Changelog
What changed in each release of BlackFlare.
1.3.1
27 October 2026
Fixed
- Keep Mac awake with the lid closed keeps working after an update. The helper now repairs itself when the app changes, so the hold no longer drops silently after installing a new version.
- Only the installed copy manages the helper. A second copy of BlackFlare (a build in Xcode, one in Downloads) no longer takes over or breaks the helper; Settings says which copy is in charge.
1.3.0
24 October 2026
Added
- Skip notifications while you're already looking. An opt-in rule under Settings → Notifications: when the app running a session (terminal, VS Code, T3 Code, …) is in front and you are at the Mac, that session's banner stays quiet. Telegram and Slack keep their own "only when away" rule.
- Multiple accounts per provider, work and personal side by side. Settings → Providers → "Add Account…" tracks a second Claude Code or Codex install by its config folder. Each account gets its own menu tab, settings switching, usage bars, sign-in, and alerts. Name them, drag to reorder, and the Sign-in row shows a masked address so you always know which is which. Free in every edition.
- Usage follows your account. Sign in as someone else in Claude Code and the usage bars switch to that account on the next refresh. A folder that runs on an API key says so instead of showing bars.
- Per-model effort. The Effort chip shows the effort Claude Code saved for the configured model, when it has one.
Changed
- Log lines name their account ("[Claude · Work] usage fetch ok") in the Debug tab, the diagnostics export, and Console, so two accounts of one kind read apart.
Fixed
- A failed sign-in refresh now says why, in the log and in Settings → Providers — including a Claude Code too old to renew its own sign-in, the cause behind sign-in prompts every 8 hours.
- Usage for a relocated
CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIRreads that folder's own sign-in instead of the default account's. - Smaller fixes: two accounts that share one settings.json installBlackFlare's hooks once; a re-pointed
~/.claudesymlink is followed on the next menu open.
1.2.0
2 September 2026
Added
- Keep Mac awake now has three modes.While agents run holds the Mac only while a Claude Code or Codex agent is working, then lets it sleep normally once every agent has finished. Always keeps the Mac awake indefinitely, so it stays reachable for Claude Code Remote Control between turns; it goes back to While agents run whenever BlackFlare relaunches. Or turn it off entirely.
- Advanced tab — Settings → Advanced holds the keep-awake power rules (plugged in / on battery / battery floor) and two adjustable sleep timings: how long the Mac stays awake after the last agent finishes, and how long a silent agent is trusted before it stops holding the Mac awake.
- Setapp edition — the Setapp membership unlocks every feature and updates arrive through Setapp. No license key, no purchase prompts, no separate updater.
- Export diagnostics and report an issue from Settings → Help. The file never contains tokens, credentials, or config-file contents.
- Restore Defaults in Settings → General returns every setting to its first-launch value; your license, Telegram/Slack connections, custom model IDs, and onboarding state are kept.
- Click "sign-in required" to sign in — the usage section's callout starts Claude Code's or Codex's own browser sign-in;BlackFlare never touches a token.
- About BlackFlare opens Settings → About.
Changed
- "Also keep the display awake" is on by default and now works behind a closed lid, so agents that take screenshots or test UI never get a black capture. An explicit choice still wins.
- Power rules apply to every keep-awake hold, lid open or closed, in both awake modes; the battery floor now defaults to 10%. Existing values carry over.
- Delivery options stay visible in Settings → Delivery while Telegram and Slack are off.
- Codex usage polls Codex directly, so limits stay current while Codex is idle.
- Diagnostics explain every keep-awake hold and cover the whole launch.
Fixed
- macOS 13, 14, and 15: the menu's provider tabs, Refresh, and links respond to the first click and line up with the native rows.
- Keep-awake survives app updates — the lid-closed helper relaunches itself after the app is replaced on disk.
- Banner clicks land in the right app — JetBrains IDEs, and apps that embed Claude Code or Codex (T3 Code, the Claude desktop app).
- Keep Mac awake releases promptly after a
claude -pone-shot and the moment a Claude process exits. - Your Telegram chat survives reinstalling the app.
