LilDim gently dims, or blurs, every window except the one you're working in. Switch apps and the focus follows you with a soft crossfade. Sheets, menus and popovers always stay bright.
Click a window. That's the whole app.
Everything a focus dimmer should do, and a few things they usually don't.
A solid tint in any color you like, or a soft blur. Pick the strength with a slider, from barely there to 90%.
Separate intensity and color for Light and Dark mode. When macOS switches, LilDim fades gently to match.
Highlight just the front window, or every window of the front app. Choose per app, too.
Every display handled: keep one focused window and dim the rest, or keep one bright window per display.
Save sheets, dialogs, menus, popovers and tooltips stay bright, with perfect corners and shadows. Launchers and menu bar popovers never flash the screen.
Add a colored border around the window you're in. Use it with the dim, or on its own at 0% intensity.
Pause for 15 minutes, an hour, or until tomorrow. Or pause automatically whenever an app you choose is in front, like Keynote or a game.
Hold the fn key and the dim lifts until you let go. Handy for a quick look, or when dragging a file between windows.
Scroll on the menu bar icon to adjust, ⌥-click to toggle, ⌃⌥⌘D from anywhere. Shortcuts for intensity and highlight mode too.
Shortcuts actions, Focus Filters, AppleScript and a lildim:// URL scheme. Dim harder during Work focus, turn off for Gaming.
Keeps the menu bar bright (macOS Tahoe's see-through one included), and optionally the Dock. Respects Reduce Motion, Reduce Transparency and Low Power Mode.
No network access, no tracking, nothing to sign up for. Moving windows costs nothing: the dim sits right behind your window instead of chasing it.
One click on the menu bar icon for the basics. Settings when you want more.
On/off, intensity, style and highlight mode, plus pause. Everything in one glance.
Separate Light and Dark profiles, animation speed, focus ring, menu bar and Dock.
Window or app, one or every display, and what happens on an empty desktop.
For people who like their Mac to do things on its own.
Actions for Toggle, Turn On/Off, Set Intensity, Pause and Resume. Add LilDim to a Focus to change it automatically.
System Settings → Focus → Work → Focus Filters → LilDim Dimming: On · Intensity: 60%
From Terminal, Raycast, Alfred or a Stream Deck button.
open "lildim://toggle" open "lildim://intensity?value=40" open "lildim://pause?minutes=30"
Read and set LilDim from any script.
tell application "LilDim"
set intensity to 50
pause dimming for 15
end tell
Less than a coffee. Once.
macOS 14.6+ · Apple silicon & Intel
No subscription. No in-app purchases.
No. It works the moment you open it, using only the public window list (positions and sizes, never titles or contents). Accessibility is optional: with it, LilDim follows focus changes instantly and knows exactly which of an app's windows is focused, and fn-to-peek turns on.
macOS doesn't let App Store apps add themselves there. In System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility, click + and choose LilDim (or drag it in from Finder), then switch it on. LilDim's Settings walks you through it and turns green the moment it's done.
No. The dim sits directly behind your window in the system's window order, so everything that belongs to it (sheets, menus, popovers, tooltips) stays above it and bright. Moving or resizing the window costs no CPU at all.
No. In our tests it sat at about 0.1% CPU while idle without Accessibility, around 25 MB of memory, and the app is about 2 MB. Blur switches to dim on its own in Low Power Mode.
Everything you used is here: intensity, color, fade speed, Light and Dark profiles, front window or all app windows, multi-display modes, Focus Filters, Shortcuts, AppleScript and hold fn. LilDim adds blur, a focus ring, per-app pause rules and a URL scheme, for $0.99.
Open LilDim again from Finder, Spotlight or Launchpad and Settings appears.
Because it's really on screen. Pause LilDim (or hold fn) while you capture if you want the full desktop.