Keyboard Maestro: Turn Your Macros into a One-Click Menu
If you've been using Keyboard Maestro for any length of time, you probably have its icon sitting in your menu bar right now. Click it, and you'll see a list of macro groups, recent macros, and some utility options. It works. But here's the thing — that menu wasn't built for you. It shows what KM thinks you need, not the specific macros you actually trigger every day.
The same problem exists with Drafts, Things 3, CleanShot X, Fantastical, and dozens of other productivity apps. They all ship with preset menus full of options you'll never touch. And if you're a Keyboard Maestro power user with 50, 100, or 200+ macros, that default menu becomes almost useless. Your best automations are buried somewhere in a group hierarchy while you scroll past actions you haven't used in months.
What if you could eliminate that default menu entirely and replace it with one you designed yourself?
The Problem with Default Menu Bar Apps
Most productivity apps earn their spot in your menu bar by adding an icon with a preset list of actions. KM shows your macro groups and recent triggers. Drafts displays recent documents and workspaces. Things 3 gives you Inbox, Today, Upcoming, and Anytime. CleanShot X offers 15+ capture options.
These menus are designed for everyone, which means they're optimized for no one.
If you've customized your KM setup over months or years, you know exactly which macros matter. Maybe it's five. Maybe it's fifteen. But the default menu doesn't know that. It treats your "Open Dev Environment" macro the same as that test automation you built six months ago and forgot about.
The old solution was to hide these icons using apps like Bartender or Ice. But hiding isn't the same as replacing. You still have bloated menus — they're just tucked away behind another click.
When macOS Tahoe changed how the menu bar works under the hood, many of these traditional tools scrambled to adapt. But one app took a completely different approach.
A New Approach — Replace, Don't Hide
ExtraBar doesn't try to manage your existing menu bar icons. Instead, it lets you build your own action menus from scratch.
Instead of hiding KM's icon, you can eliminate it entirely. Create a custom action list with only your most-used macros. Organize them in whatever order makes sense for your workflow. Access everything through a single hotkey.
Lou Plummer (Amerpie), did exactly this on his first day with ExtraBar. He was able to eliminate the native KM menu item — something he used multiple times daily — by creating a custom action list. But he didn't stop there. He also removed Drafts, Fantastical, CleanShot X, and Things 3 from his menu bar. All replaced with lean, intentional ExtraBar menus containing only the actions he actually uses. Read his blog post ExtraBar is the App of My Dreams
How to Replace Your Keyboard Maestro Menu with a Custom Action List
Here's how to build your own custom macro menu using ExtraBar:
Step 1: Identify your most-triggered macros
Open KM and look at your macro groups. Which ones do you run daily? Which ones do you struggle to remember the hotkey for? Write down your top 10-15.
Step 2: Get the trigger URL for each macro
KM supports deep links that let you trigger any macro externally. The format looks like this:
kmtrigger://macro=YourMacroNameYou can also trigger by UUID for macros with special characters in their names. Check the KM documentation for the exact syntax.
Step 3: Create a new ExtraBar menu
Open ExtraBar and create add a new app. Add each macro as a deep link action, pasting the trigger URL you grabbed in step two. Give each item a clear name — this is YOUR menu now, so name things however makes sense to you.
Step 4: Organize in your preferred order
Unlike KM's default menu, you control the sequence. Put your most-used macros at the top. Group related actions together.
Step 5: Remove the native KM menu bar icon
On macOS Tahoe, just Cmd + drag the icon off your menu bar. Alternatively, disable it in KM's preferences.
Step 6: Assign a global hotkey
Set up a hotkey to summon ExtraBar. Now your custom macro menu is one keystroke away. And here's the thing — you can navigate the entire menu with your keyboard. No mouse required.
The result: your best macros are now accessible via one hotkey, displayed in a menu you designed, ordered the way your brain works.
Beyond Keyboard Maestro — Apps You Can Eliminate
The same approach works for any app that supports deep links — either natively or through Raycast extensions.
Drafts has excellent native deep link support. URLs like drafts://create open a new draft instantly. drafts://open?uuid=... jumps to a specific document. Build an ExtraBar menu with just "New Draft," "Open Workspace," and your two most-used actions. Remove the default Drafts icon.
