How to get free Duo animation for Mac

Still is a free, open source way to try iPhone Duo-style fold animation on your Mac. As a compatible MacBook lid closes, the app tilts, blurs and dims a snapshot of your desktop. Start with the interactive Duo animation demo, then use this guide to build the macOS prototype.

What is Duo-style animation for Mac?

It is a desktop effect inspired by the iPhone Duo fold animation. Still uses the MacBook's hinge angle to drive the effect, so the picture appears to fold away as you lower the display and clears as you open it again. It runs as a small menu bar app built with Swift, SwiftUI and Metal.

The browser demo uses a sample wallpaper. The native app uses a single snapshot of your actual desktop, so video and changing windows appear frozen during the effect. Still does not change your wallpaper, prevent sleep or animate the macOS login screen.

Which Macs can use the lid animation?

The current build targets Apple Silicon Macs with macOS 14 Sonoma or later. Automatic animation needs a readable lid angle sensor. The project identifies 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models from 2021 and MacBook Air models from M2 as candidates for sensor testing. Check the app's Your Mac tab for your machine's result.

The M1 MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro do not have the required lid angle sensor. The manual preview lets you try the effect without automatic tracking. See the Mac compatibility table and the lid angle sensor guide for more detail; Intel builds remain untested.

You also need Xcode Command Line Tools to build the app and Screen Recording permission to show an effect using your desktop. The app's image preview does not need that permission.

Download free Duo animation for Mac and build it

1. Get the source. Download Still's free Mac source ZIP and unzip it in Downloads. You can also clone the Still GitHub repository.
2. Open the source folder in Terminal. For the ZIP download, use the command below. If you cloned the repository, open that folder instead.

cd ~/Downloads/Still-source
xcode-select -p

If the developer-tools check fails, run xcode-select --install and finish Apple's installation prompt before continuing. Full Xcode is optional for building, but required to run the XCTest geometry tests in the build script.

bash native/scripts/build.sh
open native/build/Still.app

In Still, open Your Mac, click Allow and enable Screen Recording in System Settings. Reopen the app if macOS asks. Use Preview on desktop to try the effect. If the app reports a lid sensor, sit at your usual angle, click Use current lid, enable Follow lid and lower the lid slowly.

The homepage also has the six-step installation walkthrough. No Apple developer account is needed to build locally.

Is the Duo animation app really free and open source?

Yes. Still has no subscription, activation key or paid tier. Its Swift, Metal and JavaScript code is available in the open source repository under the MIT license. You can inspect, modify and redistribute it under those terms.

The native app keeps its desktop snapshot in memory for the gesture and discards it afterward. It does not capture video or audio, save the snapshot to disk or send it over the network. Screen Recording is the macOS permission used by the snapshot API.

Why is my MacBook lid animation not working?

• No readable lid-angle sensor: try the manual desktop preview. Automatic tracking needs both the sensor hardware and a readable report.
• Desktop preview cannot capture the screen: check Screen Recording permission and restart Still if prompted. Rebuilding the locally signed app may require granting permission again.
• Nothing happens while lowering the lid: confirm that Follow lid is enabled and calibrate with Use current lid while sitting normally. Re-enable automatic mode after sleep or lock.
• The build fails: include the complete Terminal output and your Mac model identifier in a GitHub issue.