Clock and date
Show the current time and date as a calm, always-visible part of the desktop.
Orbl
Orbl is a macOS live wallpaper and desktop widget app that turns the desktop into a calm dashboard for time, weather, focus, system status, and premium integrations. It is free to use with built-in widgets, with a one-time Premium upgrade for integrations.
Desktop widgets and live wallpaper for macOS
Orbl is a macOS wallpaper app that turns the desktop into a live dashboard. It places widgets behind windows so users can see time, weather, focus, system status, and selected business metrics without opening separate apps or panels.
The app is free to download on macOS and includes all built-in widgets. Orbl Premium is a separate one-time upgrade that unlocks integrations, including revenue tools, developer data, audience stats, markets, meetings, and other read-only sources, with data kept local and API keys stored in the macOS Keychain.
What Orbl puts on your wallpaper
Weather, sunset, and AQI
Display current weather, a sunset countdown, and live air quality on the wallpaper.
Focus and activity rhythm
Track deep work sessions and a local rhythm view based on app switches, keystrokes, cursor travel, and screen time.
Mac vitals and batteries
Surface CPU, memory, disk, Wi-Fi health, and device batteries as glanceable system widgets.
Notes and small context widgets
Add sticky notes, quote of the day, on-this-day content, and month or year progress indicators.
Premium integrations
Connect read-only integrations for revenue, developer, audience, SEO, markets, tasks, and other data sources, with keys stored in the macOS Keychain.
Common ways to use Orbl
Daily glance dashboard
Keep the time, weather, air quality, and sunset countdown visible on the desktop so you can check them without switching apps.
Personal focus tracking
Use deep work, rhythm, and app-usage widgets to understand where attention went during the day and when focus sessions started or ended.
Mac status monitoring
Monitor CPU, memory, disk, Wi-Fi, and device battery status from the wallpaper when you want system health at a glance.
Founder and operator metrics
Surface revenue, GitHub, RSS, audience, SEO, and market integrations on the wallpaper for read-only reference while working.
Lightweight planning and reminders
Pin reminders, event countdowns, and sticky notes to the wallpaper to keep upcoming tasks and small notes in view.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Free app includes all built-in widgets.
- One-time Premium purchase with no subscription.
- Read-only keys are stored in the macOS Keychain and calls go directly from the Mac to providers.
- Widgets can be shown, hidden behind a reveal shortcut, or turned off.
- Layout options include auto-flow, custom ordering, and three sizes per widget.
Cons
- Premium is required for integrations, so business dashboards are not part of the free tier.
- The public pages reviewed do not describe Windows or cross-platform support.
- Team or multi-user workflows are not documented on the site pages provided.
FAQ
Is Orbl free to use?
Yes. Orbl is free on macOS and includes every built-in widget, including clock and date, weather and sunset, air quality, focus and rhythm, machine stats, device batteries, sticky notes, progress bars, quote of the day, and on-this-day content. No account or card is required to download and use the free app.
What does Orbl Premium cost?
Orbl Premium is a one-time purchase of $19 for the first 50 buyers, then $49. It is a lifetime license with no subscription.
What does Premium add beyond the free app?
Premium unlocks integrations such as Stripe, ChartMogul, Lemon Squeezy, Dodo Payments, Gumroad, Polar, TrustMRR, GitHub, RSS or Atom feeds, custom APIs, Ahrefs, Reddit, Bluesky, Product Hunt, Hacker News, crypto prices, exchange rates, meetings and tasks, app-usage ranking, and the ISS widget.
How do I activate Premium?
Checkout is handled by Dodo Payments. After purchase, you receive a license key by email and paste it into Settings → License Key on the same Mac or your other Macs.
Is Orbl meant for teams?
The site describes Orbl as free to try with built-in widgets, and it does not present team or multi-user management features on the public pages reviewed.
Quick Facts
- Category
- Productivity
- Platform
- macOS
- Primary use
- Live wallpaper dashboard and desktop widgets
- Free tier
- Yes, with built-in widgets
- Paid tier
- Orbl Premium, one-time purchase
- Domain
- orbl.app
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