Wanduforl

Wanduforl / MacArkPet

Public

Unofficial GPL-3.0 native macOS desktop pet app inspired by Ark-Pets.

appkit arknights desktop-pet macos spine
27
0
85% credibility
Found May 29, 2026 at 32 stars -- GitGems finds repos before they trend. Get early access to the next one.
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AI Analysis
JavaScript
AI Summary

MacArkPet is a free desktop companion app for macOS that lets you display animated characters from the game Arknights as small interactive pets on your desktop. You download models from a community library, pick a character you like, and it walks, sits, sleeps, and interacts with you on your screen. The app runs in the background with a menu bar icon, and you can switch between different characters anytime.

How It Works

1
📦 Download the app

You download the app from GitHub, unzip it, and move it to your Applications folder on your Mac.

2
⚠️ Allow the app to run

Since the app isn't signed by Apple, you right-click it and choose Open to let it start for the first time.

3
🎨 Browse the model library

A window opens showing a list of character models you can choose from, with pictures and filters to help you find what you like.

4
Choose your character
✨
Pick a specific character

You search or scroll through the list and click on a character you like.

🎲
Let it surprise you

You click the shuffle button and the app picks a random character for you.

5
🐾 Your pet comes to life

The character appears on your desktop as a small animated pet that walks around, sits down, or falls asleep on its own.

6
🖱️ Interact with your pet

You can drag your pet around, right-click it to make it cheer up, sit, sleep, or do a special move, or let it walk across your screen.

🎉 Your desktop has a new companion

Your pet lives on your desktop, keeping you company with its animations and personality, and you can always open the launcher to switch to a different character.

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Star Growth

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AI-Generated Review

What is MacArkPet?

MacArkPet is a native macOS desktop pet application that lets you run animated characters from the Arknights game as interactive desktop companions. Built with Swift and AppKit, it renders Spine/WebGL models through a WebView layer, giving you a transparent borderless window that wanders around your desktop with basic physics. The app includes a launcher window where you can browse, search, and filter available models, adjust their size and walking speed, and trigger different animations like sitting, sleeping, or special interactions. Models sync from a community repository at runtime, and the pet responds to clicks, respects screen boundaries, and can sit on top of other windows.

Why is it gaining traction?

This fills a niche gap for Mac users who want the desktop pet experience that Ark-Pets provides on Windows. The native Swift implementation means it feels like a real macOS app rather than a cross-platform workaround, with proper menu bar integration and system-level window management. The Spine animation support is surprisingly robust for a hobby project, handling multiple animation states and even detecting the visual bounds of each animation to keep the pet properly cropped. The model sync feature removes friction--users get access to a whole library without manual asset management.

Who should use this?

Arknights fans on macOS who want a cute desktop companion will get the most value here. Developers working on similar desktop widget or overlay projects might find the window management and physics code useful as a reference. Anyone looking for a lightweight alternative to Electron-based desktop pets should appreciate the native performance. Note that this requires macOS 13 or later and you'll need to sync models before the library populates.

Verdict

MacArkPet is a functional and thoughtfully built desktop pet app, but with only 27 stars it's very early stage--expect rough edges and limited documentation. The 0.85% credibility score reflects this infancy. If you're a Mac-using Arknights fan, it's worth trying for the novelty factor. For production use or as a dependency, wait for more community validation. The GPL-3.0 license is clear about its unofficial status, so no surprises there.

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