Monocle

About

Monocle is a Mac app that softens the windows you aren't using, so your screen feels calm while you work. Instead of going dark, other windows blur, and one shake of the cursor brings you back into focus. You can tune the blur, tint, and grain, use gestures and shortcuts, set custom rules, and automate behavior, including auto-hiding the menu bar and Dock. Apps can be paired in App Groups to stay in focus together, and you can keep every window of an app sharp or ignore apps you never want blurred. Monocle supports multiple screens, with focus set per screen or globally, and it works with Stage Manager.

Unlike fullscreen, which puts one app in its own space and hides the rest, Monocle keeps your windows where you left them, just quiet and one shake away. It has no analytics. It only connects to Gumroad to check your license and to heyiam.dk to check for updates. You can try it free for 7 days, or install it with Homebrew using brew install --cask monocle-app. Monocle is a one-time purchase, not a monthly subscription. It holds a 4.9 out of 5 rating from 120 ratings on Gumroad.