Skip to main content

​
MenuBar API

The MenuBar API allows you to create and manage a menu bar icon in the system tray (Windows/Linux) or menu bar (macOS).

​
Creating a MenuBar

​
Native\Desktop\Facades\MenuBar::create()

Create a new menu bar with the default configuration.
​
PendingCreateMenuBar
object
Returns a PendingCreateMenuBar instance for configuring the menu bar before it’s created
use Native\Desktop\Facades\MenuBar;

MenuBar::create()
    ->icon(storage_path('app/icon.png'))
    ->label('My App')
    ->url(route('menubar'))
    ->width(300)
    ->height(400);

​
show()

Show the menu bar window. 
MenuBar::show();

​
hide()

Hide the menu bar window. 
MenuBar::hide();

​
label()

Update the menu bar label text.
​
label
string
required
Label text to display next to the icon
MenuBar::label('5 notifications');
MenuBar::label(''); // Clear label

​
tooltip()

Set the tooltip text when hovering over the menu bar icon.
​
tooltip
string
required
Tooltip text
MenuBar::tooltip('My Application - Click to open');

​
icon()

Update the menu bar icon.
​
icon
string
required
Path to the icon file
MenuBar::icon(storage_path('app/icon-alert.png'));

​
resize()

Resize the menu bar window.
​
width
int
required
New width in pixels
​
height
int
required
New height in pixels
MenuBar::resize(400, 500);

​
contextMenu()

Set a context menu for the menu bar icon.
​
contextMenu
Menu
required
Menu object with menu items
use Native\Desktop\Menu\Menu;
use Native\Desktop\Facades\MenuBar;

$menu = Menu::new()
    ->label('Options')
    ->submenu(
        Menu::new()->label('Settings')->event('settings'),
        Menu::new()->label('About')->event('about'),
        Menu::new()->separator(),
        Menu::new()->label('Quit')->event('quit')
    );

MenuBar::contextMenu($menu);

​
showContextMenu()

Programmatically show the context menu. 
MenuBar::showContextMenu();
These methods are chainable and used when creating a menu bar:

​
icon()

Set the menu bar icon.
​
icon
string
required
Path to the icon file (PNG recommended)
MenuBar::create()->icon(storage_path('app/menubar-icon.png'));

​
label()

Set the menu bar label text.
​
label
string
default:"''"
Label text to display
MenuBar::create()->label('App');

​
tooltip()

Set the tooltip text.
​
tooltip
string
default:"''"
Tooltip text
MenuBar::create()->tooltip('My Application');

​
url()

Set the URL to load in the menu bar window.
​
url
string
required
Full URL to load
MenuBar::create()->url('https://example.com/menubar');

​
route()

Set the URL using a Laravel route name.
​
route
string
required
Laravel route name
​
parameters
array
default:"[]"
Route parameters
MenuBar::create()->route('menubar.index');
MenuBar::create()->route('user.notifications', ['id' => 1]);

​
width()

Set the menu bar window width.
​
width
int
required
Width in pixels
MenuBar::create()->width(350);

​
height()

Set the menu bar window height.
​
height
int
required
Height in pixels
MenuBar::create()->height(450);

​
resizable()

Set whether the menu bar window can be resized.
​
resizable
bool
default:"true"
Whether window is resizable
MenuBar::create()->resizable(false);

​
alwaysOnTop()

Set whether the menu bar window stays on top.
​
alwaysOnTop
bool
default:"true"
Whether window stays on top
MenuBar::create()->alwaysOnTop(true);

​
showDockIcon()

Set whether to show the dock icon (macOS).
​
show
bool
default:"true"
Whether to show dock icon
MenuBar::create()->showDockIcon(false);

​
showOnAllWorkspaces()

Set whether the menu bar appears on all workspaces.
​
show
bool
default:"true"
Whether to show on all workspaces
MenuBar::create()->showOnAllWorkspaces(true);

​
onlyShowContextMenu()

Only show the context menu, don’t open a window.
​
onlyContextMenu
bool
default:"true"
Whether to only show context menu
MenuBar::create()->onlyShowContextMenu();

