Version 1.0.0

Quick Tray

A lightweight launcher that gives you one-click access to your favourite applications from the menu bar (macOS) or system tray (Windows). Add up to 25 apps, reorder them, pick a custom icon, and optionally start Quick Tray at login.

macOS 13.0 (Ventura) or later — menu bar only (no Dock icon)

Windows 10 or later — notification area (system tray) only

Introduction

macOS menu bar icon and left-click app menu
macOS — Quick Tray in the menu bar. Left-click to open your application list.
Windows tray icon and left-click app menu above the taskbar
Windows — Quick Tray in the notification area. Left-click to open your application list.

Quick Tray runs from the menu bar. It does not appear in the Dock. Left-click the icon to open your application list; right-click for Settings... and Quit.

Quick Tray runs from the notification area (system tray). Left-click the icon to open your application list; right-click for Settings... and Exit.

ApplicationsAdd, remove, reorder, and sort up to 25 apps. GeneralCustom icon and Run At Startup. GeneralTray icon, menu colours, and Run At Startup.

Quick Start

  1. Install Quick Tray.app to /Applications/Celestial Textures/ (installer) or drag from the disk image.
  2. Launch Quick Tray. The menu bar icon appears.
  3. Right-click the icon → Settings... → use Add... in the Applications List.
  4. Left-click the icon to launch any listed app.
  5. Optional: enable Run At Startup in the General section (signed build, macOS 13+).
  1. Run the Celestial Textures Quick Tray setup installer (Quick Tray-1.0.0-win-x64-setup.exe).
  2. Launch Quick Tray from the Start Menu. The tray icon appears in the notification area.
  3. Right-click the icon → Settings... → Applications tab → Add.
  4. Left-click the icon to launch any listed app.
  5. Optional: enable Run At Startup on the General tab.

Install — macOS

Installer (.pkg): Run the Celestial Textures setup package. Components include the application, HTML manual (this file), and Uninstall Quick Tray.app under /Applications/Celestial Textures/Uninstallers/.

Disk image (.dmg): Drag Quick Tray.app to Applications. The Manual/ folder on the image contains legal text; the full HTML manual is copied on first launch or via the installer.

Gatekeeper. If macOS blocks the app, open System Settings → Privacy & Security and choose Open Anyway, or remove quarantine: xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/Celestial Textures/Quick Tray.app"

Manual location after install:
~/Library/Application Support/Celestial Textures/Quick Tray/manual/index.html

Install — Windows

Installer (NSIS): Run the setup package (default location: %ProgramFiles%\Celestial Textures\Quick Tray\). The installer places the application, default tray icon, HTML manual, and uninstaller.

Start Menu shortcuts: Quick Tray, Quick Tray Manual, and Uninstall.

Optional desktop shortcuts (installer Options page): Quick Tray and/or Quick Tray Manual.

Manual location after install:
%ProgramData%\Celestial Textures\Quick Tray\manual\index.html

Menu Bar Icon

Tray Icon

Quick Tray uses a small icon on the right side of the menu bar (near the clock and Control Centre). The default icon is built into the app. In Settings... → General, use Browse... to choose a custom .ico file, or enter default.ico in the Icon field to restore the built-in icon.

Quick Tray uses a small icon in the notification area (click the ^ chevron if hidden). The default icon is installed as default.ico. On the General tab, use Browse... for another .ico file, or Default Icon to restore the built-in icon.

App Menu (left-click)

macOS left-click app menu
Each entry shows the app icon and name. The menu grows wide enough to fit the longest title.
Windows left-click app menu
Each entry shows the app icon and name. The menu opens above the tray icon and sizes to fit long titles.

Left-click the Quick Tray icon to show your application list. Click an entry to launch that application.

Quick Tray uses Apple Events to start apps; macOS may ask you to allow this the first time.

Apps with missing or invalid paths are skipped in the menu.

Maximum 25 applications. List order in Settings matches the menu order.

Context Menu (right-click)

macOS right-click menu with Settings and Quit
macOS — Settings... and Quit.
Windows right-click menu with Settings and Exit
Windows — Settings... and Exit.
  • Settings... — opens the Quick Tray settings window.
  • Quit — exits Quick Tray (launched apps stay open).
  • Exit — closes Quick Tray (launched apps stay open).

