logo
Start HereQuickstart

Quickstart

Install NetFluss on macOS, read real-time network rates from the menu bar, and customize adapters, appearance, units, DNS presets, and app visibility.

Get NetFluss running

Monitor upload and download rates from your macOS 13+ menu bar in a few minutes.

NetFluss supports macOS 13 or later. For the best experience, drag NetFluss.app to /Applications and keep it running in the background.

Install NetFluss

Use either Homebrew or a manual download.

Run this command in Terminal:

brew install --cask rana-gmbh/netfluss/netfluss

After installation, launch NetFluss from Spotlight or the Applications folder.

First launch and basics

Launch and find the menu bar item

  • Open NetFluss; a new icon with ↑ and ↓ rates appears in the menu bar.
  • Right-click the NetFluss menu bar icon to open the context menu with Bandwidth Statistics and Run Speed Test….
  • Confirm the numbers change when you browse the web or download a file.

Open the popover

  • Click the NetFluss menu bar item to open the popover.
  • Check the total upload/download header and the list of network adapters (Wi‑Fi, Ethernet, VPN, etc.).
  • On the Wi‑Fi adapter card, click the info button to open the Wi‑Fi detail popover with channel, signal quality, and copyable network identifiers.
  • In the popover, find the DNS Switcher section when available.

Use adapter cards and reconnect

  • Read per-adapter ↑ and ↓ rates directly on each card.
  • If an adapter shows as disconnected, use its Reconnect button when available; Ethernet reconnects use Touch ID when available and fall back to an admin password prompt.

Switch DNS providers

Choose a DNS preset from the popover

  • In the popover, use DNS Switcher to switch between built‑in presets such as Cloudflare, Google, Quad9, and OpenDNS.
  • Add and select custom presets if you use your own DNS servers.
  • Confirm macOS uses Touch ID when available, or an admin password prompt when Touch ID is unavailable, when you apply a different DNS preset; control this behavior in Preferences → DNS Switcher.

Manage presets in preferences

  • Open NetFluss preferences from the popover (gear icon or Preferences menu).
  • In the DNS section, toggle individual presets on or off to control which ones appear in the popover.
  • Drag presets to reorder them so your most-used options appear at the top of the DNS Switcher list.

See Top Apps and IP addresses

Enable Top Apps

  • Open NetFluss preferences from the popover (gear icon or Preferences menu).
  • Enable Top Apps to show the top 5 processes by current traffic in the popover.

Hide noisy apps from Top Apps

  • In preferences, open the Top Apps section and go to Apps to Hide.
  • Review the list of processes that used bandwidth in the last 60 seconds.
  • Click an app in this list to hide it from the Top Apps view when it is generating background traffic.

Switch to Connection Flow View

  • In preferences, enable Connection Flow View to see a visual path from your Mac through adapters to external endpoints.
  • Choose whether to show or hide IP addresses in this view and, when enabled, look for VPN exit nodes marked with a country flag.

Copy IP addresses

  • In the popover, find the IP addresses section (internal, router, external).
  • Click any IP to copy it to the clipboard for quick sharing or troubleshooting.

Customize adapters and appearance

Hide, rename, and reorder adapters

  • In preferences, choose which adapters to show, including VPN or virtual adapters.
  • Hide adapters you do not care about, rename them (for example, Office Wi‑Fi), and drag to reorder.
  • Optionally limit the total header to only count visible adapters.

Adjust appearance, units, and external IP

  • Switch between themes such as System, Dracula, Nord, and Solarized.
  • Choose the menu bar style from Standard, Unified pill, Dashboard, or Icon.
  • Set font size and font design (monospaced, system, or rounded) for the menu bar text.
  • Use separate color controls for upload and download arrows and numbers to match your desktop or improve contrast.
  • Toggle units between bits/s and bytes/s based on your preference.
  • In Preferences → Appearance → External IP, choose whether to display your external IPv4 or IPv6 address.

Tune refresh and startup behavior

  • Set the refresh interval to control how often NetFluss updates rates.
  • Enable Launch at login so NetFluss starts automatically with macOS.
  • Use Adapter grace period (3, 5, or 10 seconds) to keep adapter cards from flickering when they briefly go idle.
  • Use Top Apps grace period (3, 5, or 10 seconds) to keep apps visible for a short time after their traffic stops.
  • Verify that the menu bar item appears after your next login.

Check for updates

Use the About window

  • Open the NetFluss About window from the app menu.
  • Click Check for updates to jump to the latest GitHub release and install a newer version if available.
  • Use the Support link (Buy Me a Coffee) in the About window if you want to support NetFluss development.
  • In Preferences → Update, enable Check GitHub for updates automatically to let NetFluss perform a daily background check for new releases.

Next steps

Explore preferences

Learn how each NetFluss option affects what you see in the menu bar and popover.

Troubleshooting install issues

Fix common problems if NetFluss does not appear in the menu bar or fails to start.

Was this page helpful?

Last updated 5 days ago

Built with Documentation.AI