Instant AI answers in a floating glass bar — without breaking your flow.
Video Demo • Overview • Features • Quick Install • AI Providers • Shortcuts • Privacy • Build from Source
flyby-promo-s.mp4
Flyby is a lightweight, menu-bar-only macOS utility (LSUIElement) designed to eliminate context switching.
Press your shortcut (default: ⌥/), and a dark, Siri-style floating glass bar appears at the bottom of your screen over whatever application you are working in. Type your question, hit Return, and the bar fluidly morphs into an answer card with streamed answers and cited sources.
- Zero Window Jitter: Operates seamlessly across full-screen spaces, IDEs, and browsers without stealing focus away from your active work.
- Multimodal Screen Querying: Capture and ask about your active window with a single hotkey.
- Local & Private: Native on-device history, direct browser cookie syncing, and zero middleman servers.
-
⚡ Liquid Glass Interface
Built with native Apple-style spring animations. The input bar seamlessly morphs into an answer card without window-resize jitter, adapting organically over any wallpaper or workspace. -
📸 Screen Intelligence ("Ask About Your Screen")
Hit⌥⇧Spaceor type/screenshotto capture your active window with an elegant radiating light wave. Ask Google AI Mode or Gemini about the window you're in — code errors, UI designs, charts, or articles. -
🧠 Quad-Engine AI Support
Seamlessly toggle between four distinct intelligence providers:- Google AI Mode: Live AI overviews rendered natively from your existing Google session (Safari/Firefox cookie sync) with citations and zero CAPTCHAs.
- Gemini: Fast streaming with live Google Search grounding via your free API key (
gemini-3.8-flash). - Apple Intelligence: 100% on-device, offline, private reasoning through macOS 27's FoundationModels framework.
- Browser: Instant query pass-through to your default browser.
-
💬 Persistent Multi-Turn Conversations
Continue asking follow-up questions within the same card. Re-open any of your last 200 conversations at any time with⌘Y. -
🔒 Privacy by Architecture
Conversations are stored locally on your Mac (~/Library/Application Support/). Zero telemetry, zero external trackers, and no middleman servers. -
⌨️ Deep Keyboard Flow
Full keyboard navigation, slash commands (/google,/gemini,/apple,/screenshot,/copy), and a shortcut recorder for any key combo — no permissions needed.
Open Terminal and run:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/emonsaqibh/flyby/main/install.sh | bashRequirements: macOS 27 or later on Apple silicon.
Flyby runs exclusively as a menu-bar companion (
LSUIElement) — look for the sparkle magnifying glass in your menu bar.
Flyby automatically checks for updates in the background. You can also trigger an immediate check via Menu Bar › Check for Updates… or in Settings › General › Check Now.
Pre-built binaries are also available on the Releases page.
| Provider | Engine Type | Live Web | Vision / Screenshots | Setup Required | Privacy Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google AI Mode | Native DOM Streaming | Yes | Yes | Safari or Firefox sign-in sync | Standard Google Account session |
| Gemini | Direct REST / SSE API | Yes | Yes | Free Gemini API key | Google API (Search Grounded) |
| Apple Intelligence | On-Device Foundation Model | No | No | Enable in macOS System Settings | 100% Offline & Private |
| Browser | Web Redirect | Yes | No | None | Handed to default browser |
AI Mode runs inside your own Google session: Settings › Google Account securely mirrors your sign-in cookies from Safari or Firefox into Flyby's sandboxed cookie store. The answer is streamed invisibly from Google's /search?udm=50 UI: an injected reader script parses headings, lists, tables, and cited sources in real time, rendering them natively inside Flyby's glass card.
Provide a free API key from Google AI Studio. Flyby stores it securely in your macOS Keychain. Google Search grounding is enabled by default so answers always reflect real-time web facts.
