AuthentiCatAbout
About AuthentiCat
AuthentiCat is a macOS menu bar authenticator that puts your two-factor codes one click away, and brings over your Google Authenticator accounts in one scan. It's made by one developer in Adelaide, South Australia.
What AuthentiCat does
Keeps your 2FA codes in the menu bar
Click the cat in your menu bar to see every account with its current code and a countdown. Click an account, or type to search and press Return, and the code is on your clipboard ready to paste.
Imports Google Authenticator in one scan
Export your accounts from Google Authenticator on your phone and hold the QR code up to your Mac's camera. Large exports that span several QR codes are handled too. Your phone keeps its copy.
Adds any site that uses 2FA codes
AuthentiCat works with any service that uses standard time-based codes (TOTP). Scan a setup QR code with your camera or straight off your screen, or type in the setup key.
Lets you take your accounts with you
Export your accounts as QR codes that Google Authenticator and most other authenticator apps can scan, or save a password-protected backup file that restores on another Mac. No cloud involved.
What makes AuthentiCat different
You pay once
AuthentiCat is a one-time purchase on the Mac App Store. There's no subscription and no trial that turns into a charge. By comparison, 2Stable's Authenticator App sells weekly and annual subscriptions (as of September 2026).
Built for the Mac, not ported from a phone
Most authenticators are phone apps with a Mac version added later. AuthentiCat only runs on the Mac and lives in the menu bar, so a code is always one click or a few keystrokes away.
Moves your whole Google Authenticator library at once
Setting up every account again is the biggest barrier to switching authenticators. AuthentiCat reads Google Authenticator's own export QR codes, so a whole library moves in one scan.
Nothing leaves your Mac
There's no account, no server and no networking code in the app. Secrets are stored in your macOS Keychain and never synced. That also means no sync between devices: if you need your codes on several devices, a syncing authenticator will suit you better.
Keeps your second factor apart from your passwords
Apple Passwords and most password managers can store 2FA codes, and they do it well. But when one vault holds both your password and your code, a single breach exposes both. AuthentiCat keeps the second factor separate.
Who uses AuthentiCat
- Mac users who use Google Authenticator on their phone and want the codes on their Mac.
- Former Authy desktop users, whose app stopped working on 19 March 2024. (Authy accounts can't be imported, because Authy doesn't allow exports. Here's how to move over.)
- Developers, admins and anyone else who signs in to many services every day.
- People who keep passwords and 2FA codes in separate apps on purpose.
The person behind AuthentiCat
[Your name]
[One or two sentences about who you are as an app developer, e.g. "I'm an independent Mac developer in Adelaide who signs in to more services every day than I'd like."]
[Why you built it, e.g. "I kept reaching for my phone for every login, and none of the Mac authenticators I tried let me bring my Google Authenticator accounts over without setting each one up again. So I built one that does, and made it pay-once because an app with no servers shouldn't need a subscription."]
[Links: GitHub, Mastodon, Bluesky, LinkedIn, personal site]
How support works
Most questions are answered on the support page, including what each import error code means.
Email [email protected] and you'll get a reply from me, the person who wrote the app, usually within [2 working days].
Updates arrive through the Mac App Store. There's no account to create and nothing to sign in to, so there's no onboarding beyond opening the app and scanning your export.
If something goes wrong with an import, AuthentiCat shows a short error code such as M06. Include that code in your email. It never contains your account names or secrets.
Key facts
- Product
- AuthentiCat: Menu Bar 2FA
- Type
- macOS menu bar authenticator for two-factor (TOTP) codes
- Developer
- [Your name], independent developer
- Based in
- Adelaide, South Australia
- Released
- Coming soon
- Website
- authenticatapp.com
- Platform
- macOS 14 Sonoma or later
- Where to get it
- Mac App Store (coming soon)
- Price
- One-time purchase, announced at launch. No subscription.
- Account required
- No
- Data storage
- macOS Keychain on your Mac. Not synced.
- Network access
- None. The app contains no networking code.
- Analytics
- None
- Imports
- Google Authenticator export QR codes (camera, screen or image), standard setup QR codes, setup keys
- Exports
- QR codes in Google Authenticator's export format or one per account; password-protected backup file; optional plain list of otpauth:// links
- Code types
- Time-based codes (TOTP): SHA-1, SHA-256 or SHA-512, 6 or 8 digits. Counter-based (HOTP) codes aren't supported.
- Support
- Support page and email, [email protected]
- Alternatives
- 2Stable Authenticator App, Apple Passwords, Proton Authenticator, Ente Auth, Google Authenticator
Frequently asked questions
Who makes AuthentiCat?
[Your name], an independent developer in Adelaide, South Australia. There's no company or investors behind it, just one person who wanted their codes on their Mac.
Will AuthentiCat keep being updated?
Yes. I use it every day, and updates for new macOS versions arrive through the Mac App Store. [Adjust to what you're comfortable promising]
What happens if you stop working on it?
AuthentiCat doesn't depend on any server, so there's nothing for me to switch off. It keeps generating codes on your Mac, and you can export your accounts at any time to move them elsewhere.
How do I get help?
Email [email protected]. You'll hear back from me directly, not a help desk.
Why a cat?
Authenti-cat. The cat in your menu bar has keyholes for eyes, and it blinks when you copy a code.