Peep app icon Peep User Manual

Welcome

Peep is a picture-in-picture browser for macOS. It turns any website — Netflix, YouTube, Twitch, a documentation page, anything — into a floating window that stays on top while you work in other apps.

Out of the box, Peep ships with bookmarks for the most popular streaming services. Click one in the sidebar to start watching. From there, the magic is in the small set of tools described below.

The big idea: Peep windows float above other apps. Make them transparent. Click through them. Resize to a comfortable aspect ratio. Watch and work at the same time.

Tabs & Windows

Opening a new tab or window

Use +T for a new tab, or +N for a new window. Floating and transparency are app-wide settings shared across every Peep window. Cinema mode is per-window, so one window can display full-size video while another uses its normal layout.

Reopen a closed tab

Closed a tab by accident? ++T brings the most recently closed tab back, with its history intact.

Navigating

Use +[ to go back, +] to go forward, and +L to jump to the address bar. +F opens find-in-page; +G jumps to the next match.

Sidebar

+S shows or hides the bookmarks sidebar. When you want a clean, distraction-free view, hide it.

Bookmarks

The sidebar lists your bookmarks. Click one to load it in the current window.

Adding a site

Navigate to a site, then use the bookmark button in the toolbar (or right-click in the sidebar) to save it. Peep will fetch the site's favicon automatically.

Pinning & ordering

Right-click any bookmark to pin it to the top of the list. Pinned bookmarks are sorted before unpinned ones.

Editing

From the sidebar's "Edit Bookmarks…" option, rename, reorder, or remove bookmarks in bulk.

Defaults

On first launch, Peep loads a default set of popular streaming services: Netflix, Plex, Max, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Disney+, YouTube, and Crunchyroll. You can remove any you don't use, or restore them later from Settings.

Picture-in-Picture & Playback

This is where Peep earns its name. Every Peep window has a handful of controls that turn it into a true picture-in-picture experience.

Floating Window

The "Toggle Floating" command (default F) keeps the window above every other app on your Mac. Combine it with a small window size to keep a video visible while you work.

Click-Through

Click-through (default D) makes mouse clicks pass through the Peep window to the app behind it. Use this with transparency to layer Peep over a document or code editor without it stealing focus.

Cinema Mode

Cinema mode (default ) displays the video full-screen within the Peep window — it snaps to the video's natural aspect ratio, hides Peep's toolbar and sidebar, and lets the content fill the frame, while the window itself stays exactly where you placed it on your desktop. Press Esc to exit.

Opacity

Lower opacity to see what's behind Peep. Use the Controls → Opacity menu, or [ / ] to step it down and up.

Aspect Ratio & Window Position

The Controls menu has presets for common video aspect ratios (16:9, 4:3, etc.) and screen corners (top-left, bottom-right, and so on). Pick one to snap, or freely drag for any size.

Media keys

Play/pause, seek backward 10s, and seek forward 10s have global shortcuts that work even when Peep isn't focused. See the shortcut reference below.

Note: The forward/back keys need to be enabled in Settings → Shortcuts before they'll respond.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Global (work even when Peep isn't focused)
ShortcutAction
FToggle Floating Window
DToggle Click-Through
Toggle Cinema Mode
SpacePlay / Pause
Seek Backward 10s
Seek Forward 10s
[Decrease Opacity
]Increase Opacity
Navigation
ShortcutAction
[Back
]Forward
LOpen Location (address bar)
FFind in page
GFind Next
GFind Previous
SToggle Sidebar
EscExit Cinema Mode

Customize anything. Global shortcuts can be rebound in Settings → Shortcuts. Pick combinations that don't conflict with the apps you use most.

Settings & Preferences

Open Settings with +,. The panel is organized by tab:

  • General — window behavior (quit-on-close, follow spaces, cinema-mode toolbar), floating-controls position, and light/dark appearance.
  • Shortcuts — enable media-key seek and rebind any global shortcut to a combination that suits you.
  • Web — clear cookies and caches for every site at once, or expand Per-Site Data to delete data for a single site.
  • Tip Jar — optional one-time tips if you want to support development or submit an App Store review.
  • Feedback — send a note directly to the Peep team. Also accessible from the Help menu.

Troubleshooting

A site won't log me in, or asks me to log in repeatedly

Some streaming services treat Peep as an unfamiliar browser. Try logging in once with cookies allowed; Peep persists sessions like Safari does. If the problem persists, the site may be using DRM that requires Safari's media stack specifically — please let us know which service.

Video plays but I can't hear it

Check the macOS volume mixer and confirm Peep isn't muted at the system level. Some streaming sites also start muted by default — click the volume icon inside the player.

A global shortcut isn't responding

Another app may have claimed the same combination. Open Settings → Shortcuts and either change Peep's binding or quit the other app to confirm.

Cinema mode doesn't snap to my video

Peep detects the video's natural size on entry. If the page hasn't fully loaded the player yet, exit cinema mode (Esc) and re-enter once playback starts.

Still stuck?

Use Help → Send Feedback in the menu bar, or email [email protected]. Include your macOS version and the site you were using — it speeds things up.