I built GlancePad because I wanted a fast, low-latency way to trigger real macOS actions from other Apple devices (Vision Pro, iPhone, Apple Watch) without relying on cloud relays or dedicated desktop peripherals.
The mental model is a control surface rather than a “remote desktop”: a native macOS agent (written in Swift) acts as the execution hub, and the client apps act purely as inputs. Everything runs locally over the network; nothing requires an account, and it continues to work offline.
A few constraints I cared a lot about:
• Local-first by default - no cloud dependency or external relay
• Immediate state reflection - changes on the Mac propagate instantly back to clients
• Intentional scope - automation is explicit and reviewable, not background or opaque
• No telemetry - I don’t collect usage data; Pro is a one-time purchase
There are optional on-device AI features for generating or reviewing macros, but execution is always explicit and local, and the system is fully usable without AI.
Happy to answer questions or discuss design decisions. I’m also curious what Mac workflows people here would want to turn into one-tap actions.
abstraction_eng•1h ago
I built GlancePad because I wanted a fast, low-latency way to trigger real macOS actions from other Apple devices (Vision Pro, iPhone, Apple Watch) without relying on cloud relays or dedicated desktop peripherals.
The mental model is a control surface rather than a “remote desktop”: a native macOS agent (written in Swift) acts as the execution hub, and the client apps act purely as inputs. Everything runs locally over the network; nothing requires an account, and it continues to work offline.
A few constraints I cared a lot about:
• Local-first by default - no cloud dependency or external relay
• Immediate state reflection - changes on the Mac propagate instantly back to clients
• Intentional scope - automation is explicit and reviewable, not background or opaque
• No telemetry - I don’t collect usage data; Pro is a one-time purchase
There are optional on-device AI features for generating or reviewing macros, but execution is always explicit and local, and the system is fully usable without AI.
Happy to answer questions or discuss design decisions. I’m also curious what Mac workflows people here would want to turn into one-tap actions.
Project site: https://glancepad.app