This is nifty.
While Apple offers an Apple TV Remote app for the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, it doesn’t offer one for the Mac. As such, developer Nick Ustinov stepped in and built Itsytv, a free macOS app for controlling your Apple TV.
The application functions as a menu bar app that allows you to control your Apple TV and offers volume control, playback control, application launching, and other features.
Here’s an overview of features:
- Native macOS: Built with Swift and SwiftUI — no Electron, no web views. Runs silently in your menu bar.
- App launcher: Browse all installed Apple TV apps in a grid with App Store icons. Launch any app in one click.
- Navigate with keyboard: Arrow keys, Return, Space, Escape — control your Apple TV without touching the mouse.
- Text input: Type search queries and passwords on your Mac keyboard instead of pecking letters on the TV screen.
- Now playing: See what’s playing with album artwork, title, artist, and a live progress bar in your menu bar.
- Multi-device: Pair multiple Apple TVs on your network and switch between them instantly.
- Secure: End-to-end encrypted communication with your Apple TV. Pairing credentials stored securely in Keychain.
Itsytv requires macOS 14 Sonoma to install and run.
If you’ve had a chance to try Itsytv, please let us know about your experience in the comments.
Via 9to5Mac, Itsytv.app, and Itsy Github




