Mac app
brief.finance for Mac
Ask Willow about any US stock from wherever you are on your Mac. Your watchlist sits on the desktop, and news about your companies reaches you even with the window closed.
Download for Mac · Open the web app
Free download · macOS 11 or later · Apple silicon and Intel
Your watchlist on the desktop
Add brief.finance widgets to your desktop or Notification Center and see what changed without opening anything. Click a company and its chat opens in Willow.
Watchlist (Small, medium and large)
The companies you follow, with the ones that have news first: an unusual move, a big or small change in a brief, or a watch that found something. Otherwise it shows when each company reports next.
Ask Willow (Small and medium)
Click it and Willow opens with the question box ready. The medium size also lists your three latest chats, one click from where you left off.
Widgets show tickers, company names, what is new and earnings dates. They never show prices. They need macOS 14 or later. To add one, right-click the desktop, choose Edit Widgets and search for brief.finance.
What the Mac app adds
It is the same Willow you use in the browser, with the same account and chats. These are the things a browser tab cannot do.
- Ask from anywhere. Press ⌘⇧Space in any app. brief.finance comes to the front with the question box ready.
- News while the window is closed. A Mac notification when a stock you follow moves more than usual, a brief on it changes, or a watch finds something. The Dock icon counts what you have not read.
- In your menu bar. See what changed on your watchlist, what Willow is working on and who reports next, right from the menu bar. Turn on Open at Login and it is there when your Mac starts.
- Tabs and shortcuts. Keep several chats open in tabs, switch with ⌃Tab and jump between Willow, Watchlist, Briefs and the rest with ⌘1 to ⌘6.
- Drop a file in. Drag a PDF, a CSV, a text file or an image onto the question box and ask about it.
- Talk instead of typing. Tap the microphone and say your question. Your Mac asks once for permission, and the microphone is only used while you dictate.
- Feels like a Mac app. It follows your light or dark setting and your accent colour, uses the Mac menus you already know, and opens at the size you left it.
- Keeps itself up to date. Updates download in the background and ask once before restarting, so you are always on the latest version without thinking about it.
Keyboard shortcuts
| Keys | What it does |
|---|---|
| ⌘⇧Space | Ask Willow from any app |
| ⌘N | New chat |
| ⌘T | New tab |
| ⌘W | Close tab |
| ⇧⌘T | Reopen the tab you just closed |
| ⌃Tab | Next tab (add ⇧ for the previous one) |
| ⌘1 to ⌘6 | Go to Willow, Watchlist, Briefs, News, Automations or Skills |
| ⌘[ and ⌘] | Back and forward |
| ⌘, | Settings |
Before you download
- Price
- The app is free. Asking Willow needs a brief.finance plan, the same one you use on the web: $49/month or $399/year.
- Your Mac
- macOS 11 Big Sur or later, on Apple silicon or Intel. One download works on both. Widgets need macOS 14 Sonoma or later.
- Account
- Sign in with your email, or with Google through your browser. Your chats, watchlist and alerts are the same as on the web.
- Safe to open
- Signed by Reaktif LLC, the company behind brief.finance, and checked by Apple, so your Mac opens it without a warning.
- Internet
- Needed. Willow reads filings and news when you ask, so there is nothing to look at offline.
Questions about the Mac app
Is there a brief.finance app for Mac?
Yes. brief.finance for Mac is a free download from brief.finance/mac. It is the same Willow you use in the browser, with your account and chats, plus a shortcut to ask from any app, desktop widgets, notifications while the window is closed and a menu bar item.
Is the Mac app free?
The download is free, and so is your first Willow answer. Follow-ups need a brief.finance plan, the same one you use on the web, at $49/month or $399/year. One plan covers the web app and the Mac app.
Which Macs does it run on?
Any Mac with macOS 11 Big Sur or later, with Apple silicon or an Intel chip. There is one download for both. The widgets need macOS 14 Sonoma or later.
How do I add the brief.finance widgets?
Open the app and sign in once. Then right-click the desktop, choose Edit Widgets, search for brief.finance and drag Watchlist or Ask Willow onto the desktop or into Notification Center. Watchlist comes in small, medium and large; Ask Willow in small and medium.
Do the widgets show stock prices?
No. They show the tickers and names of the companies you follow, what is new on each (an unusual move, a change in a brief, or a watch that found something) and when each company reports next. Click a company to read the details in the app.
How is the Mac app different from the web app?
Everything you can do in the web app works the same in the Mac app, and your chats, watchlist and alerts are shared. The Mac app adds what a browser tab cannot do: ⌘⇧Space from any app, notifications and a Dock count while the window is closed, widgets, a menu bar item, opening at login, and keyboard shortcuts for tabs.
How does the Mac app update?
On its own. It checks when it opens and every few hours, downloads a new version in the background, and asks once whether to restart now or later. You can also choose Check for Updates in the brief.finance menu.
Is there an app for Windows, iPhone or Android?
Not as a download. The web app at brief.finance works in any modern browser on Windows and Linux, and on iPhone and Android phones, with the same account and chats as the Mac app.