BlackBar lives in your menu bar. It tracks the status of your Blacksmith continuous integration builds. You see if your builds pass or fail without opening a browser. It saves time and helps you manage your workflow from one place.
- Windows 10 or Windows 11
- An active internet connection
- A Blacksmith account with appropriate access tokens
Follow these steps to set up the software on your computer.
- Go to the BlackBar download page.
- Locate the latest version heading under the Releases section.
- Click the file ending in .exe to start the download.
- Save the file to your desktop or downloads folder.
- Double-click the file to begin the installation process.
- Follow the prompts on the screen to complete the setup.
- Launch the application from your Start menu once the process finishes.
You must link your account so the application can fetch your data.
- Click the BlackBar icon in your taskbar notification area.
- Select the Settings option from the menu.
- Enter your Blacksmith API token in the provided field. You can find this token in your account profile on the Blacksmith website.
- Click Save to apply your changes.
- The application connects to the server. Your build status appears in the menu bar.
The application refreshes automatically every five minutes. You see a green icon if your builds pass. The icon turns red if a build fails. Click the icon at any time to see a list of your most recent projects and their current status.
Click the icon to open the main window. You see a list of projects. Each project shows the timestamp of the last build. Click on a specific project row to open the full build report in your default web browser.
You can change how often the app checks for updates. Open the Settings menu and look for the Refresh Interval slider. Move the slider to your preferred time increment. Shorter times mean more frequent updates but use more data.
BlackBar only stores your API token locally on your machine. The app sends requests only to the official Blacksmith servers to retrieve your status updates. It does not monitor any other activity on your system. Your data remains private.
If you experience issues, try these steps to resolve them.
If the icon is missing, check your hidden icons menu in the taskbar. Click the arrow icon near your clock to see if BlackBar resides there. You can drag the icon onto the taskbar for constant visibility.
If the icon shows an error, open the Settings window and verify your API token. Ensure you copied the full string without any trailing spaces. Check your internet connection to confirm the computer reaches the Blacksmith servers.
If the app stops responding, right-click the icon and select Quit. Restart the app from your Start menu to refresh the connection.
No, this version runs only on Windows desktop operating systems.
Currently, BlackBar supports one API token per installation.
Yes, the application starts when you log in to Windows by default. You can change this behavior in the Settings menu.
The app checks for updates every time you launch it. It alerts you if a newer version exists. Click the prompt to download the installer and update your files.