Bonjeff is a free, open-source Mac utility that scans your local network in real time and presents every Bonjour service it discovers in a clean, readable list.
What is Bonjeff?
Bonjeff is a lightweight macOS menu-bar tool that interrogates Apple's Bonjour (mDNS/DNS-SD) protocol and surfaces every service advertising itself on your local network — printers, AirPlay receivers, network drives, HomeKit bridges, development servers, and dozens of others — no configuration required.
If you've ever wondered why your MacBook can see the office printer but your script can't, or you're debugging why a Raspberry Pi isn't showing up for Avahi discovery, Bonjeff gives you the ground truth instantly. It's the kind of utility that earns a permanent spot in your menu bar after the first time it saves you twenty minutes of dns-sd spelunking in Terminal.
What does Bonjeff do best?
Bonjeff excels at zero-friction, always-on visibility into mDNS traffic — the kind of passive situational awareness you can glance at rather than query.
Unlike running dns-sd -B _services._dns-sd._udp in a terminal window, Bonjeff aggregates everything into a live, browsable tree organised by service type. You can instantly see that your network has three _raop._tcp AirPlay speakers, two _smb._tcp file servers, and a rogue _googlecast._tcp Chromecast you forgot you owned. Clicking a service record reveals its full TXT record payload — exactly what a developer needs when debugging a service that isn't resolving the way it should.
It is genuinely useful across three audiences: home users curious about what's talking on their network, IT administrators auditing a mixed-OS office LAN, and developers building anything that relies on service discovery (HomeKit accessories, AirPlay receivers, Bonjour-aware apps).
Is Bonjeff free?
Yes — Bonjeff is completely free to download and use, distributed as open-source software on GitHub with no paywalls, no Pro tier, and no nag screens.
Because it's open-source, you can audit exactly what it does with your network data (answer: nothing beyond reading mDNS multicast traffic that's already broadcast on your LAN). Installation is straightforward via the GitHub releases page or Homebrew Cask.
Who should use Bonjeff?
Any Mac user who works with local networks, builds on Apple platforms, or simply wants to understand what's running on their home or office LAN will find Bonjeff worthwhile.
- iOS/macOS developers testing Bonjour-based features (Multipeer Connectivity, NetServiceBrowser, etc.) — Bonjeff is your live verification layer.
- HomeKit and smart-home tinkerers confirming that a new accessory bridge is advertising correctly before pairing.
- Network administrators auditing a flat LAN for unexpected or legacy services.
- Power users who prefer a GUI over memorising dns-sd and avahi-browse incantations.
If you never think about Bonjour and your network just works, Bonjeff is a curiosity rather than a necessity. But for anyone who does, it fills a gap that Apple's own tools leave wide open.
What are the best Bonjeff alternatives?
The closest GUI alternative is Discovery — DNS-SD Browser (App Store, paid), which covers similar ground with a slightly more polished interface. Bonjour Browser is an older free option that still works but hasn't been meaningfully updated in years.
On the command-line side, dns-sd (built into macOS) and avahi-browse (Linux/Homebrew) do the same job but require you to know what service types to query. For a full network topology view — not just mDNS — tools like LanScan or Angry IP Scanner are complementary rather than direct substitutes. Bonjeff's advantage over all of them is that it's free, native, and requires zero setup.
How does Bonjeff compare to Discovery — DNS-SD Browser?
Discovery is the polished App Store alternative; Bonjeff is the lean open-source option that trades visual chrome for simplicity and a zero-dollar price tag.
In day-to-day use the functional difference is small — both enumerate service types, resolve hostnames, and display TXT records. Discovery has a slightly more refined two-pane layout and the credibility of App Store distribution. Bonjeff wins on price (free vs paid) and on trust for the security-conscious, since the full source is auditable on GitHub. I reach for Bonjeff precisely because I don't want to pay for something the OS's own mDNS stack can tell me for free.
