Show HN: macOS desktop app for turning websites into glanceable widgets (github.com)
Glanceables is designed for anyone who's tired of the constant browser refresh. It allows users to select specific areas of a webpage to monitor through a simple, interactive interface. Once set, it captures and refreshes these snippets automatically (once per minute), so you're always up-to-date without any fuss.
I need your help:
Distribution Suggestions: I’ve built the app with Xcode and am looking for recommendations on where to host the file for download. Any tips? License Input: The project is "almost" open source. I’m open to suggestions on which license might be best suited for this project, aiming to balance openness with protection of the core ideas. Use Case Feedback: I'd love to hear what tedious web monitoring tasks you think Glanceables could simplify. If you try out the app and run into any issues, especially with specific websites not working correctly, please submit an issue on GitHub!!
Let me know all your feedback, questions, and thank you for checking it out!
12 comments
[ 4.0 ms ] story [ 41.9 ms ] threadHere’s a link where you can grab that file if you'd like to give it a try: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Kt6fdFhxdGQFVbmOWRAV...
Let me know how it goes!
For distribution: use github releases page to enable downloading of and .dmg? Creating a dmg with an app, draggable to Applications is a commandline script.
One thing I'm personally keen on is using it to peek at webapps like Teams or Slack without falling down the rabbit hole of distractions. e.g responding to a message without getting sidetracked by unread notifications. But to make that work right, I’d need to handle logins and authenticated sessions, which I know from experience is hard to get right.
Another scenario I’m looking at is for stuff like MX validator tools. When you tweak MX server settings, it takes a good day or two to take effect globally, and it’s crucial not to send out new emails until those new configuration changes are fully propagated.
I’ve also heard from a friend who works at an Amazon agency. They’re constantly refreshing product pages they manage waiting for updates to show up. They’ve tried existing tools, but reliability is often a toss-up. But even at $50 a seat, it feels like a bargain to them!
You're totally right about detecting changes-- making the app capable of reliably spotting updates and notifying users could really be key. I’m thinking about something like to a git commit history for the web. What's your opinion on a viable UI/UX for the notifications? Maybe a desktop notification that shows the new change?
Also really appreciate the tip about using GitHub releases for distribution! I was really overthinking it, but I'll get on that ASAP.
Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear more about the use case if the app could detect changes and signal the user from the background.
I suggest you first talk much more with this friend and then try to sell a solution to that agency.
Do you know visualping.io? It would also solve many of such cases. It can also watch a specific area. It uses emails to notify. I use it sometimes, so far those were in their free tier.
The main difference might be that visualping is a website, meaning a better solution for long term once a while changes. I would not use a local app for changes that are once per week or will happen next month.
An app for detecting changes seems to me for more high frequent changes, like several times per day. So local notifications are more appropriate. If it is high frequency then a quick response might be needed? Some kind of macro trigger might add value: `if value > 100 then ...`.
So I have some thoughts, but not a specific use case ;)
I’m definitely doubling down on the agency use case since I have a connection there. But based on what I’ve gathered, here are a few other potential uses:
- For tech marketing managers managing multiple products daily, ensuring everything’s purchase-ready. - For developers, monitoring forums for important updates, filtering out the noise. - For warehouse managers, keeping an eye on product pages for restocking purposes, maybe checking in about once an hour depending on demand. - For marketers, detecting website outages—this should run as often as possible without causing issues. - For academics, staying updated on relevant research grants to quickly apply. - For me personally, as a marathon runner who switches out training shoes every 300 miles or so, I want to catch discounts on last season’s models which perform just as well at half the price. - For everyday consumers, checking international shipping updates, which can sometimes require multiple form submissions.
It also appears perception of web clipping tools is "advanced mode" and not easy to use. I’m excited about making them simple enough for anyone to use. I'm imagining an interface where you can easily save what matters to you, record your activities, and keep those sessions safe and private on your own device for future replay. Also hoping that making it open source builds trust, but I'm still checking how well that works. The goal is a tool that "just works" out of the box while still keeping your data local, private, and secure.
Also noticing that notification filter setup can be complex, and require a lot of upkeep. I’m thinking about how to make that easier and more reliable. Currently plan to use a fine-tuned local LLM for parsing & interpreting HTML and JSON. This approach would help the AI be smarter about timing & sending notifications. For example it would ignore minor changes like a one-minute increase in your commute, but alert you about significant changes like a sudden 15-minute jump.
Let me know if you have any more thoughts on this! Also if you’re open to it, I’d be interested in learning more about how you use Visualping.
Aforementioned OSX "webclips" feature seems to be dead...
I was curious about integrating with the "webclips" feature since it was native, but it turns out that was part of the "Dashboard" feature, which got dropped after Catalina. But I did find a Reddit thread where someone had a clever workaround.
Quote from zonkbonkbadonk on Reddit: "It's not the same, but the closest I've found is creating several desktops and using Chrome's More Tools > Create Shortcut in a New Window option to make a borderless, resizable website window. Then, I arrange them on that desktop. I also use Adblock Pro or uBlock Origin to 'hide elements' and clear away parts of the website I don’t want to see."
Here's the link to that discussion if you want to check it out: https://www.reddit.com/r/MacOS/comments/kojjzn/comment/ghrm5...