The creator of Windows Task Manager has 'vibe coded' a new version that runs on macOS and Linux

Engadget staff@engadget.com (Luke James)

22 Sept 2026 23:00 AEST 1 min read Rewritten in plain language

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Overview

Some three decades after he wrote the original Windows Task Manager at Microsoft, Plummer is back with a new iteration: TMOG.
Plummer says he fed it a 107-page spec sheet, let the chatbot do its thing and about four hours later, he had a working app that ran on the first try.
The TMOG macOS beta was first released on July 31, with Windows and Linux builds following on August 23.
Status meters are animated at 60Hz instead of ticking over once a second as with Windows Task Manager, and efficiency cores get their own colors.
Look under the hood and you'll find each platform runs genuine native code with Swift and AppKit on macOS, Direct2D on Windows and Qt 6 on Linux.

5 sentences from our version of the report, chosen to cover it. Nothing here is written; every line is in the article below. How

Summarized version

The TMOG macOS beta was first released on July 31, with Windows and Linux builds following on August 23.

The report’s most important sentence, shortened and in plain words. How

Headline check

One of the three things this headline claims is not in the report.

The headline puts “vibe coded” in quotation marks. Nobody says those words anywhere in the report.

Figures, names and quoted words in the headline, looked for in the report itself — not in the summary above. How this is checked

The article, shortened and in plain language

It only took a 107-page spec to accomplish.

If you've ever hit Ctrl+Shift+Esc to find out what's eating your PC alive, you've used Dave Plummer's work. Some three decades after he wrote the original Windows Task Manager at Microsoft, Plummer is back with a new iteration: TMOG.

Taking on X last month, he explained how he vibe-coded it using Claude Code. Plummer says he fed it a 107-page spec sheet, let the chatbot do its thing and about four hours later, he had a working app that ran on the first try. All while waiting with his son in hospital, who was recovering from surgery.

The TMOG macOS beta was first released on July 31, with Windows and Linux builds following on August 23. The third iteration of the software was released on September 7 alongside the first builds of a paid Pro tier.

TMOG packs 12 views into one window, covering a summary dashboard, per-process resource use, startup apps, service, power and frequency, network connections, installed apps, disk space and benchmarks.

Status meters are animated at 60Hz instead of ticking over once a second as with Windows Task Manager, and efficiency cores get their own colors. Plummer has said that the app will "never make up an answer."

Look under the hood and you'll find each platform runs genuine native code with Swift and AppKit on macOS, Direct2D on Windows and Qt 6 on Linux.

The free version doesn't expire though, and you can download it now for macOS, Windows and Linux without creating an account.

Shortened to 1 minute of reading, this version reads 4.7 on the Niral Score.

You are reading our version, not theirs. This is Engadget's report shortened to its most important sentences, in plainer words, with verdicts and loaded words taken out. Plain description stays, and so do adjectives that carry a fact, such as "former" or "federal". The reporting, the facts and the quotations are theirs — quotations are never edited — and the indicators beside it measure this version. Hover or tap Adjectives to see every one left in the text.

Indicators

Niral Score 6.5was 8.2 mundaneloaded

Highlighted in the text. Words that carry a fact and quoted words are not counted.

plummer9code5app4apps4back4macos4process3released3something3spec3use3version3vibe3work3adds2anyone2beta2builds2coded2creator2easier2find2free2instead2iteration2make2original2platform2processes2project2resource2runs2sheet2system2tool2using2wrote2you've2

Sentiment -0.0 hostilefavourable Sourcing 47 unattributednamed sources Mood 62.8 sorrowjoyful

5 read zero: political diction, generational, gender, jingoistic, religious

Political diction 0 left-codedright-coded Generational 0 harder on the oldharder on the young Gender 0 no gendered framingframing throughout Jingoistic 0 reports to a readerwrites from a camp Religious 0 not invokedovert

Measurements of how this article is written, not of whether it is correct. How each one is measured.

Measured on our version above. Struck through: the same measure of Engadget’s report as filed. The outlet comparison and the extension show the same pair.

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How this outlet filed it, and how we rewrote it

No other newsroom we read has filed on this event, so there is nothing to compare it with yet.

Outlet	Niral Score	Adjectives	Sourcing	Happiness
Engadgetas they published this story	8.2	6	47	62.8
Mundane Readneutralized from Engadget	6.5	6	47	62.8

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