Wardlume
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New v1.8.0: Intruder photo ⌚ Apple Watch unlock · since v1.7

Wardlume for macOS

Lock the input.
Keep the work in view.

Your AI agents keep working in full view.
Nobody can touch your Mac.

Download for MacView on GitHub
88+Macs warded
$ brew tap arpitagarwal1301/tap
$ brew trust arpitagarwal1301/tap
$ brew install --cask wardlume

Free for personal use · v1.8.0 · Oct 3, 2026 · macOS Tahoe 26+ · Apple Silicon · release notes

TerminalShellEditViewWindow9:41
~/orbit — agent

Click Activate Ward, then try clicking or typing on the screen.

🎬 Real screenshots and a demo video are coming soon. See the roadmap →

Use cases

Step away. The work keeps going.

For the gap between starting something long and coming back to finish it.

🤖

AI coding agents

Let Claude Code, Codex, or Cursor run for an hour without a stray keystroke landing in the prompt.

🏗️

Builds, tests & training

Watch long builds, test suites, and ML runs finish with nobody poking at the keyboard.

🎬

Renders & exports

No accidental clicks mid-export, and your Mac stays awake until it’s done.

☕

A quick step away

Grab a coffee at the café. Come back to the exact same screen, still visibly working.

How it works

One shortcut in. Touch ID out.

  1. ⌘⇧L
    01

    Lock

    Press the shortcut from anywhere, even inside your IDE, or use the menu bar. The glass ward rises instantly.

  2. 🚶
    02

    Step away

    Keys, clicks, scrolls and gestures are blocked on every display. The screen stays visible and your Mac stays awake.

  3. 👆 or ⌘⇧U
    03

    Unlock

    Touch ID, Apple Watch, or your password. Everything is exactly where you left it.

Features

Everything a ward should do.

And a little mischief for anyone who tries to touch it.

🛡️

Glass-shield ward

An animated Metal overlay over your live desktop. Readable screen, hard-locked input at the macOS event-tap level.

👆

Touch ID & Apple Watch unlock

Rest your finger, press your unlock shortcut, or double-press your watch’s side button. Falls back to your password.

🎭

Intruder reactions

A wrong touch springs a reaction image and sound. Silent Professional, Wizard, Grumpy Old Man, or your own.

📷

Intruder photo (optional)

Off by default. Photographs anyone who fails to unlock, with a notice on the glass. Photos never leave your Mac.

☕

Keeps your Mac awake

No idle sleep while warded, so the ward holds and your agents keep running.

⏱️

Auto-ward when idle

Optionally casts the ward after 1–15 minutes idle, with a 10-second countdown you cancel by moving the mouse.

🖥️

Multi-display & unplug-safe

Other monitors stay visible but locked, or blacked out. Unplugging a monitor never unlocks.

⌨️

Your shortcuts

Remap activate and unlock keys. Optional no-auth emergency exit for peace of mind.

🔒

Local-only

No network, no analytics, no accounts. Nothing leaves your Mac.

Wizard reaction pack: a glowering wizard
Wizard pack
Grumpy Old Man reaction pack: a stern stare
Grumpy Old Man pack
Why not just lock the screen?

Wardlume vs the macOS lock screen

WardlumemacOS lock screen
Screen stays visible✓—
Agents, builds & renders keep going in view✓—
Mac stays awake✓—
Blocks keyboard, mouse, trackpad & gestures✓✓
Unlock with Touch ID or Apple Watch✓✓
Reacts when someone touches it✓—
Photographs failed unlocks (optional)✓—
Auto-locks when you walk away✓✓
Safety first

There’s always a way out.

Touch ID, Apple Watch, your password, or ⌘⌥Esc Force Quit, which macOS reserves so no app can block it. Sleep always ends the ward, and an optional emergency-exit key is one toggle away.

Read the Safety guide →
Private by design

Your screen can’t leave your Mac.

macOS itself blocks Wardlume from the internet: it’s sandboxed with no network entitlement, which one Terminal command confirms. Frames are drawn live to the glass, never saved. Only the separate updater goes online, and only for signed updates.

See how to verify it →
Install

Ready in a minute.

A guided setup walks you through the three permissions on first launch.

$ brew tap arpitagarwal1301/tap
$ brew trust arpitagarwal1301/tap
$ brew install --cask wardlume

Cleanest install: no “damaged” prompt, no quarantine cleanup. Homebrew 6+ asks you to trust a third‑party tap once; on older Homebrew skip the brew trust line. Update later with brew upgrade --cask wardlume.

FAQ

Questions, answered.

Something else? Visit support.

Is my screen hidden while warded?
No, and that’s the point. The screen stays visible so anyone nearby can watch your agent work. Only input is locked. If you’d rather other monitors go dark, choose Settings → Displays & gestures → Other monitors → Black out.
How is this different from the macOS lock screen?
The macOS lock screen hides your work behind the login window, and the display can go to sleep. Wardlume keeps everything in full view and your Mac awake, so you (and anyone nearby) can see the agent, build, or render carry on, while nobody can type into it.
What if I get stuck?
You always have a way out: Touch ID / your unlock shortcut, your Apple Watch, or ⌘⌥Esc → Force Quit Wardlume (macOS reserves that shortcut, so no app can block it). You can also enable an emergency‑exit key. See the Safety guide.
Does it work with Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, …?
Yes. Wardlume doesn’t care what’s running. It locks input for the whole Mac while every app keeps working on screen, so any agent, build, render, or download carries on.
Will my Mac fall asleep while I’m away?
No. While the ward is up Wardlume holds a standard power assertion (the same mechanism as caffeinate), so the display and system don’t idle‑sleep. Closing the lid still ends the ward, on purpose.
Is Wardlume safe? Why does it need Screen Recording?
Screen Recording is how the glass shows your live desktop behind it, and Wardlume can’t send what it sees anywhere. macOS blocks the app from the internet: it’s sandboxed with no network entitlement. It captures only while the ward is up, straight to the GPU, and never saves frames. Check it yourself in Settings → Privacy & security, or run codesign -d --entitlements - /Applications/Wardlume.app. See Privacy for how to read the result and confirm it with LuLu or Little Snitch.
Does Wardlume take photos of people?
Only if you turn on Intruder photo (off by default), and then only when someone fails to unlock: a wrong Touch ID until macOS gives up, or a wrong password. Never when they just cancel, and never covertly: the camera light always shows and the glass says “Failed unlocks are photographed”. Photos stay on your Mac (the app has no internet access) and are deleted after 30 days by default. See Intruder photo.
Does Wardlume collect any data?
No. No analytics, no accounts, and the app itself can’t connect to the internet. The only thing that goes online is the separate updater (Sparkle, in its own sandbox), and only to fetch signed Wardlume updates after you allow it. Nothing about you is sent. See Privacy.
Apple Watch unlock isn’t working
Open Settings → Lock & unlock → Unlock with Apple Watch and follow the setup steps. Your watch has to be signed in to the same Apple Account, have a passcode, be on your wrist and unlocked, and be enabled in System Settings → Touch ID & Password. Then press Send test to watch.
Is it free?
Yes, for any noncommercial use (personal, study, hobby, nonprofit). Commercial use needs a license. See Pricing and Terms.
How do I uninstall?
First turn off Settings → Automation → Launch at login. Then run brew uninstall --cask wardlume, or quit Wardlume and drag it from Applications to the Trash.

Cast your first ward.

Free for personal use. If it saves your agent’s run, consider sponsoring its development.

Download WardlumeSupport the project