Bunch is a Mac workspace-switching utility that launches, quits, and arranges the exact apps and windows you need for a given context — triggered by a single click or a keyboard shortcut.
What is Bunch?
Bunch is a plain-text, scriptable focus tool for macOS that lets you define "Bunches" — named groups of apps, files, URLs, and shell commands — then toggle them on or off as a unit. Think of it as a stage manager for your Mac: one command raises the curtain on your morning writing setup and drops it when you're ready to switch to code. Every configuration lives in a human-readable .bunch file you keep wherever you like, which means your workspace presets travel with you across machines and survive system reinstalls without ceremony.
I've been using Bunch daily for about two months, and what strikes me most is how little it asks of you. There's no cloud account, no subscription dashboard, no drag-and-drop UI to learn. You describe what you want in plain sentences — open Bear, hide Mail, run a shell script, set a Timing project — and Bunch does the rest.
What does Bunch do best?
Bunch excels at eliminating the five-minute context-switch tax — the ritual of manually opening, closing, and resizing apps every time you shift from deep work to meetings to email triage.
Its real power surfaces when you start layering in the scriptable extras. A Bunch file can send keystrokes to a specific app after it launches (handy for triggering an OmniFocus perspective), call a URL scheme to switch Things 3 to your work area, or even post a Slack status via a shell snippet. The on-open and on-close hooks let you build proper entry and exit routines, not just app toggles. I have a "Shutdown" bunch that closes everything, locks my 1Password vaults, and sets a do-not-disturb schedule — it's become a genuine end-of-day ritual rather than an afterthought.
Compared to Raycast's "Focus" feature or the workflow-switching bits bolted onto Alfred, Bunch is far more granular. Raycast and Alfred are launchers first; Bunch is purpose-built for context, and that focus shows.
How much does Bunch cost?
Bunch is free to download and use without a time limit. The developer offers an optional pay-what-you-want tip to support ongoing development, but there is no paywall, no feature gating, and no trial countdown. For a tool this capable, that pricing model is genuinely unusual and worth acknowledging.
Who should use Bunch?
Bunch rewards anyone whose day fragments across two or more very different work contexts — developers who switch between client projects, writers who want distraction-free mode on demand, consultants who hop between Zoom calls and heads-down deliverables. If you've ever caught yourself spending more time arranging your digital workspace than actually working in it, Bunch was made for you.
It is not the right tool if you want a point-and-click UI for everything. The configuration is text-first, and while the syntax is gentle, you do need to be comfortable opening a plain-text file and describing your intentions in a structured way. Power users who already live in scripts and dotfiles will feel immediately at home; less technical users may find the initial setup friction higher than expected.
- Freelancers and consultants who context-switch between clients
- Developers managing multiple project environments
- Writers and researchers who want a clean, distraction-free slate on demand
- Anyone automating their morning/evening routines beyond what Shortcuts can comfortably handle
What are the best Bunch alternatives?
The closest direct alternative is Mango, a newer macOS workspace switcher with a more visual setup experience. If you want something that lives entirely in the menu bar and requires zero text editing, Mango is worth a look — though it lacks Bunch's depth of scriptability. Raycast's Focus Modes and macOS Focus Filters (built into Ventura and later) both approximate context switching but operate at the system level rather than orchestrating specific apps and scripts. For truly programmable multi-step automation, Keyboard Maestro is the nuclear option — more powerful but considerably more complex to set up and maintain.
If your main need is keyboard-first app launching rather than full workspace orchestration, Raycast or Alfred are better starting points. But if you want a dedicated, composable, text-driven workspace manager with no recurring cost, Bunch stands alone in its niche.
How does Bunch compare to macOS Focus Modes?
Apple's built-in Focus Modes filter notifications and surface specific Home Screen apps, but they don't open, quit, or script anything. Bunch fills the gap Apple deliberately left: it takes action on your running apps rather than just managing interruptions. The two tools complement each other well — I run a Bunch and trigger a Focus Mode together via a shortcut — but they solve different parts of the same problem.
