macOS A8C Chat Overlay

A macOS overlay application for pinning chat.a8c.com to a dedicated window with a global keyboard shortcut.

Features

• 🪟 Dedicated window for chat.a8c.com
• ⌨️ Control+Space global keyboard shortcut to show/hide
• 📍 Menu bar icon for quick access
• 💾 Automatically saves window position and size
• 🔄 Universal binary (supports both Intel and Apple Silicon)

Installation

Using Homebrew (Recommended)

# Add the tap
brew tap automattic/chat-a8c-overlay

# Install the app
brew install --cask macos-a8c-chat-overlay

First Launch

1. The app will open automatically after installation
2. Grant Accessibility permissions when prompted (required for Control+Space hotkey)
3. Log in to chat.a8c.com

Usage

• Show/Hide Window: Press Control+Space at any time
• Menu Bar: Click the menu bar icon for Show, Hide, or Quit options
• Auto-Start: Configure via menu bar options to launch at login

Updating

brew upgrade --cask macos-a8c-chat-overlay

Uninstalling

# Standard uninstall
brew uninstall --cask macos-a8c-chat-overlay

# Complete removal (including preferences and logs)
brew uninstall --cask --zap macos-a8c-chat-overlay

System Requirements

• macOS 10.15 (Catalina) or later
• Compatible with both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs

Troubleshooting

"App is damaged and can't be opened"

Remove the quarantine attribute:

xattr -cr /Applications/macos-a8c-chat-overlay.app

Accessibility Permissions

If the Control+Space hotkey isn't working:

1. System Preferences → Security & Privacy → Accessibility
2. Ensure macos-a8c-chat-overlay.app is in the list and checked
3. If issues persist, remove and re-add the app

Building from Source

git clone https://github.com/Automattic/homebrew-chat-a8c-overlay.git
cd homebrew-chat-a8c-overlay/dmg-builder
./test_build.sh

The built .app will be in dmg-builder/dist/.

Credits

Adapted from macos-grok-overlay for use with Automattic's A8C Chat.