SideNotch

Give your Mac another notch.

SideNotch turns unused space along the top of your Mac into a fast, glanceable workspace for the things you use all day.

You can keep that one.
Hover the camera housing.

Your Mac has more room up here than you think.

The menu bar and the bezel are persistent real estate. SideNotch hangs extra notches to the left and right of the camera housing. The physical notch stays put.

Modules that live in the bezel

Hover a row. The extra line is the glance. The pill on the right is the notch.

  • Clipboard

    The last thing you copied, still on this Mac.

    History is local. Nothing is uploaded.

  • Downloads

    The newest file in ~/Downloads.

    Open it from the top edge without hunting the Dock.

  • Calendar

    The next event on this machine.

    Titles stay on device. EventKit is opt-in later.

  • Timer

    A countdown that hangs beside the camera.

    Start it, glance it, forget the rest of the screen.

  • Music

    Whatever is already playing.

    Skip or pause without bringing another window forward.

  • Launcher

    Open an app from the bezel.

    Type a few letters. Stay at the top of the display.

Collapsed, then a glance, then open

Hover the pill to peek. Focus it to read Clipboard, Downloads, and Timer with keyboard hints.

Collapsed → glance → expanded. Hover, then focus.

One notch wasn't enough.

Left and right run on their own. Put a clipboard on one side and a timer on the other.

Left

Clipboard

Last item on this Mac

Right

Timer

Runs on its own

Your clipboard should stay your clipboard.

Local modules remain local. Clipboard history, calendar titles, filenames, URLs, and launched app names never leave the Mac. SideNotch does not take Accessibility, screen recording, or input-monitoring permission.

Put modules where your hands already are

Drag between left and right. Keep one SideNotch empty if you want.

Left

ClipboardDownloadsCalendar

Drag

Right

TimerMusicLauncher

Move a module from one SideNotch to the other. Left, right, or both.

Give your Mac another notch.

macOS 14 and later. Agent app. Stays out of the way.

Questions

Does this replace the MacBook notch?

No. The physical camera housing stays put. SideNotch hangs extra notches to the left and right of it.

Does this work on Macs without a notch?

Yes. On notchless displays, SideNotches sit inset from the left and right edges of the menu bar.

Does this work with external monitors?

Yes. Each display can have its own SideNotches. Frames recalculate when screens change.

Does it cover the menu bar?

No. The pills hang from the top edge. The left SideNotch stays clear of the Apple menu.

Does it work full screen?

Yes. SideNotch stays available with a full-screen space.

What macOS versions are supported?

macOS 14 Sonoma and later.

Does SideNotch collect clipboard data?

No. Clipboard history never leaves the Mac.

Does SideNotch run in the background?

Yes. It is an agent app. Idle CPU should stay near zero.

Can I use only one SideNotch?

Yes. Left, right, or both.

How do updates work?

Sparkle, signed when Developer ID credentials are present.