by Humaan

by Humaan · macOS 14+

Linear

Keep memory pressure moving toward normal while you use AI tools.

Download for MacHow it works

v1.0.0 · menu bar · Apple Silicon (current build)

What it is

A governor for AI load — not a cleaner, not Activity Monitor.

A native macOS menu-bar governor that watches AI workloads (Cursor, Claude, Ollama, MCP, and related helpers), measures pressure, and relieves it safely — without casually killing your IDE or deleting model files.

Sole purpose: keep driving system memory pressure back toward normal during AI usage so the laptop stays usable. It may not always reach normal under heavy load, but every cycle works toward that.

Pipeline

How it works

  1. 01 · Discover

    Enumerates processes and builds AI workload trees — IDEs, local models, MCP servers, language servers, and related workers.

  2. 02 · Measure

    Tracks AI memory/CPU plus system pressure, swap, thermal, and battery. Deterministic heuristics only — no LLM in the loop.

  3. 03 · Detect

    Flags runaway growth, idle-but-growing helpers, and high-confidence orphans before the Mac tips into CRITICAL.

  4. 04 · Relieve

    Unloads idle models, clears orphans, renices or suspends safe helpers. IDE processes are never auto-terminated.

Protection modes

How aggressive relief gets

Performance

More headroom for AI work; intervenes later when pressure climbs.

Balanced

Default posture — keep the laptop usable without starving tools.

Protect Mac

Earlier relief when pressure rises so the system stays closer to normal.

Behaviour

What you can rely on

  • Continuous pressure relief

    When enabled (default), Linear works toward normal memory pressure during AI sessions — unload idle models, terminate confident orphans, renice large idle helpers.

  • Measured savings + decision trail

    The menu panel shows recovered bytes with confidence, and Why / Action / Next when Linear is intervening.

  • Fail-open

    Monitoring errors never kill user processes. Model files are never auto-deleted. Storage cleanup is always user-confirmed.

  • Local only

    No accounts, analytics, or crash SaaS. Process info stays on the Mac. Core monitoring needs no network.

Requirements

Before you install

macOS
14.0+
Architecture
Apple Silicon (shipped build)
Sandbox
Not App Store — needs process signals
Signing
Ad-hoc for now — Gatekeeper bypass required

Unsigned build — Gatekeeper bypass

Prefer the Terminal installer (clears quarantine). Browser downloads may need right-click → Open, or Privacy & Security → Open Anyway.

curl -fsSL https://dna.humaan.app/apps/linear/install.sh | bash

FAQ

Straight answers

Is this Activity Monitor or a RAM cleaner?

No. Linear is scoped to AI development workloads and system pressure. It is not a generic cleaner and not Electron.

Will it kill Cursor or Claude?

No. IDE processes are never auto-terminated. Interventions target helpers, orphans, and idle local models under policy.

Why does Gatekeeper block it?

Current builds are ad-hoc signed, not notarised. Prefer: curl -fsSL https://dna.humaan.app/apps/linear/install.sh | bash — or right-click → Open / Privacy & Security → Open Anyway.

How does this relate to DNA?

DNA is the engineering kit and Lab. Linear is a separate Humaan Mac app that keeps the machine usable while you run AI tools that DNA workflows often stress.

Related: Skeletor manages DNA Labs. Linear keeps the Mac usable while those tools run.

Get Linear

Menu bar AI resource governor for macOS. Prefer Terminal for a clean install on unsigned builds.

Download for Mac

Prefer a clean install (skips the macOS “damaged” dialog for unsigned builds):

curl -fsSL https://dna.humaan.app/apps/linear/install.sh | bash