Run ORBIS as a menu-bar agent

ORBIS already is a menu-bar agent — there's nothing to switch on. This guide covers the handful of things you'll actually do with it.

Find it

Look for the protoLabs robot in your macOS menu bar (top-right of the screen). That's ORBIS. There's no dock icon by design.

Show the window

Left-click the menu-bar icon to bring the orb window forward. If it launched behind other windows, one click surfaces it.

Hide it (keep it running)

Close the window — the red traffic-light button, or ⌘W. The window disappears but ORBIS keeps running and listening. You can still talk to it and it'll respond; only the orb visual is hidden. Click the menu-bar icon to bring it back.

Quit it (stop it completely)

Click the menu-bar icon → Quit ORBIS. This fully exits and shuts down the voice pipeline. Use this — not just closing the window — when you actually want ORBIS to stop.

Why it works this way

A voice companion should be available, not a window you keep re-opening. Closing-to-hide keeps it a glance away while staying out of your dock and ⌘-Tab. For the full behaviour, see The desktop app.