How a Bunch Plain Text File Works

Updated

A Bunch is a plain text file in which each line tells Bunch to perform one task—launch an app, change a system setting, load a file, open a website, or run a script. You save these files in the Bunch Folder, and Bunch turns each one into a menu item you can trigger with a couple of keystrokes. The syntax is intentionally simple, closer to a readable checklist than to a programming language, so the main prerequisite is knowing which apps and settings you want in a given context.

The basic structure

Each line is one instruction. Bunch reads the file top to bottom and acts on each line. The site's own example is a single line:

Audio Hijack (audio input Scarlett Solo) (do not disturb)

That line launches Audio Hijack, sets its audio input to Scarlett Solo, and turns on Do Not Disturb. Parenthetical modifiers attach to the item before them, which is how one line can carry more than one action.

A more typical working Bunch combines several lines:

Safari
Notes
(do not disturb)

Here Bunch opens Safari, opens Notes, and enables Do Not Disturb—three lines, three tasks, no scripting syntax to learn.

What a line can do

According to the site, a line can tell Bunch to:

  • Launch apps
  • Load files
  • Open websites
  • Change settings
  • Run scripts

The same page describes the overall tool as able to "launch applications, perform system tasks, run scripts, and automate everything," and frames the syntax as "like AppleScript but way easier." That comparison is the useful mental model: you get app launching and system changes without writing AppleScript, but you are still describing a sequence of actions rather than writing logic.

From file to menu

The Bunch Folder holds all your Bunches. The site's example folder contains:

Comms.bunch
Code.bunch
Documentation.bunch

Each file becomes an entry in a menu, so a "context switch" is just picking a different Bunch. That is the core mechanism: the text file is the definition, the folder is the collection, and the menu is the trigger. You write the file once and reuse it whenever you enter that mode of work.

Practical examples of what one file can hold

The site gives several concrete Bunches that show how far a single text file can go:

Scenario What the Bunch does
Screencast prep Hides the Dock, changes wallpaper, hides Desktop icons, hides open windows, loads the screen recording app; on close, quits apps, restores wallpaper, unhides Dock and icons
Podcasting Opens recording software, starts a show notes document, sets audio inputs and outputs, pauses backups to save bandwidth, then restores everything
Coding project switch Closes Finder windows, opens the project folder, opens iTerm to the project directory and runs git pull, opens the project in your editor or IDE, optionally starts a time tracker
Social media silence A scheduled Bunch closes Twitter and other social apps during set times; toggling it relaunches them

The screencast and podcast examples are worth noting because they include a closing behavior: a Bunch can undo its own changes when you switch away, which is what makes it a "context" rather than a one-shot launcher.

What to check before you start

  • You are on macOS. Bunch is described as a macOS automation tool; nothing on the page indicates other platforms.
  • You are comfortable editing plain text. There is no mention of a graphical Bunch editor—the files themselves are the interface.
  • You know the exact names of your apps and settings. Lines reference apps and system settings directly, so a typo in an app name is the most likely first failure.
  • You accept that it is free. The page states plainly that "Bunch is free," so there is no purchase step before you try a first file.

If you can write a three-line list of what you open every morning, you can write a Bunch. Start with apps only, confirm the menu entry appears and launches them, then add parenthetical settings and closing behavior once the basic file works.