​
withContextMenu()

Set a context menu for the menu bar.
​
menu
Menu
required
Menu object with menu items
use Native\Desktop\Menu\Menu;

$contextMenu = Menu::new()
    ->label('Context')
    ->submenu(
        Menu::new()->label('Open')->event('open'),
        Menu::new()->separator(),
        Menu::new()->label('Quit')->event('quit')
    );

MenuBar::create()->withContextMenu($contextMenu);

​
Positioning

​
position()

Set the position of the menu bar window.
​
x
int
required
X coordinate in pixels
​
y
int
required
Y coordinate in pixels
MenuBar::create()->position(100, 100);

​
windowPosition()

Set the window positioning strategy. Available from the HasPositioner trait.
​
position
string
required
Position strategy (platform-specific)
MenuBar::create()->windowPosition('trayCenter');

​
Appearance

​
backgroundColor()

Set the background color of the menu bar window.
​
color
string
required
Hex color code (e.g., ‘#FFFFFF’)
MenuBar::create()->backgroundColor('#1a1a1a');

​
transparent()

Make the menu bar window transparent.
​
transparent
bool
default:"true"
Whether window is transparent
MenuBar::create()->transparent();

​
vibrancy()

Set the vibrancy effect (macOS).
​
vibrancy
string
required
Vibrancy type: ‘appearance-based’, ‘light’, ‘dark’, ‘under-window’
MenuBar::create()->vibrancy('dark');

​
lightVibrancy()

Apply light vibrancy effect. 
MenuBar::create()->lightVibrancy();

​
darkVibrancy()

Apply dark vibrancy effect. 
MenuBar::create()->darkVibrancy();

​
blendBackgroundBehindWindow()

Blend the content behind the window. 
MenuBar::create()->blendBackgroundBehindWindow();

​
Advanced Options

​
webPreferences()

Set Electron web preferences for the menu bar window.
​
preferences
array
required
Array of web preference options
MenuBar::create()->webPreferences([
    'nodeIntegration' => false,
    'contextIsolation' => true,
]);

​
Complete Examples

​
Basic Menu Bar

use Native\Desktop\Facades\MenuBar;

MenuBar::create()
    ->icon(storage_path('app/menubar.png'))
    ->label('Notes')
    ->tooltip('My Notes App')
    ->route('menubar.notes')
    ->width(320)
    ->height(480)
    ->resizable(false)
    ->vibrancy('dark');

​
Context Menu Only

use Native\Desktop\Facades\MenuBar;
use Native\Desktop\Menu\Menu;

$contextMenu = Menu::new()
    ->label('Options')
    ->submenu(
        Menu::new()->label('Dashboard')->event('open-dashboard'),
        Menu::new()->label('Settings')->event('open-settings'),
        Menu::new()->separator(),
        Menu::new()->label('Quit')->event('quit-app')
    );

MenuBar::create()
    ->icon(storage_path('app/tray-icon.png'))
    ->tooltip('My Application')
    ->onlyShowContextMenu()
    ->withContextMenu($contextMenu);

​
Dynamic Menu Bar Updates

use Native\Desktop\Facades\MenuBar;

// Create initial menu bar
MenuBar::create()
    ->icon(storage_path('app/icon-idle.png'))
    ->label('')
    ->route('menubar');

// Later, update the icon and label based on notifications
$notificationCount = 5;

if ($notificationCount > 0) {
    MenuBar::icon(storage_path('app/icon-alert.png'));
    MenuBar::label((string) $notificationCount);
    MenuBar::tooltip("{$notificationCount} new notifications");
} else {
    MenuBar::icon(storage_path('app/icon-idle.png'));
    MenuBar::label('');
    MenuBar::tooltip('No new notifications');
}

use Native\Desktop\Facades\MenuBar;

MenuBar::create()
    ->icon(storage_path('app/menubar.png'))
    ->route('menubar')
    ->width(300)
    ->height(400)
    ->windowPosition('trayCenter')
    ->showOnAllWorkspaces()
    ->vibrancy('appearance-based');

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us