Echo is a native macOS app that records what you play and gives it back to you on demand. It never opens a main window and never asks you to sign in. Instead it lives as a small icon in the right side of your menu bar, waiting quietly until you need it.
Where is the Echo icon?
After you install Echo, look to the top-right of your screen - the row of small icons next to the clock. Echo places its icon there. If your menu bar is crowded, macOS may tuck it behind the overflow indicator (the two chevrons). You can drag it to a visible position while holding Command.
The icon is intentionally understated. It does not change colour or animate while music is playing. That is by design: Echo works in the background without demanding your attention.
If Echo disappears into the overflow area, hold Command and drag the icon leftward into the main menu bar so it is always one click away.
What happens when you click it?
Clicking the Echo icon opens a compact panel that drops down from the menu bar. You do not need to switch apps or hunt through your dock. The panel shows your recent listening history - tracks and albums in the order you played them - so you can see at a glance what has been on today or over the past few days.
From this same panel you can also reach:
- Moments - saved snapshots you have bookmarked from your history, so things worth returning to are never buried.
- Shelf - a holding area for tracks and albums you want to remember but have not acted on yet. Think of it as a lightweight queue for later.
- Settings - where you manage sources, tweak behaviour, and find your licence information.
Everything is on-device and private. Echo does not connect to an account or send your listening data anywhere.
How do you open the search palette?
The fastest way to find something specific is the keyboard shortcut ⌘⇧E. Press it from anywhere on your Mac and Echo's search palette appears instantly, floating over whatever you are doing. Type a track name, artist, or album and Echo searches your full history.
This is useful when you half-remember something you played last week and want to find it quickly without clicking through the panel. The palette dismisses itself once you have found what you need.
You can read more about making the most of the shortcut in the guide to Echo's keyboard shortcut.
The ⌘⇧E shortcut is global - it works whether you are in a browser, a document, or the Finder. Echo never needs to be the frontmost app.
Do you need to do anything to get started?
Not much. Once Echo is installed and running, it begins recording your listening history automatically. There is nothing to configure before your first track appears. Open the panel after a few minutes of listening and you will see it there.
If you want to check which music sources Echo is watching, or add more, head to settings from the menu-bar panel. For a detailed look at what Echo tracks and where it listens, see what Echo remembers and which sources it supports.
Is Echo always running in the background?
Yes. Echo runs as a menu-bar app, which on macOS means it is a lightweight background process - not a full application with a dock icon. You can quit it from the settings area of the panel if you want to stop it temporarily, and you can set it to launch at login so it is always ready without any effort on your part.
Because everything stays on your Mac and there is no account or sync, there is no battery drain from network activity. Echo's footprint is deliberately small.
Frequently asked
Why is the Echo icon not visible in my menu bar?
Can I open Echo without using the mouse?
Does Echo need an account or internet connection to work?
What is the difference between Moments and Shelf?
Your Listening History, Always Within Reach
Echo is a one-time purchase for $9.99 - use it on up to three Macs with all future updates included.
One-time purchase, yours forever.