{"id":"getting-started.menu-bar-icon-colours","url":"/faq/getting-started/menu-bar-icon-colours","category":{"id":"getting-started","title":"Getting started"},"subcategory":{"id":"finding-your-way","title":"Finding your way around"},"question":"What does each Storage Studio menu bar icon state mean?","alt_questions":["Storage Studio icon is red","Why is the Storage Studio menu bar icon yellow?","Storage Studio icon orange badge","Storage Studio icon question mark","Storage Studio icon pulsing green","Menu bar icon states"],"short_answer":"Plain means healthy, a green pulse means a clean-up is running, yellow means Full Disk Access is missing, orange means space is low, red means the drive is disconnected or space is critical, and a minus means paused.","answer_markdown":"The icon shows the most urgent state at a glance:\n\n- **Plain drive** — running and healthy.\n- **Green pulse** — a clean-up or cloud-optimisation run is in progress.\n- **Yellow warning triangle** — Full Disk Access isn't granted.\n- **Orange warning badge** — your built-in drive is getting low on space.\n- **Red ✕ badge** — the external drive is disconnected or not verified, or the built-in drive is critically low.\n- **Minus badge** — running, but automatic actions are paused.\n- **\"?\" badge** — no drive set up yet.\n- **Stop symbol** — installed but not running.\n\nErrors always win over the green pulse, so an important warning never hides behind a running job. Click the icon to see details.","answer_html":"

The icon shows the most urgent state at a glance:

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Errors always win over the green pulse, so an important warning never hides behind a running job. Click the icon to see details.

","answer_text":"The icon shows the most urgent state at a glance:\n\n- Plain drive — running and healthy.\n- Green pulse — a clean-up or cloud-optimisation run is in progress.\n- Yellow warning triangle — Full Disk Access isn't granted.\n- Orange warning badge — your built-in drive is getting low on space.\n- Red ✕ badge — the external drive is disconnected or not verified, or the built-in drive is critically low.\n- Minus badge — running, but automatic actions are paused.\n- \"?\" badge — no drive set up yet.\n- Stop symbol — installed but not running.\n\nErrors always win over the green pulse, so an important warning never hides behind a running job. Click the icon to see details.","tags":["menu bar","status","icon"],"related":[{"id":"getting-started.where-is-the-storage-studio-icon","question":"Where is Storage Studio after I open it?","url":"/faq/getting-started/where-is-the-storage-studio-icon"},{"id":"getting-started.menu-bar-right-click-menu","question":"What can I do by right-clicking the Storage Studio menu bar icon?","url":"/faq/getting-started/menu-bar-right-click-menu"}],"applies_to":"all","last_reviewed":"2026-10-01","title":"What does each Storage Studio menu bar icon state mean? — Storage Studio FAQ","description":"Plain means healthy, a green pulse means a clean-up is running, yellow means Full Disk Access is missing, orange means space is low, red means the drive is disconnected or space is critical, and a minus means paused.","crumbs":[{"name":"Home","path":"/"},{"name":"FAQ","path":"/faq/"},{"name":"Getting started","path":"/faq/getting-started/"},{"name":"What does each Storage Studio menu bar icon state mean?","path":"/faq/getting-started/menu-bar-icon-colours"}],"jsonld":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/getting-started/menu-bar-icon-colours","inLanguage":"en","dateModified":"2026-10-01","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What does each Storage Studio menu bar icon state mean?","alternateName":["Storage Studio icon is red","Why is the Storage Studio menu bar icon yellow?","Storage Studio icon orange badge","Storage Studio icon question mark","Storage Studio icon pulsing green","Menu bar icon states"],"acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The icon shows the most urgent state at a glance:\n\n- Plain drive — running and healthy.\n- Green pulse — a clean-up or cloud-optimisation run is in progress.\n- Yellow warning triangle — Full Disk Access isn't granted.\n- Orange warning badge — your built-in drive is getting low on space.\n- Red ✕ badge — the external drive is disconnected or not verified, or the built-in drive is critically low.\n- Minus badge — running, but automatic actions are paused.\n- \"?\" badge — no drive set up yet.\n- Stop symbol — installed but not running.\n\nErrors always win over the green pulse, so an important warning never hides behind a running job. Click the icon to see details.","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/getting-started/menu-bar-icon-colours"}}]},"fragment":"
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Getting started · Finding your way around

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What does each Storage Studio menu bar icon state mean?

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Short answer: Plain means healthy, a green pulse means a clean-up is running, yellow means Full Disk Access is missing, orange means space is low, red means the drive is disconnected or space is critical, and a minus means paused.

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The icon shows the most urgent state at a glance:

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  • Plain drive — running and healthy.
  • Green pulse — a clean-up or cloud-optimisation run is in progress.
  • Yellow warning triangle — Full Disk Access isn't granted.
  • Orange warning badge — your built-in drive is getting low on space.
  • Red ✕ badge — the external drive is disconnected or not verified, or the built-in drive is critically low.
  • Minus badge — running, but automatic actions are paused.
  • "?" badge — no drive set up yet.
  • Stop symbol — installed but not running.
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Errors always win over the green pulse, so an important warning never hides behind a running job. Click the icon to see details.

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Last reviewed

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Related questions

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