Documentation

Get started with Arrival

Everything you need to set up Arrival, understand its features, and troubleshoot common issues.

Installation #

Download the latest .dmg, open the disk image, drag Arrival into your Applications folder, and launch it.

Once launched, look for the Arrival icon in your menu bar — a small route icon near the clock. If you don't see it, check System Settings → Control Center and make sure menu bar apps are visible.

Setting Up Routes #

Before Arrival can show traffic data, configure at least one route. Click the Arrival menu bar icon and open Preferences.

1

Enter your addresses

In the Routes tab, add a name (e.g. "Home to Office") then type your origin and destination. Arrival uses Apple Maps or Mapbox to resolve addresses — full street addresses work best.

2

Configure your commute schedule

Set the days and times you commute. Arrival uses your schedule to show the right direction — heading out in the morning, heading home in the evening — so the menu bar always shows the trip that matters right now.

Using Arrival #

Arrival checks traffic in the background and puts everything you need in the menu bar and dropdown panel.

Menu bar icon

Shows your current travel time (e.g. 22 min) with a shape icon — circle for clear, triangle for moderate, double exclamation for heavy.

Direction detection

Picks the right direction based on your commute schedule — no need to flip between "to work" and "back home."

Multiple routes

Cycles through your routes in the menu bar. The dropdown lists all of them with current travel times.

Incidents

Accidents, construction, and road closures show up in the dropdown below your travel time.

Traffic moods

Green — Clear. Traffic is flowing freely. "Rolling like butter" / "Not a car in sight"
Amber — Moderate. Some slowdowns ahead. "Easy on the gas" / "Everyone had the same idea"
Red — Heavy. Significant congestion on your route. "Pour another coffee" / "This is fine (it's not)"

Map Window #

Click the map preview in the dropdown to open a floating map window. It stays on top of your other windows so you can keep an eye on your route.

Congestion overlay

Your route is drawn with color-coded traffic — green where things are moving, red where it's backed up.

Route sync

The map stays in sync with whichever route is selected. Switch routes and the map updates automatically.

Arrival uses Apple Maps by default — no setup needed. Mapbox is an optional upgrade that unlocks congestion overlays and traffic incident alerts. The free tier (100k requests/month) is more than enough for personal use. Add your key in Preferences.

Preferences #

Open Preferences from the Arrival menu bar icon. All settings are stored locally on your Mac.

Default Polling interval

How often Arrival checks for new traffic data. Shorter intervals are more current but use more network. Default is every 5 minutes.

Launch at login

Turn this on and Arrival starts up when you log in to your Mac. Uses macOS Login Items — starts silently in the background.

Preferred maps app

When you open directions, Arrival launches your go-to navigation app. Pick from Apple Maps, Google Maps, or Waze.

Maps provider

Apple Maps

  • The default — no API key needed
  • Live travel times and route paths
  • Traffic moods (green/amber/red)

Mapbox

  • Color-coded congestion per segment
  • Traffic incident alerts
  • Better baseline estimates
  • Free tier: 100k requests/month

Sign up at mapbox.com and paste your key in Preferences → General → Traffic Provider.

Troubleshooting #

Common questions and fixes.

Try re-downloading the DMG from the website. If the issue persists, make sure you're running macOS 13 Ventura or later.
This usually means Arrival couldn't fetch traffic data. Try the following:
  • Check that your origin and destination addresses are valid in Preferences.
  • Verify your Mac has an active internet connection.
  • If using Mapbox, confirm your API key is entered correctly and has not expired.
Sign up for a free account at mapbox.com and create a public access token. Then open Arrival Preferences, go to the Mapbox section, and paste your token. Arrival will switch to the Mapbox provider automatically.
Open Preferences and toggle on Launch at Login. Arrival uses macOS Login Items, so it will start silently in the background whenever you log in.

Updates #

Arrival uses Sparkle to handle updates. When a new version drops, you'll get a prompt inside the app.

If you prefer to update manually, download the latest .dmg from the website, drag the new version to Applications, and replace the old one.

Tip

Keep it up to date

Updates bring better traffic accuracy, new features, and fixes for the latest macOS versions. Sparkle will let you know when one's ready.