- Smaller fixes: the away rule toggles from the menu while both channels are off; no empty 0% usage bars on a Mac that never signed in to Claude Code; Refresh no longer nudges the menu rows; turning keep-awake off ends lid-closed protection immediately.
1.1.0
19 August 2026
Added
- Keep working while the lid is closed — a new option under Keep Mac Awake: while a Claude or Codex session is running, your Mac keeps working after you close the lid — no external display required. Setup is a one-time helper approval in System Settings. You choose when it applies — plugged in, on battery, or both (both on by default); on battery, a configurable floor (default 15%) pauses it and notifies you before the charge runs low. The screen still goes dark the instant the lid shuts, and normal sleep is restored automatically the moment your sessions finish — on every exit path, including a crash or forced shutdown.
- "Codex is waiting for you" notifications — when Codex pauses mid-task to ask you a question, BlackFlare sends a distinct waiting notification — desktop and Telegram/Slack — instead of staying silent until the task finishes. Mirrors the existing Claude waiting banners and honors the same "Waiting for input" toggle.
- Awake beacon in the menu header — while your sessions are keeping the Mac awake, a small green coffee cup joins the model and mode chips at the top of the menu. One glance confirms sleep is being held off; it disappears the moment normal sleep is restored.
- Keep Mac Awake starts on for licensed users — the first time BlackFlare runs with an active license, Keep Mac Awake switches on by itself, so long sessions are protected without a trip to Settings. Your own choice always wins: once you set the toggle — on or off — it stays where you left it.
Changed
- "Only send to Telegram/Slack when away" now defaults ON— at the Mac the desktop banner already notifies you, so remote messages arrive only when you're away (screen locked or idle). An earlier explicit choice is kept, and "Send test" always sends.
Fixed
- The Mac can sleep while Codex waits for your answer— a Codex session paused on a question (or interrupted with Esc) no longer counts as running, matching how Claude sessions waiting for input already behaved.
- No more "BlackFlareTokenRefresh" notifications — the background probe that refreshes an expired Claude token no longer triggers its own "finished a task" banner or Telegram/Slack message. Only your real sessions notify.
1.0.3
3 August 2026
Changed
- Improved performance — general performance work across the app, so BlackFlare stays lighter on your Mac while it watches your sessions. Nothing in your setup changes.
1.0.2
3 August 2026
Fixed
- The menu bar number is your session — the usage badge on the menu bar icon tracks the current session window, so the percentage you glance at is the session you are in rather than your weekly total.
- One Keychain prompt per launch — BlackFlare asks macOS for Keychain consent once and holds the token in memory for the rest of the run, instead of prompting again on every usage refresh.
1.0.1
31 July 2026
Added
- Away, on your schedule — set how many minutes without input count as away for the Telegram/Slack away mode (Settings → Delivery, 1–30 minutes, default 2). A locked screen still counts instantly.
Fixed
- No more early or double "finished" pings — the finished banner now lands when your main session is genuinely done, not the second a background subagent wraps up. One banner per finish.
1.0.0
21 July 2026
First release of BlackFlare — a menu bar companion for Claude Code and Codex.
Added
- Keep Mac awake — your Mac stays awake while a Claude Code or Codex session is running, then sleeps normally the moment the work is done. Marathon test runs and overnight refactors finish on their own.
- Notifications — get pinged the instant a session finishes or needs your input, on your Mac, Telegram, or Slack — across the terminal, VS Code, and JetBrains, with an "only when away" mode.
- Defaults from the menu bar — set model, permission mode, effort, and thinking mode from the menu; applied to your next session by surgically editing each tool's own config file (byte-preserving, atomic, backed up).
- Usage at a glance — track per-model Claude and Codex plan usage in the menu and the menu bar icon, with a heads-up before you cross a threshold you set.
- Private by design — runs entirely on-device; no accounts, no analytics, no telemetry. Read-only Keychain access for usage is off by default and requires your consent.
Requires macOS 13 or later. Universal (Apple silicon & Intel).