Switchback

See and switch macOS network locations from the menu bar, without digging through System Settings.

Switchback is the open-source sibling to Crossbar. Crossbar toggles network services (Wi-Fi, Ethernet, VPN). Switchback switches network locations: the named sets of network settings Apple buried so deep that most people think the feature was removed.

Why Switchback?

macOS locations still exist, but as of Sonoma, Sequoia, and Tahoe the only way to reach them is System Settings → Network → "⋯" (More) → Locations → Edit Locations, several clicks deep, and a switch only commits when you quit System Settings. The Location menu the old System Preferences had is gone, so the feature feels gone too.

Switchback puts every location one click away in the menu bar, with the current one marked. If you move between client sites that each need a different service order or static-IP setup, that's a multi-step detour replaced by a single click.

What it does

• Lists your locations with the current one checked, and a live line under it showing the connection, address, and DNS servers.
• Switches in one click, with no password once passwordless switching is set up (see below). ⌘1 to ⌘9 switch to the first nine while the menu is open.
• Manages locations in a Manage Locations window: create, rename in place, delete, and drag to set the order the menu uses. Names are checked as you type, so lookalike or duplicate names can't slip in.
• Works with Shortcuts and Focus: a Switch Network Location action, a Get Current Network Location action, Spotlight and Siri phrases, and a Focus filter that switches when a Focus turns on.
• Shows what changed: the new location's name appears next to the icon after a switch, and switches made by Shortcuts or a Focus post a notification. You can also keep the name in the menu bar.
• Launches at login, if you want it to.

_{Screenshots use sample locations and addresses. Regenerate them with scripts/dev-build.sh then scripts/screenshots.sh.}

Requirements

• macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later to run.
• Xcode 16+ and XcodeGen only if you build from source (see below).

Install

Option 1: Homebrew (recommended)

brew tap breed007/tap
brew trust breed007/tap          # one-time; Homebrew requires trusting third-party taps
brew install --cask switchback

Option 2: Download the prebuilt app

Grab the latest Switchback-vX.Y.Z-universal.zip (or the .dmg) from Releases, unzip it, and move Switchback.app to /Applications. The app is universal (Apple silicon and Intel) and notarized, so it opens with no Gatekeeper workaround.

Option 3: Build from source

git clone https://github.com/breed007/switchback-macos.git
cd switchback-macos
brew install xcodegen        # one-time
xcodegen generate            # produces Switchback.xcodeproj from project.yml
open Switchback.xcodeproj    # press ▶ Run

See SETUP.md for the manual (no XcodeGen) path. A build you make yourself isn't notarized: the first time you open it, choose Open Anyway in System Settings → Privacy & Security.

Passwordless switching

Out of the box, every switch asks for an administrator's password, because changing the network configuration needs root. To switch with one click instead, choose Set Up Passwordless Switching… in Switchback's menu, then turn on Switchback in System Settings → General → Login Items & Extensions. Approving it takes an administrator's password, once.

This installs a small helper that can do exactly one thing: make an existing location current. It accepts requests only from Switchback, and it logs each switch to the Mac's unified log. Creating, renaming, and deleting locations still ask for an administrator, because they change configuration.

Standard (non-admin) users can switch once the helper is approved, because they can only move between locations an administrator already set up. Locations apply to the whole Mac, so a switch affects every account on it.

For IT: deploying with MDM

docs/mdm/switchback-sample.mobileconfig is a sample device profile that:

• pre-approves the helper (a Managed Login Items rule for its launchd label, com.breed007.switchback.helper), so users never see the approval step, and
• sets RequireAdminToSwitch in the com.breed007.switchback domain. false, the default, lets any local user switch; true requires an administrator, and other users get the password prompt instead.

The helper reads the policy only from the computer-level managed preferences (/Library/Managed Preferences/com.breed007.switchback.plist), never from settings a user can write. To audit switches:

/usr/bin/log show --predicate 'subsystem == "com.breed007.switchback.helper"' --last 1d

The sample profile hasn't been tested against a real MDM enrollment yet. Try it on a test machine first, and please open an issue with what you find.

Shortcuts and Focus

• In Shortcuts, search for "Switchback" to find Switch Network Location and Get Current Network Location. To switch with a keyboard shortcut from anywhere, give a Switch Network Location shortcut a key combination in Shortcuts.
• In Spotlight or with Siri, say or type "Switch Switchback location to Office".
• In System Settings → Focus, choose a Focus, then Add Filter → Switchback and pick a location. Switchback switches to it when that Focus turns on. Turning the Focus off doesn't switch back.

A Focus never asks for a password. If passwordless switching isn't set up, it skips the switch and posts a notification saying how to set it up.

How it works

Switchback is built around one fact: reading location state is unprivileged; changing it requires root.

• Read layer. StatusMonitor lists locations (SCNetworkSetCopyAll) and marks the current one (SCNetworkSetCopyCurrent). The menu re-reads every time it opens, and an SCDynamicStore subscription keeps it current while it's open. Nothing polls.
• Write layer. A LocationSwitcher protocol, with a router behind it. Switches go to the privileged helper (an SMAppService daemon over XPC) when it's set up, and otherwise to an AuthorizationRef + SCPreferences commit, which shows the macOS authorization panel. Create, rename, and delete always use the authorization panel.

Built natively in Swift and AppKit. No third-party dependencies. See DESIGN.md for why it's built this way.

Privacy

• No network calls, no telemetry, no analytics. Switchback reads local system configuration and changes local locations.
• The helper and the app write to the Mac's unified log (user and location IDs, never location names), and nothing leaves your Mac. See PRIVACY.md.

Scope (and non-goals)

Switchback does one thing. It does not toggle network services (that's Crossbar), edit settings inside a location (use Apple's Network settings), or switch on its own by rules, SSID, or geofence. Shortcuts and Focus can trigger a switch, but you write the rule in Apple's tools. See DESIGN.md for the reasoning behind each non-goal.

Contributing

Issues and PRs welcome. Switchback is intentionally small, so please keep changes focused on its one job: seeing and switching network locations from the menu bar.

License

MIT © 2026 breed007