Alternatives

Products that do what The Cook does

Lock the view. Keep the Mac cooking.

1. 1
   Shadow▲219

   The interface AI needs. One that sees, hears, and runs.

   May 2026 · shadow.do

2. 2
   Cuukit Screen Lid▲4

   Keep your AI agents running while you step away

   27d ago · cuukit.com

3. 3
   Terminal Mode by Even Realities▲356

   Keep coding agents always in sight

   Jun 2026

4. 4
   Shady for Mac▲94

   Pull a virtual shade over your screen, rest your eyes

   2015

5. 5
   Plow Latch▲147

   Run AI agents on your Mac with scoped access

   17d ago · plow.co

6. 6DA
   Drive any macOS app in the background without stealing the cursor▲192

   Hi HN, Francesco from Cua here. I hacked this project together last weekend, inspired by the Codex Computer-Use release and lessons learned from deploying GUI-operating agents for our customers. The main problem: when a UI automation process controls a desktop app today, it usually takes over the human’s session. Your cursor moves, keyboard focus gets stolen, windows jump to the front, and you have to stop working until the agent is done. That is why we have historically avoided encouraging users to run these processes directly on their host machine, instead relying on VMs or GUI containers…

   Apr 2026 · github.com

7. 7
   ScreenVeil▲86

   Hide what shouldn’t be seen on your computer

   May 2026 · apps.apple.com

8. 8
   Agents Never Sleep▲90

   Agents keep running with the lid closed

   16d ago · agentsneversleep.app

9. 9
   ScreenGeany AI▲93

   Ask AI about anything on your screen with a single hotkey

   Mar 2026 · screengeany.ai

10. 10
    Keepresso▲129

    Keep your Mac awake, on your terms. Free and open source

    Jul 2026 · keepresso.com

11. 11
    ScreenSorts▲124

    Search every screenshot, text, and detail privately

    Feb 2026 · screensorts.app

12. 12
    Sketch▲109

    Professional digital design for Mac.

    2014

13. 13
    HeimWall▲34

    Catch secrets before they leak into Cursor & Claude

    Jul 2026 · heimwall.ai

14. 14
    Notchcode▲89

    Claude Code + Codex agents in your notch

    Jun 2026 · github.com

15. 15
    Screen Commander▲96

    Blank your screens at the click of your mouse.

    2017

16. 16
    Ajar▲91

    Lid Angle Sync & Keep Awake for AI Agents on Mac

    May 2026 · parcse.com

17. 17
    MiniAi▲85

    Select text, hit (⌥ space), get AI explanations

    Apr 2026 · miniai.dev

18. 18
    CueNotch▲20

    Look like you memorized everything. You didn't.

    Mar 2026 · cuenotch.com

19. 19
    Cynical Sally CLI▲13

    Cause "You're absolutely right" is probably absolutely wrong

    Apr 2026 · npmjs.com

20. 20
    Hold My Lid▲14

    Keep your Agents running while your macbook is closed

    Jun 2026 · holdmylid.app

21. 21
    Holdor – Stop your Agents from sleeping▲23

    Your Mac stays awake. Sleep is for humans, not agents.

    Mar 2026 · holdor.yetanother.one

22. 22
    LidRun▲10

    Keep AI working on your Mac — even with the lid closed

    Jul 2026

23. 23SA
    Shade. A Free Mac App to hide your messy desktop.▲16

    2012 · itunes.apple.com

24. 24MH
    Mac Hacks Wiki – A central repo for your ‘default writes’▲27

    2015 · machacks.whiskykilo.com

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