · Language: en · Publisher: smabar (https://smabar.com)

---

A taskbar in the RocketDock tradition for Linux and Windows, with an MCP server inside. Connect the AI agent you already use and describe any widget you want.

works with Claude Code · Codex · Grok Build · Google Antigravity · any MCP client

## A taskbar for the things you glance at, next to the one you already have.

- Pinned apps, folders, files and websites, with fisheye magnification.
- Glanceable widgets: clock, system, media, todos, and anything a plugin shows.
- An MCP server on localhost, so your agent builds the widget you describe.
- It does not list your open windows and has no system tray.
- It runs beside your system's taskbar, it does not replace it.
- There is no cloud and no account. Nothing leaves your machine.

## Your agent does not code blind. It sees the bar and reads its own logs.

- The bar explains itself: manifest schema, SDK reference, a complete working template plugin.
- A PNG of the live bar, one widget, or an open flyout. The agent checks its own work the way you would: by looking.
- One call returns everything about a plugin: output, crashes, and every element the sanitizer removed, each with the supported alternative.

MCP on http://127.0.0.1:7627/mcp, localhost only. Nothing leaves your machine.

## And yes, it is still a beautiful taskbar.

- **Fisheye magnification**: like you remember it, with configurable scale and reach.
- **Pin anything**: apps, folders, files, websites. Website icons come from the site itself; no third-party icon service ever sees your links.
- **Pill or full-width**: top or bottom edge, floating, reserving space, or autohiding.
- **Desktop-widget mode**: put the whole bar behind your windows and keep the widgets on the desktop.
- **Flat, translucent surfaces**: one accent colour, a bar opacity, a separate flyout opacity. No blur, no gradients.
- **Batteries included**: clock, system info, media and todos ship built in. Each one an ordinary plugin whose source you can read.

## Your agent is also your designer.

A theme is one JSON file: colours, fonts and behaviour. Ask for a warm paper look with a serif clock and no magnification, and the agent writes it, pulls the font, activates it and screenshots the result. Share the file, share the whole setup.

- default: dark · magnify
- paper: light · calm
- terminal: mono · square
- topbar: top · full-width

## Boring where it matters.

- Every plugin is its own process. A crashing widget never takes the bar down.
- Plugins ship HTML, not JavaScript. The bar sanitizes the markup and provides the interactions itself.
- Plugin HTML and assets stay inside the plugin's folder. Plugin processes run with your user rights, so read a plugin before you install it.
- No cloud, no account. The MCP server binds to localhost only.
- Source-available: read every line before you trust it.

## Or install what someone else already asked for.

Plugins and themes live in public GitHub repositories; anyone can publish one and submit it to the catalog. smabar signs the catalog, pulls the stars straight from GitHub, and shows what a plugin needs before install. Nothing is ever installed silently.

- [Plugins](https://smabar.com/store.md): Widgets for the bar, with their source on GitHub.
- [Themes](https://smabar.com/store/themes.md): One JSON file each, previewed before you install.
- [Publish your own](https://smabar.com/store/publish.md): A public repository and one request. No review queue.

## Links

- [Download](https://smabar.com/download.md)
- [Docs](https://smabar.com/docs.md)
- [Changelog](https://smabar.com/changelog.md)
- [Contact](https://smabar.com/contact.md)
- [llms.txt](https://smabar.com/llms.txt)

.deb and .rpm for Linux, a setup.exe for Windows · macOS planned