Guide

Menu Bar, Clipboard, and Finder

After configuring a workflow, you do not need to keep the main window open. Run images from the menu bar or clipboard, or send selected Finder files to TinyOwl for a final review.

Confirm the Active Workflow

Menu bar processing runs the active workflow immediately. The same selection controls the main window, menu bar file picker, and menu bar drag and drop.

Before starting, confirm that its resize, compression, and upload steps match the task. Switch the active workflow from the main-window workflow strip, the menu bar workflow menu, or Settings -> Workflows. Choose Configure Workflow from the workflow menu when you need to edit its steps.

Click the TinyOwl icon in the menu bar to open its panel. From there, you can:

Choose images and run the active workflow.
Review the active workflow and its step summary.
Switch workflows or open workflow configuration.
Review the latest task, including image count, status, and size savings.
Open the main window or Settings.

Right-click the menu bar icon to open its native shortcut menu. From there, choose Settings…, open the main window, start a quick compression, switch workflows, or quit TinyOwl.

The result area stays empty until a task has completed. It then keeps the latest result and the actions that are still available.

Drag Images to the Menu Bar

Select one or more images in Finder or another app that supports file dragging.
Drag them toward the TinyOwl menu bar icon. The drop panel appears when the pointer approaches the icon or enters the expanded area directly below it.
Release the images in the panel. TinyOwl immediately runs the active workflow.
Keep the panel open to watch progress. Closing it does not interrupt the task.

Supported input formats are PNG, JPG/JPEG, WebP, BMP, TIF/TIFF, and AVIF. Other files are ignored.

If the task needs an output folder, overwrite approval, upload configuration, or crop confirmation, the panel asks for that action before continuing.

Review the Result

After processing, the menu bar panel shows the latest task. Depending on the workflow and result, you can use:

Open List: review the saved path, size, and error for every image in the main window.
Reveal in Finder: locate the latest local output. This action is disabled when there is no local path to reveal.
Copy Link: copy a public URL after a successful upload when the provider has a Public Base URL.

If only some files fail, open the list to inspect their individual errors. Successful files keep their own results.

Start from the Clipboard

Copy one or more images in another app, activate the TinyOwl main window or menu bar panel, then press Command + V. TinyOwl reads the clipboard images and immediately runs the active workflow.

The shortcut only responds while TinyOwl is active; it does not replace the system-wide Command + V. If the clipboard contains no usable image, TinyOwl shows a short message and does not start a task.

For creative writing and blogging workflows (such as capturing screenshots, optimizing to WebP, uploading, and getting a ready-to-paste Markdown image tag in one keystroke), read the full walkthrough: Screenshot to WebP to Cloud Storage to Markdown on macOS.

Open Selected Images from Finder

Select one or more supported images in Finder.
Right-click and choose Open With -> TinyOwl.
TinyOwl opens the main window, adds the images to the list, and starts the active workflow.
If an output folder or another confirmation is required, respond to the prompt to continue.

Confirm the active workflow before using this entry point. It skips the file picker and processes the files already selected in Finder.

Close the Main Window or Quit

Closing the main window hides TinyOwl from the Dock, but the app remains available in the menu bar and continues any active task. To restore the window and Dock icon, click the menu bar icon and choose Open Main Window.