The onboarding wizard — first run, re-runs, the tutorial overlay
Swik's first launch isn't a blank screen. It's a three-step wizard that picks a starter set of wedges from the apps you actually have installed, lets you record a hotkey, and walks you through Accessibility permission. After the wizard closes, an interactive tutorial fires the real radial menu and guides you through your first hold-drag-release. This page is the reference for what that flow does, how to skip parts, and how to bring it back later if you want a refresher.
The three steps of the wizard
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Welcome
Logo, "Welcome to Swik," a quick visual showing Hold → Drag → Release, and an interactive hotkey badge. Click the badge to record any key — it accepts modifier-only keys (Right Option, F19), function keys, and traditional combos. The default is Right Option.
Below the interaction visual is a small "Five words to know (10 seconds)" disclosure — wedge, trigger, dead zone, dwell, sub-menu. Tap to expand it and skim the vocabulary that the rest of Swik's docs assume you know. It takes ten seconds.
Click Get Started to advance.
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Setup — pick a template, or start empty
Swik scans your installed apps and offers up to three templates picked for what's actually on your Mac:
- Productivity — browser, mail, calendar, chat, notes (Glass theme)
- Creative — design tool, photos, video, music, browser (Neon theme)
- Development — code editor, terminal, IDE, browser, Git/Docker (Dark theme)
Each template only shows up if at least one app from its candidate list is installed. Templates auto-resolve to the actual installed app — for example, "browser" picks Chrome if you have it, falling back to Safari, Edge, then Firefox.
To the right of the templates is a preview of what your menu will look like and a quick-add tray where you can drag in additional apps. Drag any app icon onto a wedge slot to assign it. Click More Apps to browse everything else installed.
Don't want a template? Click Start Empty. You'll get five blank wedges to fill in yourself.
Click Continue to advance.
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Permissions — Accessibility
The final step asks for the one permission Swik needs to function: Accessibility, which lets it observe your hotkey globally.
Click Open System Settings. macOS opens Privacy & Security → Accessibility. Toggle Swik on. You may need to enter your Mac password.
Without this permission, the menu cannot be triggered by your hotkey. The wizard doesn't force you — you can skip and grant later from the menu bar — but launching Swik without it leaves you with a menu bar icon and no way to summon the menu.
Click Finish to close the wizard.
The post-wizard tutorial overlay
When the wizard closes, the radial menu opens immediately at your cursor with your just-configured wedges. A four-step coachmark walks through the actual interaction:
| Step | What it shows | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Your Swik menu | The radial menu pinned, callout pointing below: "This is your radial menu. It appears wherever your cursor is when you press the hotkey." | Read, click Next. |
| 2. Select a Wedge | Callout to the right of the menu: "Move your cursor toward a wedge to highlight it. The selected wedge follows your movement." | Move the cursor outward — watch the wedges highlight. Click Next. |
| 3. Launch an App | Callout: "Release the hotkey while hovering over a wedge to launch that app. Try it now!" | Hold your hotkey, drag, release on a wedge. The app launches and the tutorial advances automatically. |
| 4. The Dead Zone | Callout below the menu: "The center circle is the dead zone. Release here to dismiss the menu, or click it to open Settings." | Drag back to center, release. Menu dismisses. Tutorial completes. |
You can Skip Tutorial at any step. The skip button is in the top-right of the callout.
Re-running the wizard later
The wizard is not one-shot. You can bring it back at any time:
Settings → Advanced → Onboarding → Re-run setup wizard.
What happens to your existing setup when you re-run:
| What you do in the re-run | What happens to your existing wedges |
|---|---|
| Pick a template (any of the three) | Replaces your current wedges with the template's apps. Save an export first if you want a backup. |
| Choose Start Empty | Replaces with five blank wedges. Same warning — export first if needed. |
| Drag specific apps into specific slots in the preview | Those slots get the dragged app. Slots you don't touch keep whatever the active template puts there. |
| Close the wizard via Skip / Cmd+W without finishing | No changes are saved. Your existing setup remains intact. |
| Click Finish at the end | Whatever the wizard's preview shows is what becomes your active layout. |
If you want to just re-watch the interactive tutorial without redoing the wizard, that's a separate trigger: Settings → Advanced → Onboarding → Replay tutorial. This skips the wizard and goes straight to the four-step coachmark on your existing menu.
The usage guide cheat sheet
There's also a printable-style usage cheat sheet you can pull up any time, separate from the wizard and tutorial: Settings → Advanced → Onboarding → Open usage guide. It's a single window summarizing keyboard shortcuts, the dead zone, sub-menus, and other ergonomic patterns. Useful when you want a quick reminder without reading a docs page.
Skipping during first run
Every wizard step has a Skip setup button in the top-right. Skipping different steps has different consequences:
| Skip from… | What you'll have when Swik launches | What you'll need to do later |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome step | Default Right Option hotkey, no wedges configured | Open Settings → Menu and add wedges manually. Optionally Settings → Hotkey to change the trigger. |
| Setup step | Whatever was on the preview at the moment you skipped (template if pre-selected, or empty) | Refine in Settings → Menu if needed. |
| Permissions step | Wedges configured, hotkey set, but no Accessibility — menu won't trigger | Grant Accessibility from the menu bar icon's "Setup Required" prompt, or System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility. |
The wizard's progress is also saved between runs — if you close it mid-flow (Cmd+W during the setup step), the next time Swik launches you'll resume where you left off, not restart from welcome.
Frequently asked questions
Why doesn't the wizard show me a Productivity / Creative / Development template?
Each template requires at least one app from its candidate list to be installed. If you have no design tools (no Figma, Sketch, Photoshop, etc.), the Creative template won't show. If you have none of any of the three categories, you'll just see Start Empty.
Can I customize what apps end up in each template?
Not at the wizard level — templates are fixed in the app code. But the wizard's preview lets you drag apps in and out of any slot, so the template is a starting point you can override before clicking Continue. The slots you finish with are what actually get saved.
Is there an "exit confirmation" if I close the wizard with unsaved progress?
No — the wizard saves progress on every step transition. Closing it (Cmd+W or skip) preserves whatever step you were on. The apps you'd customized in the preview are also saved. Reopening the wizard later resumes from that state.
Does the wizard run again automatically after a Swik update?
No. Once you've completed onboarding (or explicitly skipped), the wizard never appears on its own. Updates don't reset that flag. Re-running is always manual via Settings → Advanced → Onboarding.
What's the difference between the wizard, the tutorial, and the usage guide?
The wizard is configuration — setting up your wedges, hotkey, and permissions. The tutorial is interaction — actually summoning the live menu and demonstrating hold-drag-release. The usage guide is a static reference card — a window with shortcuts and patterns you can pull up to remind yourself. They're three different surfaces; you can run any of them independently from Settings → Advanced → Onboarding.
If I re-run the wizard and pick a different template, do I lose my old layout?
Yes — confirming a template overwrites your current wedges. Export first via Settings → About → Export if your current layout is worth saving. Then if the new template doesn't work out, Import it back. See the Import & Export guide.
Swik — a radial menu for macOS
Launch anything. One gesture. Free for five wedges, $9 one-time for unlimited. Requires macOS 14 Sonoma or later.
Download for macOS