Getting Started
hyperbin is free and ships as a direct download — there is no store, no account, and no license to activate.
Download
Section titled “Download”The links below always resolve to the newest release — no version number to track down.
| Platform | Download |
|---|---|
| macOS (Apple Silicon) | Download for Apple Silicon |
| macOS (Intel) | Download for Intel |
| Windows (installer) | Windows installer |
| Windows (MSIX) | Windows MSIX package |
Installing
Section titled “Installing”- Open the DMG and drag hyperbin into your Applications folder
- Launch it from Applications — a splash appears and clears itself after a few seconds
- hyperbin sits in your menu bar (near your clock) and registers itself at login by default; untick Open at Login in the menu if you’d rather launch it yourself
Windows
Section titled “Windows”- Run the installer (or right-click the MSIX and choose Install)
- hyperbin runs in your system tray (bottom-right corner) and starts at login by default
- No special permissions are needed
Permissions (macOS only)
Section titled “Permissions (macOS only)”hyperbin needs two macOS permissions, and a permissions window on first launch walks you through both:
- Accessibility — the only way to locate the Trash icon in the Dock. If it’s missing, the app shows the system prompt (with an “Open System Settings” button) and starts tracking the moment it’s granted
- Full Disk Access — needed to read the size of
~/.Trash. macOS can’t prompt for this one, so the app probes the Trash on startup: that makes hyperbin appear in the Full Disk Access list already, needing only the switch to be flipped
Note — Size, not item count The effect is driven by how much space the Trash takes up, which is why Full Disk Access matters: a trashed app bundle or project directory weighs real bytes even though Finder reports no item count for folders. Without this permission hyperbin draws nothing and says so in the menu bar.
Note — Windows needs nothing On Windows hyperbin reads the Recycle Bin through the shell (
SHQueryRecycleBin), which requires no extra grants at all.
Building from source
Section titled “Building from source”hyperbin is open source. The GitHub repository has the code and a build guide.
First look
Section titled “First look”- Drag a few files into the Trash
- Watch the menu-bar item — it reports what’s in the bin and why you can (or can’t) see the effect
- Pick an effect and amount from the menu: Settings covers every item
Once the Trash is empty the effect disperses on its own, and hyperbin goes quiet: the render clock stops when the bin is empty, when the Trash icon is off screen, or when something covers it.