Uses macOS 27's native FoundationModels framework. No accounts, no API keys, and zero network requests. Your queries and answers never leave your Mac.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| ⌥/ (Default) | Open / Dismiss Flyby bar |
| ⌥⇧Space (Default) | Capture active window and open Flyby with screenshot attached |
(Both are customizable in Settings › Shortcut. Shortcuts are key combos — a key with modifiers — which macOS delivers with no permissions at all. Double-taps and held-modifier chords were removed in 0.6: they needed Accessibility and Input Monitoring.)
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
Return |
Submit query (or follow-up if conversation is open) |
⌥Return |
Insert a new line in the query |
⌘Return |
Open query immediately in your default browser |
⌘K |
Open AI Provider switcher menu |
⌘1 – ⌘4 |
Quick-switch provider: Browser, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Apple Intelligence |
⌘. |
Stop generation mid-stream |
⌘R |
Retry / Re-ask query |
⇧⌘C |
Copy full formatted answer with sources (⌘C copies current selection) |
⌘N |
Start a new chat (folds card back into input bar) |
⌘Y or ↑ |
Open Recent Chats history |
Esc |
Step backward: dismiss menus / unfocus input / dismiss Flyby |
Tab |
Refocus input field from answer card |
⌘, |
Open Settings |
⌘/ |
Open in-app keyboard shortcut cheatsheet |
Type / at the beginning of the input field to trigger quick actions:
/screenshot— Capture the active window and attach to query/google— Switch to Google AI Mode/gemini— Switch to Gemini/apple— Switch to Apple Intelligence/browser— Switch to Browser redirect/new— Start a fresh conversation/retry— Re-run the last question/copy— Copy the last answer to clipboard/history— Browse recent conversations/shortcuts— Display keyboard shortcuts overlay/settings— Open Flyby Settings
- Local-First Storage: All conversation history is saved exclusively on your local Mac in
~/Library/Application Support/com.fringecore.flyby/History/. Flyby does not operate cloud sync servers or telemetry endpoints. - On-Device Cookie Syncing: Google session sync reads only
google.*session cookies from local browser databases on your Mac. These tokens never leave your machine. - Permissions Transparency:
- No keyboard permissions: Shortcuts are key combos, which need no Accessibility or Input Monitoring at all — Flyby never asks for either.
- Screen Recording: Only requested when you explicitly invoke the screenshot feature (
⌥⇧Spaceor/screenshot). Flyby captures only the active window, never your background screen.
- macOS 27 running on Apple silicon.
- Xcode 27.0 or later.
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/emonsaqibh/flyby.git
cd flyby
# Build and launch Flyby Dev locally
./run.sh
# Build unoptimized debug build for LLDB
CONF=debug ./build.sh
# Run unit tests
swift testNote on Build Flavors:
Flyby uses a dual-target architecture:
- Flyby Dev (
com.fringecore.flyby.dev): Used for local development and testing. Wears an amber icon with a DEV badge and is signed with a local signing certificate so permissions survive rebuilds.- Flyby (Release) (
com.fringecore.flyby): The frozen distribution build. Wears the standard blue icon.
Sources/
├── FlybyCore/ # Headless Foundation logic (100% unit-tested)
│ ├── Answer/ # Markdown parsing, snapshots, and source models
│ ├── Cookies/ # Safari, Firefox, and Chromium cookie extraction
│ └── AIMode/ # Google AI Mode DOM querying & classification
└── Flyby/ # macOS Application Layer (SwiftUI + AppKit)
├── Google/ # Hidden WKWebView session & DOM script extractor
├── GeminiProvider.swift # SSE streaming provider with search grounding
├── AppleIntelligence/ # FoundationModels on-device provider
├── Capture/ # Window capture & light wave animations
├── FlybyPanel.swift # Smoked liquid glass window & spring physics
├── InputBar.swift # Siri-style floating input pill & provider chip
├── AnswerCard.swift # Expanding card, source chips, and action buttons
├── HotKeyMonitor.swift # Carbon hot keys (key combos, no permissions)
└── SettingsUI/ # Native macOS split-view settings interface
This project is licensed under the MIT License — see the LICENSE file for details.