FAQs

Amhara is a native macOS app with two surfaces: a desktop window for Focus Modes and Settings, and a menu bar extra that's always there after launch. It watches for apps you've forgotten are open and can hide them, then quit them, if you turn that on. It keeps an eye on CPU and memory in the background, and lets you set up Focus Modes: named desks that close what you don't want open, launch the apps, files, and sites you do, arrange the windows, and start from a shortcut, a schedule, or a calendar event.

No. The menu bar is always there so you can start a mode, show or close idle apps, and open Amhara without hunting for a window. Open Amhara from that menu (or by clicking the app again) and you get the desktop window: Focus Modes and Settings. A Dock icon appears while that window is open and goes away when you close it, so Amhara is not sitting in the Dock the rest of the time.

A named desk you can reopen. When you start one, Amhara closes apps that aren't part of that mode, launches the apps you chose, can open project files and specific sites, arranges the windows across your displays, and can restore the desk you had when you end the mode. You can start a mode from the menu bar, the Focus Modes page, a keyboard shortcut, a schedule, or a matching calendar event.

No. The apps you use, your Focus Mode setups, and your window layouts are stored on your Mac and never leave it, there's no analytics, no telemetry, and no third-party tracking built into the app. The only network connection Amhara ever makes is the optional one for signing into your account to manage beta access, and that only sends your account email and login token, never anything about what you're doing on your Mac.

macOS requires an Accessibility permission for any app that arranges windows or closes other apps on your behalf, the same permission window managers and automation tools use. Amhara also asks for Notifications so it can tell you about idle apps, resource warnings, and Focus Modes. Both are requested once during setup, you grant them in System Settings, and Accessibility is used only for the features you've turned on: tiling windows into a layout, closing idle or unwanted apps, and checking for unsaved documents before it closes anything. It doesn't read the contents of your files or your screen.

Auto-close is off by default, nothing closes unless you turn it on. Even then, Amhara hides an idle app first, then quits it after a short buffer. Apps like Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, and Finder are permanently exempt from every close Amhara can trigger, a second tier like Figma and Photoshop gets a 2-minute warning first, and Amhara checks for unsaved documents in known editors before closing anything, idle-based or manual.

No. Idle-app detection, Focus Modes, and monitoring all run locally on your Mac and work fine offline. An internet connection is only needed if you choose to sign in to manage your beta access.

macOS 26 or later. After launch, Amhara lives in the menu bar. Open Amhara when you want the desktop window for Focus Modes and Settings. A Dock icon shows while that window is open, then goes away when you close it.

Amhara is currently in private beta and free to use while it's in beta. Join the waitlist for access, pricing after the beta hasn't been announced yet.

Yes. It's a regular Mac app with no separate installer or background helper, quitting it and moving it to the Trash removes it the same way as any other app. Since everything it stores lives on your own Mac rather than a server, there's nothing left behind anywhere else.

No. Amhara is a native macOS productivity app at amhara.app. It is not affiliated with Amhara Bank, ABa Mobile Banking, or the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. If you are looking for banking or regional information, you are in the wrong place.

Apple Focus Modes filter notifications. They do not launch your apps, close the rest, tile windows, or restore a layout. Amhara's Focus Modes are named desks that can do those things, and can still start from a shortcut, a schedule, or a calendar event. You can use both: Apple for who can interrupt you, Amhara for what is on the desk.

Yes. A mode can turn on at a time you set, or automatically when a matching calendar event starts. When the mode starts, Amhara can save the desk you had and restore it when the mode ends, so a meeting does not have to leave your previous layout buried.