Menu Band — distribution metadata #

Prepared 2026-04-28. Notarized + stapled bundle: ~/Applications/Menu Band.app (1.0, build 1). Notary submission ID for this build: 7cd9617a-ef01-4962-b4f5-fd6cff249de8.

Core copy #

Long description #

Menu Band brings the built-in macOS instruments — the ones GarageBand uses — into your menu bar.

A tiny piano sits at the right of your menu bar. Click any key to play. Type letters to play. Send notes to your DAW over MIDI.

Three input modes:

• Pointer — mouse-only, two octaves of QWERTY-mapped piano keys. • Notepat — global keystroke capture, Notepat layout, two octaves. • Ableton — global keystroke capture, Ableton Live's M-mode QWERTY layout, one octave.

Menu Band publishes a virtual MIDI source named "Menu Band" — pick it as an input in any DAW and the keys you tap (or letters you type) play through your DAW's instruments. A built-in General MIDI synth covers hundreds of patches when no DAW is running.

A political project: accessible music-making is as essential as time, network connectivity, and battery life. Free + open source.

Short description (≤170 chars, App Store promo line) #

Built-in macOS instruments in your menu bar. Tap, type, or send to your DAW. Three input modes. One virtual MIDI source. Free + open source.

Keywords (≤100 chars, App Store) #

music,midi,menubar,garageband,ableton,daw,piano,qwerty,instrument,synth

What's new (1.0) #

First release. Three-state input picker (Pointer / Notepat / Ableton) with hover-preview, MIDI loopback self-test, virtual MIDI source for any DAW, instrument picker covering all 128 General MIDI patches.

URLs (App Store Connect form) #

• Support URL: https://aesthetic.computer
• Marketing URL: https://notepat.com
• Privacy Policy URL: https://aesthetic.computer/menuband/privacy.html (live).

Screenshot checklist #

The Mac App Store requires at least one screenshot. For direct download, screenshots are optional but help.

• Menubar close-up — Menu Band lit on a held chord (accent color).
• Popover open — Input picker visible, Pointer/Notepat/Ableton hover-preview shown.
• In Ableton/Logic — virtual MIDI port labelled "Menu Band" in the source list, with a track receiving notes.
• Optional: instrument picker open showing GM family list.

Distribution channels #

(a) Direct download — ready today #

./install.sh then ./notarize.sh produces a Developer ID-signed, hardened-runtime, notarized, stapled bundle at ~/Applications/Menu Band.app. Package with ./dmg.sh and host the DMG behind a download button on notepat.com / aesthetic.computer. Gatekeeper accepts it without warnings.

(b) Mac App Store — blocked by sandbox #

The current build uses CGEventTap (TYPE mode) and Carbon RegisterEventHotKey (⌃⌥⌘P), neither of which run under the App Sandbox that the Mac App Store mandates.

To ship a Mac App Store version:

1. Drop TYPE mode and the global hotkey (Pointer-only).
2. Add com.apple.security.app-sandbox = true to MenuBand.entitlements.
3. Add the App Sandbox's com.apple.security.network.client if any net call sneaks in (none today).
4. Re-archive in Xcode (Mac App Store distribution requires the Xcode archive flow, not raw swift build).
5. Upload via Xcode Organizer or xcrun altool.
6. Submit for review (1–7 days typical).

This would ship as a strict subset of the direct-download version. Maintaining both means a #if MAC_APP_STORE flag around the TYPE mode + hotkey.

(c) Both — recommended long-term #

Direct download = full version, App Store = sandboxed Pointer-only build for users who only want the menubar piano + DAW MIDI output without the global keystroke capture.

Build + ship recipe (direct download) #

cd ~/aesthetic-computer/slab/menuband
source ~/aesthetic-computer/aesthetic-computer-vault/apple/app-specific-password.env
./install.sh                # build + sign + install + load LaunchAgent
./notarize.sh               # zip + submit + staple
./dmg.sh                    # package signed DMG

Resulting DMG sits at slab/menuband/Menu-Band-<version>.dmg. Host on Spaces / notepat.com.