Things supports deep links for everything. things:///show?id=today opens your Today list. things:///add?title=Buy%20milk creates a new to-do. things:///show?id=anytime jumps to Anytime. Build a menu with just the views you check daily.
If you use Raycast, the CleanShot X extension gives you deep links for every capture type. Grab the URLs for "Capture Area" and "Record Screen" — probably the only two you use regularly. Add them to ExtraBar and remove the default CleanShot icon with its 15 options you never touch.
Deep links let you create events, open specific calendars, or jump to particular views. Build a menu that matches how you actually use your calendar.
Apple Shortcuts
You can trigger any shortcut via deep links. Build your own launcher for individual shortcuts or batch multiple automations together. No need for third-party shortcut launchers.
This is where things get beautiful. If you've installed more Raycast extensions than you can keep track of — and you can't remember every alias or keyboard shortcut — ExtraBar solves that. Use Cmd + K in Raycast to grab the deep link for any command. Add your most-used extensions to an ExtraBar menu. Now you have a visual reference for commands you'd otherwise forget.
Messages and Mail
You can even build actions that open Apple Messages to a specific contact with the cursor ready in the message box. Same for your email client. Direct access to the people you communicate with most.
The pattern is simple: if an app supports deep links, you can build a better menu for it.
Three Display Modes — Pick Your Style
ExtraBar offers three ways to display your custom menus:
Floating Mode creates a separate bar that sits on your screen. You can position it anywhere and set it to auto-hide when not in use.
Inline Mode places your ExtraBar icons directly in the native macOS menu bar. They blend right in with your system icons.
Menu Mode collapses everything under a single icon. Click it or use your hotkey, then navigate with keyboard or mouse. Menu Mode can be floating or inline — either way, it keeps your menu bar minimal while giving you full access to all your actions.
Most power users land on Menu Mode. One icon, one hotkey, zero clutter.
Your Menu Bar Should Reflect How You Work
Keyboard Maestro is one of the most powerful tools on macOS. But its default menu bar icon? Generic. It shows macro groups and recent items — not the specific automations that drive your daily workflow.
ExtraBar lets you fix that. Build a custom menu with only your most-used macros. Organize them your way. Access everything with one hotkey and keyboard navigation. No more scrolling through groups or trying to remember which shortcut triggers what.
And it's not just about KM. Every app with a big menu bar presence — Drafts, Things, CleanShot X, Fantastical — can get the same treatment. Replace their generic menus with lean, intentional action lists that contain exactly what you need.
ExtraBar is €9.99 for lifetime access during launch (until January 31st). One-time payment, all future updates included. If you're ready to rebuild your menu bar around the way you actually work, grab ExtraBar here.
Keyboard Maestro is the most powerful automation app for macOS. It lets you create macros triggered by hotkeys, time of day, app launches, USB connections, and dozens of other conditions. You can automate almost anything — launching apps, manipulating text, controlling windows, running scripts, and more.
Yes. KM supports URL schemes that let you trigger any macro externally. You add these URLs as deep link actions in ExtraBar, giving you one-click access to your most-used automations.
The basic format is kmtrigger://macro=YourMacroName. For macros with special characters, you can use the UUID instead. The KM documentation covers all the URL scheme options.
Depends on how you're using KM. For simple operations such as opening deep links — ExtraBar is more than capable. However, ExtraBar complements KM, especially macros and complex operations. Use ExtraBar as the control hub to manage your Keyboard Maestro macros.
Any app that supports deep links. This includes Drafts, Things 3, Fantastical, CleanShot X (via Raycast), Apple Shortcuts, Obsidian, and many more. If you can trigger an action via URL, you can add it to ExtraBar.
Yes. ExtraBar lets you export and import action lists, similar to automation apps like Hazel and BetterTouchTool. Useful for backup, sharing setups, or syncing across machines.
No. ExtraBar requires zero permissions to work. It runs entirely offline with no data collection. The only time it connects to the internet is during license activation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is Keyboard Maestro and why do Mac power users love it?
Q: Can I trigger KM macros from ExtraBar?
Q: How do I find the deep link for a KM macro?
Q: Does ExtraBar replace KM?
Q: Which apps can I eliminate from my menu bar using ExtraBar?
Q: Can I export and import my ExtraBar action lists?
Q: Do I need special permissions to use ExtraBar?