App Tamer
Reduce CPU usage
App Tamer helps you reduce CPU use by idle background apps on your Mac. It’s for you if those apps cause slowdowns, battery drain, or loud fans.
by St. Clair Software · 95% positive (684)
What you get
Give your Mac less background work and more room for your tasks.
With App Tamer, you can reduce the processing time taken up by apps you aren’t actively using. You choose which background apps to slow down or stop, and how much CPU they can use while idle. When those apps are behind your Mac’s slowdowns, heat, or fan noise, limiting them can leave more resources for the work in front of you.
You can make those limits apply only when your Mac is unplugged and its battery drops below a percentage you choose. That lets you prioritize battery life when you need it without keeping the same restrictions in place all day.
You also get a clearer view of what’s using your CPU from the menu bar, including which apps have been slowed or stopped. You can receive alerts when an app exceeds your chosen CPU threshold for a set time, exclude selected apps from alerts, or pause App Tamer when needed.
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Less background competition
You can limit idle apps’ CPU use so they leave more processing capacity for what you’re doing.
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Battery savings when needed
You can apply restrictions only when unplugged and below your chosen battery percentage.
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Potentially quieter fans
Reducing excessive background CPU use can help you cut the heat that triggers fan noise.
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Know what’s consuming CPU
You can inspect CPU usage from the menu bar and get alerts about sustained high usage.
Best for
- You notice slowdowns while apps run in the background
- You want to conserve battery while working unplugged
- Your fans get loud because of CPU-heavy background apps
Skip it if
You probably don’t need it if background CPU usage isn’t causing performance, battery, or fan-noise problems on your Mac.
Screenshots
From the developer
App Tamer allows you to slow down or stop the apps that use too much CPU. App Tamer spots idle apps that hog CPU when they are in the background, and takes action.Read the full description
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