Launching Apps

Quick Tray launches .app bundles. If an app was moved or deleted, remove it from the list and add it again.

Quick Tray launches .exe files. If a program was moved or deleted, remove it from the list and add it again.

Only one instance of Quick Tray runs at a time.

Settings — Applications

macOS Applications List
macOS — single settings window with Applications List at the top.
Windows Applications tab
Windows — Applications tab with Name and Path columns.

Open Settings... from the right-click menu. The Applications List is at the top of the window.

Open Settings... and select the Applications tab.

  • Add... — pick an application (.app bundle).
  • Add — pick an executable (.exe).
  • Remove — remove the selected entry.
  • Move Up / Move Down — change menu order.
  • Short Names — sort by name (toggle ascending / descending).

Changes are saved automatically. Click Close when finished.Click Close at the bottom when finished.

Settings — General & About

Settings — General

macOS General and About sections
macOS — General and About sections below the Applications List.
Windows General tab
Windows — General tab with Tray Icon, Menu Colors, and About.

General — Icon path and Browse... for a custom .ico menu bar icon; Run At Startup (macOS 13+, signed app).

About — version 1.0.0, credits, and copyright in the same window.

Tray Icon — Browse..., Default Icon, and Run At Startup (Windows Registry Run key).

Settings — Menu Colors

On the General tab, customise the left-click app menu (Windows only):

  • Background — menu background colour.
  • Text — normal item text colour.
  • Hover Background — highlight when the pointer is over an item.
  • Hover Text — text colour on hover (default: yellow).

Click a colour swatch to open the colour picker. Colours are stored in quicktray.ini.

Settings — About

At the bottom of the General tab, About shows version 1.0.0, programming credit, and Celestial Textures copyright.

User Data & Files

ItemPath (macOS)
Settings INI~/Library/Application Support/Celestial Textures/Quick Tray/quicktray.ini
Manual + legal~/Library/Application Support/Celestial Textures/Quick Tray/manual/
Application/Applications/Celestial Textures/Quick Tray.app
ItemPath (Windows)
Application%ProgramFiles%\Celestial Textures\Quick Tray\QuickTray.exe
Settings INI%AppData%\Celestial Textures\Quick Tray\quicktray.ini
Manual + legal%ProgramData%\Celestial Textures\Quick Tray\manual\
Default tray icon%ProgramFiles%\Celestial Textures\Quick Tray\default.ico

Legacy settings at ~/Library/Application Support/QuickTray/ are migrated on first launch.

Legacy settings under older Quick Tray folders are migrated on first launch.

Uninstall

If you installed via the Celestial Textures .pkg, open:

/Applications/Celestial Textures/Uninstallers/Uninstall Quick Tray.app

The uninstaller removes the application, manual, and uninstaller. You can optionally delete quicktray.ini.

Manual removal: quit Quick Tray, delete Quick Tray.app, and remove the Application Support folder if desired.

Open Start Menu → Uninstall or Apps & features and remove Quick Tray.

The uninstaller removes the application and manual. Optionally delete settings:

%AppData%\Celestial Textures\Quick Tray\

Troubleshooting / FAQ

Menu bar icon missing

Check Activity Monitor. Relaunch from Applications. Hide conflicting menu extras on small screens.

Tray icon not visible

Click the ^ chevron in the taskbar. Ensure Quick Tray is running in Task Manager.

Run At Startup does not work

Install a Developer ID signed, notarized build. macOS 13+ required.

Check Settings → Apps → Startup or Task Manager → Startup. Re-enable in Quick Tray Settings → General.

“App is damaged”

Re-download from Celestial Textures. Verify notarization: codesign -dv --verbose=4 "/Applications/Celestial Textures/Quick Tray.app"

An app does not appear in the left-click menu

Invalid paths are hidden. Verify the path in Settings → Applications or re-add the app.

Settings reset warning

If quicktray.ini is corrupt or missing, Quick Tray restores defaults and shows a one-time alert.

Credits

Quick Tray 1.0.0 — © 2026 Celestial Textures.

Programming by: Orestis
Company: Celestial Textures