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apphousekitchen/aldente-battery_care_and_monitoring

9,039SwiftAudience · generalComplexity · 1/5LicenseSetup · easy

TLDR

AlDente is a macOS menu bar app that caps your MacBook battery charging at a percentage you set, like 80%, so the battery stays healthier when your laptop is plugged in all day.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((AlDente))
    What it does
      Caps battery charge
      Protects battery health
      Menu bar control
    Free Features
      Charge Limiter
      Discharge mode
    Pro Features
      Heat Protection
      Sailing Mode
      Top Up
    Requirements
      macOS 11 or later
      Supported MacBook model
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Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Cap your MacBook battery at 80% while it is plugged in all day to reduce long-term battery wear

USE CASE 2

Actively discharge the battery to a lower level using Discharge mode while staying plugged in

USE CASE 3

Pause charging automatically when the battery gets too warm using the Pro Heat Protection feature

USE CASE 4

Request a one-time full 100% charge on demand with the Pro Top Up feature without changing your daily limit

Tech stack

SwiftmacOS

Getting it running

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

Only works on supported MacBook models, check the FAQ page for compatibility before paying for the Pro version.

The current version is closed-source and proprietary, only legacy code and older releases remain openly available on GitHub, the active software is not open for redistribution or modification.

In plain English

AlDente is a macOS menu bar application that lets you set a maximum charging percentage for your MacBook's battery. By default, macOS charges the battery to 100% whenever you plug in, but lithium-ion batteries degrade faster when kept at or near full charge for long periods. AlDente lets you cap charging at, say, 80%, so the battery stays in a healthier range even when the laptop is plugged in all day. The free version includes two features. Charge Limiter lets you set the maximum charge percentage via a slider or a text field in the menu bar. Discharge mode lets the laptop run entirely on battery even while plugged in, so you can actively bring the charge down to a lower level. The app requires macOS 11 Big Sur or later, and which specific MacBook models are supported is listed on the project's FAQ page. A paid version called AlDente Pro adds more features: Heat Protection pauses charging when the battery gets too warm, Sailing Mode maintains charge within a set range, Top Up provides a temporary full charge on demand, and a calibration mode helps correct a drifted battery meter. The Pro version is also available through a subscription service called Setapp. The README includes an important caution about battery calibration. If you keep your MacBook at a low percentage for weeks without running full charge cycles, the battery's built-in percentage meter can drift and report incorrect numbers. The fix is to run several full cycles from 0 to 100 percent to recalibrate. This repository is no longer open source. Legacy code and older releases remain on GitHub, but the current version of the software is closed-source and proprietary.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
My MacBook is always plugged in and my battery health has dropped. Walk me through setting AlDente's charge limit to 80% and explain why that percentage helps battery longevity.
Prompt 2
I've been running AlDente at 50% charge for several weeks and my battery percentage gauge seems inaccurate. How do I recalibrate my MacBook battery meter?
Prompt 3
Compare AlDente free versus AlDente Pro, which features matter for daily plugged-in use and which are only useful in edge cases?
Prompt 4
How do I use AlDente's Discharge mode to bring my battery from 90% down to 60% while the MacBook stays plugged in?
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